The Homewood Arts Council (HAC), a nonprofit organization that promotes local art and music, is hosting a Pete Townshend tribute concert with four acts, Dolph Chaney, Phil Angotti, Rick Rizzo and Sam Vicari, inside Senior Hall at Izaak Walton Preserve in Homewood on the evening of Saturday, May 10.
The musicians will exclusively perform cover songs from The Who and Townshend’s solo music career to celebrate Townshend’s 80th birthday on May 19.
The Who, like The Beatles and Pink Floyd, was part of rock music’s British Invasion in the mid-1960s. Townshend is the band’s leader, guitarist and principal songwriter.
“I first discovered The Who when I was probably 14, 15 or 16,” HAC Director Chris Castaneda said.
Castaneda said he became a fan of The Who after renting The Kids Are Alright, a 1979 music documentary about the band, from a video rental store in Calumet City.
“They played My Generation. They ended the song with Pete smashing the guitar, the drummer destroying his drum set, and then the drummer igniting an explosion out of his bass drum,” Castaneda said, recalling a scene from the documentary. “I’d never seen anything like that, and I was completely floored by what I saw.”
Castaneda said none of the musicians know yet which The Who and Townshend cover songs the other musicians will perform.
“They’re not just going to play the radio hits. They’re really diving into the catalogue,” Castaneda said. “Anyone who’s a fan of Pete Townshend will absolutely love these four musicians and what they plan on doing.”
Chaney, a Homewood resident and member of the band, Dolph Chaney and the Phins, has played Trail Mix Presents shows in Homewood and Flossmoor, but said this will be his first HAC show.
Chaney said he also became a fan of The Who after watching The Kids Are Alright.
“It’s full of great performances, but it’s practically a slapstick comedy as well,” Chaney said. “They fight. They crack jokes. They make outlandish, egotistical pronouncements all over the place. They blow stuff up. They smash stuff. It was hilarious. It was like watching The Three Stooges with amplifiers.”
Chaney, who cites The Who as an influence, said he uses self-deprecating humor in his songwriting.
“The [musicians] that have inspired me the most are able to use their sense of humor and their keen eye for what life can be like sometimes,” Chaney said.
The other musicians set to perform are also in bands. Angotti is in Material Issue. Vicari is in The Feeders. Rizzo is in Eleventh Dream Day and Candy Golde.
The HAC hosts art shows and concerts throughout the year, often at the Homewood Auditorium, a venue leased to them by the village. Castaneda said the Townshend tribute concert will be the HAC’s first show of 2025, adding that Izaak Walton’s Senior Hall is “a really unique space.”
Tickets for the concert can be pre-ordered for $20 at homewoodartscouncil.com. Tickets are $25 at the door.