The Claudettes return to The Alluvion with a new drummer and a new record, Nov. 6

The Chicago piano-blues band has sold out Eighth Street before. On Friday, Nov. 6, they're back with Garage Glamour and opener Lost Swimmer.

Last December, The Claudettes sold out The Alluvion. A room that holds 180 doesn't take long to fill, but a December night on Eighth Street packed for a Chicago blues band says something about how this town has taken to them. Next Friday, Nov. 6, they're back.

The details are on The Alluvion's ticket page: The Claudettes with Lost Swimmer opening, all ages, $30 in advance and $35 at the door, at 414 Eighth Street. The band's own shows page lists the date too. If last year's sellout is any guide, the advance price is the one to pay.

This isn't a first visit, and that's part of the appeal. The Alluvion's past-events archive shows the Claudettes playing December 2023 with Courtney Kaiser-Sandler and Tim Jones, October 2024 with Eric O'Daly, and the sold-out Dec. 6, 2025 show with Stolen Silver. Four visits in four years makes them one of the room's regulars. For a touring band, that counts for a lot.

What's new is the band itself. Singer Rachel Williams and pianist and songwriter Johnny Iguana are still at the center. Drummer Liz Ele joined in spring 2026, and the band put out a new album this year, *Garage Glamour*, on Pravda Records, according to the band's music page. So the Claudettes who come up Eighth Street next week will have a different engine behind the kit and a new batch of songs to try in a room that already knows the old ones.

The draw is the piano. Most blues bands are built around a guitar. This one is built around Iguana's keyboard, rolling and percussive, with Williams singing over it like a torch singer who has wandered into a juke joint. The genre tag says blues. In practice it's what Iguana calls garage cabaret: jazz, blues and soul with the spirit of a garage band.

The Alluvion is a good place for it. The room's concert series leans on players who reward close listening, and at 180 capacity there's no bad spot. You'll be close enough to watch Iguana's hands, which is half the show.

This is a short Midwestern run. The band plays Des Moines on Oct. 28, comes north for Traverse City, then heads to Lafayette, Indiana, on Nov. 10 and home to Chicago on Nov. 11. Traverse City is the only northern Michigan stop.

Four visits in four years makes them one of the room's regulars.

Opening is Lost Swimmer. The venue's page doesn't say more about the opener, so come early and hear for yourself. Small rooms in November are where you find your next favorite band.

Then stay for the headliners. A Friday in early November, a Chicago band that likes this town, a new record and a new drummer. If the last one sold out, this one could too.

Sources: Tickets & Events — The Alluvion (thealluvion.org); Shows — The Claudettes (theclaudettes.com); Music — The Claudettes (theclaudettes.com); Past events — The Alluvion (thealluvion.org); Alluvion Presents: The Claudettes & Stolen Silver - SOLD OUT (thealluvion.org); Alluvion Presents: The Claudettes wsg Eric O'Daly (thealluvion.org); Alluvion Presents: The Claudettes wsg Courtney Kaiser-Sandler & Tim Jones (thealluvion.org); Concerts — The Alluvion (thealluvion.org); The Claudettes tickets — The Alluvion box office (thealluvion.ludus.com); The Claudettes bringing wildly entertaining garage cabaret to northern Michigan - Local Spins (localspins.com)