Photos: EL TEN ELEVEN & TALL TALL TREES to Play Martyrs'

El Ten Eleven and Tall Tall Trees will perform at Martyrs' in Chicago on Saturday, October 3rd. Doors open at 7PM with the show starting at 8PM. Tickets are $25, and the show is all ages.

El Ten Eleven is an instrumental post-rock and indie rock duo known for creating layered, energetic music using only a bass/guitar double-neck, drums, and live looping pedals. Their new album, 'Nowhere Faster,' the duo's 16th release, came out in April. Across eight tracks, it considers not just nothingness but velocity, the strange urgency that propels listeners forward even when the destination remains unclear. The 33 minute album slows just long enough to pose the harder questions: what are we running from, and what do we think we can out run? That tension appears even in the album's artwork, once again created with longtime collaborator Rob Fleming. It depicts a classic liminal space: familiar, anonymous, quietly unsettling. A stained glass colored building and a streetlamp blur at the edges, suggesting motion that feels less like escape than enclosure the kind that traps rather than transports.

Other Featured Shows

Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque will perform on Thu, Oct 8, with doors at 6:30pm and the show at 7:30pm. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 day of show.

Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque are two extraordinary guitarists whose music brings together classical, jazz, flamenco, Balkan, and world music in a style that is uniquely their own. The two first began working together in the 1990s and have recorded several acclaimed albums, including Macedonian Blues, Seven Boats, and IndoBalkan on Delmark Records. Seven Boats was named Acoustic Album of the Year by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Their playing combines dazzling technique with deep musicality, moving effortlessly between intricate compositions, improvisation, Balkan melodies, jazz harmony, and flamenco rhythms. After years of busy international careers, the duo has reunited for a series of special performances.

Look Ahead

Todd Snider Get Together will take place Fri, Oct 16, with doors at 7:30pm and the show at 8:30pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show.

Formed out of deep love for Todd Snider, Martyrs' presents a band of well-known Chicago musicians - Ernie Hendrickson, Gerald Dowd, Adam Gardner, and Brian Wilkie, plus Dave Zollo from Iowa, who played with Todd himself in The Nervous Wrecks and later projects, to celebrate the songs and legacy of the legendary troubadour on what would have been his 60th birthday weekend. They will be digging deep into Todd's extensive catalog, from every era, for a night of music honoring the late singer-songwriter.

Start Making Sense - A Tribute to Talking Heads has added a third night, with performances Thu, Nov 5th, Fri, Nov 6th and Sat, Nov 7th. Doors are at 7:30PM with the show at 8:30PM, and tickets are $30.

Thursday night kicks off with a unique, two-part experience: the first set channels the raw, early energy of '77–'79 as a sharp four-piece band plays tracks from the first three albums. For the second set, the stage expands into a full seven-piece ensemble to deliver the hits and fan favorites. The celebration continues through Friday and Saturday with that same seven-piece lineup performing the group's biggest songs. The musicians in the seven-piece Talking Heads tribute act recreate the music of the band's entire career, with frontman Jon Braun portraying David Byrne.

Upcoming Shows

Every Sunday: Hoyle Brothers, 3-6 PM, with a free 2-Step dance lesson every second week at 2:30 PM

Fri Oct 16: Todd Snider Get Together

Sun Oct 18: No Bother

Wed Oct 21: Louder Than a Mom 'Ghosts of the Past'

Thu Oct 22: The Unknown Pleasures - The Music of Joy Division & Matt North - Record Release!

Fri Oct 23: 'Twas The Week Before Halloween Ball: A Benefit Show for Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and BUILD, Inc. ft. Sweet Kay String Band, Snarky Bubbe, Shades of Time & DJ Cyrus

Sat Oct 24: GreenTTea & The Tempos, Luscia Jane and Kacie Brown & The Vision

Sun Oct 25th: An Intimate Evening with Pamela Des Barres, Author 'I'm With The Band'

Wed Oct 28: Jam Productions Presents... Lexi Jayde

Thu Oct 29: The Clearwater Swimmers & Pebbles Inc

Fri Oct 30: Street Pony, Modern Joey, and Stan P Band

Wed Nov 4: Beat the Beatles (2 Sets!)

Thu, Fri & Sat Nov 6, 7, 8: Start Making Sense: A Tribute to the Talking Heads

Wed Nov 11: An Evening with Kate Nash

Thu, Fri & Sat Nov 12, 13 & 14: Second Hand News - A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (2 Sets!)

Sun Nov 15: No Bother

Fri Nov 20: The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Adrian + Meredith

Wed Dec 2: Beat The Meatles (2 Sets!)

Thu Dec 10: An Evening with Peach Jam - Allman Brothers Tribute (2 Sets!)

Sat Dec 12: 14th Annual Krampus Fest

Fri Dec 18: The Local Honeys

Sat Dec 19: 14th Annual Mobetta Holiday Jam!

Sun Dec 20: No Bother

Sat Dec 26: Shoe Fest Holiday Jam!

Sat Jan 22: Bands For Bell

Every Sunday: Hoyle Brothers, 3-6 PM, with a free 2-Step dance lesson every second week at 2:30 PM