Calvin in concert mode for Reilly

It’s been about 10 years since Ike Reilly last played in Youngstown, so I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I opened an email about his upcoming tour and saw that the city was on the list.

The blue-collar rocker will play Nov. 21 at the Rust Belt Theater space in Calvin Center, 755 Mahoning Ave., near downtown.

The Chicagoan’s last gig in Youngstown was at Cedars, and he had also played at the old Nyabinghi back in the day.

Youngstown is the only small city on his upcoming seven-city tour (the others are Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington, New York, Minneapolis and Chicago). Thanks goes to Jeff Beede for stepping up and promoting the Calvin Center show. Beede presents concerts at Calvin Center maybe once a year, but he’s an Ike Reilly fan.

Tickets are $10 (plus fees) at brownpapertickets.com. They also can be obtained by calling or texting Beede at 330-774-4935. The Rust Belt theater has a capacity of 120, and if sales exceed that, the show will be moved to the larger room on the third floor of the building.

Beede will obtain a temporary beer and wine license for the concert. No definitive word yet on the opening act, but if there is one, it likely will be Youngstown band Punk Willie.

Reilly’s songs are typically jammed with wily lyrics from the point of view of hard-living characters.

He has been playing in bars and clubs for a long time but might finally be poised to reach the next level.

Reilly’s latest album, “Born on Fire,” was released in June.

CALIFORNIA IMPRESSIONISM EXHIBITION AT THE BUTLER

A noteworthy exhibition titled “California Impressionism: Selections from the Irvine Museum” opens Sunday at the Butler Institute of American Art and runs through Nov. 29.

The exhibition spotlights the unique style that came out of the state in the mid-20th century that combined aspects of European and American art. The style was dubbed California Impressionism and concerned itself with light and color. The landscape was usually the principal subject.

The exhibition is from the Irvine Museum in California. James Irvine Swinden, president of the museum, will be at the Butler Sunday to give a talk at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. Jean Stern, director of the Irvine, also will be on hand to share the art with the public at a reception that will run from 1 to 3 p.m.

SONGWRITER MAGAZINE SPOTLIGHTS JORDAN DEPAUL

Jordan DePaul, a Youngstown native and Nashville musical artist and songwriter, caught the attention of American Songwriter magazine (americansongwriter.com).

DePaul was the “daily discovery” in a recent issue for his song “Me + U.”

American Songwriter did a short profile of DePaul that allowed him to reveal why he wrote the song.

DePaul’s response: “No matter how hard you try, some things just don’t fit together. Love is a very relatable subject and, after a failed five-year relationship, I realized that there was no sense in trying anymore. It just simply was not going to work. That’s what the single from my forthcoming “Forces” EP, “Me + U,” is about.”

RUST BELT THEATER ADDS ‘GAY WEDDING’ PERFORMANCE

In order to meet demand, Rust Belt Theater has added a performance of its original musical “My Big Fat Gay Wedding.” It will be at 8 p.m. Friday in Rust Belt’s theater space in Calvin Center, 755 Mahoning Ave.

The final performance of the run will be the previously scheduled show Saturday at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and senior citizens). For reservations, call 330-507-2358.