Mokena

For Elvis Presley fans who might not remember, Jan. 8 would have been the King of Rock and Roll’s 76th birthday. The Mokena Community Public Library celebrates the music of Elvis with a live performance from 1 to 2 p.m. Jan. 15.

Memories of the King stars Dave “Elvis” Thomas, a longtime Oak Forest resident and veteran Elvis performer. The show is bound to take the older fans back a few years. Younger audience members will see and hear why Elvis and his music live on, more than 30 years after his death.

The library is located at 11327 W. 195th St., Mokena, and can be reached at 708-479-9663 and at www.mokena.lib.il.us. Registration is not required.

Tinley Park

The Convertibles are heading to the Tinley Park Library at 2 p.m. Jan. 16. No, not ragtop cars but an a cappella rock ‘n’ roll quartet of south suburbanites that has been performing since 1996.

For that first appearance, the guys “dressed up in jeans, white T-shirts with rolled up sleeves, white socks, black loafers and black leather jackets,” said Ron Welch, group spokesman, bass vocalist and retired Park Forest fire chief. 

The three other Convertibles are lead singer Lou Gonzalez, a union pipe fitter, tenor Tom Weidenhoefer does the choreography and reportedly tells some dreadful jokes (prepare to groan), and baritone Glenn Kersten, a librarian.

“I think TV programs that have singing, including a cappella, have brought new life to this singing,” Welch added by e-mail.

Asked to name a few songs the Convertibles will include, Welch listed Come Go With Me, Only You, Blue Moon, Duke of Earl and “some surprises." 

The library is at 7851 Timber Drive (off 80th Avenue, just South of the Metra Station and tracks), Tinley Park. Registration is required, 708- 532-0162 or online at www.tplibrary.com. Click on events.

For more information on the concert, click here.

Frankfort and Palos Hills

South suburban concertgoers will take a musical ride into history this weekend for a tribute to Maud Powell, America’s first violinist to garner international acclaim. The concert, Beethoven and Pine, features contemporary violin virtuosa Rachel Barton Pine of Chicago, a powerful Powell champion, and guest conductor Alexander Platt, maestro of four Midwest symphony orchestras.

The two artists and the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra will recreate the all-Beethoven concert Powell and conductor Gustav Mahler performed with the New York Philharmonic on New Year’s Eve 1909.

The program includes Egmont Overture, Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 4 in B flat major.

Who was Egmont? Internet sources describe the Count of Egmont as a 16th century Dutch nobleman. Wikipedia goes one more step and calls him “heroic.”

An 8 p.m. Jan. 15 IPO performance will take place at the orchestra’s home venue, Lincoln-Way North Performing Arts Center, 19900 S. Harlem Ave., Frankfort.

The 3 p.m. Jan. 16 performance moves to Ozinga Chapel, Trinity Christian College, 6601 W. College Drive, Palos Hills.

Tickets, which are moving very quickly for this extraordinary concert program, are available at 708-481-7774 and at www.ipomusic.org. Any remaining tickets will be available at the venues immediately before the performances.

For more details, read the full article on Pine and this concert program.

Palos Heights

The Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery in the Moraine Valley Fine and Performing Arts Center unveils a new exhibit on Jan. 18, O. Gustavo Plascencia’s Collecting: Instantes e Instintos. The exhibit runs through Feb. 10.

DeCaprio information says, “Using iconography from Mexico, Plascencia’s work blends traditional native rituals with Roman Catholicism. Mystic, ritualistic and historic references are woven through the photo-based works.”

The Fine and Performing Arts Center is on the Moraine Valley Community College Campus, 9000 W. College Parkway, Palos Heights. 708-974-5500. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A reception for Plascencia is set for 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 27. The gallery and reception are open the public and both are free.

Watch for more information. SouthScene will be talking to the artist prior to the Jan. 21 column.

Palos Park

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Eugene Kwok will perform music by the legendary Beatles at a supper concert starting at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 16 at The Center, 12700 Southwest Highway, Palos Park. Kwok performs a repertoire of 25 Beatles hits. In addition, he will put each song into a Beatles-era context with historical details and Beatle trivia. And yes, he will take requests from the audience.

The event is $15 per person and requires advance registration. More details and registration are at 708-361-3650.

For more information on Kwok, click here for a past Patch story.

Frankfort

Sassy. Sexy. Savvy. That’s what the flyer says.

Best-selling author Karen Abbott’s latest work, “American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare, the Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee,” has garnered exciting reviews for its style and bold approach to an often-bawdy era.

Abbott will discuss her new book at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 14 at the Frankfort Public Library, 21119 Pfeiffer Road, 815-469-2423.

There is no charge, but reservations are encouraged as seats are limited. Seats can be reserved on line at www.frankfortlibrary.org.

For more information and a sneak peek of some of the stories Abbott will tell, click here for a story about a similar appearance Abbott did in Darien.

Oak Lawn

Oak Lawn Public Library heads way back in time for a Ragtime Piano Sunday with Friends Concert from 2 to 3 p.m. Jan. 16. Pianist Sue Keller will play and sing popular numbers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The library is 9427 S. Raymond Ave., Oak Lawn. More information and a full events calendar are at http://www.lib.oak-lawn.il.us and the library can be reached at 708-422-4990. The concert is free and open to the public.

Alsip

Veteran funny man Chas Elstner brings his laugh acts to Riddles Comedy Club, 5055 W. 117th St., Alsip for four weekend shows, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Jan. 14 and 15.

Elstner is a veteran stand-up who has appeared as opening act for many celebrities, including Gloria Estefan, on many television shows, including MTV Comedy Hour and Entertainment Tonight and on countless college campuses in addition to his club appearances. All that represents only a tiny piece of his 24-year history as comic-in-demand.

Show tickets are $12.50 and dinner packages are available. Tickets and all the details about Elstner and Riddles can be found at www.myriddlescomedyclub.com. Riddles also can be reached at 708-422-5055.