Nora O’Connor

The phrase legend in Chicago is usually shorthand for new blues musician, but the thriving alt-everything scenes in the Windy City (including all those innovators from our town who gave up fountains for Lake Michigan) give that tag some oomph when slapped on a singer. Nora O’Connor is a legend in Chicago, where she seems to sing everything with everybody, including the New Pornographers, the Blacks and Archer Prewitt. Known as the most heartwarming chanteuse in that city (with the possible exception of Kelly Hogan), O’Connor’s first solo album is probably the most subtle, beautiful thingamajig Bloodshot Records has ever released, featuring interpretations of Squirrel Nut Zippers tunes, a countrified meander through Fleetwood Mac’s “That’s Alright” and her own Gillian Welch-like numbers. O’Connor may still be exploring songs, but she’s already found her voice.