Live Review: Black Duck and Joan Shelley at Sound & Gravity Festival • Constellation • Chicago
Black Duck
Sound and Gravity Festival
Black Duck
Joan Shelley
Sunday, September 6, 2026
Review and live photos by Jeff Elbel
Constellation Performing Arts’ second Sound & Gravity festival concluded on Sunday, offering a wide-ranging selection of adventurous music at several Bucktown/Avondale event spaces. Artists traveled from across the country and around the world to perform experimental and unconventional music.
Two of Sunday’s highlights included local roots. Chicago-based instrumental post-rock trio Black Duck played a set drawing equally from its two Thrill Jockey albums, including a 2023 self-titled debut and the just-released Black Duck with Elena Setién. Spanish native Setién herself was not present to add her poetry and keyboards, but the trio of Doug McBride (Tortoise, Brokeback, etc.) jazz-influenced polymath Charles Rumback and composer/guitar maven Bill MacKay brought a surprising array of colors and textures to Judson & Moore Distillery for a three-piece ensemble.
Debut album song “Delivery” was stretched and reshaped to capitalize on the trio’s improvisational acumen. McCombs on his pink Jazzmaster and MacKay on his yellow Telecaster played delicate, finger-brushed harmonies before shifting into the familiar and brooding surf-rock groove featuring MacKay’s deft leads. Rumback played supple rhythms alternating between turbulent patterns with sticks and subtle gestures with brushes throughout the evening.
During “Sunshine Unlimited,” McCombs traded his Jazzmaster for a Precision Bass, bringing Black Duck to its closest approximation of a standard three-piece ensemble. Even this feint was upended. McCombs joined Rumback for a time in upbeat propulsion while MacKay transitioned between sinewy leads and colorful chord shapes. At intervals, McCombs used his pedal board to coax moaning whale-song countermelodies from his bass.
During “Of the Lit Backyards,” McCombs and MacKay intertwined languid arpeggios and baritone melodies set to Rumback’s unhurried but creative textures. The buoyant “Connects by Water” led with the laid-back phrasing of McCombs’ melodic lines. Closing track “Duck Walk” featured a hypnotic cadence elevated by the optimistic rise of MacKay’s chord sequence.
Later at Constellation, Kentucky-based folk singer-songwriter Joan Shelley performed a simmering set of intimate and emotive songs with colorful accompaniment on electric guitar and steel guitar Chicago music mainstay Jim Elkington. Also providing warm musicality were frequent partners Will Thomas on drums and cellist Philip Parker. Parker added vocal harmony to songs including the tumbling and sparkling “Stay on My Shore”
“We’d Be Home” set the tone as an intimate and emotive opener, describing true connection with another person as a place to belong. The respectful and attentive audience erupted with scattered whoops for favorite waltz “Jenny Come In.” “Here in the High and Low” from 2025 album Real Warmth was introduced as Shelley’s “no kings” anthem. “All that came before has to go,” she sang in the chorus.
Before playing “Come Down for You,” Shelley took a poll. “On three, everyone name your favorite set this weekend.” Most of the audible responses were “you” or “Joan Shelley.” Melancholy country waltz “Who Do You Want Checking In on You” was dedicated to people in the difficult circumstances of caring for aging loved ones. “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever known,” Shelley admitted while introducing the song.
The sympathetic “Give It Up, It’s Too Much” offered gentle encouragement to let vexing emotional baggage fall away. The song unfolded as a healing balm and brought the performance to a soothing conclusion.
Category: Featured, Stage Buzz
