Chris Isaak at North Shore Center in Skokie Dec. 10 - 4156 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News

SKOKIE, IL — Chris Isaak appears at the intimate North Shore Center in Skokie for his only scheduled Chicago-area engagement supporting his new album, Beyond The Sun. The album pays tribute to the famed Sun Studios and the roots of rock-n-roll. In review of the album release, the New York Post called Chris Isaak, "…a one-man Million Dollar Quartet…breathing new life into the music of Sun Records superstars—Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash." Full-price tickets, which range in price from $83 to $89 are on sale now at the North Shore Center box office, NorthShoreCenter.org, or by calling (847) 673-6300.

More than a quarter of a century into his career, Chris Isaak has finally created the album he's always wanted to make. Beyond the Sun, Isaak's first Vanguard Records release, is a labor of love. As a child spinning his parents 45s in their Stockton, California home, Isaak has been obsessed with the glory days of Memphis' Sun Studio and the visionary artists who got their starts there—including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis—all of them discovered and nurtured by the late, great Sun Records founder Sam Phillips. Isaak acted on this lifelong obsession, by recapturing the transformative brilliance of the classic sides cut by these greats at Sun with Phillips during the mid-'50s, while also getting down to the heart and soul of his own deeply rooted musical identity.

"When I started making music, I thought that if I do those songs, where do I go from there?" Isaak says. "I wanted to make sure I found my own sound and established who I was. But I always loved that music and I wrote songs in that spirit. You can go through all my songs and you won't find one reference to goin' to the bop. They're about my life, not about nostalgia for the '50s. I came to a point where I felt like the time was right to do this record. I'd met all my heroes and worked with most of them, and I didn't hear anybody else doing it the way I wanted to do it."

Isaak's impressive career is highlighted by his Top-10 international breakthrough smash hit "Wicked Game"; the soundtrack song in Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut, "Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing" and the hit single, "Somebody's Crying". Isaak has also acted in movies and television and starred in the Chris Isaak Show on Showtime.

The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie presents Chris Isaak on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 8pm at the North Shore Center's mainstage Centre East Theatre, located at 9501 North Skokie Boulevard. Free parking is available. Discounts are available for subscribers and groups of 15 or more by calling (847) 673-6300. To purchase single tickets, visit the North Shore Center box office, NorthShoreCenter.org, or call (847) 673-6300.

# # #

About the North Shore Center

The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie (NSCPAS) is a dynamic two-theater complex designed by Boston architect Graham Gund and opened in November 1996. The North Shore Center is managed by Professional Facilities Management, Inc. and operates as part of the Village of Skokie's plan to provide cultural, literary and educational programs to benefit the citizens of Skokie and Chicago's North Shore. The facility features an 867-seat main theater, and a convertible 342-seat theater, which serves as the home to Northlight Theatre. In addition, there is an 8,000 square foot grand lobby, rehearsal hall and conference rooms. The NSCPAS presents a Feature Series and the curriculum-based Youtheatre program, which has provided supplemental arts education to over a million Chicago area students since its launch in 1980.Located 30 minutes from Chicago's Loop and conveniently across from Westfield Old Orchard Mall, the Center is in adjacent to many excellent dining, shopping and hotel options. Free parking is also abundantly available. For more information or tickets to its diverse programming, please visit NorthShoreCenter.org . Discounts may be available for groups of 15 or more by calling (847) 673-6300.

The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie gratefully acknowledges the financial support of The Irving M. & Sylvia Footlik Foundation, The Jack and Goldie Wolfe Miller Fund, The Rice Young Peoples Endowment of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, Maggiano's Little Italy, The Bagel Restaurant and Deli, Kiwanis Club of Skokie Valley, Niles Township Government, and the Village of Skokie. Also appreciated is the in-kind and promotional support provided by the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel-Chicago North Shore, Pioneer Press Newspapers, Myron & Phil Steakhouse, L. Woods, Di Pescara, Jameson's Charhouse and Lulu's.

2011-12 North Shore Center Feature Series Performances

Morning Show Comedians, from WGN-TV

Fri, Oct 21 at 8pm

From RENT, Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp

Sat, Oct 22 at 8pm

Handicap This!

Fri, Nov 4 at 8pm

Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble

Nov 5 & 6: Sat at 8pm, Sun at 3pm

Joan Rivers

Tue, Nov 15 at 8pm

Chris Isaak