For 21st year, Jeff Buckley’s musical fans honor his classic Chicago concert | Music - Chicago Sun-Times

The late singer-songwriter’s manager says the shows at Buckley’s first local venue, Uncommon Ground, “keep Jeff’s memory alive.”

Manager Dave Lory with Jeff Buckley.
Photo: Merri Cyr

Jeff Buckley only played Chicago three times before his untimely passing in 1997, but his first was arguably his best.

On a cold, snowy night in February 1994, the revered singer-songwriter filled the quaint listening room at Uncommon Ground on Clark Street with soulful, spine-tingling renditions of songs like “Mojo Pin” and “Eternal Life.” Both were featured on his “Live at Sin-é” EP debut (recorded at a coffeeshop in New York City’s East Village in 1993) and would later become the material of “Grace,” Buckley’s only completed studio album, synonymous with the epic, haunting cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that refuses to fade away.

Every November, that original, haunting performance is memorialized with a popular series of tribute shows at Uncommon Ground on Buckley’s birthday, now in its 21st annual edition. Buckley’s mom Mary Guibert is often in attendance, and proceeds are donated to the Old Town School of Folk Music scholarship fund to help the next generation of great songwriters, making it even more special...

Earlier this year, Lory opened up about Buckley in a book, “Jeff Buckley From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye.” Released in May, it has been lauded for its rare intimate look at the talent, starting at the moment Lory nearly walked out on Buckley at their first meeting because he was 45 minutes late, to the day he got “the call” about Jeff’s disappearance, later discovering that he had drowned accidentally in Memphis. The release of Lory’s book was followed by a worldwide tour over the summer where audience members could ask him questions and had the first chance to hear a live album, recorded at Australia’s Triple J studios, that has never been released.

“People ask why it took me 21 years to write the book, but the truth is I found it too painful, too raw to revisit,” says Lory, who was finally convinced after seeing a psychic and believing he got a message from Jeff from the other side. “I realized I never really grieved for him until writing this book.”
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Related link
Jeff Buckley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times