FitzGerald's Takes Show on the Road with Gigs at the Old Post Office and Chicago River Blues Cruises
- robzee8
- Aug 8
- 4 min read
Will Duncan certainly has a propensity for putting on parties at historic places.
His home base, Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn, was recently named to the National Register of Historic Places so in true FitzGerald’s fashion, he hosted a free bash in May to unveil the plaque. Duncan and his wife, Jessica King purchased the iconic property from Bill and Kate Fitzgerald in 2020 and have made many fan-friendly updates including installing a pavilion for rain or shine fun at the old roadhouse on Roosevelt Road.
While Fitzgeralds continues to boost its profile by hosting an eclectic list of national and local acts, Duncan has recently taken the show on the road via offsite concerts at the Old Post Office in downtown Chicago. Now the corporate headquarters for several blue-chip firms, this iconic building has its own rich history dating back to 1921. Like FitzGerald’s, the Old Post Office is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the perks for Old Post office tenants is the From Here on Food Hall and Market. Duncan’s Babygold Barbecue has been in there since 2024 as it serves up everything from signature smoked brisket and meaty beans to lighter lunch options like smoked turkey and kale salads. Duncan said food is prepared at Babygold’s Berwyn home base before its packed up and shuttled downtown every workday. He added that “it’s like a big daily catering job” which also gives Duncan and his team “a nice way to expand our barbecue concept a bit.”
On the music front, Duncan said the Food Hall management team saw all that FitzGerald’s was doing and approached him to see if he was interested in pulling together some live performances on the riverfront patio. The seemingly always enthusiastic Duncan gave a resounding “heck yeah” and a new partnership was born.
So far there have been three of these Old Post Office shows with Demetria Taylor belting some blues in June of 2024 followed by soul blues crooner Gerald McLendon and his high-energy band playing there last September. McClendon returned to the Old Post Office last month and delivered an impassioned performance that had the crowd on the dance floor with Duncan even leading a Soul Train line.
After jokingly saying that he felt a certain responsibility to “make sure that everyone’s getting into it,” Duncan said that these events have all gone extremely well, and he was hopeful that there will be another patio show this year. However, he acknowledged that the decision rests with the Old Post Office management team and depends on their budget. He added that “they seemed pretty happy, and it felt like a success so I think they would want to do it again.”
FitzGerald’s also recently hosted a successful roll down the Chicago River with their first-ever Blues Cruise featuring Toronzo Cannon and his Chicago Way. I was lucky enough to be on board for this on June 26th and it certainly was one of the highlights of the summer as we cruised the river surrounded by the city’s impressive skyline. These sentiments were shared by local music lover Lori Portnoy who also said it was a 2025 highlight.
Portnoy said, “you know we see a lot of live music and lots of world-class blues. Yet, seeing Toronzo on a boat with the backdrop of the Chicago skyline was a truly unique experience.” She added that “the interactions with the people on the shoreline and other boats added to the fun.” Portnoy said that she has taken many boat tours around Chicago but the fact that she was surrounded by musical friends and serenaded by Cannon and his band made for a “truly magical night.”
Blues fan and architecture aficionado Michael Murphy summed up his experience when he praised “the overall vibe between the band and the audience." He added that, ‘the band was having fun, and we were having fun." Murphy said he spoke with bassist David Forte who was equally impressed with the sweeping city views and overall vibe of this nighttime cruise.
But, for all those who missed the boat in June, here’s some late-breaking news; FitzGerald’s has announced that there will be another cruise happening on Thursday, September 26th with the always-electrifying Ivan Singh performing. Tickets are ninety-nine dollars per person but when you factor in a free drink, great music, Babygold barbecue, a boat ride with a sensational skyline and fun with like-minded friends, it shakes out to be a great value for blues lovers and others in search of a great time.
Portnoy put it best when she said that after adding up all the inclusions, the cruise is a blues bargain. She believes that the last cruise was a “magical and unique experience and that truly is priceless.”
You can get on board for this upcoming blues cruise and sign up to see Ivan Singh take it to the bridge by following the link below.