Adrianne Blanks & The Oracles at InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile 2025-12-23T17:00:00
Burlesque performer turned femme fatale frontwoman, Adrianne Blanks, leads a band of wickedly versatile musicians in conjuring a sound they’ve christened cocktail noir. It’s a genre-bending cocktail that slips between velvet decadence and kitschy camp, as likely to soundtrack a smoky slow dance as it is a half-lit midnight séance.
Pulling from the saturated palette of Jacques Demy and the cinematic cool of the 1960s, the group stitches together jazz and swing with a pulp sensibility. Blanks’ speakeasy storytelling doesn’t just entertain, it populates a lurid underworld where vampires flirt at the bar, witches cast spells in satin gloves, metropolitan murderesses prowl the night, and surf-rock sea monsters thrash beneath the tide. The band’s sound oscillates between Bond-theme grandeur and the jagged reverb of vintage guitar noir.
Their debut vinyl release, Tales of Mystery & Suspense, Unknown Terrors, and Gothic Romance, distills this ethos into a collection that feels both arch and intoxicating. It’s the kind of record that blurs the line between high drama and playful pastiche—a soundtrack for anyone who prefers their jazz haunted, their swing a little dangerous, and their dance floor lit by candlelight.