Tamar Berk Playing Special Show With Material Issue

09-22-2025

(planetary) Indie rocker Tamar Berk returns to Chicago on Saturday, September 27th for a special show at Schubas Tavern, where she will open for Chicago power-pop legends Material Issue. The night celebrates her fifth solo album ocd, a record that pairs fuzzed-out guitars, dreamlike synths, and warm piano with lyrics that examine identity, anxiety, memory, and the patterns we cannot escape.

Recorded in her home studio with drummer and co-producer Matt Walker (Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, Morrissey), ocd moves between loud catharsis and quiet confession, with 12 tracks that connect like fragments of a larger story. Released earlier this month, ocd has been praised by BrooklynVegan, EARMILK, and SPIN as Berk's boldest artistic statement, and her most vulnerable and hook-driven release to date.

The album features performances by longtime collaborators Matt Thomson (Maita), Allen Hunter (Eels), Chris Marsteller, Jonathan Gordon (Suzanne Vega), and Steve Denekas, with additional contributions from Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless), Charlee Berlin, Justin Thorpe, trumpet player Everett Kelly, and cellist Erdis Maxhelaku.

Berk first rose out of Chicago's alternative scene in the 1980s and 1990s, fronting bands like Starball and Sweet Heat, and releasing music on indie labels including Thick Records, Minty Fresh, and Kill Rock Stars. Now based in San Diego, she returns to Chicago for a hometown performance that bridges her musical past and present.