Jon Drake and The Shakes | Photo by Nick Shamblett

And now three reasons to slap those snow tires on your car and drive slowly over to Pancho’s this evening…

1. Chicago’s Jon Drake & The Shakes bring their pop-filled indie folk to the little Logan Square Cuban food locale this evening. The band bring just about everything to the table – upright bass, trumpet, violin, trombone and the like – in order to flesh out a big ol’ sound. Take the track “Elizabeth Johnston” from their Myspace for example, it’s acoustically driven, but has a real ELO-type, warm pop quality to it. Perfect music to sip an Irish coffee to while the snow falls.

2. Curtis Evans and Our Friends Electric also hail from Chicago and also offer some folky antics. Their sound is definitely shaped by Curtis Evans’ rich, deep and raspy voice. You could say it has a “Randy Newman gone indie” quality to it. You could. You be the judge and check out his latest release Life with the Buffalo as his Bandcamp page.

3.Rounding out the bill is the Chicago quintet Musikanto. They too dabble in folk but add a few more touches of grand Americana an classic country into their sound. “I Aint Your Rock” from the group’s Myspace rocks the sweet, twangy leads. Delicious.

8:00 p.m. Wednesday, 12/1. Pancho’s. 18+. $5.