Singer-songwriter Ike Reilly has been reaching critical mass. He shared a microphone with Bruce Springsteen in January, has gained new fans with the 2024 documentary Don’t Turn Your Back on Friday Night (as well as his SiriusXM show), and is wowing more listeners than ever with his longtime band the Ike Reilly Assassination. He has made music his family business, with his three sons performing with him while his oldest son, Shane, is featured on his new album, Blind and Surrounded, out June 12. Reilly’s sharply observed songs can rouse you and/or break your heart, and he’s quite a storyteller. Here he reflects on how his sons relate to him as a band leader vs. father, and he discusses his friendships with fellow Libertyville, Ill.,, native Tom Morello and Cracker’s David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, among others. A former gravedigger and employee-of-the-year Park Hyatt doorman, Reilly also recalls getting stiffed by a future President of the United States—and what he did in response.