Ike Reilly is a punk-poet-troubadour and the leader of the musical outfit The Ike Reilly Assassination. The former doorman and gravedigger from Libertyville, Illinois, is the host of Ike Reilly’s Lies & Apologies on SiriusXM’s channel 28, The Spectrum. Reilly is also the subject of the award-winning documentary Don't Turn Your Back On Friday Night (streaming everywhere).
Since his 2001 major label debut, Salesmen and Racists, Reilly has been creating rebellious punk/folk/country/blues-influenced rock ’n’ roll records that are political, poetic, and cinematic. Reilly released his 10th studio album, Blind And Surrounded, on June 12, 2026. Blind And Surrounded is receiving considerable airplay on SiriusXM and features Ike's son Shane Reilly making his debut here as a singer and a songwriter. Ike has written songs for and collaborated with artists like Tom Morello, Shooter Jennings, Johnny Hickman, and David Lowery of the band Cracker, and more. Reilly has been politically outspoken both in song and action in his support of labor and causes for justice and equality. He’s performed in support of labor unions in the Midwest and recently appeared with Bruce Springsteen at the historic Defend Minnesota Concert in Minneapolis in 2026.
Author Stephen King recently said, “Ike Reilly is the Rock God not enough people have heard of,” and critical praise for Reilly and his band has been plentiful. David Carr of the New York Times said, ”Ike Reilly is a kind of natural resource mined from the bedrock of music, all the values that make Rock important to people-storytelling, melody, rage, laughter are part and parcel of every Ike Reilly show I've ever seen.” The Washington Post called The Ike Reilly Assassination one of the best live bands in America.