That Eric Alper

Chicago Farmer, aka Illinois musician Cody Diekhoff, kicks off 2026 with “Mattress,” now streaming everywhere and marking the funkiest song ever recorded in his catalog. The track was inspired by years of seeing abandoned mattresses in yards and along roadsides, tucked beneath viaducts outside rental homes where occupants had to leave quickly, and Diekhoff calls it worn-in and funky, exactly what the subject demanded. The song has become the most requested at his shows, with crowds singing the chorus at the top of their lungs, but underneath the surface humor sits a deeper story about the struggles of someone taking the road less traveled. Diekhoff explains that he’s at the age where fewer people still hold on to their dreams while witnessing most others letting go, and for those without a backup plan, they keep traveling and telling less-traveled road tales with debris insurmountable behind them.

Chicago Farmer follows a lineage of folk singers and storytellers stretching from Woody Guthrie through a decade spent touring extensively alongside the late Todd Snider, who championed Diekhoff’s work and called him the genuine heir to Arlo Guthrie and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. The upcoming album ‘Homeaid,’ produced by Chad Staehly who worked on Todd Snider’s ‘Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3,’ marks the first full release featuring Diekhoff’s touring band The Fieldnotes with Charlie Harris on bass, Cody Jensen on keys and mandolin, Frank Kurtz on drums, and Jaik Willis on guitar. The record shines light on the old-soul nature and deep compassion at the core of Chicago Farmer’s songwriting, blending Americana, indie-folk, and roots-rock into songs written for a modern world facing uncertain times, assembling a cast of characters to bring these stories to life.

TOUR DATES:
* indicates solo dates

1/10 Bishop Hill, IL – Creative Commons *
1/30 Fort Walton Beach, FL – Docie’s Dock *
1/31 Fort Walton Beach, FL – Docie’s Dock *
2/4 Bonita Springs, FL – Sugarshack *
2/5 St. Petersburg, FL – Jack Kerouac House *
2/6 JAX Beach, FL – Blue Jay Listening Room *
2/7 JAX Beach, FL – Blue Jay Listening Room *
2/9 Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic *
3/6 Davenport, IA – Common Chord
3/7 Des Moines, IA – xBk Live
3/8 Kansas City, MO – Knuckleheads
3/12 Appleton, WI – Appleton Beer Co
3/13 Bangor, WI – Leo & Leona’s
3/14 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
3/19 Newport, KY – Southgate House Revival
3/20 Indianapolis, IN – HiFi Indy
3/21 Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
3/27 St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House
3/28 Bloomington, IL – Castle Theatre
4/3 Chicago, IL – Martyrs’
4/4 Chicago, IL – Martyrs’
4/11 Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s
4/17 Effingham, IL – Effingham VFW
4/18 Carbondale, IL – Hangar 9
4/24 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
4/25 Columbus, OH – Natalie’s
5/8 West Bend, WI – The Bend Theatre
5/9 Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House