John Condron is a musician who, when asked about his own influences, does not cite some late, great icon or a newbie with a No. 1 hit.

“All the local people I get to play with are amazing,” the Joliet-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer said recently after his hometown Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl and before an open mic at Tribes Alehouse in Tinley Park, where he undoubtedly told every other musician he met about the hot music scene in downtown Joliet.

“I do that relentlessly everywhere I go,” said Condron, who is credited, along with Mike Trizna, for fostering a thriving hub for musicians in downtown Joliet, with Chicago Street Pub as home base.

The two were working at the craft beer bar and restaurant with a small stage by the front window when they purchased it in 2005. The outlet for original music has since spawned and supported a never-ending roster of who’s who in the south suburban music scene.

“In my experience and travels and of musicians I know from other countries, I’d say Joliet musicians are world-class,” said Condron, who has played the National Concert Hall in Dublin and shared stages with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Adrian Belew, Duncan Sheik, Paul Sanchez (Cowboy Mouth), actor and poet Viggo Mortensen and Chicago poetry-slam king Marc Smith. “Pound for pound, for a relatively small area like Joliet — it’s not small, but not L.A. or New York — it just seems to be in the blood out here. And it’s not just musicians, but also really world-class artists and poets and writers.”

Beyond the pub, Trizna, whose wife, Kathy, purchased Condron’s half-ownership of the pub in 2009 upon the birth of his first son, also has created opportunities for original artists by hosting a roots-rock festival at the nearby Joliet Slammers’ baseball stadium, adding live music to the city’s evening farmers markets and partnering with the Rialto Square Theatre for gigs on that legendary stage too.

On Friday, Condron and a handful of musicians will showcase Americana-style homegrown talent in a dual album-release show at the Rialto.

Condron and the Old Gang Orchestra — Tom Maslowski on bass guitar, Doneco Nudi on drums and Ellis Wright on saxophone — will celebrate “Dead Tree,” Condron’s sixth album and first with the orchestra, which started as a live outing for reworkings of material from his 2014 release “…If Any or at All” and evolved into a full project.

The title track “deals with the repeated attempt to pull some life or spark out of something that has continually proved, at least to some standards, to be beyond saving or at best a waste of time to outside observers anyway,” Condron said. “Many times, the song content for me can set a tone for the record. This was one of those cases. I just loved the idea of resilience in the face of doubt. Also, in the end maybe finding out that you’ve already gotten what you set out for without realizing it.”

“Dead Tree” (Flipside) was recorded at Third City Sound, conveniently located above Chicago Street Pub since 2010. Studio owner and engineer Bill Aldridge, bass player for the local rock quartet Vaudevileins, and assistant engineer David Francis, trumpeter in Wright’s other band, the Big Lagniappe, provide additional horns on the album, while Kevin Krauss, a former Old Gang member and Big Lagniappe founder, contributed to songwriting.

Other guest artists include singer Allison Flood, an Orland Park native; violinist Anne Hatfield of the Hatfield Sisters; and mandolin player Pat Otto of the band Growler.

“The depth that is added to each song is what makes them great,” Trizna said of the recording with a cast of local musicians. “You are guaranteed that each song on the album is going to be different than the one before it.”

The Rialto concert also features the Joliet-based band Riverhorse. “Who Gets the Last Laugh on Doomsday?” is the first full-length release by the trio made up of 2010 Lincoln-Way Central High School graduates Brian Motyll, Scott Ahlgrim and Austin O’Connor.

Condron drew Motyll into the fold after meeting him at an open mic in Frankfort years ago.

“Naturally he migrated to Chicago Street Pub,” Condron said. “Musicians find out they can go there, put a band together and play there. For the last 10 to 15 years, Chicago Street Pub has given everybody a gathering place, a place people would feel comfortable. It’s still home to me and the place I’m at all the time.”

But Condron, who has called Joliet home since 1997 and first performed at the pub that year, is quick to dismiss any claim to being “the founder of the revived music scene in downtown Joliet,” as a Rialto news release declares him.

“I don’t think anybody created anything. The musicians were already here,” he said. “It just took a bunch of people realizing they can come together … just a matter of finding a place to do shows and share ideas.”

Condron picked up a guitar at age 5 and toured Europe with the Philadelphia Boys Choir as a preteen, solidifying his dream to pursue music with encouragement from his parents. At age 25, he moved to Joliet, where he still lives with his wife, Jill, and their two sons.

He led a quartet called the Benefit from 2002 to 2011, has composed music for dance performance companies and recently produced the debut EP by Flood, who sang for the now-defunct Joliet band Stone City Stragglers.

Condron’s performances are chronicled by accomplished photographer and videographer Zoran Orlic, who’s known for his work with Wilco and whose cousin was a member of Stone City Stragglers.

Condron also performs as a solo artist.

“His local support is off the charts and continuing to build,” said Trizna, who once filled a bus to support Condron opening for the Lovin’ Spoonful at the old Majestic Theatre in Streator. “The numerous shows he has done in Chicago and other major cities around the country have brought many non-Illinois fans to our great city to check him out as well.

“Although John has been a part of several great bands, I believe the Old Gang Orchestra is the one that suits him best. Listening to them is great, but it is just as much fun to see them make eye contact when one of them is about to change something up. They seem to just feed off of each other and make every change flow seamlessly.”

Condron added that the concert will include surprises.

“Having the Rialto involved in the local arts community is priceless and just makes the community bigger and better,” he said. “The Rialto has always done interesting things, and now they have embraced the local bands and business owners. The more that happens, the more music becomes endeared.”

Vickie Snow Jurkowski is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.