One of my favorite musicians returns to one of his favorite towns as the Ike Reilly Assassination plays the Westside Bowl on Sunday.

Reilly grew up outside of Chicago in Libertyville, IllInois, but there’s a scrappiness about him that’s equal parts defiant and self-deprecating (I’ll make the joke about myself before someone else can do it) that is very much a part of the Youngstown mentality.

One of the times I interviewed him, he said he’d been working out that morning in a “Youngstown Hates You” T-shirt and added, “I have no problem repping that shirt.”

Reilly posted a video on social media to promote the upcoming show, calling Westside Bowl “one of my favorite venues in the Rust Belt,” and reminiscing about his many past Youngstown gigs, from being “drunk as a skunk” and The Royal Oaks and “mystical experiences” at the Calvin Center.

He’s been playing Youngstown gigs for at least 20 years. I first interviewed him when he was touring in support of his 2005 album “Junkie Faithful.” I want to say the show was at Cedars Lounge, but it might have been Nyabinghi.

Reilly has plenty of critical acclaim, high-profile fans (author Stephen King described him as “the Rock God not enough people have heard of”) and admiring peers (including fellow Libertyville native Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Cracker’s David Lowery). It hasn’t translated to the airplay and the ticket sales it should have, but the quality never has wavered, from “Salesmen and Racists” in 2001 (I’ve never heard his 1992 release “Community #9) to the new singles released last week from his upcoming album with his son, Shane.

That album. “Blind and Surrounded,” is scheduled for release on June 12, and “We Better Get Packed” (written and sung by Ike) and “Bad Bad Man” (written and sung by Shane) are available for streaming.

Reilly’s resume includes stints as a gravedigger (go listen to the song “Put a Little Love in It,” inspired by placing the headstone for a childhood friend) and hotel doorman in addition to singer-songwriter, and he recently added DJ to that list, hosting “Ike Reilly’s Lies & Apologies” on Sirius XM. The playlist features a mix of his influences (Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen) and his contemporaries.

Reilly joined Morello, Springsteen, Rise Against and Al DiMeola on Jan. 30 for a Defend Minneapolis benefit following the killing of citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by ICE agents, doing his own short set and joining all of the performers on John Lennon’s “Power to the People” for the finale.

The same video that included those Youngstown memories also promises “song of joy and resistance” on Sunday.

Shane and his siblings Kevin and Mickey will join the Ike Reilly Assassination for the full band concert on Sunday, part of a tour that includes 17 shows from Massachusetts to Minnesota in 19 days

One of the two off days on that marathon trek follows Sunday’s Youngstown appearance. More than likely, that’s because Monday isn’t a “let’s-go-see-a-band” day for most working folks. But considering the revelry that has accompanied some of his past local shows, maybe Reilly knew he’d need a day to recuperate.

Tickets are $17.19 in advance through Eventbrite and $20 at the door. Demos Papadimas, a local favorite who draws from some of the same influences as Reilly, opens the show at 7 p.m.

I know it can be difficult to muster the motivation to go out on a Sunday night, but it will be worth the effort.

The only Ike Reilly shows I regret are the ones I missed.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com