Jim Belushi & the Sacred Hearts Where: The Orleans When: 8 p.m. July 11-12 Cost: $54.95-$84.95 plus tax Info: (702) 365-7075

Mention the name "Belushi," and most people think "laughter." Not surprising, considering the Belushi legacy began back in the mid-'70s with John taking the stage of Saturday Night Live in such hilarious roles as the machine gun-toting leader of the Killer Bees or the hot-tempered, sword-thrashing samurai delicatessen owner. Even when he went musical for SNL's Blues Brothers skit with Dan Aykroyd and later for the movie of the same name, Belushi was comedically brilliant. Then along came Jim...

Younger than John by five years, Jim began following in his brother's footsteps after a high-school teacher noticed his knack for improvisation and talked him into giving the school play a shot, which led to him joining the drama club.

After going on to earn a college degree in speech and theater art at Southern Illinois University, Jim joined up with the Second City in Chicago, where he was a resident member for four years. His talents did not go unnoticed: Writer-producer Garry Marshall, who saw Belushi performing for the Second City in 1979, arranged for Jim to co-star in the TV pilot Who's Watching the Kids and then in another TV role for Working Stiffs, in which he co-starred with Michael Keaton. That was only the beginning; to date, Belushi has more than 55 movie credits and a successful TV sitcom, According to Jim, under his belt.

But just as Jim was beginning to build his career, John died from a drug overdose in 1982. Looking for a new partner in "crime," Blues Brother Aykroyd asked Jim to step into the role. Out of respect for his brother, Jim originally turned down the offer, saying, "'Ahhh, Danny, I can't do that; that's John's thing.' He goes, 'C'mon, it's like a big ol' law firm; when one of the partners goes down, the son or the brother takes over.' And he was just so charming about it, I said, 'All right, I'll give it a shot.'"

And so Jim began sitting in on the jam sessions of the Sacred Hearts, the newly opened House of Blues' nine-member house band, learning how to sing the blues and play harmonica. In 2003, Aykroyd and Belushi released an album, Have Love, Will Travel, and Belushi continues to perform around the country in the role of Blues Brother Zee Blues.

Belushi also performs regularly with the Sacred Hearts while maintaining a filming schedule for According to Jim, which just got picked up for its eighth season.

Since those early days at the HOB, Belushi has taken the stage with such music greats as Joe Walsh, Buddy Guy, James Brown, Steve Miller and ZZ Top. "Yeah, I can jump up onstage and jam with anybody now," he said. But no matter what he's doing professionally – acting, comedy, music, voice-overs – it all boils down to one thing for Belushi, "What I love is just performance in general: When you see a show, a live show, sometimes what happens in that theater is the only time you'll ever see it, and it's gone. So that possibility of magic is what keeps me going."

As far as what audiences can expect from one of his concerts, Belushi replied, "Just let everybody know they're going to have a great time when they come – I guarantee it. The band is so tight. It's just great American music."