Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, December 3,2008

The cacaphonic charm of ‘Unsilent Night’

Due to the lack of one totally encompassing subject this week in the music scene, we will focus on a few upcoming events that you may find worthy of participation. First on the block we have

Music - Tom Irwin | Tuesday, November 25,2008

Give thanks by showing up

By Tom Irwin

Being thankful for things is a good strategy for happiness in life. A major component of established religions comes from praising a creator not just for being the big dog, but also for t

Music - Tom Irwin | Thursday, November 20,2008

Thanksgiving Eve is a big party night

By Tom Irwin

For those of you who have a tradition of slaving over a hot stove on the night before Thanksgiving preparing a fabulous feast for family and friends, perhaps you’ve not noticed the Wednesday n

Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, November 12,2008

Tales of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, now in a book

By Tom Irwin

I first met Michael “Supe” Granda about 2:30 in the morning at Bruce’s Tavern in August of 1990. Or was it ’91? Anyway, the Illinois State Fair was in session, bars were open u

Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, November 5,2008

Songs grown organically make better food

Writers based in tradition produce songs that nourish our imaginations, providing good food for thought

By Tom Irwin

This week we're working on an assortment of related music here at Now Playing World Headquarters. It just so happens in the next 10 days Springfield plays host to a collection of

Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, October 29,2008

Go see the saw at the freejazz forum

By Tom Irwin

Boo! Here comes Halloween weekend when the bars get loaded with plenty of costume contests, lots of live music and general all-around weirdness, which adds up to one frighteningly

Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, October 22,2008

Good news of the Blues

By Tom Irwin

Blues music, a major influence on jazz, rock-n-roll, rhythm & blues, rock, soul, and country, and the source of the many variations of blues styles, is alive and well in Springfield. Muc

Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, October 15,2008

The “Best” and all the rest

We congratulate the winners of Illinois Times Best of Springfield

By Tom Irwin

What could be better than winning an Illinois Times Best of Springfield award? Being recognized by peers within your community is an honor and delight, to be accepted with dignity and respec

Music - Tom Irwin | Wednesday, October 8,2008

Three songwriters romp through Springfield

John Walter, Bill Mallonee and Otis Gibbs bring their talents to town

By Tom Irwin

Untitled Document Here is a striking example of the incredible and profound talent floating around the universe that occasionally ends up on our doorstep, as three good songwriters st

Music - Tom Irwin | Thursday, October 2,2008

Best at the Beatle Fest

By Tom Irwin

Untitled Document After conducting an informal survey, I found very few people knew the name of the original drummer for the Beatles. Pete Best played with John, Paul and George (and