No themes this week, just several items worth mentioning to our illustrious readers as March moves on and April comes to pass.Kick off your party week with a visit to the Trading Post on Thursday to h]]> Ah yes, here we are at the official kickoff of the summertime season. Once known as Decoration Day, we now have Memorial Day and it’s become a weekend. So as it sits, we are off to enjoy and ind]]> The Lash, a self-proclaimed Celtic Americana band from the Lansing, Mich., area, began as a simple St. Patrick’s Day escapade. According]]> Won’t you join me in celebrating the middle of May by participating in the varied and diverse collection of exciting events offered to our community by various organizations and per]]> Back in August of 2010 Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers dropped into town for a concert and fundraiser hosted by Tim Kodyra of Meatsmack to benefit Jimmy “the Meatman” Weinheoft.]]> Friday, April 14, is hereby proclaimed “Cool Gal Singer/Songwriter Night” in the city of Springfield. By whose order? By order of the great architect of the ]]> Last year our introduction of the first BassBerg event contained a list of silly bass player jokes collected from sources not particularly friendly to our bassist buddies. Let’s begin this year&]]> As you experienced live music goers know, July means a plate chock full of performances coming out of our ears, to improperly mix metaphors or simulate similes or otherwise antagonize proper grammar a]]> In a world increasingly riddled with cacophony, rifled in over-stimulation and ruled by dissonance, our lives could use more peacefulness. Music, when presented in a healing form, has existed as a bal]]> Seems as though everyone knew a beautiful dreamer when they were in high school who said, “I’m heading to California to make it in a rock & roll ]]> Untitled Document I once heard that mean old talk-show host Dr. Laura say, “Hope is not a good strategy.” I’ve never given much credence to anything]]> In these troubled economic times it’s hard not to notice the subtle irony in the tale of a young band called The Graduate, who are unemployed, without a record label and looking for ]]> Honestly Abe, what an incredible selection of live music goings on are going on around Springfield this weekend. From shows around the lake and neighboring town fireworks shindigs, the do]]> I’m not really sure why, but let’s say the nearness of the dates drew me to attempt to vaguely tie the holidays of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and St. Valentine’s Day together. ]]> From her preteen songwriting attempts through her graduation from the Berklee College of Music, Victoria Vox dreamed of becoming a professional singer/songwriter. ]]> Summertime is always a boon to live music performances, predominantly of the outdoor sort, but on some of those infamously hot and humid Illinois days, it’s a blessing to experience ]]> With the holiday landing on Saturday this year, Halloween parties at the bars abound, with private parties happening too. ]]> I received an e-mail last week from Jacob Shane, better known to central Illinois music fans as Jake Shane, the young blues picker who represented the Illinois Central Blues Club at the 2]]>