Just as July flew by, August arrives in a hurry with a heap of heat on hand to make it all interesting, if not downright dangerous and definitely uncomfortable. Let’s power on through, staying as cool as cool can be.
First off, we should stop to celebrate a few accomplishments from local music makers out in the world beyond our scene. Here’s a big high-five to Avery Kern for getting one of her songs (called “Scenic Route”) cut by Rhonda Vincent, a longtime, big-time name in the bluegrass/country world. Not only will the song be on both artists’ upcoming albums, Avery, a Pawnee native and 2019 Pawnee High School grad, had the great honor along with her producer, Justine Blazer, to sing the song on the world-famous Grand Ole Opry stage with Rhonda recently. Yep, that’s a big deal.
Next, let’s give Joe Cooke, a Springfield-area guitarist, songwriter and singer since the early 1970s, hearty congratulations for the re-release of his first 45 vinyl record, High Class Woman, recorded by his band Heavy Gun in 1971 at famed Golden Voice Studios in Pekin. Joe (a 1971 Riverton High School grad, by the way) sent me the info on how the song surfaced on YouTube last year, got heard by a music collector in London, made its way to a Burbank producer and was put out by Ancient Grease Records, a dedicated archival label specializing in obscure heavy rock from the 1970s, as a collectible song from the era. The good stuff rises to the top and we’ve got plenty of it around here to hear.
On Thursday we’ve reached the final regularly scheduled Levitt AMP concert for the season with Doc Robinson bringing “indie/pop soul sounds” to the stage with local original group Gold Maps opening. Friday delivers the final concert, a rescheduled show with The Matchsellers and Effingham’s Bill Poss playing the opener slot. We’ve had a great run of Levitt AMP-ing for 2026 and can look forward to 2027 with the possibility (probability?) of a new park with an outdoor auditorium in the current Y-Block space. Check that news out elsewhere if you haven’t heard about the hoopla yet.
Friday ends July with 25-plus listings, Saturday blasts us into August with 40-something shows and Sunday rolls in with a respectable 15 and counting gigs. Highlights include the 139th (not a misprint) annual Mount Auburn Farmers Picnic held on the mount in the community park from Thursday through Saturday some 20 miles from Springfield in Christian County. Not only do they have a boatload of live music scheduled (Antics, Bustin’ Loose, Brian Shartzer, Brady Joe Patton, Mathias Family Singers, X-Krush), plans are to open a time capsule from 1976, plus include a bunch of fun festival stuff for all to enjoy.
Back in town, let’s just jump to Saturday for the annual Healing Arts Festival with a variety of live music acts all day and into the night from Tim Hahn to the Wolf Crick Boys, held this year at Instinct Fitness and Wellness (301 South Grand Ave. W.).
Then there’s Nodal Nim at Stella Coffee & Tea in the morning, Brandon Elliott in the afternoon at Dockside and The DownHomies, celebrating the music legacy of John Brillhart with Positively 4th Street and Emily Perkins at The Blue Grouch.
And, to name a few more shows, the Pleiades will rock The Railyard, Around the Bend at Arlington’s, UNBROKEN and Broken Stone at Weebles.
Looks like August is coming in hot and going to stay that way. See you next week, fellow travelers.
This article appears in July 30 – August 5, 2026.
