The science world was abuzz last week with the sighting of a spectacular galactic event, the kind that only comes once in several decades. Astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in southern California discovered a white dwarf star in a distant galaxy exploding into a bright supernova. It’s been 25 years since astronomers last saw […]
Matthew Schroyer
Posted inSpecial Issues
Rock fall ahead
Normally, as autumn goes in the Midwest, things begin to cool off, but that isn’t so with live music. This fall has a number of options within an afternoon’s drive from Springfield, and there are even several all-new showcases for this season. Strap on a helmet; Illinois Times is about to blow your mind, musically […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The summer of rock
We know you audiophiles are mourning. Ameren’s Summer Serenades fizzled out and the Washington Street Jazz Festival is no more, but fear not. There’s still a hundred ways to rock your eardrums this summer, and Illinois Times is here to help you sort through the options. This year’s SOHO Music Festival packs 24 bands in […]
Posted inMusic
Central Illinois bands in Texas
Austin, Texas — At the South by Southwest music festival, the spring break of the music industry, sensory overload is practically guaranteed. From March 17-21, nearly 2,000 acts played in Austin, Texas, convention centers, outdoor amphitheaters, concert venues, bars, restaurants, street corners and just about any other nook or cranny where a band can play. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Heartland needs more than hope
Hope from the Heartland, a new book by Jay Hoffman, the Democratic state representative from Collinsville, starts with the premise that climate change, the energy and economic crises can be solved simultaneously. “We can retool our industrial base using new technology, take advantage of our abundant natural resources, and create new jobs while replacing our […]
Posted inNews
A setback for wind power
Sangamon County board members are considering an amendment to make green energy developers plant wind turbines farther from people who don’t want them. The amendment penned by board member Tom Fraase “is about an inch thick,” says Tim Moore, chair of the Public Health, Safety and Zoning committee, and would make the existing wind farm […]
Posted inArts & Culture
College sowing seeds for a local slam poetry movement
Local youths may be familiar with the confrontation and spectacle of mainstream hip hop, where the words flow effortlessly with messages of violence, money and sex. Less familiar is a close cousin, slam poetry, which also has smooth lyrical moves, but uses them to deliver appeals to social justice, racial understanding and cultural identity. There […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Springfield’s universities co-host Russian artist’s American debut
In 1988, Sergei Chepik, a 35-year-old Russian, arrived in Paris, France, carrying only a canvas, his father’s easel and a painting banned from exhibitions in his homeland. A sign of things to come, that painting, “House of the Dead,” went on to earn public acclaim and awards at Salon d’Automne, an important Paris art show. […]
Posted inNews
National ‘CanVention’ revisits Springfield’s brewing past
Before the miracle of refrigeration, the only way to get an unspoiled beer was to get it nearly straight from the brewery. And if you were a thirsty Springfieldian in the early 1900s, the odds were that you’d drink a beer from Reisch Brewery. There would be other competition, with Springfield Brewery starting production after […]
