One of Springfield’s most consistently exciting and innovative music venues doesn’t even publish its physical address. For the past five years, the Radon Lounge has been hosting an impressive variety of local and touring bands, averaging one show per month. However, like a post-millennial speakeasy, anyone wanting to attend a concert at Radon is obliged […]
Scott Faingold
Scott Faingold is a journalist, educator and musician. He has been director of student media at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast.
Posted inArts & Culture
Contest fosters love of nature
A wildlife photo contest in Girard goes all out on teaching students to embrace nature photography. In its fifth year, the Robert L. McKemie Award for Photographic Excellence in Outdoor and Wildlife Photography, held at North Mac High School, has developed into an anticipated attraction. The top prize is a $200 scholarship, while second- and […]
Posted inMusic
Recording studio revamp
“It’s a great day,” said B.J. Pearce, studio manger of Southtown Sound. “We really have a lot going on for us right now.” The newly renovated recording studio located in the building directly behind Dumb Records near the corner of 11th Street and South Grand Avenue had its grand opening on Sunday, March 26, concurrent […]
Posted inNews
Abe art
Each year the cover of Capital City Visitor, published by Illinois Times, features a portrait of Abraham Lincoln by a central Illinois artist. In 2017, for the second year in a row, we decided to hold a contest as a way of finding the best, freshest Abe possible, while offering exposure to local talent. This […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Art at the Pharmacy and Black Sheep
The Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space’s most recent group exhibit,, which had a two-evening opening this past Friday and Saturday, is entitled “Bio-Region.” According to promotional material, the show’s theme is “how every person explores the creativity of their unique space.” As usual, each member artist in the Springfield-based group interpreted the common idea in […]
Posted inNews
Museum comeback
The Illinois State Museum, founded in 1877, reopened its doors on July 2, 2016, after being closed for nine months due to budget cuts at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The closing – which extended to the entire Illinois State Museum system, including Dickson Mounds in Lewiston and the Lockport Gallery, along with the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A playful play
“I had always had this dream to do a play about Abraham Lincoln’s wedding,” said Springfield Art Association curator of collections Erika Holst. “I have zero theater background, so I just couldn’t do it myself.” Holst was introduced to Springfield-based writer Rose Harmon who, it turned out, has an undergraduate degree in theater and a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Keeping it light
Springfield’s independent contemporary gallery known as DEMO Project is heading into its final year. The small building on the Springfield Art Association campus is expected to meet its long-ordained demolition in either the spring or summer of 2018, in order to make way for new SAA facilities. As the inevitable end approaches, however, the high […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Radical theater pushes boundaries
Self-described by founder and director Alex Martin as “DIY rogue theater,” Springfield’s Absurdist People’s Theater Troupe would like nothing more than to shake things up in Springfield. “I went to Blackburn College and did theater for four years,” Martin said. “When I came back here to my home community and looked around at the different […]
Posted inNews
SOHO no mo?
After 12 years of directing and coordinating the SOHO Music Festival, founder Eric Welch is stepping away. “I’ve come to the realization that I can’t do it one more year,” Welch said. “It was a difficult decision to make – but I just don’t have the energy for it anymore.” SOHO (an acronym for Service […]
Posted inNews
Thinking outside the stereotype
On Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 6 and 7, at Erin’s Pavilion, Springfield Public School District 186 held a series of unprecedented sessions addressing the subject of “cultural relevance,” popularized by educator Gloria J. Ladson-Billings. Focusing on cultural relevance is thought to enable student success by acknowledging that learning does not happen in a vacuum but […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Kids and creeping things
On Jan. 14 the downtown YMCA hosted an event called the “Cookies & Canvas Monster Mash Up,” during which kids between the ages of six and 12 were encouraged to draw depictions of monsters (or other creatures – aliens were a popular choice). The resulting works were later handed over to the member artists of […]
