Together since November of 2009, this good-rocking quintet is manned by familiar faces Brian Reilly (guitar and vocals), John Reilly (vocals), Mike Taft (lead guitar), Charlie Barnes (bass), Pat Miller (drums) and Rory Davis (assorted instruments). The group pedigree includes the likes of Mugshot, the Damwell Betters, Thunderbeast, From the Attic, Reel Channel Cats, Lazer […]
Tom Irwin
Tom Irwin, a sixth-generation Sangamon County resident, has played his songs and music for nearly 40 years in the central Illinois area with occasional forays across the country. He's contributed to Illinois Times since 2000 by writing Now Playing, a weekly music column, as well as features stories and other articles. He resides on the Irwin family farm in rural Pleasant Plains.
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A bomb, a brunch and a barbershop chorus
How’s that for a titillating title? Somehow the alliteration came as the bits fit together for this week’s suggestions. I could add bells and bring in the May 7 Bells in Motion concert, but let’s save that for next week. The bomb in question refers to the infamous pipe bomb tossed by an unknown agitator […]
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Joe Frew with Dave Littrell
Ask anyone who’s seen Joe Frew perform and no longer will you wonder why this innate entertainer plays several nights a week around town. With a stable of good musicians backing him in various configurations and in varied situations, Frew puts on a show that involves bringing the audience into the performance as few area […]
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Luzhin Defense
What started in the fall of 2006 while Eric Rogers “was busy neglecting his pre-med studies in favor of writing music on his four-track recorder” has now become a full scale original music project with live performances and an upcoming album. Eric covers the synthesizers, sequencers, bass guitar and vocals while brother Alexis Rogers (currently […]
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Entertaining Easter weekend
Easter is supposed to be a joyous celebration for those of the Christian faith, so why not make the most of it and get out to see some live music on this late date Resurrection weekend? Whether you’re passionate about the Passion or not, come on out and check up on all the good music […]
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Love and Light
Best friends since 2003, young producer/musicians Matt Madonna and Ryan Anderson come from the Reno / Tahoe area. After years of producing sounds, the duo got serious about making music together in April of 2010 and collaborated to create Love and Light. Intent on the “uplifting of people across the world through melodic synth lines, […]
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The beat goes on
I’ll spare you all the drummer jokes that led off last year’s column introducing Drumfest, except for one, because we must have our fun. It’s just natural in the band world to pick on the guy in the group who beats on an instrument to make music. “How can you tell if there is a […]
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The Aspect
The Aspect, conceived as a fluctuating group of musicians chosen for a purposeful project, has concentrated on those legendary lads from Liverpool, The Beatles, for the last few performances. With Jeff Helton (guitar, vocals), Brian Curtis (keyboards, vocals), Bill McKenzie (bass, vocals), Bob Wagner (drums) and Lori McKenzie (vocals, percussion), plus Nat Radwine (percussion) filling […]
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Assorted April outings
No April Fooling this week. We’re back to the business of selling you, the avid reader and intrepid music listener, on the notion of getting out and experiencing live music with heartfelt passion and genuine gusto. Soon outdoor events will dominate our calendar and a few are happening now, giving proper respect to the vagaries […]
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a day and a wake up
Built around the exciting and refreshing concept of performing original songs as a form of personal expression through group participation, a day and a wake up clearly contain a vision of what a progressive band should be. The rocking quintet not only focuses on original music, they also possess a rather original configuration of band […]
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April Tomfoolery again
I had so much fun doing a column as an April Fool last year I’ve decided to make it an annual event. Part of the fun is in just getting the chance to be outrageous and the rest comes in hearing that some readers actually believe the nonsense. Remember folks to read all the way […]
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McMurtry meets the Bottle Rockets
For Sunday, March 27, Sean Burns, along with colorful cohorts Bill Wheelhouse of WUIS and Todd Egizi of E & F Distributors, landed a big one, hooking eminent singer-songwriter James McMurtry with his rocking trio the Heartless Bastards and roots-rocking Americana flag bearers the Bottle Rockets and their stalwart leader Brian Henneman for one hoot […]
