Band Spotlight

First off, the band is not from Rockford, Illinois, or any Rockford anywhere. The indie-rock quartet consists of high school students from Springfield (class of 2019) who named the band in honor of a friend whose family moved to Rockford, Illinois. The band got together to play and have fun, with a couple members learning […]

This northern Louisiana native and current East Nashville resident gets around and has done so for a couple decades now. Kevin Gordon duets with Lucinda Williams, has been reviewed on NPR and in No Depression magazine, plays NPR’s Mountain Stage, and “the” Keith Richards records his songs. He graduated with an MFA from the prestigious […]

Cody Canada has been playing guitar and dreaming music since he was 8 years old, and he shows no signs of stopping anytime soon as he heads into a quarter century of professional playing. The former frontman for the popular Red Dirt rockin’ country band Cross Canadian Ragweed keeps on putting out music from the […]

This Austin-based guitarist, songwriter and singer gets welcomed and warranted comparisons to the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan and combines other flavors of electric Texas-blues players as well, including shades of the also late and great Johnny Winter to create his very own sound. Originally from San Antonio, Chris started playing gigs at age 15, […]

Champaign-Urbana native Kayla Brown can count many achievements in her career in music performance and composition. Kayla started on her musical adventure professionally in 1997 and since then has performed locally, regionally and nationally, from coffee shops to festivals, including a proud moment singing “God Bless America” and the national anthem at Wrigley Field in […]

This Los Angeles-based blues/roots/rock band winds and climbs through the greasy and grand world of gut-bucket blues like nobody’s business. Since they first made a splash in 2007 with a credible fourth-place finish at the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis, the quartet has continued to tour incessantly, making fans and friends all over the […]

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, this highly-regarded American-Celtic folk musician spent his formative years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his career spans both areas. From an acclaimed CD debut in 2010 through heralded performances and landmark recordings, John Byrne and his gifted group of fellow players set a course for modern Irish music in America, inspired by […]

These hard-hittin’, fire-spittin’, go-gittin’ cool cats come from Birmingham, Alabama, on a mission from the land of the Deep South to set the record straight on Southern ways and means. One way describes the group as “part MC5 and part Flannery O’Connor and all rock and roll,” which puts a perspective on what Lee (guitar, […]

Hailing from the west central Illinois town of Winchester, Mr. Smith’s been performing in Springfield for some time now, and the gifted singer, songwriter and versatile guitarist recently expanded his solo-acoustic gig reach (he also plays with Smashtag) to include St. Louis, southern Illinois and other regional spots. Stuart just recorded a full-length album (titled […]

Originally a resident of Springfield before relocating to Champaign, Jesse W. Johnson then moved to Chicago, where he made a splash as the frontman and songwriter in Jet W. Lee, a band that successfully recorded and toured nationally. Soon after a solo record release and time spent negotiating the music landscape, JWJ struck out with […]

When they say “you’re not bragging if it’s a fact,” those “theys” could be talking about The Pine Mountain Logs, who claim to be “The World’s Best Cover Band with International Fame in Global Proportions” and actually, in several valid opinions, most likely are. Existing as the alter ego of the original music band Venice, […]

There’s a good chance you’ll recognize this band name, as this group has been around town for some 25 years now, with Denny Lucas (guitars, keys, vocals) being the beating heart and caring soul of the group. Denny, a longtime area musician (Denny was in Sky High back in the early 80s, with other local […]