Band Spotlight

Roland Johnson and Gene Jackson spent their adults lives involved in the soul and rhythm and blues live music scenes in the St. Louis area – Jackson since the mid 70s and Johnson since the late 60s. After decades of making music, the two singers met up with Paul Niehaus IV, a local musician and […]

Back for one more reunion show that celebrates 21 years of togetherness, Mr. O still rules the roost in the local “original music with a few covers” category. After a strong showing in the late 90s and early to mid 00s, including winning Illinois Times’ “Best of Springfield” reader polls, producing CDs of all original […]

Started in 2016 as a group of friends who enjoy playing music together, the story of Six Rows Back remains the same, just with more songs on the set list. When Caprice Ciota-Hardin (guitar, vocals), Courtney Grimes (guitar, vocals), Patty Kniss (drums) and Aaron Mazrim (bass) play, they play for pleasure and the crowd gets […]

When so many blues cats play guitar while the blues master is on keyboards, the music is that much more special. When the dude on the keys is Bruce Katz, you are indeed in for a very special, special treat. Bruce is one of the world’s best performers of blues on the Hammond B-3 organ […]

Folks around these parts sure like these Texas-groove band dudes who met while singing songs as they floated down the Guadalupe River some years ago. The mysterious “Midnight River Choir” heard on the water soon became a combo, and they’ve been riding a rushing current of growing popularity ever since. Bandmates Eric Middleton (lead vocals, […]

Chattanooga-born, Chicago-based and award-winning blues guitarist Corey Dennison is on a roll in the big-time blues world. After a decade-long run with Carl Weathersby, Dennison created a “dynamic new Chicago sound,” anchored by bandmates Gerry Hundt, Nik Skilnik and Joel Baer, and played hard, including steady gigs at famed Windy City club Kingston Mines. Both […]

Springfield’s original Celtic fusion band has evolved more than a few times and ways since hitting the scene as Stone Ring Circle in the early 21st century. They’ve travelled many roads and they all lead to fine Irish-influenced music done with a rocking attitude and a rolling twist. Always in demand during the High Holy […]

A recent competitor at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, this Chicago-based quartet delivers a funky, dual bass player approach to the world of blues. Susan Williams, known to Springfield blues fans from previous performances at The Alamo on Blue Monday, hails from Chicago where she’s fronted her own bands for 30-some years. Now […]

Jim Scott has added much to our human consciousness in terms of song and substance, very possibly influencing your life without you knowing it. From his work as guitarist with the Paul Winter Consort and co-composer of their celebrated Missa Gaia/Earth Mass, to decades of collaboration and friendship with folk singer and humanitarian Pete Seeger, […]

You fans of funk are in for a treat, as Mike Zabrin, a young, modern master of the bass guitar, brings his entourage known as Funktastic to town. Zabrin, still in his mid-twenties, has toured the country as a bassist for many top names in the Chicago blues biz and has been featured in Bass […]

Relatively new on the Springfield band scene, Ryman’s Way takes their name from the Ryman Auditorium, the renowned building in Nashville that housed the Grand Ole Opry for decades during the heyday of classic country music. The venue again hosts live music, still inspiring thousands of performers and fans, just like it inspires bandmates Larry […]

What’s a chickadee have to do with a sermon? Well, one way to find out is to check out the acoustic folk act named The Chickadee Sermon, appearing downtown at Tacology 101 on Friday. The restaurant doesn’t do much live music, but they have tasty tacos and cool craft beer, plus a nice space to […]