PHOTO COURTESY GROUNDHOG DAY When bassist Brian Phillips (from Wonder Why) and lead guitarist Danny “The Kid” Schroeder (from the Outnumbered) were forming a new band, Phillips mentioned the process was just like band beginnings so many times before. Kid then referenced the film Groundhog Day, and the new band had a name. Joined by […]
Band Spotlight
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Hat Trick
Founded in 2010 by Barry Woodworth (drums, vocals) and Gene Bennett (guitar, vocals), in 2013 Hat Trick added former member of The Backliners, Steve Harvey (bass, vocals) to complete the rock power trio. All together these veterans of the area band scene bring to the stage nearly 90 years of combined time playing the well-loved […]
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Herman Astro
A solidified, totally on it and in it band back in 2009, Milwaukee-based quartet Herman Astro shows up ready to rock, bringing a funky attitude with a soulful edge all wrapped up in gritty guitars and a grinding groove. Stepbrothers Zachary Pluer (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Cody Calderon (drums) joined childhood friends Eric LeMieux (electric […]
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Last Chance
A local private space since 1991, the Last Chance Bar and Lab hosted several outstanding musicians and concerts through the years, while also being a band practice place. The Last Chance Blues Band, a popular, area blues combo and another group, Touch of Grey, originated from the celebrated club/rehearsal spot to play on the town. […]
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The Ex-Bombers
Out of Charleston, Ill. and originally from Columbia, Mo., The Ex-Bombers are doing swell with a minimalist setup of bass, drum and vocals saying all that needs to be heard. Drummer and vocalist Keri Cousins says the music is “dirtbag spy jazz or beatnik punk” and proudly adds that “our songs come from seedy and […]
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The Alley Tones
Cultivating a deep and biding respect for the legacy of the blues, The Alley Tones hail from St. Louis, a heritage blues city along with Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans. Eric A. Gavillet (vocals), Nathan Byrd (guitar), Joe Phillips (bass) and Justin Schmitt (drums) joined forces in March of 2012 with a vision and purpose […]
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Still Kick’n
What can you say about this band that hasn’t already been said? Here’s one thing – this Saturday is the extremely popular group’s final show. Yes, we won’t have Still Kick’n to “kick around” any more after this weekend as members Kelsey Hickman (lead vocals), Pat McCue (lead vocals, backup vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar), Don […]
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Epsom
What’s an Epsom? Dare we ask this Springfield-based experimental and adventurous trio consisting of Scott Faingold (vocalizations, lyrics), Steven Sgro (noises, guitars) and Tim Harte (drums, drums, drums)? The band began in May of 2012 when the former drummer of NIL8 and local roustabout, Gary “Walnuts” Swaggerty communicated to Faingold these fateful words: “We need […]
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Phil Yates
Based out of Burlington, Vt., singer-songwriter-guitarist Phil Yates spent time in Los Angeles and Chicago, then Columbia, S. C. and once upon a time lived in a little burg called Springfield, Ill. After attending high school here, he split town and now teaches mathematics at a college in Vermont, while making music he describes as […]
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The Giving Tree Band
When the talk starts about up-and-coming bands in the Americana music field, The Giving Tree Band gets a mention in a big way. Paste Magazine included them as one of the “13 Emerging Bands for 2013” and they’ve charted well on radio, gotten rave reviews in major papers and generally make news wherever they play. […]
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Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys
With enough playing under their respective belts to make an old bluesman weep and moan, you would be hard pressed to find a more a traditional sounding, Chicago electric blues band at work today than this group of blues veterans. Praised as being “very, very good” by none other than the incredible and venerable Buddy […]
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Honey and the 45s
Calling Chicago home, this five-piece combo combines bits of rock, blues, funk, Americana and soul with voracious vocals, lyrical lyrics and groovy grooves to create a “sometimes playful, sometimes somber, but always rockin’ sound like nothing you’ve heard before.” The band began in October 2009 as a folk/acoustic trio called Snow on Sunday by core […]
