Band Spotlight

For over 30 years, Jake’s Leg has faithfully and uniquely reproduced the music of the Grateful Dead while extending the spirit of the popular band through heartfelt lifestyle interpretation and imitation. The St. Louis-based group started as a guitar/vocal duo with Randy Furrer and Tim Fahy in the mid-70s, then later added lead guitarist Dave […]

Billed as an EP release-slash-going away party, the Brandon Carnes extravaganza this weekend is not your average concert. Son of local singer-musician Suzanne Carnes, the 20 year-old singer-songwriter is about to go itinerant and hit the mythical and mystical road by definitely “leaving Springfield indefinitely.” Harvest, the latest CD from this prolific young writer, contains […]

What do you mean you had no idea there was a band from central Illinois that just signed to a record label? Renae, a local, hard-hitting, hard-working, sorta, indie-rock band just hooked up with Hotfoot Records out of New York with all the good intentions of taking their sound national. The band, featuring Stephen, Brad, […]

One look says it all: these guys are living the rock band dream of wild times on the edge. Trash Martini hails from Chicago with Ral II and Erik Donner as the brothers behind the band. Offspring of Ral Donner (1943-1984), a Chicago native who scored a few Billboard Top Ten hits in the early […]

The band Thornhill, originally began when Tina Thornhill, lead singer, rhythm guitarist and namesake of the group, moved to Springfield from Ohio several years ago along with drummer Patty Kniss to play cover songs of the day, including those of Heart and other popular rock bands. After an early surge the group took a hiatus […]

Talk about diverse styles in the Springfield music scene should include the Samba Llamas, who move and groove within a class of diversity all alone. The many-piece group focuses on the rhythms of Brazil and performs songs of samba, bossa nova, pagode and other regional styles created by the convergence of African, European and Native […]

Making a splash into the local music market for the first time, The Stone and Biscuit Band debuts this weekend with a three-hour show at Broadway Nights, the former On Broadway night club. The sextet, comprised of Joe O’Neill (bass), Chris O’Neill (vocals), Shelley Mulvaney (vocals, flute), Matt Ellis (guitar, vocals), Ed Boyd (keyboards/guitar) and […]

NIL8, very likely the longest-running, continuously together rock band in Springfield area history, continues to draw crowds, produce original music and entertain at a magnificent level after some 25 years on the local scene. With the brother team of Jeff Williams (guitar, vocals, songs) and Bruce Williams (bass) leading a long and illustrious parade of […]

Fresh from receiving the most votes as Best New Local Band in our recent Best of Springfield issue, Music for Big Kids continues on a roll with the release of their first CD, Hold and Hold On. Produced, recorded and mixed by Kevin Wasmer in his locally owned and operated studio, Wasmer Waves, the album […]

2001 marked the first sights and sounds of BigFur, Springfield’s original, alternative rock band created to define a new musical experience on the Midwest scene. In spite of rocky roads here and there with band member business combined with a definite case of drummer-disappearance phenomenon, the core of the band stayed together and weathered the […]

Good friends can make for good bands and Daddy’$ Money does just that. Bill and Lori McKenzie, Troy Roark, Jack White and Chas Blythe all first met at the Jimmy’s Sub Shoppe open mic about 16 years ago while Angela Starr ran into the bunch at another open mic. They’ve remained comrades-in-music throughout the years, […]