Band Spotlight

Raised on a hog farm outside of Springfield with classic country music as a life soundtrack, and now a retired U.S. Marine back home, Kyle Gass got into the performance side of music not that long ago. When local music hero Butch Ramelow heard Kyle was learning to play, he coaxed him onto the stage […]

Known as the Dirty Old One Man Band, Scott H. Biram plays by himself for anyone who will listen, and that’s been a lot of folks during his nearly two decades in professional music. From humble beginnings in his native Texas, Scott has traveled the U.S., Canada and Europe many times over jamming in joints […]

Around since 2010, this Houston-based quartet has taken their mix of a “rootsy stomp of the Southern states with the trippy swoon of the West Coast” across the country and back. They cite Bob Dylan as a “huge influence” and also add Led Zeppelin and Tom Petty in the mix, plus their fellow Texan musicians, […]

Springfield’s best-known and longest-running Celtic-fusion band still has the green going on with plans to keep it growing for years to come. Once upon a time, before becoming TEU, group origins were in an area band called Stone Ring Circle. After decades of performances, combined with several personnel changes, the history of the band projects […]

Some say the future of blues harmonica is in the hands (and mouth) of this St. Louis-based, Memphis-taught, North Carolina-raised, trailblazing, hard-working and particularly charming, harmonica front man. For over 15 years he’s traveled extensively from Egypt to Europe and all through the United States, blowing his brand of harmonica blues. Over the past few […]

This Boston-based musician is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, mother, band leader and recording artist, releasing albums on a regular basis and playing the cool clubs in the Americana-circuit with verve and gusto. Some categorize Sarah in all directions, from cow punk to roots rock, and she’s worked with dandy dudes like Dave Alvin, Steve Berlin […]

Yes, Virginia, there really is a band that wears ski masks, where each musician dons one of a specific color and they designate themselves as color-coded by instrument and vocal job. Hence, per the Masked Intruder Facebook page in the “About” section: “Blue – sings and plays guitar, Green – plays guitar and sings backup, […]

This Maryland native has done well in Nashville as a songwriter’s songwriter and burns up the road playing all over the U.S., especially in the Midwest. You may not know his name, but you likely know his song, “Must Be the Whiskey,” recently recorded by Cody Jinks on his Lifers album. A few years back, […]

Early performances in theater gave this young whippersnapper a taste of the stage at age six, and soon after, he discovered a real affinity for classic country music.  By 15, Isaiah found himself in Urbana opening up for the famed Frankie Ballard. From there, he hit the road in central Illinois “playing wherever I could […]

Formed in 2014 by a group of well-seasoned Peoria-area musicians, Captain Quirk (the moniker comes from a nickname for William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in the original “Star Trek” TV show) plays all around central Illinois doing off-the-wall, cool covers and differently done classic rock standards. They specifically and only do “songs […]

When they came out of the pack of new area bands like a supercharged rocket on fire some five years ago, this group of talented musicians became one of the hottest acts around. From winning the esteemed Battle for the Saddle national talent search, culminating at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, back in 2012 to […]

Hailing from the Northwest Indiana/Southwest Michigan area and claiming La Porte, Indiana, as a home base, these up-and-coming soulful rockers are laying it on the line with all they got every time they perform. James Neary, the front guy and singer-songwriter, started out as a solo performer until he came into his own with this […]