Music Features

Off we go into October of 2018 with a blast of low-end sounds and high-end musicality, all available for your perusal simply by heading out the door and into a venue hosting live music. We begin with a memorial tribute on Tuesday evening, Oct. 9, during the award-winning Curve Inn open mic to honor the […]

Other than the usual complaints of time passing quickly, we’ve had a dang good run of summertime fun, outdoor gigs and all. Now, as the festivals come to a close, with only a few left in early October and as the Sunday Funday patio and beer garden shows fade back inside, enjoy the time out […]

Let’s first pay our respects to a recently departed friend of the local music scene and fan of all the cool music out there. Keith Perks passed away a few weeks ago from natural causes due to recent health issues. We miss his smiling face and cordial company as well as his compelling interest in […]

Look out below and above, and in between, too, as we recover from the deluge of last weekend and prepare for more good live music inside and out during mid-September. Hopefully and expectedly events will be a bit more on the dry side of things. Our weekly adventures begin at 6 on Thursday night with […]

The first full weekend of September gets us going into the fall mode and mood with an array of outdoor festivals featuring live music, including an Oktoberfest, an Art Spectacular, a Family FunFest, a Traditional Music Fest and a Joe & Jerry Tribute, along with our usual suspects at local venues. On Saturday from 12:30-10:30 […]

Here we are rolling into Labor Day weekend 2018, signalling the end of summertime and the beginning of autumn, if not by weather, at least by date and tradition. Let’s go out and in with a band and a bang, becoming a blustering, beautiful beacon of believers in our musical labors on this celebratory day […]

Let’s offer hearty congratulations to David Casper for his victory on August 17 in the Illinois State Fair karaoke competition. In return for his afternoon triumph, David reaped the rewards of performing that evening at the Grandstand, opening for Brett Eldredge. Casper, the youthful, talented and mostly-country singer who fronts the local group Casper’s Kountry […]

As we move into the second and final weekend of the Illinois State Fair, the fun keeps on coming, even as the original excitement wears down. I think 10 days is a fair amount of time for a fair. Any more just wouldn’t be fair to all those involved in keeping the fair going. Does […]

Yes, folks, it’s that time of year when the Illinois State Fair comes a-callin’ and dominates the atmosphere of the local music scene like nothing else. There’s plenty of live music on our north side fairgrounds, and no matter who or what, where or when, musicians should take pride in knowing that live performances are […]

Here it is in fine fashion as we roll into August 2018 with Mars and the moon at midnight behind us, plus good music and fine times straight ahead. Who could ask for more? This weekend Decatur is hosting their fabulously famous “Celebration” from Friday through Sunday. It all happens in the downtown area with […]

What a weekend this is with stuff happening everywhere, especially events reliving highlights of the past. But rest assured that the music will be firmly in the present and well-directed toward the future of the scene. Let us first honor two local musicians we’ve lost too soon. John Brillhart, our singer-songwriter who passed last fall, […]