Music

Untitled Document I attended a folk-music conference in the last week of September in the Chicago area — Techny Towers in Northbrook, to be exact — called the Folk Alliance Midwest Region (or FARM) Gathering. The weekend event attracted around 100 musicians and several DJs, booking agents, promoters, presenters, and others. There were workshops on […]

Untitled Document During a recent lively conversation about government spending, a guy told me that we need better bridges before we need to pay somebody to sing. I, of course, agreed wholeheartedly with him — what good would it do if a bridge is out and no one can come hear free music? His obvious […]

Untitled Document What is it about playing the blues that makes everyone feel so good? Who knows, and who cares? Just play the music, ’cause I got the blues bad and I want to feel good. In August, during the Old Capitol Blues & BBQs, the Illinois Central Blues Club held its first Blues Challenge […]

Untitled Document What’s all the jazz about jazz this week? It is not ours to ponder the mysteries, but only to enjoy their delights. Perhaps it’s the end of summer or the beginning of fall or, more than likely, it’s nothing at all, which then allows us the total freedom of being absolutely nothing. Or […]

Untitled Document As I perused my short list of upcoming music events for this weekend, I thought to myself, “Man, there is nothing to write about.” Convinced as I was, imagine my shock on learning that I was dead wrong. With a little perseverance, I found many live-music happenings in Springfield this weekend. Before we […]

Untitled Document I hate to be the bearer of bad, sad news, but here goes: The Underground City Tavern is not long for this world, and this weekend will mark the end of an era for the Springfield music scene. The Hilton heads have leased the space to a popular restaurant chain, and so the […]

Untitled Document Hey, after last week’s comment about the Redneck-American booth at the Ethnic Festival, I suppose I should leave the humor to the professionals. But surely you know I’d be the first in line for my baloney and beer if they actually had a tent. I know, I know, then suburbanites and yippies will […]

Untitled Document Oh me, oh my — Labor Day Weekend already. Where did the summer go? Now it’s off to fall, and we’re closing in rapidly on the end of 2007, with those pesky holidays and a new year to remind us how quickly time flies — whether you’re having fun or not. For several […]

Untitled Document As I pondered the subject of this week’s message — the debut CD by local group the Damwell Betters — I found myself comparing the making of a child to the production of an album. Both creations reflect the values and personalities of the creators, and although the original effort in each is […]

Untitled Document First, an apology to the kilt-wearing folk of the St. Andrew’s Society of Central Illinois and associated friends and fans. Back around St. Patrick’s Day, in an obviously ill- conceived and unsuccessful attempt at humor, I joked about the Scots’ pretending to be Irish so that they could party on St. Patrick’s Day. […]

Untitled Document When the Illinois State Fair comes to town, the local nightlife business changes. With the extra entertainment booked at the fair, the influx of thousands of strangers with money in their pockets and time on their hands, and the generally increased excitement level of the entire community, Springfield morphs into a raucous party […]

Untitled Document I hope that by now you’ve heard about the Jacksonville world premiere of David: You and I, a locally written and produced musical based on the life of King David from the Bible’s Old Testament. The show runs this weekend and next with all the details on page 18. Area playwright Ken Bradbury […]