Music

As our summer season rolls into the last weekend of July, there are gaggles of regular gigs in outdoor venues and indoor establishments around the area and giglets galore in many a winery, brewery, restaurant and bar. It’s up to you to get out there and enjoy the fun before it’s done. The last weekend […]

Well, folks, ’tis the season in central Illinois when the fairs abound and the festivals abide. We’re going to jump over all the other incredible choices going on at all the terrific venues hosting live music this weekend to focus on those said fairs and festivals. Let’s take a look at what’s cooking out there, […]

Last weekend was a phenomenal showing of our music scene, but you ain’t seen nothing yet as there’s the Morgan County Fair in Jacksonville this weekend, the Menard County Fair in Petersburg and Chatham’s Jaycees Sweet Corn Festival the next weekend, then the Downhome Music Festival in downtown Springfield on July 26-27. And after that, […]

This week’s issue of IT is out a day early because the Fourth of July lands on Thursday, our usual out and about day. That change reminded me of the weekend before last when we were out for a gig and a friend who knew I wrote for IT suggested we should put out the […]

Things are really heating up, literally and figuratively, as we roll through a month of June music. Now let’s see where the hot spots are and what they’re cooking up for us to enjoy during this abundance of Springfield live music performances. Just in case you haven’t noticed all the hoopla about our Levitt AMP […]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Springfield music as we see it through Now Playing eyes. This week is jam-packed with all kinds of things going on so let’s see what’s what and what’s where and when as well. Thursdays continue to be a hotbed of happenings with the Levitt AMP downtown music series leading […]

Following an exciting 2023-2024 season which doubled as a fierce, seven-month contest to hire a new music director/conductor, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra has announced the winner: Maestro Taichi Fukumura. The selection process took an unexpected turn in April, when Naomi Woo withdrew from the competition to become music director of the National Youth Orchestra of […]

As we drop into our first full weekend of June for 2024, the stage is set for a righteous run of wonderful live music experiences in the good old summertime. Let’s get right to it and take a gander at what’s in store for the next several days on the local scene. First, we’re jumping […]

Now that we’re officially past the Memorial Day weekend and we’ve had our first rainout night (last Friday) of regularly scheduled outdoor gigs, I believe we can safely welcome the summer season. From here until the cold days hit again, it’s fairs, festivals, homecomings, shindigs, burgoos, beer gardens, wineries, barbecues and more along with our […]

We are now into the last full weekend of May and that means it’s Memorial Day weekend, commonly known as the beginning of the summer season. Time is flying by, and I guess that means we’re having fun. Let’s see what fun we can get into during this holiday weekend. We’ve been pushing the Thursday […]

As we continue on this wild ride in our live music scene, hang on for dear life while the music-making hits its stride this weekend, as merrily we roll along through the merry month of May toward full-scale summer happenings. Walk this way and let’s see what’s out there. Thursdays keep coming on strong with […]