Only a few years ago Brooke Thomas sang plenty, but without performing in a traveling band. Now in 2011, after fronting the Blue Suns for about a year, she is releasing a CD, Live from the Capital City, this weekend, won the local 2010 International Blues Challenge solo/duo contest and performs regularly at venues all over central Illinois. Behind Brooke’s stellar voice, the Blue Suns, Mike Burnett (guitar, vocals) Dion Doss (drums), Chris Warren (bass), Archie Logan (saxophones) and Ed Fliege (keyboards) provide musical backing by some of the best musicians around town. Burnett, frontman of local stalwarts the Suns of Circumstance and a consistent force in area music performance, guides the Brooke Thomas and Blue Suns boat “by keeping both paddles in the water,” while keeping the gigs coming and the music moving. As the band name suggests, the music reflects a strong soul/blues influence and the groovy goodness of the other Suns by combining originals tunes with fun covers to reach out to varying age groups and levels of taste.
Brooke Thomas and the Blue Suns
Thu, Jul 21, 7-10pm
Crows Mill Pub
Sat, July 23, 8:30pm-12am
Casey’s Pub K of C Hall
Sun, July 24, 2-5pm
Hill Prairie Winery
Summer Festival
www.mikeburnettmusic.com
This article appears in Jul 21-27, 2011.
