The next fella who asks, “Is it hot enough for you?” should get sent straight to Arizona or Texas. That mythical place referenced in certain religions could also be a suitable destination. But seriously, folks, it is supposed to be scorching by the time this comes out, so be careful, stay “hello-drated” and get out and enjoy some cool music in these hot times.
First and foremost, on the music calendar we have this Friday night and all day Saturday, the Downhome Music Festival on Seventh Street with alternating stages on Washington and Adams streets along with an acoustic spot inside Anvil & Forge on Saturday. This is year No. 12 for Josh Catalano and crew putting on this celebration of original music from the Springfield area that also includes a variety of local craft beers, array of food choices, children’s play area and lots of other fun stuff.
The way-cool factor in this event has to be that the bands all get paid by selling tickets in advance (each group keeps what they sell) and then again by splitting the gate among all performers, after administrative expenses, of course. This year, many of the mainstays of the festival including Wolf Crick Boys, Go! Tsunami and Owen & Dooley Present, plus Catalano’s group Wayward Motel (they’re having a CD release party during their 9:30 Saturday night slot) are there, as well as several new bands. It just goes to show you the strength of our original music scene.
For one example, look at Jesse W. Johnson from Springfield, who now lives in Chicago, who is bringing his group Dreamjacket (6:30 p.m. Saturday) to town with two singles released just this past month from their upcoming EP, Sad Sack Starter Pack. Add in groups new to the fest this year, in no particular order or possibly accuracy, such as Astrofix, Slaughterdog, Jay Larson Band and Colin Helton Band, plus a few more, and cool things are really happening.
Very likely, for many music-minded Springfieldians of an age, the appearance of Park (8 p.m. Saturday) will be a fantastic time, bringing back memories of when the band was on fire, touring the countryside and stirring up all kinds of mighty musical mayhem. It’s just great to see how this festival gets established local acts to line up with fresh ones while helping to reunite a popular band from years ago for a special show.
And mind you, these musicians are all doing songs written and performed by the groups on stage, often with recorded works on CD, vinyl and digital streaming platforms available to you, the consumer of local, original music, for your purchasing pleasure. It’s easy for me to go on and on about this since I’ve been part of the original music scene around here for many decades and love to see it “go, man, go” and keep on going and going and going. And as long as events like this continue to support and promote our homegrown scene, it will still blossom and grow.
Be sure to look at our listings for all the other action around town and that includes the Levitt AMP concert series downtown, which I think we can safely say is a huge success again this year. Here’s a special thanks to all who put the work in so others may enjoy. But boo hoo, there are only two shows left after this week. First is the BETTY makeup concert on Wednesday, Aug. 2, followed by Lone Hollow on Thursday.
Stay cool, be cool and we’ll be back next week.
This article appears in Transgender turmoil.
