The fall season is upon us, and for bands across the
country it’s the perfect time to tour. Hopping in the bus —
musicians from David Crosby and Graham Nash to Talib Kweli and Nas, will
hit the road this fall — is never easier than when the weather is
temperate, and rocker-types don’t have to mess their well-crafted
coiffures with high humidity or piercing winds. This autumn a diverse group
of hip-hoppers, oldies but goodies, blues musicians, and indie rock
sweethearts take to the highway to bring music to the Land of Lincoln.
Here’s a short list of the big talent burning
rubber through Illinois (and St. Louis) this fall.
Uniting hot weather and the blues just seems right
— maybe it’s because the genre originated in the steamy South,
or perhaps, the blistering guitar riffs add to the functionality of the
union — but whatever the reason, summertime is the right time to
watch a blues concert. Peoria hosts its annual Illinois Central Blues Festival (Aug.
29 and 30)featuring
tunes from The Tommy Castro Band and Lonnie Brooks along with 17 other
performers to round out the weekend lineup. Another show of note is a
not-to be-missed rare club performance from hip-hop legend Nas with support from Brooklyn
MC Talib Kweli
and New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica at Urbana’s Canopy Club.(Aug. 30). The touring mates also make a stop
at The Pageant in St. Louis (Sept. 3).
The month of September begins with a double-bill
concert at Prairie Capital Convention Center featuring American Idol winner Jordin Sparks and pop songster
Jesse McCartney (Sept.
4). After a bout with acute vocal cord damage, Sparks canceled numerous
tour dates — including a Champaign gig — last spring, but the R
& B high-note singer is back, and touring again in support of her major
label debut, Jordin Sparks.
But, if you’re willing to burn a little gas,
traveling to St. Louis for music would be a fruitful endeavor. The
September lineup for Verizon Wireless Amphitheater includes popular country
crooners Kenny Chesney with LeAnn Rimes (Sept. 11), 1980s arena rockers Journey with Heart and Cheap Trick (Sept. 13), and
contemporary hit makers Maroon 5 (Sept. 27). The Eagles are scheduled to play the Scottrade Center (Sept. 20). If
your tastes run a little less mainstream, St. Louis’ Pageant features
indie darlings Vampire Weekend (Sept. 10) and alt-country singer/songwriter Neko Case (Sept. 24).
It takes a big stage to accommodate big stars, and in
October the duo of David Crosby and Graham Nash of the 1960s and 70s rock outfit Crosby, Stills, Nash and
Young will have no trouble filling the 2,018 seats inside Sangamon
Auditorium. Hall-of-famers Crosby and Nash (Oct. 26) present an intimate
concert featuring songs from their large repertoire as solo artists and as
members of CSNY. Country Idol, Carrie Underwood (Oct. 2), arguably one of the competition’s most
successful alums, rolls into Champaign’s Assembly Hall to kick up her
boots to the tune of her 2007 release Carnival
Ride. But if you like your guitar with a
little less twang, Scottrade Center in St. Louis hosts a gaggle of alt-rock
groups — Panic at the Disco, Dashboard
Confessional, Plain White T’s, and The Cab — touring
as a package deal dubbed Rock Band Live (Oct. 19).
So yes, technically he’s not a musician, but
— make no mistake — Ira Glass is a rock star. His radio show, on Chicago Public Radio, This American Life, is a
wildly popular radio program that has expanded into a television show, and
finds a home on I-Pods around the country via podcast. Glass visits the
capital city for a live version of his radio shows dubbed Ira Glass: Radio Stories and Other Stories at Sangamon Auditorium (Dec. 13).
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2008.
