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If you’re looking for something cool to do
— and who isn’t during July in central Illinois? — here
are a few ideas to help you handle the heat.
The Uptown Friday Night music series, hosted by the
Springfield Area Arts Council at Robbie’s (4 S. Old State Capitol
Plaza, 217-528-1901) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Friday, is a
central-Illinois entertainment classic offering great music and good times.
One of my very favorite acts, Johnny Slu — that’s cool cat John
Sluzalis — and Too Few with vocalist Billy Rodgers, takes the window
stage on July 25. These guys are just the best and one of the reasons
people occasionally extol the virtues of Springfield’s varied and
abundantly rich-in-talent music scene. But hey, don’t take my word
for it — check it out yourself.
ESP Entertainment is staging a Rock for Cancer
Awareness benefit on Saturday, July 26, at the Fieldhouse (3211 E. Sangamon
Ave., 217-525-6666). Exciting events include an appearance by the classic
motorcycle group the Vintage Iron Riders, a custom-bike show of more than
50 modified motorcycles, a poker run (signup at noon) through Riverton and
Cantrall, a live WQLZ (92.7 FM) broadcast 5 to 7 p.m., and live music by
House of Nasty and the Johnny Everist Band at 7 p.m. On top of all that,
proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. How cool is that?
At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 27, the Springfield
Baha’i Center (1131 S. Eighth St., 217-544-9595) hosts a jazz-blues
trio from the great state of New York for a free outdoor concert called
“Hot Jazz and Cold Ice Cream.” The music is supplied by Chris
Ruhe on guitar, piano, and vocals, with John Rafalak on drums and Joe
Rafalak on tenor sax. Born and raised in Kansas City, Ruhe played with some
of the guys who became Creedence Clearwater Revival in the early
’60s, jammed with jazz great Dizzy Gillespie, and worked with Pete
Seeger on several occasions as a musician and activist. His lifelong
Baha’i faith imbues his music and songs with that religion’s
message of hope for humans and peace for the world. He’s traveled,
performed, and lived in Peru, Chile, and Honduras, as well as such wild and
woolly places as Manhattan. The group mixes Baha’i-message songs with
“regular” tunes, and you may learn some good stuff without even
knowing it. Expect other local musicians, as they are prone to do, to sit
in for some impromptu jamming.
I’m cool with that.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2008.
