Off we go to imbibe the music made in our fair city and surrounding towns this weekend. The festivals and fairs are winding down, but the bars, wineries and breweries are still going strong as we gallop through the year. Let’s take a gander at where to wander for the fun stuff happening around here.
On Thursday evening, things get rolling along with some indoor and outdoor action when Jason McKenkie (last year’s top male vocalist for our Best of Springfield reader’s poll and also in the runoff for 2023) pops into Casey’s Pub patio, while Hipbone and The Joints crack one at the Curve Inn.
It’s the second Thursday of the month and that means it’s time for Thursday Night Live at Motorheads, which is a type of open stage using different invited guests monthly with Kevin Roberts as the organizer. This month the list contains a whole bunch of folks including Richard Rosalina, Crash Planet (Ty Scheuermann, Ben Carver, Nate Jones and Mason Carter), Jeff Boehnke, Randy Goin, Harry Lounsberry and Branded (Jessica Elizabeth, Josh Hutchison, Adam Rice, Tim Lynn and Chris Harris), all set to entertain you, as long as you show up to be entertained.
The Art of Jazz at the Pharmacy Art Gallery also occurs on the second Thursday of every month, with jazz guitarist Jose Gobbo organizing this one and bringing in different guests as well. I see that for September, Jose hosts Mark Tonelli, an incredibly amazing guitarist with an international reputation who, among other things, is an associate professor of music at Millikin University in Decatur where he heads the Guitar Studies department. Tonelli also created Art Cafe, a student-run, live performance venue. What more do you want folks, other than world-class musicians playing downtown Springfield on a Thursday evening for a suggested donation of $10?
Friday brings us some top-shelf local cover bands playing at the usual spots such as Deja Voodoo at the Blue Grouch, Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters at Long Bridge Golf Course, The Grand Moff at Harvest Market and Highway 615 at Weebles, as well as world-famous country music outlaw Billy Don Burns at the Curve Inn. Also, Kevin Hart does his very cool jazz vibraphone work at Boone’s for Friday Night Jazz, while Myers – Brandt – Paoni harmonize on the patio at Pease’s and Thomas J Beverly bounces into Bar Bella’s outdoor stage.
Saturday at Buzz Bomb, prepare yourself for an Oktoberfest bar none, when the popular brewing company shuts down Adams Street (between Fourth and Fifth streets) to open it up for party central. Of course, the all-day event includes music with Left Lane Cruiser, Slaughterdog, Misery Garden, The Ex-Bombers, Blue Ribbon Revival and Hessian Lord on tap. Look for Buzz Bomb-brewed, October-influenced beers, plus other breweries sharing their libations, along with food, vendors, games and children’s activities going on, too.
If you want to get out of town for local live music, check out Damned Torpedoes doing Tom Petty at Conrad’s in Riverton, Jeff Young and the Bad Grandpas meeting up at the Slauterhouse in Auburn and Lick Creek rolling onto Oak Hills Country Club in Girard.
Sunday, once known as a day of rest, is no more as Micah Walk jogs into Bar Bella, Corey Evitts does Sheedy Shores (Loami), Red Ribbon Revue wins at West of Wise (Petersburg), Rickey Meredith plays Hill Prairie (Oakford), Randy Goin is going to Locals (Pawnee), Lil Higgy and The House Reckers tear up Brookhills, Curt Smith graces It’s All About Wine and Robert Sampson rolls into Trails End Saloon (Curran).
And if that’s not enough, there’s plenty more where that came from in our listings.
This article appears in Fall Home & Garden 2023.
