As we move away from a warm October and head into more seasonal weather, some cool events are still happening outside along with plenty of sweet shows going on behind closed doors. And it’s all up to you to go find the fun.
This week starts with some sad news on the passing of Brian Moore. Brian, an accomplished saxophone player, musician and singer, brought a terrific energy, musical knowledge and professional attitude plus that inexplicable thing that special musicians do
to the stage in every performance. He played with and inspired many people, including family, friends and fans, but is probably best known for his time with Cats on Holiday and Groove Daddies. Play on, Brian.
Speaking of Cats on Holiday, there’s a new release of live material by the group, called 9 Live, recorded by Ric Major at the Sangamon County Fairgrounds back during the late 1980s in a phase of the band featuring founders Andon Davis and Perry Zubeck plus the rhythm section of Joe T. Phegley and Rick Snow. Andon found the tapes, had them mastered and now the songs are available on most streaming platforms. Brian was no longer in the band at that point, if you’re wondering, but I sure hope this encourages other musicians to get past recordings digitized and out there for the world to listen to now and forever more. Thanks to the Cats for doing this and leading the way in keeping our local legacy alive.
Now let’s head downtown on a Friday night where things are a-buzzing. First, there’s a big concert upstairs at Arlington’s (old On Broadway venue) with Chicago Farmer going solo on his songs and stories show, plus the added treat of Mace Hathaway and Stumpy Joe kicking off the evening at 7 p.m. This ticketed event brought to you by ElderBeard MusicWerx and Half Hazard Press Studio (tix at Eventbrite.com or the door) has Chicago Farmer fresh off his headlining appearance at the Todd Snider tribute show last weekend in Nashville.
Next, Bloom Wine Bar & Florals, in conjunction with DSI, continues its Live Music on the Plaza series (6-9 p.m.), featuring Bree Roberts this week with Micah Walk on Oct. 23 and Lisa Lowe on Oct. 30. Then, Dumb Records gives it up with another UIS Get Free Music Series show presenting Memory Is Subjective (Nathan Hanson, saxophone and Steve Hirsh, drums) and Antifascist Freedom Music (Richard Gilman-Opalsky, drums and Frank Trompeter, saxophones) for a festive night of freeing music.
Saturday shows a few more outdoor music activities when The Guilty Boys roll into The Railyard and Broken Stone rocks The Tipsy Toad in the evening, while West of Wise Winery near Petersburg hosts a Hard Cider Fest with OAT and Ethan Taylor Stephenson (12-5:30 p.m.).
Then the small towns go wild, as out west in Pleasant Plains The Grainery celebrates its one-year anniversary with a costume Halloween party and Sequoia Drive. Out east, Buckhart Tavern has Midwest Revival rising to the occasion and Lucky’s on the Square in Petersburg hosts a Fall Mini Music Fest with five hometown acts going all day long while the Curveside Bar & Grill near Athens sends up Grant Barnett and Tom Thady, plus Tom & Amy.
Sunday Funday has nearly 15 events that you need to look up in our listings in order to make your tough choices. Monday delivers our friend Johnny Burgin to rock The Alamo as the Illinois Central Blues Club keeps up the good work of booking the blues in Springfield.
There’s plenty more out there so take a look at our listings and get going, going, gone.
This article appears in October 15-21, 2026.
