Come on in, my fellow travelers and let’s take a peek at some goings on within the wide and wonderful (mostly) world of the Springfield (Illinois) music scene for this week.
We’ve been plugging the Thursdays pretty hard lately, and I hope you’ve made it out to see some of these available, pre-weekend shows. This week, I spy my friend and yours, Casey Cantrall, hosting his monthly open mic at the Wakery, mother/daughter Americana duo WisenHeart at the Mother Road Diner and Ricarda Rosalina at Fulgenzi’s for acoustic-styled live music, as The Front Desk travels down from Chicago to do up the Curve Inn with interestingly eclectic, electric sounds and a trombone.
Springfield is renowned for its rock bands, both cover and original, so let’s go see who’s rockin’ the house hard this weekend. Friday kicks off with The Cocktails serving up a wide variety of interesting songs at Weebles, while Jay Larson Band rounds out the rock at George Rank’s 10th anniversary party.
In the original music category. we’ve hit the jackpot as the Gin Mill presents The Lovelorn, Los Injectors, Wolf Crick Boys and Crash Planet in an old-style, set ’em up and play a set, four-band-night concert, while down the street on Monroe, the Dumb Records stage room hosts a five-band, rock-out extravaganza with What Counts, Struck, Pucker Up, Worldview and Meta-Statis. But wait, there’s more as the Blue Grouch keeps up its original music shows as the beer garden season winds down with Zodiac Killaz and Wrekless self-claiming to “bring metal back to Springfield,” and there’s no reason to doubt that assertion.
If you’d like to leave town for a dose of the rockin’ world, Jacksonville’s Pizza Records gives us Torchlight Parade, Archdragon and Axeticy, while a bit further down the road in Roodhouse, Toxic Johnny strikes a deal at Martin Lanes.
Saturday continues the rock it out party with Michael Burnett and the Suns of Circumstance bringing it to the Stadium, Branded burning it at both ends at Motorheads and VFW Post 755 doing double-dipping duty with Jeff Young and the Bad Grandpas (12-3) and 2FlightsDown (7-10). In the meantime, George Rank’s continues the anniversary celebration with Go! Tsunami surf-rockin’ in masks, while Paul Bill Jr. swerves to the Curve for his post-tour party performance and Positively 4th Street, Colin Helton Band and Thomas J Beverly serve up a “multi-band, mini-concert” at Mowie’s Cue. More rock ’em/sock ’em stuff happens at Danenburger Family Vineyards where there’s a GrungeFest going on with a band called Hollow paying tribute to Alice in Chains while one called Creep does up the Stone Temple Pilots in tribulation fashion, just as Devil’s Daughter & The Black Water Band haunts Weebles all night long. So if rock is what you crave going out, you’ve got plenty to rave about.
For not-rock music, how about the inaugural Land of Lincoln (L.O.L.) House Music Festival? Presented by Springfield House Music Creatives, along with Field House Productions, it runs from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Lincoln Park pavilion in our north-end public park. Designed to “spread unity and awareness through house music,” the event boasts seven DJs, five vendors and plenty of sponsors, so come on down and enjoy the fresh sounds of Springfield house music.
Then plan ahead to get your tickets before they’re gone for Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin at the Cabin Concerts, Oct. 25 and 26 by emailing thecabinconcerts@gmail.com. The two marvelously talented Americana musicians will be doing music-related workshops on Sunday, Oct. 27 as well.
Rock on and boogie out, too, at least until next week.
This article appears in Citizens want a voice in CWLP.
