SwitchbackSince 1993, Martin McCormack (bass, vocals) and Brian FitzGerald (guitar, mandolin, vocals), known as the duo Switchback, have released several CDs of Celtic and Americana music and traveled a good deal of the Western world playing classic folk songs and original tunes filled with extraordinary vocal harmony. Based out of Chicago with deep Iowa roots, you’ll find these guys on the road doing more than 200 engagements yearly on tours throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands. Maybe you’ve seen their television specials “The Americana Sessions” and “The Celtic Sessions” on PBS or joined their group music tours through Ireland and Italy or perhaps attended their annual songwriting workshops in Dubuque, Iowa. Brian and Martin have become central Illinois favorites with past shows at the Hoogland Center for the Arts and Paris-Belle House over the last few years. This Friday they play the prestigious Focal Point in St. Louis, then hang around after Saturday’s Williamsville concert to do Community Outreach sessions in Springfield and Decatur for a few days before heading back out.
Tom Irwin, a sixth-generation Sangamon County resident, has played his songs and music for nearly 40 years in the central Illinois area with occasional forays across the country. He's contributed to Illinois...
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