Hailing from our neighboring city of Decatur, The Great Waltz calls its music “aggressive folk,” and began with Matt Skinner writing songs in his basement. The rest of the band, Josh Dimmick, Joe Gerard, Luke Alan and eventually, Kevin Gillman, came along to flush out arrangements and give Skinner’s songs life on stage. Soon they became Millikin University house party favorites then moved on to playing shows around the Midwest. After signing to Blue Box Records, the up-and-comers released an EP and now have a full-length record in the works featuring the adept songwriting skills of Skinner. The band opens for western Illinois Americana rockers Iron Orchard, a groovin’ band from near Macomb, heading to the hills and beyond with rockin’ guitars in hand. These guys continue to make music on their own terms, building a catalogue of song, impossibly and inevitably, intertwined in their homeland, set between the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers. With new recordings of area-based tunes, Iron Orchard displays a decided knack for capturing a sense of place within a song.
The Great Waltz, Iron Orchard, Transatlantic
Saturday, Dec. 1, 9pm
Donnie’s Homespun
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2012.
