Start Black History Month off on the right foot and enjoy a spirited dance performance by Step Afrika!, the first professional dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Stepping became popular in the United States in the early 1900s thanks to song-and-dance rituals practiced by African-American fraternities and sororities. Stepping is performed widely today […]
Decatur
Posted inMusic
Octobering for music
Chris Miller, along with Joe Dawkins and Mike Burnett, plays Trail’s End Saloon in Curran on Fri, Oct. 23. I don’t know why, but this weekend shows up like a who’s who of what’s happening here, there and everywhere. Tough choices lie on the entertainment table. Let’s start when Chris Miller, the extraordinary guitarist, singer […]
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Planes, trains and trucks
Illustration by David Hine. It all began with a napkin. The international food-processing company Archer Daniels Midland was paying $250 per shipping container to transfer its goods between two railroads in Decatur, and they were looking for a way to cut that cost. Scott Fredericksen, ADM’s president of transportation, and Mark Schweitzer, then the company’s […]
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Festival festivities
The Timmys go crazy at the Downhome Music, Beer & Art Festival on Saturday night, 9 p.m., on the Washington Street stage. PHOTO BY SETH ADAMS PHOTOGRAPHY This weekend brings us festivals galore, bands all over town and a happening ALS benefit. Just around the calendar corner comes the Illinois State Fair and all the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Women on wheels
Central Illinois Showdown On Saturday, March 28, Decatur’s Prairieland Punishers, a women’s flat-track roller derby league, will host the Central Illinois Showdown roller derby bout. This bout is the 2015 season home opener for the Punishers, whose two teams will compete in two bouts on Saturday. The Prairieland Punishers Backlash will take on the McLean […]
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Homespun resolution
Jeff Austin (formerly of Yonder Mountain String Band) brings his touring band of fine musicians to Homespun Republic (formerly Donnie’s Homespun) on Wed., Feb. 11 with opening act Bones, Jugs N Harmony. Welcome to the first full weekend in February 2015, complete with an assortment of entities sure to entice you into indulging in a […]
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Icon for Hire�
Icon for Hire Originally from Decatur, our neighbor city to the east, this ambitious and inventive combo creates pop-punk, near-rap, electronic-alternative rock music that reaches into the collective consciousness of American contemporary sounds. Calling this the Hometown Show on their Rock ‘N’ Roll Thugs tour, singer Ariel, guitarist Shawn Jump, bassist Josh Kincheloe (not always […]
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Fair enough
Screamin’ Vatos blaze away at the Miller Lite beer tent on Friday night, August 15 at the Illinois State Fair. The large and looming presence of the Illinois State Fair continues shadowing all our entertainment choices for the upcoming weekend. As the fair winds down on Sunday, live music rules the roost on the grounds […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Going the extra mile
PHOTO BY CHAD MITCHELL PHOTOGRAPHY Assumption Fest opens Thursday, June 26, in the small town of Assumption but the lineup is anything but small. Recently added to the parade on Saturday, June 28, is the vehicle and color guard, courtesy of the Illinois Army National Guard’s Company A and Company D, 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation […]
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Everything Indian
Here’s a great reason to drive east from Springfield this Friday night, June 6, to Madden Arts Center. The Decatur Area Arts Council is hosting an event for the opening of its newest exhibit, Native American Art: Splendid Heritage, and it promises to be fun and inspiring. Honoring the Native American culture, activities include Jo […]
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The Todd Henry and Stan Kupish Show
If you notice a couple guys sporting goofy glasses, wacky wigs, Elvis suits complete with sideburns, jumbo jackets, silly shirts, hilarious hats, all picked and paired at a moment’s notice to match songs from the 50s to the present performed with wild abandonment and superb aplomb, never fear, the odds are, it’s simply The Todd […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Wall sculpture
DISillusion is the name of the art exhibit by Springfield artist Adam G. Perschbacher on display at the Anne Lloyd Gallery in downtown Decatur starting March 1. An opening reception is planned for March 7 and includes hors d’oeuvres, beverages and live music. The 20-piece exhibit is the newest and most complex geometric abstractions from […]
