Hailing from Columbus, Ohio and hitting towns all over the Midwest since 2009 with the sound and the fury of a modern American rock and roll band on a mission, Angela Perley (vocals, electric guitar, musical saw), Chris Connor (lead electric guitar), Billy Zehnal (electric bass) and various drummers including Maxwell Button, Adam White and […]
Midwest
Posted inArts & Culture
Love dogs?
The Illinois State Fairgrounds Exposition Building will host 1,200 to 1,300 dogs daily this Thursday through Sunday during the Annual Prairieland Classic AKC All Breed Dog Shows, one of the premier dog shows in the Midwest. In addition to the popular dog shows and competitions, a highlight of this year’s event will be the “Meet […]
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Witnessing the past
PHOTOS COURTESY CHERI FRY The largest mounted Civil War reenactment in the Midwest takes place in Jacksonville Community Park June 20-22. Watch soldiers drill and prepare for battle, fix meals, practice medicine and enact major battles. There will also be Friday night entertainment, an exhibit to honor war veterans, rides in WWII trucks, 1850s vintage […]
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Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
PHOTO BY ROSIE WAGNER A performing songwriter since 2006, Ezra Furman hangs out in the indie-rock, folk-rock, original music land and calls Chicago home. With the Harpoons, the group delivers ferociously friendly sounding on-the-beat and in-your-face songs with sweet and sour lyrics balanced between personal experiences and existential dialogues with the universe as a conversational […]
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September soundings
Cool weather and cooler things to do appear as the fall season moves into our world with a pleasant and welcome entrance. As the days shorten, the night comes earlier and that means more “nightlife” for you and me. Another area band makes the effort to gain fan-based funding as Brushville (formerly Brushfire), a modern […]
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Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys
With enough playing under their respective belts to make an old bluesman weep and moan, you would be hard pressed to find a more a traditional sounding, Chicago electric blues band at work today than this group of blues veterans. Praised as being “very, very good” by none other than the incredible and venerable Buddy […]
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Most excellent adventure
Meet Ben Viele and Alexander Rodriguez. They are co-hosts of Los Angeles’s Universal Broadcasting Network Internet radio show “Happy Hour with Ben and Alexander.” So what are they doing in central Illinois and why are they putting on a show at the Hoogland Center for the Arts? Well, Viele’s hometown is in central Illinois and […]
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Family Groove Company
This Chicago-based quartet keeps making the rounds and stirring the pot with festival appearances at the Midwest’s finest, including Summerfest, Summer Camp and 10,000 Lakes. Family Groove Company employs Adam Lewis (guitar), Janis Wallin (bass, vocals), Jordan Wilkow (Fender Rhodes, keyboards, lead vocals) and Mattias Blanck (drum, percussion, vocals) as the providers of the music, […]
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The Great Waltz
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 […]
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Grave matters
Illinois State Museum Paul Mickey Science Series returns with a lecture July 11 at the Research and Collections Center on Ash Street. The program features Guy Sternberg from Starhill Forest Arboretum, who is also an Illinois College adjunct professor and ISM adjunct research associate. The public is invited to the free talk. The lecture covers […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Indoor display
Enjoy a juried invitational fine art show in an indoor environment, free from the elements, in the Orr Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Here at one of central Illinois’ first spring fine art shows you’ll find a casual setup like no other in the capital city. Thirty-five Midwest artists display their metal sculptures, watercolors, […]
