Music – Tom Irwin

I’ve heard more songs about the dark and dreary days of November than any other time on the calendar. But that shall not refrain us from enjoying these moments any old way we can, so off into the depths of forbidding November we go. First, let’s pay our respects to a recently departed musician, as […]

Per usual, there is a slew of music mustered up for this weekend, but first, with Halloween on a Thursday this year, we must help ourselves to the haunted happenings here and below. On Halloween night, the Third Base bar hosts a fundraiser for the Illinois Central Blues Club as a thank you for all […]

Rolling right on through the fall as we’re rocking your world, our music takes us to a bunch of fun stuff, as one might well imagine. Shall we see what? Thursday evening delivers a couple of blues news extras as Johnny Burgin returns with a rockin’ blues show at Hand of Fate in Petersburg and […]

As we head into mid-October, the crisp coolness we expect from fall has settled in with a foreshadowing of the weather to come. We still have a few fests and the fun that follows left for all to enjoy. Here comes the second Thursday of the month, which tells me there is a concert happening […]

The invitation is always open to enjoy the arts scene in town and specifically the music makings as reported here and in the calendar listings. Isn’t it wonderful we’ve gotten to the point that you just can’t see it all every weekend? I think that’s the way it should be and am pleased that it […]

As we wing our way through the last weekend in September, look for more fun in the sun for a bit longer as we transition from the beer gardens gigs and few remaining outdoor festivals back into the more intimate spaces to be seen inside the bar scene. Brace yourself as the 18th annual International […]

This week we have a large assortment to cover, including anniversaries and inaugurals, a Honky Tonk Circus and a SamJam, a jazz night and an Oktoberfest weekend, plus pet sounds and fancy fiddlin’. So let’s get right to it, shall we? On Saturday, let the celebration begin as Walnut Street Winery commemorates 10 years of […]

In several recent columns I’ve had to announce the loss of a community musician. Each time, I continue to talk about other events as life does move on, and I feel that especially with musicians, entertainers and performers, the thought that the show goes on is ever present, vital and necessary. But it sure doesn’t […]

Now that we’ve made it through the summer of 2019 with Labor Day weekend behind us, the fall season of music fests begins. For me, it’s really the best time weather-wise and music-wise, as the world slows down a bit, while we roll along toward the waiting wintertime. What do I see while perusing the […]

Welcome to an early bird Labor Day weekend for 2019. Since the first Monday in September is actually the second day of the month this year, the whole shebang is one day away from the earliest possible date it could be. This weekend is officially the end of the summer season by most accounts, and […]

 I think we can safely state the Illinois State Fair was more than fairly good this year. It’s fair enough to say, it’s time to move on to other happenings around town, and they are bountiful. First, let us give our sad goodbyes to another member of our music community as Gary “Walnuts” Swaggerty passed […]

As the inimitable entertainment entities of the Illinois State Fair carry on, the local clubs continue to emit large quantities of live music as well, setting us up for a whopper of a weekend, well within your listening grasp. We begin with another loss to our musician community, as we sadly announce the passing of […]