On the move and in the groove, this six-piece, self-proclaimed “country-rock” band covers contemporary and country classics, but what really sets Broseph E. Lee apart is their catchy songwriting. With the recent completion of the CD EP Fill ‘Em On Up, Aaron Larsen (drums), Sean Halbrook (bass, vocals), Chace McNinch (keys, banjo, vocals), Brock Jones […]
Pub Crawl
A blue moon weekend
Deep Lunar Blue plays the Trails End Saloon in Curran on Fri., July 31 for a Blue Moon Celebration. I’m not sure if you can stretch a blue moon, like the one this Friday, the only one in 2015, into an entire weekend, but if you’re willing to go along with this cockamamie idea, so […]
The Cadillac Three
Hailing from the other side of the tracks in Nashville, the long-haired trio of Jaren Johnston (lead vocals, guitar), Kelby Ray (bass guitar, Dobro, acoustic guitar, vocals) and Neil Mason (drums, vocals) are making it in Music City U.S.A., without the usual trappings. They don’t fit the mold of working-out, cowboy hat-wearing, country-crooning, cookie cutter […]
June doings
The Randy Dandies Burlesque Troupe from St. Louis entertains at Homespun Republic on Sat., June 12. Here we go on a romp through the early summertime music adventures. Outdoors, indoors, coming home, homecomings, fundraisers, hell-raisers, queens of color, queens of burlesque, old guys, new tricks and much more all happening in the next several days. […]
F5
F5 Here’s one F5 central Illinois can be happy about seeing again, as the extremely popular band of some years ago rekindles the magic to bring back the sounds that filled dance floors at bars, festivals, fairs and all kinds of other venues. From December of 1996 to December of 2008, the pop/rock/rap/Top 40/hip-hop group […]
Piston Broke
How nice is it that a band with five members each bringing decades of music-making experience to the fold has a debut performance? Members come with nicknames included, as Jeff “Drum Junkie” Bechtel (drums), Mark “Big Guy” Bott (lead vocals), Braxton “$Money$” Clark (keyboards), “Father” Hank Stoutamyer (bass) and Alex “Chi-Town” Borisov (lead guitar) come […]
SOHO, blues and more
Chicago Loud 9 (cLoud9) plays at SOHO 11 on the SOHO stage 10 p.m., Sat., June 6, in downtown Springfield. PHOTO COURTESY CHICAGO LOUD 9 VIA FACEBOOK Welcome to the first weekend of June in 2015. If you wish your days be filled with music and your nights too, things appear to be working in […]
Unity the Band
Unity the Band How a native of Fuji ended up playing reggae in an award-winning band all over the Midwest is one part of Unity’s story, but what keeps them coming back to venues is the real story and that’s based on the fantastic and flowing music they play. Fronted by founding member Kai “Pita” […]
End of May music
Mary Jo Curry and Lori Kretzinger of Radio Twist play the Long Bridge Golf Course clubhouse on Sunday afternoon, May 31, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Now that the Memorial Day weekend festivities and commemorations are past, let’s turn our attention to the summer ahead as the outdoor activities heat up. Last week I mentioned the […]
Memorable Memorial music
Elvis Himselvis (Rick Dunham) performs with a full entourage and band, Sat. May 23 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. I’m not even going to bring up the fact that we’re already at Memorial Day weekend for 2015. But let’s talk about all the music happening this weekend and beyond, enjoying that we are […]
Frank’s Discount Lounge Act
Remember those entertainment relics called “lounge singers” who could somewhat sleazily, but mostly cheesily, easily charm the pants off a mannequin? Bill Murray famously portrayed one in the 70s on Saturday Night Live and Lord only knows how many made an honest living doing it for real in days gone by. Now Frank Trompeter, renowned […]
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
Son of the legendary accordion player and Zydeco master Rockin’ Dopsie Sr., Dwayne “Dopsie” Rubin comes by his heritage honestly. He knows how to make a party happen whether on his European tours, his many visits to Springfield for the Meatsmack Mardi Gras Party or kickin’ it up at home on his Louisiana turf. Well-known […]
