When the “about” section of a band’s Facebook page says, “A malicious onslaught of diabolical debauchery and brutal blasphemy!!!!!” you know they mean business. What thou Will, a Springfield-based metal band that “combines traditional and nontraditional elements of death, thrash, melodic and black metal to create a unique brand of metal,” began in 2004 as […]
Tom Irwin
Posted inMusic
John Byrne brings on the Irish
From centuries-old songs and tunes performed in traditional ways to the adaptation of instruments and melodies to the new land, Irish music certainly infused itself into the American consciousness throughout our history and seems even stronger today than ever before. In central Illinois we have at several Irish-influenced groups playing out regularly, numerous public events […]
Posted inMusic
Bill Price
Based out of the Indianapolis area, Bill Price discovered early on a fascination and respect for the songwriting of both Bob Dylan and the Beatles that led to a lifetime of chasing the song muse. After decades of performance, songwriting and recording, his goal is the same, “I was inspired by certain music to try […]
Posted inMusic
From Perkins to Presney
John Michael Presney spent the better part of the last two years on the road in the first national touring production of the Tony award-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet portraying the “father of rockabilly,” Carl Perkins. The Rochester native, talking to me by phone from poolside in Tucson, Ariz. as he prepared for his final […]
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ZZ Tripp
Springfield’s ZZ Tripp with Brad Alan (as Billy Gibbons on guitar), Dan Kress (as Dusty Hill on bass) and Tom Summerlin (as Frank Beard on drums) gives ZZ Top a tremendous tribute treatment. With songs “structured like their studio work, but with some of ZZ Top’s signature live elements added in,” the trio spans “over […]
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Josh Catalano and The Dirty Thoughts
A stalwart on the local music scene in performing, writing and recording original, rocking American music, Josh Catalano (guitar, vocals, songwriting) formed The Dirty Thoughts in 2011 with former Damnwell Betters bandmates Patrick Miller (drums) and Jordan Laier (guitar, keys, pedal steel, vocals), then added Keith Voegele (bass, vocals) of the nationally renowned St. Louis-based […]
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20 years of the FTQ
Oh, how we love to measure time, indeed, we live by that desire, but that’s the human way of observing and commemorating movement through our lives. Important events in our travels are designated by counting the years and creating anniversaries. Please join us for one of these milestones as we celebrate 20 years of the […]
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Kirwan, Foster and Lincoln
What do the songs “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races” (“doo-dah, doo-dah”) and “Old Folks at Home” (“… way down upon the Swanee River”) all have in common? Other than most of you are now humming the tunes of these immensely popular songs, they were all written by the famed, mid-19th century American composer, Stephen Foster. Now […]
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CW Ayon
New Mexican bluesman CW Ayon (pronounced “I own”) began his adventure as a one-man band in 2008. Playing what he terms his “Hill Country Blues, Chihuahuan Desert, hook-laden groove,” on two bass drums, a rocking blues guitar and blazing harmonica with a gritty voice rising above it all, CW truly makes one very large sound […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Celebrity soiree
Springfield Art Association’s Personalities Paint, April 20 from 6-9 p.m., is a fun party for a good cause. Art exhibit openings are always a blast, but at this one you can rub elbows with some of the most well-known local personalities and perhaps take home their work. Their paintings, on 10-inch by 10-inch canvases in […]
Posted inMusic
Heil, high and hi-fi
During a recent conversation with Illinois Times blogger Scott Faingold, I mentioned that National Record Store Day coincided with what has become national “weed” day (Huffington Post has a good reference article on how 420 became significant in pot culture). Scott, utilizing his acclaimed collection of facts and figures, added Hitler’s birthday to the April […]
Posted inMusic
Randy Charles and the Western Angels
This five-piece group are darn good purveyors of country, folk and bluegrass tunes, combining choice covers by the likes of Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks with a handy bunch of well-suited original music to create a complete package of a heavenly, classic Americana band. Fronted by Randal Charles Hall (Randy Charles) on vocals, […]
