Idol Rumors No one does classic rock like the guys who learned the songs before they were classics. When bands like Queen, Kiss, Boston, Judas Priest and Aerosmith rocked our world, local musicians Rusty Lee Ellison (guitar, vocals), Jeff Ellison (drums, vocals), Tim Copp (bass, vocals) and Mark Agnew (lead vocals, keyboards) applied themselves and […]
Tom Irwin
Posted inMusic
The season of Hurricane Ruth
Hurricane Ruth performs Sat., Nov. 22, at the Alamo. Mary Jo Curry and Tombstone Bullet start the show at 8 p.m. As a working blues-rock artist, if you’ve had Willie Dixon, one of the most profound, prolific and professional blues guys of all time quoted as saying, “You’re the only hurricane I can appreciate,” that […]
Posted inMusic
Fumée Gypsy Project
Fumée Gypsy Project What sounds come to mind when gypsy-jazz music gets mentioned? If it’s soaring vocals, speedy guitars and swinging bass you are in the realm of the Chicago-based Fumée Gypsy Project. This last year, Christy Bennett (vocals, accordion), Casey Nielsen and Nate Baker (guitars) and Christian Dillingham (bass) completed a crowd-sourced, fan-based funding […]
Posted inMusic
Weekend workings
The Harmans play the Bluegrass for Tallgrass fundraiser for Friends of Sangamon Valley this Sat., Nov. 15 in the indoor theater at New Salem State Park. The skies may go gray and the world darkens as November seeps into the soul, but look for enlightenment and excitement – or at least a drink and live […]
Posted inMusic
Rhonda and the rest
Rhonda Vincent and The Rage perform Sat. during the 28th Annual Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival at the Crowne Plaza, Nov. 7, 8 and 9. The first full weekend in November comes roaring in like it has nothing to do but impress us with an exciting and full plate of entertainment goodies to drop in […]
Posted inMusic
Royal Son of a Guns
PHOTO COURTESY ROYAL SON OF a GUNS Hailing and railing from Chicago, while curtailing nothing pertaining to righteousness and proper behavior, this trio describes themselves as “barstool smashing miscreants” ready and willing to “take Americana on a psycho-cathartic hayride through the thorny nettles of the American roots music underbelly,” – and they mean it, folks. […]
Posted inMusic
Hello Halloweeners
KFD plays one, last, final show on Halloween night at Longbridge Golf Course Clubhouse Lounge with guests, the Shunpikers. Welcome ghouls, goblins, guys and gals to the terribly terrifying world of the Springfield bar music scene during Halloween season. I say season, because with the Friday night appearance of the haunted holiday, clubs (beat me […]
Posted inMusic
Todd Wolfe Band
Todd Wolfe Todd Wolfe befriended Sheryl Crow when she was a struggling backup singer in New York City and he too was “trying to make it” in the music business. Later, he joined her first live band in the wake of her early success and played the world for five years. He’s also associated himself […]
Posted inMusic
Brewhaus celebration
Tom Irwin celebrates 20 years of Sundays at the Brewhaus, Oct. 26, 7 to 11 p.m. There’s something about approaching late October that I always look forward to experiencing. It’s the smell of the cooling air, the feel of warming sunshine, leaves turning and falling in swirls and oh, yes … my birthday. I’ve always […]
Posted inMusic
Charlie Parr�
Often musicians who emulate a sound from the past are destined to succumb to the public perception of revivalist or tribute artist, but Charlie Parr consistently rises above such notions while proudly and succinctly performing on the perch of his musical roots. Influenced in the country-blues styles as popularized by the old blues masters such […]
Posted inMusic
October Oddities
Robert Sampson plays and discusses the blues at the Woodlawn Fall Festival near Jacksonville on Sat., Oct. 18. Many a word spent here in this column relates to our bar scene, where much of the live music happens in Springfield. Hence the “oddities” comment in our headline describing these out-of-bar experiences occurring this week. Often […]
Posted inMusic
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 […]
