Blind Boys of Alabama Saturday, Feb. 20 8pm Sangamon Auditorium, UIS 206-6160 $35-$40

Gospel greats

Performing on the Sangamon Auditorium stage is the Grammy-award winning singing group with special guest John Hammond presented in cooperation with the Friends of Brookens Library to celebrate Black History Month. Formed some six and a half decades ago, The Blind Boys of Alabama predate Elvis, Little Richard and Al Green, yet even in their 70s they are still at the top of the gospel charts and have earned impressive “three-peat” honors by winning Grammy Awards for the past three years. In the past five years, they’ve recorded moving renditions of songs by everyone from Tom Waits to Prince, side by side with their traditional material, and appeared as guests on records and on stage with an equally diverse array of artists, from Peter Gabriel to Ben Harper. Other Black History events are African-American Day Feb. 24 at LLCC, evening story time Feb. 25 at Chatham Library and the film The Witness, Feb. 23 at Brookens Auditorium, UIS, and Feb. 25 at SIU.