BAND SPOTLIGHT | Mike McClure Band

If you were from Oklahoma and if you were into hard-rocking, good country music like that of the Red Dirt scene, seeing Mike McClure’s name would send you bootscootin’ for the ticket booth, if you had boots. The singer, songwriter, guitarist, performer and producer played with The Great Divide, had tunes covered by Garth Brooks and Cross Canadian Ragweed, wrote a sequel (without asking Willie) to Red Headed Stranger and, with the release of his latest record, 50 BILLION on his own 598 Recordings record label, continues to be a force in modern country music. Along with his prowess as a hit writer and entertainer, McClure is positioned to break out as a label mogul and producer credited with discovering, signing, producing and nurturing The Damn Quails, currently a hot ticket on the national scene. Here’s a rare chance to see high quality, modern country in central Illinois, though it seems the folks over at Riverton’s Old 36 Inn are attempting to make it common practice.