Pre-Christmas goings on
NOW PLAYING | Tom Irwin
Hold onto to your holiday hats everyone; we are in for a wild and wooly ride down entertainment row as the gigs pile up like presents under some lucky folks Christmas tree.
Congratulations are in order for The Deep Hollow members Dave Littrell, Elizabeth Eckert and Micah Walk as they recently walked away winners in American Songwriter magazine’s 30th anniversary song contest. The thrilling threesome battled out many fine acts in several genres to land on top as the Grand Prize winner. Besides taking home some great gear goodies and other stuff, the national exposure from the prominent magazine is a big deal. Who knows what’s next, but good things are in the air for this talented group. Come on out to Engrained Brewing Company on Thursday evening at 8 p.m. as they play their last gig of the year. It’s a Toys for Tots show, so bring an unopened toy to donate.
In the spirit of the season, Off the Wall plays at Longbridge Golf Course lounge on Thursday night and requests that you bring a new pair of child-size mittens or gloves or a winter scarf instead of paying the cover. The band guys will deliver the goodies to District 186 for distribution to children who need the winter wear. This is the second year for the good deed and last year Kip, Steve, Fred, Rusty and Jack collected over 1,000 pieces for the kiddos. If you just want to give cash, trust me that you can trust them to buy the necessary items needed to donate. This is a cool thing to do to keep kids warm.
Please allow me to invite you to a special show by a special person when good friend and wonderful musician Zakia Hart performs at the State House Inn bar on Friday evening. Last year I heard her heartfelt and tremendous tribute for family and friends, dedicated to her late father, a well-respected local musician. This year’s show by the Millikin alum is open to the public. You’ll hear some classical, jazz and blues performed by Zakia on the keyboard accompanied by Tom Myers (bass), Chris Warren (drums), Nathan Albrecht (violin) and Artie Logan (saxophone).
Friday must be the “night of the acoustic” or something as a plethora of pluckers come out to play. Our traveling friend and most excellent songwriter Dan Hubbard takes the spot beneath the wheel at Norb Andy’s from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. The multi-talented, brilliant song catchers, Jones & Chase play the Craft Beer Bar at 9 p.m. and Lowder and Manning sing and play original, wondrous songs at III Tomassos Italian Bistro, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Pete Sander sings his own songs at the Butternut Hut from 5 to 7 p.m. and Clint Kessinger does “Good Times” from 7 to 11 p.m. at Walnut Street Winery in Rochester. I put the exact times in just in case you wanted to time it just right to see a bit of them all.
ZZ Tripp makes a rare local appearance with a visit to the newly resurrected Forty- Niner Bye-Bye on Bruns Lane this Saturday night. The boys in the beards (two at least) made a year of traveling all over the place, doing the ZZ Top tribute from Minnesota to Florida and all stops in between. They’ve done quite well and should be proud. I know we are. Now you can go tell them so in person.
Top off your weekend with a visit to the Walnut Street Winery as the fabulous Ivas Johns comes up from Southern Illinois way to play an afternoon solo show Sunday at 4 p.m.
There’s plenty more out there and you know where to look for it (IT).
Contact Tom Irwin at [email protected].
