NOW PLAYING | Tom Irwin
Welcome to the first full weekend in February 2015, complete with an assortment of entities sure to entice you into indulging in a night of entertainment for your enjoyment.
Donnie’s Homespun is on the move, but not from a physical standpoint. The popular venue for rock, alternative, jam and Americana bands, plus EDM, hip-hop and various other benefits, projects and weekly jams in Springfield remains in the always interesting Vinegar Hill Mall building. Now sporting the title of “Homespun Republic,” the many-layered nightclub continues to bring in touring name acts, undiscovered bands and local groups deserving of a larger venue.
The name change came about to avoid continued confusion with Donnie B’s, a long-running, local comedy club located in the Route 66 Hotel. The Homespun Republic’s original name came over with owner Neil Dresen, who borrowed the moniker from his successful Decatur venture near Millikin University, Donnie’s Homespun Pizza. It may take awhile for the signs to be changed over, and it may take even longer for folks to not call the joint “Donnie’s,” but soon enough the public will come up with a one-word designation for the Homespun Republic that works, just like we always do to nickname our favorite hangouts. In the meantime, musicianperformed music continues to waft through the rafters in the cool and cavernous venue.
Be sure to check their well-maintained website for upcoming shows and events. This Friday, Neil’s group of top-shelf Springfield musicians known as The Untouchable Force celebrates the 70th birthday of reggae maestro Bob Marley by performing his Uprising album. On Saturday, a St. Louis staple, Aaron Kamm and the One Drops, celebrate the CD release of Feed the Meter with a highenergy show highlighting this River City trio’s brand of soul-reggae-blues influences driving improv-laced rock jams. Special guests, local Americana band Murder of Crowes and Crate 2 Crate Sound System, old-school DJs using real vinyl to mix and match, kick off the concert.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, singer, songwriter and mandolinist Jeff Austin (a founding, and now former, member of Yonder Mountain String Band) leads a stellar group of musicians to perform songs from his new album, The Simple Truth. The record, released on the prestigious Yep Roc imprint, features a selection of Austin tunes that move away from his former jam-band stylings in YMSB to more genre-jumping through pop, country, bluegrass and rock sounds. Joined by long-time collaborator Danny Barnes (the Bad Livers) on banjo and guitar, guitarist Ross Martin, bass player Eric Thorin and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars on percussion as the core band, plus a collection of guest stars, including Sarah Siskind and Todd Snider, the record stakes a claim in the modern music mines. The band, sans Dickinson, joins Austin on the road making the concert a special visit from a top notch group of world-class, working musicians. Bones, Jugs N Harmony, a wonderfully talented and unpretentious group from Champaign-Urbana determined to bring jug and string band music back into the limelight, opens the show.
Over at the lovingly renovated Boone’s Saloon, Perry Zubeck helped organize a gathering of musicians and others involved in the area arts scene for 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9. Planned as a monthly event, Perry and owner-operator Steve Luparell envision the get together as a way for arts folks to discuss projects, review shows and initiate conversations, all with food and drink specials present to lubricate situations and generate ideas. No live music is booked, but as Perry mused, “Maybe this could end up a nice jam session in the spring.”
As always, please visit the Illinois Times Pub Crawl in print or online to experience more of the good stuff surrounding us.
Contact Tom Irwin at [email protected].