Summer concert roundup
Plan now to take in summer sounds
MUSIC | Scott Faingold
That sibilant sizzling in the air is the sound of a spectacularly sultry summer concert season. In town and throughout the region, it’s clear that if you don’t manage to see any great gigs this season, it’s only because you didn’t try hard enough. Below is just a smattering of the musical happenings on offer.
Springfield On the home front, Boondocks continues its reign as home of the down-home touring act, with June appearances by Texan musicians Aaron Watson (6/6) and Casey Donahew Band (6/12), with ex-Cross- Canadian Ragweed frontman (also from Texas) Cody Canada and his new band, the Departed, slated for June 20. A week later on June 27 brings a stop from fellow Cody (and fellow Texan) Cody Johnson. Wow, that’s a lot of Texas in one month, Boondocks! July 2, Tennessee’s 10 Years are in the house, Whiskey Myers (not just from Texas, but from Palestine, Texas, no less!) on July 10, followed by Alabama’s Jamey Johnson on July 11 and a week later, back to Texas with William Clark Green.
Homespun Republic will play host to the Bedrock 66 appearance on July 25 by legendary songwriter Lydia Loveless with Somebody’s Darling in the opening slot.
Bar None will host Chuck Mead on June 12, local heroes Los Injectors and surf-rock maniacs Go! Tsunami on JunE 18, Hank and Cupcakes with Luzhin Defense on July 1, and Complaint Line will have their CD release party here on July 17. For a change of pace, Hoogland Center for the Arts www.hcfta.org will host a doo-wop concert by Harbor Lights on June 7.
Music Festivals will be plentiful this summer. SOHO Fest is slated for June 5-6; in addition to their relentless schedule of local and touring bands, Black Sheep Café will host not one but two festivals this season, with Dumb Fest set for June 12-13 and Black Sheep Fest on July 25. Downhome Fest is on for Aug. 7-8. Check IT’s calendar for a complete lineups of artists in weeks to come.
Of
course, no Springfield summer concert schedule is complete without the
Illinois State Fair’s Grandstand series, (Aug. 14-23), including Sammy
Hagar and Collective Soul on 8/14, Justin Moore on 8/16, Rascal Flatts
on 8/18, Styx with Tesla the following day, and Hank Williams Jr. with
.38 Special on 8/21. Yee-haw, Illinois State Fair. Am I right?
Road
Trip (or trips) anyone? One of 2014’s most memorable concerts was
super-guitar-driven Tennessee punk band Diarrhea Planet at the Black
Sheep Café. DP ventures back to the region for a gig at
Champaign-Urbana’s High Dive on July 10. Up the road apiece the very
next day, the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts will mark the
closest
that witty, dour ex-Smiths front man Morrissey has yet been to
Springfield. Also in the Bloomington- Normal areas, The U.S. Cellular Coliseum (www.uscellularcoliseum.com)
boasts a busy summer schedule featuring Breaking Benjamin (July 21),
Rod Stewart (July 22) among others, while The Castle Theatre mixes
things up with an eclectic roster stretching from the classic twang of
Asleep at the Wheel (June 21); the Christian metal of POD (July 2); the
cathartic gender dysphoria of Against Me! (July 7); and the shimmering
pop sheen of TheNew Pornographers (July 16).
The Peoria Civic Center (www.peoriaciviccenter.com) will
play host to everyone’s folk hero John Mellencamp on June 3, Avett
Brothers / Old Crow Medicine Show on June 5 and weirdly named pop singer
Hoodie Allen on July 7.
Contact Scott Faingold at sfaingold@illinoistimes.com.
