BAND SPOTLIGHT | Hipbone Sam

Together for over six years now, it’s hard to imagine a time when Hipbone Sam wasn’t on the scene. Bandmates Kevin Hawkins as Hipbone Sam (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Mari (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Rob Ross (drums, vocals), Mark Riefler (bass guitar, vocals) and newest member Zack Fedor (harmonica, guitar, vocals) put on a heckuva show with good musicianship, familiar songs and snappy stage banter, including the always popular bongo bit that works as the best crowd interaction tool ever. Readers of Illinois Times voted them a “Best of” award five years in a row, and the guys are represented with full CDs on TouchTunes and AMI Entertainment Jukeboxes in the United States, Canada and military bases worldwide. The Coors Light-sponsored group released two new singles, “Brown Paper Bag” and “Designated Driver”, in 2015 while playing towns outside central Illinois, including runs to Iowa and Missouri. Saturday marks the first gig with Zack, a well-versed, young performer already on the scene, while Rick returns to the keyboards on certain songs as Hipbone hits new territory.