BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Junior Varsity

From 2002-07, The Junior Varsity (Asa Dawson of Griggsville, Andy Wildrick of Jacksonville, Sergio Coronado of Danville, Nick Dodson of Jacksonville and Chris Birch of Edwardsville) joined forces as a “rock band in the alternative/progressive/emo touring circuit” to make quite a splash in the music world. Based out of a communally shared house on Clear Lake Avenue, the group toured incessantly and became one of the most successful bands to ever come out of central Illinois. Highlights of the good old days include a sold out European tour with Panic! at the Disco, a national record deal with Victory Records of Chicago that eventually sold some 50,000 units and TJV music featured in video games, film and TV. There were live performances seemingly everywhere, including at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Amped Snowboarding 3, Warped Tour and Summerfest. The guys recently decided the time was right for this four-show reunion tour (The Castle in Bloomington on Thursday, The Beat Kitchen in Chicago on Friday, Boondocks on Saturday and The Firebird in St. Louis on Sunday), marking their first concerts in nearly 10 years.