We made it through the election (I think) and the time change (whatever), heading straight into the heart of November. Good thing there’s plenty of fine music to experience.
Every once in awhile (actually, it’s happening a lot lately) profoundly great musicians of our time pass through the area, and on Thursday night the Paris-Belle House Concerts features Dave Curley and Andrew Finn Magill, a pair of world-class, real Irish-music musicians. Dave comes to us from County Galway on the west coast of Ireland with a mighty reputation as a superb multi-instrumentalist, singer and step dancer who worked with folks like Grammy Awardwinners Moya Brennan of Clannad and Ross Holmes of Mumford and Sons, plus the Irish super (duper) group Slide. Andrew is also a multi-instrumentalist as well as an all-Ireland fiddle finalist, with credits of performances on five continents in a variety of genres from traditional Irish and American roots to Brazilian and African fusion. If this sounds like your cup of Irish tea, give the P-B folks a shout at paris-belleconcerts@outlook.com to make a reservation and find out details.
When (or if, I hope) friends complain of the lack of local interesting events to attend, please be sure to politely tell them to hush up while explaining these next items very slowly. The good people at The Studio and The Studio Show host a spectacular night of music and film (and cake, too, I hear) on Friday when singer-songwriter-guitarist Arlin Peebles releases his latest CD titled When You Need Me and film director/producer Dave Heinzel premiers Emily, his third film. Arlin will play at 8, the film clicks in at 9, and the cake, I presume, is available throughout the evening until it’s gone. On Saturday the Radon Lounge hosts another wonderful concert in a mysterious location (spread the Radon) with music artists DEZORAH, We the Animals, Glower and Foot with visual art on display by Stanley Bly. Look up the Lounge on Facebook and check out the goodies. The place is just plain cool and the music is always on the challenging and original side of the block, so be prepared to dig it. Take that, ye doubters of Springfield’s creative forces.
Saturday night gets you into lots of fun with a visit to Ms. D’s Soul Food (Located on 11th Street near Kansas) when Ocean State musically wades into Brazilian styles and metaphorically coasts through some jazz and blues from 6 to 8. The band, led by Mark Russillo on harmonica and vocals, features a floating group of local musicians providing waves of pleasant surprises at every gig. Remember that 11th Street is torn up near the venue, so go down to 12 th Street on South Grand Avenue (honk at the great green elephant by Dumb Records) and cut through to Kansas for a night of sweet soul food and swinging sambas.
The Blair House Band hosts a Veterans Celebration Party at VFW Lafore Lock Post 755 (the post near the big blue water tower on Old Jacksonville Road) from 7:30 to 10:30 on Friday night with a fish fry happening before the band starts. Monticello bluesman Billy Galt of Blues Deacons fame heads our way this weekend with a stop at George Ranks on Friday night to swap songs with me plus a visit to the Vixen Hill Winery in Palmyra on Sunday.
Stay tuned for more music by checking out the Pub Crawl listings, by golly.
