In the past week, I've had three conversations with people from the Chicago area who were genuinely surprised by the amount and quality of live music we have here. The first was at the California Honeydrops show. "The California Honeydrops NEVER come to this area. We had no idea Peoria drew bands like this!" Another conversation was with someone who recently moved to Peoria and told me, "I feel like coming down here, I have more live music in Peoria than I did in the Chicago area on many weekends." He said he’s had friends come down here to see a lot of shows this summer!
It's easy to take what we have here for granted when we're surrounded by it every weekend. But hearing those reactions from people who are used to having Chicago's music scene at their fingertips is a pretty great reminder of just how lucky we are to have the music scene we have.
The shows we saw on September 26th and 30th were a great representation of that too!
We started our Saturday night at Whitey's on Route 29 with AJ Schmall & the Funny Business. AJ is no stranger to the Peoria music scene, and his pop-funk group kept the night interesting! It’s also worth mentioning we had dinner there before seeing the show and the food was fast, delicious, and not overpriced.
Once we pulled ourselves away from that show, we headed to Friendly Valley for Clay Street Unit, a Denver-based band that I'd need a whole page to describe if I tried to explain their music. Bluegrass, country, folk, and a little bit of everything else all mixed together. The band had a pretty good reason not to hang around after the show. Lead singer Sam Walker had to get back to Denver to sing the national anthem at the Broncos' Sunday Night Football game the following evening... and they were driving!
As it turned out, that was also the final concert on the lawn at Friendly Valley for the season. The California Honeydrops were scheduled to close things out on September 30, but the rain had other plans.
On Wednesday the 30th, we headed downtown to Kenny's Westside, where Grammy-nominated blues musician Jontavious Willis opened. Willis was not just talented, but hilarious too, making him a fantastic way to start the evening! The California Honeydrops followed and I love the way they make every show a little different through their improvisation and by performing without a setlist. It was an amazing show, and we felt pretty lucky to have seen them, especially after hearing they don’t come to the midwest often.
While you’re checking out the photos and videos from both nights, make sure you stack your live music to-do list for this weekend! There’s plenty to see, and I hope to see you out there!
As you read through your options of where to go for live local music here please remember:
You can download a video, but you can’t download a live music experience
FRIDAY 10/09
Lonesome Jones at Edwards Tap 6pm
Ken Hahn & Co. at Michael's Italian Feast (Germantown Hills) 6pm
Stephanie Aaron at Contemporary Art Center of Peoria 6:30pm
Bradley Opera at Dingeldine Music Center 7:30pm
Galactic Empress at Twisted Spoke Saloon (Pekin) 8-11pm
Next Thing Smokin' at Tin Lizard at the Par-a-dice Casino (East Peoria) 8-11pm
The Midnight Pickers at Brasky's Bar & Grill 8pm
Kaiden & Chad Acoustics at Martini's on Water Street 8pm
Dexter O' Neal & Funkyard at Oliver's in the Heights (Peoria Heights) 8pm
Chirp wsg Mycota at Kenny's Westside 9pm
Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel! (We have more being added there all the time, so be sure and subscribe.)
SATURDAY 10/10
Jukebox Jewels at The Willow Collective 11am
Chris Hawkins at Porter Park (Lewistown) 12-3pm
Brandon Callaway and The Renegades at The Groove 2pm
Boogie T at Peoria Riverfront 5pm
Peoria Pops Orchestra at Five Points Washington 6:30-8:30pm
3 Mile High a Gamber Cove Campground (Victoria) 7-10pm
Kickapoo Junction at Pekin Boat Club 7pm
Scat Grub Reunion Show at Twisted Spoke Saloon (Pekin) 7-11pm
Emperors & Angels at Oz'z Bar & Grill (Creve Coeur) 7pm
Aurora Nights at Carrigan's Pub (East Peoria) 7pm
Whiskey Ridge at The Corral (Galesburg) 8pm-12am
Brandon Callaway & The Renegades UNPLUGGED at Katies Corner (Groveland) 8pm
Jonny Quest at Martini's on water Street 8pm
Good N Rowdy Band at White Oaks Sports Bar (Canton) 8pm
Sly Dog Acoustics at The Neon Bison 8pm
Shawn "Smitty" Smith at Office on Main (Morton) 8pm
Get the Led Out at Prairie Home Alliance Theatre 8pm
Taylor Bruninga & The Bandits at Tin Lizard (East Peoria) 9pm-12am
DiRT MONKEY at Kenny's Westside 12am
SUNDAY 10/11
David Berchtold at Walnut Grove Farm (Knoxville) 1-3pm
Ryan Massey at Tres Rojas Winery (Washington) 1-4pm
Erik Nelson's Memorial Jam at Oz'z Bar & Grill (Creve Coeur) 1-6pm
Will Spicher at the Orange Cup (Galesburg) 2:30pm
Rhythm & Ace acoustics at Chillicothe American Legion 3pm
Blue Ridge Community Farm Music Series 3pm
Stone Cold Cowboys
Over Easy
Brent Emerson Ressler
SUNDAY OPEN STAGES THIS WEEK
Peoria Rhythm Kings hosting at Countyline Tap 2-5pm
Spontaneous Musical Combustion hosting at Country Saloon 4pm
Roy Ponce hosting at Tartan Inn 7-11pm
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This week’s post contains contributions from:
Kindall Reuschel, Bennett Rose, & Vesper Goldman
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