If you’re familiar with Midwest music clubs, then you’ve heard of Mojo’s in Columbia, Mo., Knucklehead’s in Kansas City and Off Broadway in St. Louis, the other venues Micky and the Motorcars play during a roll through the prairie....

Now a renowned and beloved Springfield-based singer, Johnnie Owens’ voice and talent took him around the world in his younger days. Earlier this week we tried to cover his lifetime in music during an hour conversation while listening to his new CD Butter! in the background at his apartment on Second Street....

 Long before I wrote for Illinois Times, for a couple of years I was up very early every Thursday to deliver thousands of freshly pressed papers to make an extra buck or two. The Best of Springfi...

 Young John Grimaldi was born and raised in an Italian-American neighborhood in Chicago. His first taste of music came in the form of a harmonica at age 7. Soon he visited the famed Maxwell Stree...

PHOTO COURTESY CHEEKY MONKEY Terri Clark joined the prestigious Grand Ole Opry in 2004 as the only female Canadian on the show. She grew up in Montreal, where her maternal grandparents were well ...

 Silly me, I was thinking of writing my column on Halloween stuff next week so it would come out on the day proper, but, as I should have remembered, all the goings on come the weekend before a h...

 Looking for an awesome fall event for the family this weekend? Saturday, Oct. 26, Bomke’s Patch is hosting Old Barn Bash with an amazing lineup of fun attractions. Activities include a petting...

 The latest piece of provocative songwriting and innovative instrumentation from Chicago-based musician and artist Robbie Fulks, Gone Away Backward, received critical and fan acclaim for the folk...

 From a raucous beginning during an open mic night at the Stagger Inn Again in Edwardsville, Kentucky Knife Fight has grown through the years into a formidable, well-respected, award-winning grou...

 A performing songwriter since 2006, Ezra Furman hangs out in the indie-rock, folk-rock, original music land and calls Chicago home. With the Harpoons, the group delivers ferociously friendly sou...