Marching on...
Lady Carole & Her Knights celebrate Carole's birthday and the ninth anniversary of the band from 3 to 6 on Sunday afternoon at Brookhills Golf Club.

With the green blaze (and a wee bit of the orange) of St. Patrick’s Day behind us, as well as the first day of spring, don’t you feel the warmth of summer beer gardens in your toes? Let’s not get too excited just yet, but we’re getting close to the thaw.

Hey cowpokes, it’s Roots Music time at the Curve Inn, as this Thursday your host, Micah Walk, roped together a couple of righteous rootsies for a real down-home show. The Wolf Crick Boys saddle up to ride with the Illinois Central Conductors for a night of rocking country and country rocking done up just right without a hint of pretension. Micah opens with an acoustic set, then lets the bands begin. This will definitely be a hoot and a holler kind of evening.

Friday looks like a great night with an incredible assortment of live music happenings, including the last hurrah of Celtic music for the 2019 St. Pat’s celebration with The Emerald Underground appearing early evening at Robbie’s. Get ready for another Museum After Hours party at the Illinois State Museum as this one features the music of Thornhill and the theme of “The Art of Tattoos.” Our good friends Rogers and Nienhaus pop up from St. Louis to drop in for a night of intimate song singing in the friendly confines of Trails End Saloon in Curran. Robert Sampson brings his blues from Jacksonville to the Crows Mill Pub as Positively 4th Street delivers the songs of Bob Dylan (and others) at the venerable Butternut Hut. With several other choices available, including, but not limited to, Winston’s Weekend hanging out at the Blue Grouch as Mike Burnett and the Blue Suns settle into the Brewhaus, you should have no trouble finding something to please your fancy on this Friday night.

And my friends, it appears that Saturday night is even more chock full of happy campers happy to play live music for you. For your blues moves, the Mudbugs bounce into Third Base Sports Bar as the preparations have begun for next Saturday’s bittersweet, farewell party for TBSB’s departing owner Jerry Houghtby. Saturday’s acoustic entertainment stylings include Lowder & Manning at It’s All About Wine, Jeff Berendt and Schy Wilmore at Pease’s at Bunn Gourmet and Tennessee Borderline in acoustic mode at Danenberger’s Family Vineyard. Get out of the bars and into the Crowne Plaza, where HISO Music Talent Agency presents their very own Sammy Flores opening for none other than Springfield native and rising pop/soul star Jared Grimble, all joined by former participants of “The Voice” and “American Idol.” For another spot away from the bars, there are two, too-cool bands playing the vibrantly mysterious, but always welcoming, Radon Lounge.

Sunday afternoon is a very special fun music time with several talented acts in the usual spots, but the most special must be Lady Carole and Her Knights at Brookhills Golf Club, from 3 to 6 p.m. Carole D. Vetter is the “Lady” and Charlie Foxx, Jerry Cole, Tombe’ Kemayo, Michael Viles and Keagan Cunningham are “Her Knights,” and together they celebrate Carole’s 29th (?!) birthday and the ninth anniversary of the group’s formation. Expect those smooth R&B and classic jazz tunes the combo is known for and a few unusual songs tossed into the usual set list. Carole comes from a family background of singing and her time as a bandleader and vocalist is a lifelong dream come true. Congrats to Lady Carole & Her Knights!

Dig in for a little longer as our world begins to heat up.

Tom Irwin

Tom Irwin, a sixth-generation Sangamon County resident, has played his songs and music for nearly 40 years in the central Illinois area with occasional forays across the country. He's contributed to Illinois Times since 2000 by writing Now Playing, a weekly music column, as well as features stories and other articles...

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