Congratulations to Jermaine Paul for winning Season 2 of “The Voice.” Paul, former back-up singer for Alicia Keyes, beat out three other amazing singers to capture the top prize — a recording contract with Universal Republic Records.
A free public concert entitled “Smokin’ Hot Harmony” will top off the 2nd Annual Acappellooza Festival at Assumption High School Auditorium at 4 p.m., on Saturday, May 19. Male and female high school singers from Assumption, Bettendorf, Rivermont Collegiate, United Township, Kimberly Center and Sherrard will demonstrate their mastery of 4-part, a capella harmony, in the barbershop style.
Reviews of the latest from Boston blues great Paul Rishell, fledgling Philadelphia rock act D&M and New York "popcore" punks Well Excuse Me, Princess, along with capsule reviews for Bonnie Raitt, Counting Crows and fun.
Folks from the Quad Cities, Peoria, Rockford, Iowa City, and Madison---mark your calendar for the Hillcrest Music Fest June 15th – June 17th. Come out to one of the area’s only outside event center-The Hillcrest Event Center and enjoy a country music concert Fri. June 15 and a rockin’ good time with rock concert on Sat. night June 16th. Saturday night’s special Legendary Southern Rock headliner- Jimmie VanZant- keeping Southern Rock ALIVE! Come the entire weekend and camp with us with affordable rates for a weekend of fun and music! (more info about Jimmie VanZant Band- www.Jimmievanzantband.net- EPK is being sent with this press release)
The Spoon River Young Marines will present a Salute to Veterans on Sunday, June 3, 10:30 a.m., at the Andover Lake Park. Special recognition will be given to Iraq & Afghanistan vets. The Young Marine Chamber Orchestra will play several selections of marches and patriotic music. The orchestra is a classically trained quartet including Young Marine Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Wollin on woodwinds, Young Marine Alec Acerra on violin and mandolin, Young Marine Staff Sergeant Luke Acerra on cello and keyboard and Young Marine Sergeant Maria Wollin on violin. The members also sing. Mike Accera is the Adjutant of the local Young Marines, which is headquartered in Galesburg.
On Saturday, May 19 at the iWireless Center in Moline, IL, seven-time-Grammy Award-winner Bill Gaither (pictured in attached jpg) will host a spectacular evening of music, laughter and encouragement featuring the world class talent of the Gaither Vocal Band and a star-studded lineup of award-winning artists.
Reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert headlines a star-studded, 2012, Illinois State Fair Grandstand entertainment line-up that also features country singers Eric Church and Brantley Gilbert, pop artist Demi Lovato and rock icon Cheap Trick.
Lionel Richie is probably dancing on the ceiling. His latest album, “Tuskegee,” remains at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 Album’s chart for its second consecutive week.
It’s pretty much a given that on any Friday afternoon, some classic rock station somewhere in America (maybe it’s every classic rock station, everywhere) will be playing “Working for the Weekend.” The driving rocker by the Canadian band Loverboy first hit the airwaves in 1981, and immediately became a radio staple. The video of the song was one of the early hits on MTV.
Song and dance legend Mitzi Gaynor made her name in the movies — starring in 17 feature films including 1958’s “South Pacific,” for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination — but her lasting success has come in television and from her decades as a celebrated nightclub headliner.
It’s been up and down and back and forth between musical styles and even different instruments for Dan Hicks over his four-decade career. He played drums with the Dixieland Dudes in junior high school, later switched to guitar and folk music in the duo Dick & Dan, played drums and electric guitar in the early psychedelic band the Charlatans, then switched to a combination folk-blues-jazz-old timey sound with Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks.
Wilson Phillips’ latest album truly is “Dedicated” to the ones they love.
Singer/songwriter Barry Cloyd will have a special presentation of “Carl Sandburg: Poet of the People” at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, at the Sandburg Historic Site, 313 E. Third St., Galesburg, as part of the Sandburg Days Festival.
"American Idol” is still going strong. Season 11 could be one of the best seasons yet, if not the best.
Macy Gray is an artist who I would have least expected to do a “covers” album and pull it off. Her sound is so uniquely “her” that it would be difficult to associate her with someone else’s song.
If you’ve heard of Soul Coughing, you may have enjoyed “Circles.” “Super Bon-Bon” is another one of the group’s better-known tunes. They were released during the mid- to late-1990s, when the rock band enjoyed a cult following that catapulted them briefly into the alternative music mainstream.
Elton John, who turns 65 on Sunday, proved last week he can still rock — Crocodile style.
If there's one thing that gets people out in a community, it's music. I grew up in an area where there were numerous concerts going on every weekend, from major acts to smaller local bands. And no matter which concert you attended, it was always a full house.
What might you get if you could blend the talents of All-American Rejects, Don McLean, Queen and Weezer? I don’t know exactly, but the result could be Fun. Fun is where it’s at right now. The rock trio is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second week with a Freddie Mercury-esque anthem “We Are Young.” That’s impressive considering the single was released more than six months ago.
This past week has been a rough one for Bruce Springsteen in terms of female and feminist critique, with two high-profile critical pieces making a splash on the Web. While those authors raise valid points, we felt the need — as women, feminists, and Springsteen fans — to provide our own input as to just why it is that Bruce Springsteen’s music appeals to us.
