New Events Podcast
Subscribe to our new podcast, GLT Ticket, and learn all about upcoming GLT events. We're busy planning some spectacular events for 2008 so check back here often. Enjoy!
GLT Summer Concert 2008
When: Saturday, June 14
Time:
2 pm - food vendors open
3 pm - beer garden opens
4:30-5:30 pm - Matthew Curry with Bill Porter and Friends
6:00-7:30 pm - The Belleville Outfit
8:00-9:30 pm - Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King
Where: On the square in Downtown Bloomington, corner of Jefferson and Center Streets
Cost: FREE!!
Roadhouse Blues meets Gypsy Swing
It ’s the 8th year of the GLT Summer Concert, and this one’s gonna knock your socks off. On Saturday, June 14 we’re paying homage to the incredibly diverse music that floats up here from Texas. For one, there’s the fearless duo of Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King punching out Texas shuffles, authentic roadhouse blues, and rockin’ boogies with a sweet blend of Kubek’s fiery fretwork and King’s melodic, subtle approach and soulful vocals. They’ve just joined the Alligator Records family with their latest release Blood Brothers (2008).
Opening for Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King is The Belleville Outfit out of Austin. They’re an up- and-coming acoustic band that moves seamlessly from gypsy swing to big band to Americana roots music. They’re young and making big waves with their first CD Wanderin’, playing well beyond their twenty-something years.
Every GLT Summer Concert starts out with an excellent example of the talents right here in our own front yard. This year, we’re thrilled to have the combined talents of long-time bluesman Bill Porter and the fresh new face and blazing guitar of Matthew Curry, who’s all of 12 years old.
We’ll once again be on the square in downtown Bloomington at the corner of Jefferson and Center Streets. Food vendors will be grilling up some tasty festival food and chilling down the lemon shake-ups. Maguire's will provide a walk-around beer garden. Be mindful of the McLean County Museum of History renovation work that will be underway. Seating on the grass will be limited, so be sure and pack a lawn chair. There are two parking garages within blocks of the concert site.
No outside alcohol is allowed on the grounds.
Please leave coolers and pets at home.
Thank you to our generous sponsors for making this concert available to you free of charge:
Ronda Glenn Law Offices
Specs Around Town
Eastland Chiropractic and Wellness Center
Fox & Hounds Day Spa
Downtown Bloomington Association
Cortese Foot & Ankle Clinic/Sole Savers Shoe Store
GLT Night at Illinois Shakespeare Festival - Taming of the Shrew
($3 handling charge added to order total)
When: Sunday, August 3
Time: 4:30 pm - grounds open;
4:30-6:15 pm - dinner service (no late meals will be available);
5:00 - 6:30 pm - The Joe Metzka Trio; 6:30-7:00 pm - strolling madrigal singers and ISF demonstrations;
7:00 pm - theater opens for general admission seating;
7:30 pm - play begins
Where: Grounds of Ewing Manor, corner of Emerson and Towanda Streets, Bloomington, IL Map to Ewing Manor
Cost: $39 (includes play, boxed picnic dinner, live music, and dessert)
Tame your inner shrew with GLT Night at the ISF
An evening of Shakespeare sounds delightful in itself. Now add to that a luscious boxed picnic dinner from The Garlic Press Market Café with dessert from Carl’s Ice Cream. Spread your picnic blanket on the shady, plush lawn of Ewing Manor to enjoy live blues & jazz from the Joe Metzka Trio, and you’ve got a night to remember. It’s the much-anticipated (and always sold-out) GLT Night at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival
Knowing how grueling August evenings can be, we’re shortening the evening a bit this year. The Ewing Manor grounds open at 4:30 pm. We’re offering a lighter, refreshing meal from The Garlic Press Market Café with dinner service from 4:30-6:15 pm (no late meals available). You’ll savor a sandwich made specially for GLT, a side salad and individual cheese serving, with a freshly baked sweet to dip into handmade ice cream from Carl’s. The Joe Metzka Trio will play from 5:00-6:30 pm. A cash wine/beer bar is available.
Following your picnic, the ISF madrigal singers will stroll the grounds with blanket-side entertainment. The theater opens at 7:00pm for a 7:30 performance of the comedic and somewhat controversial Taming of the Shrew. (Read an overview of the play here.) All of this is yours for $39 – the same price you would pay during the rest of the season for just the play. 
GLT Nights sell out quickly, so early ticket purchase is recommended. Ticket sales are general admission and there isn’t a bad seat in the theater, however, entrance to the theater is staggered in order of ticket purchase – another good reason to buy yours early. Proceeds from this exclusive event benefit the GLT Equipment Fund.
Vegetarian meals are available - please make your choice when ordering tickets. If you have questions about the meal, need individual dietary considerations, or if you need special accommodations to fully enjoy this GLT event, contact Linda Healy at 3096-438-5083 or lihealy@ilstu.edu
Photos of 2007 GLT Night at ISF by Ralph Weisheit
