Every year people from Bloomington-Normal and surrounding areas enjoy live music from well-known local and regional musical artists at Make Music Normal, a free music festival for all ages. The Town of Normal event is set for July 18 and 19 in Uptown Normal.
This year's artists include Darīus, Formidable Foe, Mattie Mae & the Music Makers and many others. Bloomington's Front Street Collective headlines Friday night, with Sun Stereo dominating the main stage Saturday. Sun Stereo is an eclectic 6-piece band based in Urbana, which describes its music as having Beatles-esque vocal harmonies, electronic soundscapes, nu-age storybook lyrics—and a funk your face off horn section.
For Darīus Williams it's a return to form. The Bloomington-based hip-hop artist and rapper known in music circles simply by his first name hasn't released music in two years. Make Music Normal is a chance to showcase new tracks and a new sound. He intends to perform never-before-heard music during his 5:45 p.m. set at the Mural Stage on Friday, July 18.
“It’s definitely a new sound than what I’ve dropped before, and I think people are definitely going to be very shocked,” he said.
Darīus is originally from Chicago, where he grew up listening to gospel and jazz, which would later influence his music. He cited Kanye West and Travis Scott as two of his rap influences.
Darīus said he began writing music during his teenage years after developing an interest in rap along with his friends. He said he took inspiration from a verse written by American rapper Lupe Fiasco to eventually write his own lyrics.
“I was going through some personal stuff with my pops, this girl I was dating at the time—life was a little rough for me,” Darīus said. “I wrote this song and my brother was like, ‘Bro, that’s fire! You could actually do this for real.’ From that point, I just started writing.”
Darīus said he found support from his mother as well as other family members during his early days as a rapper.
Darīus is known for his heavy, emotional lyrics on previous albums such as Left Alone and Perception. His last album release was an EP, Choose This Day in 2023, which featured three songs.
“I haven’t been releasing music as much. I’ve just been writing [and] recording,” he said. “When you’re a dad and husband, you’ve got to handle that responsibility first, so I’ve kind of been busy with the family."
Darīus said his music went through a night-and-day difference from the time he began until now.
“At first it was a lot of simple beats—showing people my lyrical gymnastics and stuff like that—then it just got to a point where I feel like people know I can rap. Just looking at my peers and seeing how they’re evolving, [I said] ‘Okay, I want to do more things that I don’t normally do.'"
Recent tracks are more focused on his faith, with a revised sound he suspects listeners will find surprising.
“Whenever I’m not writing music, I’m studying scripture,” said Darīus. “In my music, I’m authentic with people. I want to talk to you guys about the last two years and what that’s been like for me with battling these temptations and battling these demons and making sure I’m in right standing with God... It’s possible to have a hectic past—we all have hectic pasts—but I’m just letting people know that God gives second chances and it comes down to what you do with that second chance."
Bloomington-Normal's scene
Darīus said he likely became known locally for his over-the-top performances.
“You don’t see local rappers going the extra mile to entertain people,” he said. “I’ve grown a lot just because of experiences, people I’ve met, getting criticism on things I could do better—watching the Travis Scotts of the world, the Kendrick Lamars of the world, watching even heavy metal bands. I’ve seen people become more content with seeing me perform."
Darīus said the local music scene could use more support, as well as new places to perform. Nightshop, a downtown Bloomington venue that closed late last year, was one of few public places welcoming to hip hop and rap.
“It had that intimate setting between artists and fans. It’s the lights, the sound … it was a really cool place to perform,” Darīus said. “It closing… I think it just has to do [what] music does. Music has to find another way of getting out there. I look at it as even though that place might be closed, we can look for another venue, whatever that may be.”
Make Music Normal takes place July 18 and 19 in Uptown Normal. The festival is free and family-friendly. For a full schedule, visit the Town of Normal's website.
