The summer music season kicks off in earnest this weekend, with fresh air options in almost every flavor. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list — find a patio at a bar, and it's likely there's live music there — WGLT has rounded up several sure bets for live music for the warm months across the Twin Cities and beyond.
In Downtown Bloomington
- The First Friday Concerts kick off this week with ‘70s and ‘80s cover band Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters. July 3 is reserved for Beyond the Blonde, a Chicago cover band showcasing power divas like Lada Gaga and P!nk. And on Aug. 7, tribute band How Rude plays pop and grunge hits from the ‘90s. The 7 p.m. concerts take place on the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts lawn, with the $5 fee waived if you present a receipt from any Downtown business – who stay open late those days along with galleries hosting a plethora of First Friday festivities.
- A few blocks and a day away, this weekend’s Saturdays on the Square is a collection of Motown hits, followed by Steely Dan tribute Brooklyn Charmers on June 27 and a Twin City favorite, the ‘80s -themed Hairbangers Ball on July 11. In August, local legends Chicago Farmer and Dan Hubbard join forces for back-to-back full band shows of original music. And both are touting new [very good] albums. The free concerts start at 7 p.m. with food truck and beverage sales starting in Museum Square at 6 p.m. And this Saturday in particular, it’s worth it to get there early. The Illinois Symphony brass play at 6 p.m. And between Motown sets once the sun is down, the museum’s façade will be lit up with a special, one-time only, Route 66-themed projection show.
- Bloomington Public Library’s pretty patio hosts music on Wednesdays in June and July. The vibe is family-friendly, pretty chill and decidedly folksy – it’s the library, after all. Acoustic singer/songwriter Noah Hutton is up next on June 10, with upcoming appearances by local ukulele band the Uke-aholics, The Sweet Nothings and James Herr, the latter playing the catalogs of greats like James Taylor, Paul Simon and Jim Croce. In crummy weather, the 6:30 p.m. free concerts move indoors to the library’s community rooms.
In Uptown Normal
- Several nights a week, you can catch sun-soaked golden hour performances on the grassy knoll at the center of Uptown Circle. These free, 6 p.m. mini-concerts are where many upstart artists get their first gigs in the Twin Cities. Some become household names here—and elsewhere. See the full schedule on the Town of Normal’s website.
- For a one-stop music-shop, the Make Music Normal festival puts music practically everywhere in Uptown on July 17 and 18. Seven stages feature a range of local and regional acts, with headliners Harlem Hayfield and Mario Canon’s Wasteland taking center state Friday and Backyard Tire Fire rocking the mainstage on Saturday.
Dane Hornstein
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Illinois State University
Beyond Downtown
- Most Thursdays through July in Franklin Park, catch the Bloomington-Normal Community Concert Band, which hosts free concerts plus an ice cream social benefitting area nonprofits. Downbeat's at 7 p.m.
- Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s two happy hour sets take place June 25 and Aug. 27 in Keg Grove’s airy indoor-outdoor setting along Constitution Trail. Those are with string quartet and woodwind quintet, respectively, with the ISO brass heading to a new location, Ancho & Agave, on July 30.
Beyond Uptown
- Music isn’t the only offering at Connie Link Amphitheatre, which hosts an array of bands, stuff for kids and, of course, the summer music theatre, which this year includes two [2!] productions: Zombie Prom and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Everything at Connie Link is free and BYOB [blanket], with concessions for sale and easy access off Constitution Trail. The full schedule is online at Normal LIVE.
- Every Friday and Saturday until September, Destihl’s Beer Hall hosts a top-shelf selection of singer/songwriters and bands from across the region and, often, beyond Central Illinois. Edward David Anderson’s Black Dirt Management curates the so-called TourBus Concert series, so it’s bound to have solid representation in the folk/Americana department [including his own band], plus better-than-average tributes and, sometimes, leaning a little on the harder side. Not too far. Music’s from 6-9 p.m., with some Adirondack chairs and easy view of the pondside stage from Destihl’s patio. But you can also bring your own lawn chairs and blankets. For a mid-week hang, Chicago Farmer plays Wednesdays in June from 6-8 p.m.
- Illinois State’s Concerts on the Quad tucks live music into the campus’s prettiest corner every Monday in July. Pick your genre [better yet, see them all]: There’s indie Americana from Sandwich’s Ashley Lewis first, then Peoria’s queer girl group Emily the Band, jazz from the Straight Answer Trio and, wrapping the series on July 27, the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band. Each one runs about an hour, starting at 7 p.m.—and is free.
All over
- In addition to free engagements at Connie Link [June 27], Evergreen Senior Living [June 30] and Broadview Mansion [July 25], the Brass Band of Central Illinois takes its unique arrangements to the Metamora Village Square on July 24.
- Saturdays through Sept. 13, Mackinaw Valley Vineyard’s grounds are an idyllic background for live music, which is usually, but not always, cover bands playing easy-on-the-ears hits you’ll know most of the lyrics to. The Vineyard is definitely not BYOB—wine is kind of their thing—but libations of all stripes [wine, beer, soda and water] are for sale. BYO Snacks is OK. Tunes are 7-10 p.m. and costs $5 at the gate.
- At Duncan Manor, that distinct Italianate farmhouse ascending out of the corn near Towanda, Tuesdays are reserved for Summer Socials now through September. In addition to food trucks, a vendor fair and tours of the house and grounds, the musical entertainment is you — or rather, whomever signs up for the open mic running from 4-7 p.m. Socials are free to attend; house tours require a fee.
