Arts and Culture

The 2020 Sugar Creek Arts Festival requires no sunscreen, fan or sunglasses.  

The stage may be bare this season at The Illinois Shakespeare Festival, but the show must go on–online, that is. 

Springfield native Mary Jo Curry and her band are receiving much critical acclaim and airplay for their sophomore blues album "Front Porch." It’s an unlikely path for the Illinois State University theater program alum with training in classical voice and piano.

Any blues musician will tell you that everyone gets the blues. But for the past few months, that line has changed to “nearly everyone now has the blues.”

Releasing a new album during the coronavirus pandemic has a silver lining for the bluesy Peoria roots-rock trio Hoosier Daddy.

Necessity really was the mother of invention for the Bloomington-based funk-rock band NoRobot.

There’s an old tradition in the theater world that there must always be an electric light left burning on stage whenever a theater is left dark or unoccupied. It’s called a ghost light. 

As the economic effects of the coronavirus ripple around the globe, the arts have been hit especially hard. The creative class is vulnerable to financial upheaval. Artists and performers are often independent contractors whose fluctuating incomes require sustained promotional efforts.

Put simply: To make it as an artist, you’ve got to hustle.

It’s no mystery why Nancy Drew, that Titian-haired, flashlight-wielding teen detective, is still so popular after all these years. 

It was going to be amazing, colorful and fun. 

The coronavirus pandemic has millions sheltering indoors and bonding with their streaming services.  

As art galleries across the country have locked their doors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one local gallery is trying to shed some light on the dark situation. 

This week, many religiously observant people are trying to find extra meaning in the traditional messages of their faiths as they continue to face the coronavirus pandemic. For Christians, ministers have emphasized the coming of new life to offset the constraints of social distancing and stay-at-home orders.

On a day like today, Doug Johnson would normally be busy at his job as director of the McLean County Arts Center.

Pamela Cather was teaching psychology at Heartland Community College when she decided to take a free class in digital photography. That was all it took to set her on off on a new career behind the lens. 

As Americans self-isolate to help halt the spread of the coronavirus, an emeritus English professor from Illinois State University has a few book suggestions to accompany the quarantine. 

As the coronavirus pandemic forces the nation to disconnect from usual routines, communities of faith tried all the harder to hold on to each other and offer solace. Many turned to worship online, some as a regular part of the program, others for the first time, using meeting programs such as Zoom.

The coronavirus pandemic is scary for many who live on tight margins or don’t have the security of a steady paycheck. That includes independent musicians, venue owners, promoters, and others whose livelihood depends on a thriving and functioning arts and music scene.

Normal Community High School alum Meredith Hopping says stand-up comedy made the cut ... when the ISU theatre grad drew up a Top 30 list of things she'd like to accomplish as she was turning 30.

Bloomington Americana singer/songwriter Edward David Anderson says his new "Live and Solo" album intentionally tried to capture where he's at in his current iteration.

Blues guitarist and singer/songwriter Ana Popovic said she mentally worked to overcome doubt when she crashed the male-dominated blues scene two decades ago.