Hey everybody, we’ve uploaded some pictures from our May 22nd show to our Flickr page. The show featured Tiger Tank, Our Lady, Gospel & The Wolf, and Jessica Knight. We have posted a few in this post, but we recommend checking out the Black Sheep Flickr page. They changed the layout, and it’s pretty neato.
Hey! We’re pumped! You pumped!? You’re about to be! Grand Rapid’s own Carielle is making their way to BXS June 8th. The indie rock sextet is going to bring their own brand of melodic tunes, full of catchy hooks. To round out the bill, locals Up In Arms and Sullivan IL rockers Ashland are going to bring down the house. This show will not be one to miss. Where are you going to find this much power pop??
Full line up and flier will be released soon. The show will cost $5, and start at 7:00 pm.
Interested in hanging at more shows? Check out this list!
Woah woah WOAH!!! What’s going on here!?! It’s this late at night and there is a surprise announcement!?! Tonight we are bringing you news that is making all of us over at blacksheepspringfield.com headquarters jump out of our pants in excitement. That’s right, RENAE will be playing one reunion show at Black Sheep on Friday, June 14th as day one of DUMB FEST.
And now a message from Benny of Renae:
SURPRISE!
We’re doing a reunion! We decided to announce this early because its Brad’s birthday. Here’s my explanation of the situation:
So some of you may know that my brother, Adam, was a co-writer and the original drummer for Renae. He left our band after we wrote the Hell Follows EP and we continued on with our friend Kasey Rogers til we broke up.
We were tired and there was a lot of anger between us after years of struggling and being poor to do this. It wasn’t really fun anymore. Even though Kasey was a great drummer, it didn’t feel right writing without my brother playing the drums.
Adam is now married with a child and in the navy navigating a warship. On the rare occasion that he has been home we usually spend a few hours jamming. When he was home in february we got to talking and I realized a few big things. One, that renae was a really integral part of how we live our lives now, and two that without all the pressure, it is still really fun to play these songs. Last but not least, I realized that my little brother didn’t get the ending Stephen, Brad, Kasey, and myself got. He had to sit by the sidelines through most of the last show, and he was out to sea during the reunion.
After he left it started eating at me so I called the other guys. Brad lives all the way in Seattle and Stephen is down in St Louis. After a few conversations with everyone We realized that it would be a long shot, but Adam plans to be home for a week or so and so does brad – in june. Dumb Fest happens to be in June.
After several years have passed, the real question was would this be fun? Would people really come and have a fun night with us?
After the last few months of unending requests from our friends and fans asking us to get back together or record a new record, I started thinking it may be a good time to do so, if only we could… I also believe all of us are in a position to enjoy playing these songs together – and with the lineup that wrote the music.
It would mean the world to all of us if you would join us for a night. There won’t likely be another chance for us to do this again for a long time, if ever.
The show will be Day one of Dumbfest with our friends in Heavy Arms and Earthwitch, and Arrows In Her, a touring band who are friends with our friends Our Lady. (check out our lady!)
Tickets are up for pre-order for the festival right now at http://blacksheepspringfield.bigcartel.com/product/dumb-fest-2-day-pass
They are $10 per day or $15 for both days. As per usual we don’t want to turn anyone away so pick up a ticket in advance and make sure you are there!
It is with great happiness that we can play one more time – this time as friends – and for the pure fun of it.
thanks, and don’t forget to wish Brad a happy birthday!
Benny
And THAT sums up our announcements for Dumb Fest taking place this summer on June 14th and 15th at Black Sheep and Skanks. Two day passes for Dumb Fest go on sale NOW for $15 on our big cartel page. That’s 24 bands for 15 bucks. Head over here to purchase tickets online. Physical tickets will be sold at Black Sheep and other locations soon. Single day passes will also be available for $10 each later on. Fest tickets will be likely to sell out so try to pre-order now while you can!
The June 14th show of Dumb Fest will feature four bands all playing inside of Black Sheep. Those bands are Renae, Earth Witch, Arrows in Her, and Heavy Arms. That show will start at 7:00 pm. You can find a facebook event for Dumb Fest right here. You can also find a page we have set up just for Dumb Fest on our site right here. Real dumb.
Today we bring you news of something very big happening at Black Sheep this summer. Is it Black Sheep Fest? No, but it’s close. We actually will be putting on two big festivals this summer. We will have Black Sheep fest on August 3rd this year in the later summer. But also happening this summer on Saturday, June 15th will be DUMB FEST.
What is DUMB FEST? The idea came about because every summer we have Black Sheep fest where we have bands all local to Springfield play one giant show together. However, we didn’t really have a fest where we can have bands from towns outside of Springfield play along with some bigger national touring acts. That is where DUMB FEST comes in! DUMB FEST will still have plenty of your favorite local bands but it will also feature some bands from surrounding Central Illinois cities and also a few other surprises. When picking out bands to play this fest we focused mainly on the punk and hardcore genres that Black Sheep was founded on, but we also ended up with a pretty wide range of types of bands. Why is it called DUMB FEST? We are not sure, it was Kevin’s idea. And here’s a message from Kevin:
Everybody here at Black Sheep is very excited to host a regional fest. We’re looking forward to seeing a lot of people from all over the area come out, and we are excited to see some great music. This is a whole new tradition we are kicking off and we are stoked to say the least! Stay tuned!
– Kevin
There will be around 20 bands playing DUMB FEST, all have already confirmed. Oh yeah, did we mention that half of the bands will be playing next door on the ramp of Skank Skates? We plan on announcing all 20 bands with four separate announcements from now until the end of this month. Today we bring you the first announcement with five bands that are playing. Ready? Here they are…
BIG EYES from Seattle, Washington
ANGRY GODS from Chicago (featuring members of Harps of Tartarus and Scouts Honor)
SAY SOMETHING local to Springfield (featuring members of Don’t Mess With Winkie)
HORRIBLE THINGS from Champaign (featuring members of Hospital Job)
TRAUMA HARNESS from Belleville (featuring members of Egg Chef and Lumpy & The Dumpers)
UPDATE: you can find a facebook event for the fest right here.
Say hello to the new Black Sheep Radio crew! Tonight is a big night for all of us involved with local music. Black Sheep Radio featuring music all local to Springfield will be airing from 4:00 to 6:00 pm on 88.3 fm WQNA. Tune in on your radio or head to www.wqna.org to stream the show when it is time.
The show tonight focuses on your picks for our best of Springfield music 2012 polls. We are featuring songs from the best picked shows, songs, and albums of 2012. We were also able to fit much more in the two hours we were given! Expect LOTS of music from local bands (if you play in a local band and have recordings there is a good chance you are going to be on the radio) and also some goofy talking bits. If you don’t hear your band tonight you can always email us at blacksheepspringfield@gmail.com with some recordings and we will be glad to include them in the next show. We will also be looking for bands to come in and be featured as guest hosts so shoot us an email if you are interested in that as well!
All of us here at Black Sheep would like to wish all of you a safe and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and Kwanzaa. See you all at the holiday show on Saturday!
Though no one knows the truth behind the Mayan prediction of what will happen on December 21st, but we all know that there is a 110% absolute chance that this show will be a fun time. This is a stacked show if I have ever seen one. First off, we got Austin & Austin: The Band fresh out of the music oven. Second is the beloved acousti-chaos group Lovecow. Next is Jessica Knight. That is right, THE Jess Knight of Our Lady. Will she be playing Our Lady cuts? You’ll have to come see. To close off the possible apocalypse we have the masterful Brandon Carnes, the mastermind of Big Storm and ever beloved Midnight Fall (never forget).
This madness costs $5 and starts at 7pm. You can find a facebook event for the show right here. Just in case the world doesn’t end, you can see what other shows are going on RIGHT HERE.
After meeting with the director of WQNA 88.3 fm we are VERY excited to announce that Black Sheep will be hosting our very own radio show sometime in the near future on WQNA.
The focus of the show will be local music. Some of the kinks are still being worked out, but we do know that we will be featuring band interviews, live recordings of shows, and much more. There is some very exciting stuff in store for us in the future. We will keep you all updated on the show, and let you know when it will be aired when we can.
And now a message from Kevin:
Like times in the past with Black Sheep when an opportunity arises for us to do something new, we do it. If you wait too long to act nothing will happen. We are excited to do something completley new for us and that is radio. We are excited to work with WQNA and we are excited for the future. DIY till’ we die.
-Kevin
All of us at Black Sheep would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween this year! See you all at the show on Saturday!
Above: A Magic Tournament was held at Black Sheep in the beginning of October
Are you looking to get more involved in the Black Sheep community and our space? Then coming to the bi-weekly Black Sheep roundtable meetings would be a good way to start! Our last meeting was on Sunday and here are a few things we touched up on:
Sunday will not be the last roundtable meeting! If you are interested in participating in our next meeting it will be Sunday, November 4th at 7:00 pm.
Dumb Records 