Whoa! THE BIG ONE is finally here! Teenage Bottlerocket will be playing. They are a national touring punk band from Laramie, Wyoming. Then we have Off With Their Heads from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Off With Their Heads also has a new album out tomorrow! The two touring bands will be joined by local support from Springfield classic punk band The Timmys. Also playing is Hospital Job, featuring Luke McNeil of The Copyrights! What a lineup!

The show tonight starts at 7:00 pm and doors are at 6:30. Admission is $10 unless you have already bought a ticket. If you bought a ticket online just bring a photo ID and we will have your name on a list that we can cross off at the door. You can find a facebook event for the show right here. Also be sure to check out what other shows we have coming up at Black Sheep on our shows page!

Today we bring you two new band pages! One for an active band and one for an inactive one! The inactive band (inactive aside from reunions, that is) is The Gunga Dins! We recently told you about some rumors online of a Gunga Dins reunion show. Now you can learn more about the band and stream some of their music! Head over here to check out their band page. Then the active band that we have a new band page for is Neon Rebels! We also recently announced that Neon Rebels will be playing the show at Donnie’s Homespun on May 3rd with Michale Graves and his backing band. You can check out the page for Neon Rebels right here.

And as always, feel free to check out some of the hundreds of thousands of band pages we have set up for current bands right here, and past bands right here. Do you play in a band or have played in a band from Springfield that does not have a page on our site yet? Well we would love to hear from you! Shoot us an email at blacksheepspringfield@gmail.com.

The indiegogo campaign of the Error Records records store and music venue in Champaign Illinois is still going on online. If you head over here, you can see that the 30 days for the goal is half over and close to half of the $3000 is reached. At the indiegogo page you can also read a description of why the venue is needed and also see incentives you get for donating. If you head over to our original post you can find a message from Kevin Bradford about the venue.

Below you can also check out a video interview Nathan Landolt of Error Records did with Pizza FM. In the interview Nathan discusses what we can expect from the music venue/records store and also while he feels it is needed.

We recently mentioned news about a fest happening in Champaign this April featuring a number of midwest and Central Illinois bands. Now we are back today to bring you the full lineup of the fest. Main headliners of the fest are Into It. Over It. from Chicago and Native from Seattle. Springfield band Our Lady will also be playing. You can check out the full list of bands below:

Into It. Over It.
Native
Dowsing
The Reptilian
Protestant
Northless
Tiny Moving Parts
Restore
Thieves
Droughts
Canyons
Texas Instruments
Alta
Victor Shores
Locktender
Coma Regalia
Brighter Arrows
Aseethe
Kittyhawk
Foxing
Boilerman
Itto
Altar of Complaints
Our Lady
Natural Disasters
Easter
Hank.
Enta

Skeletal Lightning Fest will be over the course of two days at the Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant in Urbana on April 5th and 6th. For more info on the fest you can see the official Skeletal Lightning Fest Website here. You can also find a facebook event for the fest here.

Our neighbors over at Artifacts have some cool stuff going on this winter/spring! If you happen to be at the Black Sheep show on Saturday with Pound for Pound, Obi-Wan Kanblo Mi, and Up In Arms you might want to take a peek inside Artifacts (located right next door at 1107 South Grand). On Saturday they will be hosting a new exhibit called “Aerosolics Anonymous.” From the Artifact’s facebook:

We will be hosting an opening for the new exhibit at artifacts on Saturday from 5 till Midnight where you can view and purchase work from some of the more prolific artists in the underground Springfield art scene. Music food and drinks will be provided and an auction will be held at the end of the night for an original piece to be collaborated upon by some of the featured artists. The auction will run online via our FB event page until Feb 2. Proceeds from this show will be put tword getting some affordable paint for sale in the store so we can give back to the artists that support our hustle.

You can find a facebook event for the exhibit right here. On the event page you can also check out a list of the artists participating.

The show announcements for 2013 are starting to roll in for us here over at Black Sheep! On January 5th we have a fun mixed genre show for you all. Austin & Austin (the band!) will be opening up the show. Then we have Dreameater, the project featuring members of Nathan & The Sheep and also Mildred. Onward will be playing their first show, which features members of Our Lady. Then from Ohio the melodic hardcore band White Mage will be taking the stage.

The show is at 7:00 pm and is $5. You can find a facebook event for the show right here. And also be sure to check out what other shows we have coming up over at our shows page.

Happy Slimes-giving, ya punk

All of us here at BXS HQ want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! Stuff yourself on tofu roasts and vegan turkey gravy!

Tonight at Black Sheep things are going to get very loud and noisy. Starting things off right at 6:30 pm is End Times Trio, making their return to Black Sheep and playing wild freeform jazz. Then we have Secular Edict, a noise project from Champaign. Then we have a brand new Springfield noise project called “Ylem” featuring Ishmael Holmes. We have no idea what to expect. Coming all the way from Michigan tonight to play noise for us is Forget The Times. And finally we have Groke, who are on tour all the way from Providence, Rhode Island. Wow!

The show starts at 6:30 pm and is $5. Bring ear plugs. You can find a facebook event for the show here. And also be sure to check out what other shows we have coming up over on our shows page.

The Illinois Times have finally released their results from their Best Ofs poll earlier this fall. The Best Ofs feature a wide range of categories such as Springfield local businesses, restaurants, bands, people, and more. You can find all of the results in this weeks publication of The Illinois Times which you can pick up for free at numerous local businesses around town. You can also find the results online in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. We will mention some of the winners for the music related polls here!

First off we would like to congratulate the Curve Inn for winning the category of the best music venue! The runner up was the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

As far as local bands go, the best new band of 2012 got awarded to Brushfire.  The runner up for that one was Big Daddy Jasper. For best local rock band, first place went to KFD, and the runner up was Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.  The Debbie Ross Band won best jazz group, and the runner up was Dave Littrell. Hipbone Sam won best blues artist, and runner up was the Debbie Ross Band. And finally for the best country band Still Kick’n won first and Brushfire was the runner up.

We would also like to mention that our neighbors at Clay’s Popeye’s Barbecue won best soul food! Great job everybody!

Experimental metal/rock band Intricate Collapse are streaming the four songs from their most recent EP on their bandcamp and also below.  You can also download the EP for $4 from the band’s bandcamp page.  A physical copy of the EP can also be bought at The Rock Shop or at one of the band’s shows.