A new all ages community center and music-related space is opening not far from Springfield over in Pana, Illinois called “The Rose City Underground” this Saturday, August 15th. The venue is located just less than one hour away from Springfield in Pana at 136 S. Locust street. You can find more about the new space on the Rose City’s website right here. From the site:
We are currently operating “The Refuge” at 136 S. Locust in Pana, which is the product of our “Community Center/Safe Space Initiative.” This will provide a safe space in Pana, free of all forms of hateful dialogue (racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.) and free of drugs or alcohol. We also intend to network with relevant members of the community in efforts to streamline access to professional care for a number of situations that may affect our community, including addiction, interpersonal violence, and mental health.
A number of musical acts will be performing at the grand opening this weekend including James Crosby, Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Lantern, and Roofus. You can find a facebook event for the grand opening right here. The event starts at 7:00 pm and suggested donation is $4. Also check out links to other spaces and organizations going on around Springfield that are not Southtown related on our community page.
Last week Springfield newspaper The State Journal Register published an article about a group of teens putting on shows under a name called “The Venue by Oakwood” here in town. From the article:
Tristan Tarpley, a senior at Calvary Academy, and Elijah Settles, a senior at Springfield High School, started meeting at Wm. Van’s Coffee House on Seventh Street to discuss their ideas about local music and ways to promote it. What originally started as an idea for a collaborative music app eventually turned into a local music scene called The Venue by Oakwood.
“The Venue is a hub for talent, a hub for creativity in Springfield,” Tristan said.
Check out the full article online right here. You can also view a video put together by “The Venue by Oakwood” below. The article peaked our interest since a lot of what is being discussed in the article lines up with a lot of the goals of The Black Sheep Cafe and Southtown. We also find a lot of similarities with this and Springfield house venue The Radon Lounge. There was another show put on by The Venue by Oakwook that happened this weekend at a house. The show featured Rapper Nubia Fokum, singer Alyssa Jackson, and the band Might be Mavericks. We plan on keeping you all updated on any future shows being put on by “The Venue by Oakwood” and you can always check our Springfield shows page for a listing of shows in town going on outside of Black Sheep.
Our good time pals and sister venue in Champaign, Illinois, Error Records, made a huge announcement yesterday that they will be relocating to a different space in Urbana, Illinois. This move will be happening this summer at the end of June. What does this mean for Error Records? For one they will be teaming up with Farm League Skateshop in this big move. From Error’s website:
After careful consideration and months of hard work, it is with great anticipation that we announce the move of Error Records to 123 W. Main St. in downtown Urbana, IL. We will be teaming up with Farm League Skateshop (an exciting new business being brought to life by an extremely passionate man) to form a safe and inspiring collective for all-ages. The core music venue and retail store of Error Records will stay the same, with just a few upgrades — It is simply moving to the next town over.
We are very excited to join the growing Urbana community and cannot wait for you all to see the new space. Be on the lookout for Farm League Skateshop’s Indiegogo and for Error Records to be open in Urbana late June 2014! Thank you all for your continued support and allowing us to grow every day. More updates to come. Hope to see you at the new killer shop this summer!
Check out the full article here. We will update you all with photos and details of the new space later on when more information is available. We also plan on keeping you all up-to-date on a grand opening for the new Error Records once that is known. Stay tuned.
It looks like some type of reunion for old Springfield all ages music venue and coffeehouse The Asylum is being planned for May of this year. The Asylum was around near the intersection of Wabash and MacArthur and operated as a music venue/coffee shop from 1998-2001. You can check out a photo collage video for the old venue below. Organizers for the reunion are asking for donations to make the event possible on Saturday, May 24th. Proceeds will also go towards the St. Jude Children Hospital.
We have made plans for a large reunion that will take place at the VFW on Old Jacksonville Rd, and will feature food, drinks, and live bands; all to help everyone reconnect and revisit the people that helped inform and enrich our lives. We have set up a website, http://www.asylumreunion.com , where donations can be made towards making this reunion a success. There is a clear count of individual donations, when they were made, and by whom they are made. All proceeds will go directly towards the reunion, as the only interest for the Planning Committee is that we all have an amazing reunion and maybe re-live some old times. Any remaining money will then be given as a gift to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in the name of the Asylum Coffeeshop. Interested volunteers who would like to contribute time or materials in lieu of donations can contact the previously mentioned individuals listed above or send us an email.
The entire entry for The Asylum reunion can be seen on the Some Things Can’t Be Ignored blog right here. If you would like to contribute to the cause you can head over to asylumreunion.com. More info on bands and festivities will be posted later on once more is known about the reunion.
While we didn’t even have much time to realize they were closed, it looks like Springfield bar venue The Tin Can Pub will be re-opening early this month under new management and some other big changes. From The Tin Can Pub’s facebook page:
The Tin Can Pub will be opening back up!!! Ryan Bandy is now the owner. We will be tentatively opening around the beginning of next month (February)! Get ready for some big changes including a stage, sound system, more lighting, and bottled beer along with your favorite canned beer! Great bands! The best karaoke! Quality drinks!! Get ready Springfield!!
The Tin Can Pub is also requesting that any bands or performers who are interested in playing there in the coming months to email tincanpubevents@gmail.com. Please include your group name, any promotional material, rate, and link to your music if you have it online.
Once The Tin Can Pub has shows lined up and made public, we will make sure to add them to our Springfield shows page, where we try our best to give you a list of shows happening around town outside of Southtown.
Remember that all ages music venue that we were telling you a month or so back that was trying to get started in Champaign? Well they are up and running and their first few shows are happening this upcoming weekend! Error Records have a long list of upcoming shows right now on the shows page of their website! We are very excited to welcome a new all ages venue and record store in one of our sister cities.
The very first show happening at Error Records is this Friday (4/19). It is also the tape release show for Champaign’s own Dino Bravo (who have played Black Sheep a few times and have also battled the mighty Scott Blacula). For more info on that show you can head over to the facebook event.
Error Records will also be hosting a special event on Saturday for Record Store Day. They have a long list of bands and musical acts performing in the store and music venue which you can see above. They also have a list of exclusive releases that will be for sale during the event. You can find a facebook event for that right here.
With only five days left on their indiegogo campaign, we thought we would give you one last update on how the launch of the new Error Records all ages music venue in Champaign Illinois is going. There is currently five days left for them to reach their $3000 goal and they are currently at $2500! Go here to help them out!
In other news, Buzz Magazine in Champaign recently published an article about the launch of the new Error Records. The article included a nice little tidbit on The Black Sheep. From the article:
The Black Sheep Café, run by Kevin Bradford, regularly hosts shows in a thriving local scene. Entertaining local acts such as Our Lady and Foxtail, the venue also draws national acts such as Andrew Jackson Jihad and famed actor and puppeteer David Liebe Hart, exhibiting its success as a national attraction and a support system to the area’s local music scene.
Aaron Shults, a veteran musician in the CU scene, recognizes Black Sheep’s success and hopes to see a similar situation arise from the birth of Error Records.
“As much as I like going to house shows, I think a public all ages DIY space is vital for a scene to thrive, something we’ve seen evident in venues like Black Sheep Cafe and many others across the state and nation,” Shults said. “It’s really cool for Nathan to take the reins that were set up by the CU Collective and take the ultimate push that it needed. It shows great leadership and responsibility.”
It is not too often that a musical event going on in Springfield sells out before we even have the chance to announce it! Either way, we feel it is important to mention that there will be a reunion show for Springfield bar and music venue Viele’s Planet at Capital City Bar and Grill on Saturday April 20th this year. The show is not taking place at Viele’s Planet, but bands that frequently played the old venue will be playing the show and some will also be reuniting for this one show. Viele’s Planet was important to the all ages scene at one point because they had all ages shows on Sundays. Bands playing the reunion show include Taxi War Dance, Lidlifter, Grim, UAT, Prone, Petcock, Midnight Dreary, Clone, Stronger Than Seven, and Swirl!
For the 500 of you that were lucky enough to buy tickets before they sold out, the show will begin at 3:00 pm. The show is also ages 21 and over. You can find a facebook event here. Also be sure to check out what other shows are coming up in Springfield over at our Springfield shows page!
Local metal act Skywalker have recently released a music video for a brand new track entitled “The Realization.” You can find the video here on youtube or also embedded below. The track comes from an upcoming 2013 release from the band. Skywalker will also be playing an upcoming Friday March 15th show along with the bands Elyse, Scott Blacula, Kleos, and The Convalescence.
Today we bring you very very big news for the music scene in our sister city of Champaign Illinois. The record label Error Records along with the help of a few others are launching a brand new all ages music venue. If the launch of the venue is successful, this could mean very big and exciting things for Champaign and also the Central Illinois music scene as a whole. It is important for all of us in Springfield that call Black Sheep our home to support this new venue in one of our neighboring cities. Nathan Landolt of Error Records has this to say:
Since moving to Champaign-Urbana about 7 years ago, I have witnessed first-hand what the local music community has to offer. Not only great new music, but genuine hard working and inspiring people. Making friends through a strong and diverse artistic community has little to no comparison in my opinion. No matter what age you are, or stage in your life you’re at, you take all of these experiences and friendships with you for the rest of your life.
It doesn’t come with some risks, though. Putting on house shows where the cops could show up any minute and shut you down is no worry any music lover wants to carry. Not being able to pay a traveling band gas money because you had to pay X amount of dollars an hour to rent the space you’re throwing the show at also sucks. It’s also discouraging to have to host a show at a bar with an age limit when you know a lot more people could be enjoying the show.
If I wouldn’t have been able to get into some of the all-ages venues in St. Louis, that I did as a 15 year old, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I hope to provide those same opportunities to the younger generation of today. This is why Champaign-Urbana needs an all-ages music venue with an honest business model that doesn’t discourage any person from putting together an event, or to see one.
I look forward to bringing the underground music and art scenes together. For all of the support I have already received from the community, I am forever grateful. I hope that support and desire continues to take us places we never imagined possible.
You can find more about the project here on Indiegogo. You can also watch a youtube video about the project above and also donate to the project on the indiegogo page. The overall goal for the venue is $3000 which has to be raised in 30 days. Along with donating there are a list of incentives including a hand printed screen printed poster designed by Springfield’s Brian Galecki, and also some records from the Error catalogue. We plan on keeping you all updated on the launch of the new music venue, which will likely be opened towards the end of March or the beginning of April. And now a message from Kevin:
This is an amazing thing for Champaign/Urbana. As we all know, all ages venues are rare and extremely hard to keep afloat. I encourage you all to support our friends out there and support this cause. Without our community here in Springfield and Central Illinois it would have been impossible for us to open and stay that way. All of us in the Black Sheep family know the struggle. Good luck to Nathan and crew I am excited to have a sister all ages venue out there.
– Kevin Bradford
Dumb Records 