- Allos Musica Ensemble - Founded in 2006 by James Falzone and featuring the oud (an ancient Arabic lute), voice, accordion, clarinet, and percussion instruments from around the world, Allos Musica explores the intersection of
- Amigos - The Amigos deliver foot-stomping, accordion-infused Americana music blending folk-rock, zydeco/cajun, and hot jazz. As global ambassadors for American music, the Amigos toured 6 countries and 20 states in the past year,
- Amigos Family Show: Adventures in America’s Musical Landscape - Featuring the music of Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and more, this concert addresses the distinctive styles of American folk music. We’ll follow songs across oceans and mountains and through cities
Continue readingAmigos Family Show: Adventures in America’s Musical Landscape
- Anne Shimojima, Featured Storyteller Performance - A retired elementary library media specialist, Anne Shimojima has performed literary stories, historical pieces, and folk tales from her Asian heritage and around the world for the past 30+ years.
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- Barb Silverman and Colby Maddox - Acclaimed as a “stunning vocalist, master teacher, and folk festival in a box,” Barbara Silverman has performed for three decades solo and with The Laketown Buskers, The Teflons, The Schticklers
- Bashful Youngens - The Bashful Youngens are Carrie Chandler-Harrison and Aaron Short. Both Central Illinois natives, they’ve been playing their blend of folk and alternative country in the C-U area since 2011. After
- Black Ridge Road - Black Ridge Road is a Champaign, Illinois-based bluegrass band, with Roger Bowen, on mandolin and harmony vocals, Roy Britton on guitar and lead and harmony vocals, Doug Buchanan on resonator
- Bucky Halker presents Rebel Voices: The Songs of Joe Hill and Woody Guthrie - Fusing elements of folk, blues, honky-tonk country, straight ahead rock, and jazz, Bucky Halker has recorded a dozen albums since the 1980s, including his recent double-CD,The Ghost of Woody Guthrie
Continue readingBucky Halker presents Rebel Voices: The Songs of Joe Hill and Woody Guthrie
- Cedric Watson and Les Amis Creole - Cedric Watson is one of the brightest young talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco (Louisiana French) music over the last decade. He is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist,
- Cornstalkers Cajun Band - C-U’s favorite local Cajun band will be joining Cedric Watson and Les Amis Creole at Thursday’s free performance co-sponsored by the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
- David Francey - We are sorry to announce that David Francey has cancelled all November appearances due to vocal impairments. We wish him speedy recovery! David Francey is a Scottish-born Canadian carpenter-turned-songwriter, who
- Dump Chickens String Band - The Dump Chickens is an exciting old-time string band based in Champaign /Urbana. Five musicians who are veterans of (and some still playing in) several groups across the two communities
- Ed Clem’s Country Band -
- Fat Fingers Jim - Fat Fingers Jim is a one-man band who specializes in fingerpicked prohibition-era blues, ragtime, and jazz guitar with foot percussion, harmonica, and the occasional ukulele number. He has been playing
- Hillbilly Jones - Since 2001, members of The Hillbilly Jones have established themselves as one of the area’s most unusual musical acts, catering to audiences of all ages with their collection of high-energy
- Hot Iron String Band - The Hot Iron String Band is a four-piece acoustic ensemble featuring Samuel Payne on guitar, Dustin Norder on mandolin, Jeremy Koch on banjo, and Nolan Lee on upright bass. Their
- Idea Garden - Idea Garden is an original acoustic duo, named after a small plot in the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign Arboretum. Dan Andree on Fiddle/Vocals and Aaron Dorfman on Guitar/Vocals perform
- John Gorka - From New Jersey, John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell. With 11+ critically acclaimed albums
- Kaia Kater - Banjo player and singer Kaia Kater is is an eclectic traditionalist, having quickly gained the attention as one of the most promising young performers in the North American folk world. Born
- Katie Belle and the Belle Rangers - Katie Belle & the Belle Rangers is a roots-rock band shaped by earthy tones and riveting tales. Acoustic and electric guitars intertwine with banjo, electric bass, and drums to form the
- Kevin Elliott - Kevin Elliott has maintained an uninterrupted love affair with the contemporary folk sound he first heard as a child in the 1960’s. Over the past 30 years or so, Kevin has
- Kurt Bielema - Kurt Bielema has been playing guitar and writing songs for thirty years. It wasn’t until a few years ago that he found his voice, and officially became a singer/songwriter. He’s played in
- Lilli Lewis - Whether looping solo a cappella as “a one woman Sweet Honey in the Rock,” throwing down at Tipitina’s with her award-winning folk-rock band The Shiz, or performing timeless spirituals from
- Local Storyteller Showcase - The Local Teller Showcase features some of Champaign-Urbana’s favorite tellers: Kim Sheahan, Kathe Brinkmann, Elaine Bearden, Linda Dust, and Camille Born. All are members of the C-U Storytelling Guild and
- Lynn O’Brien - Lynn O’Brien is wrapping the world in song. A masterful vocalist and dynamic songwriter, she engages any audience in musical experiences full of energy and depth. With several instruments and albums
- Man the Still - Man the Still is a locally-grown five-piece bluegrass band. Transplanted here for grad school, the band members all took root in the fertile ground of the Champaign/Urbana folk and bluegrass scene. After one particularly
- Matt and Tom Turino - Matt Turino grew up playing old-time and Cajun fiddle tunes with his father Tom, a clawhammer banjo player and button accordionist. Tom has also studied music in, and has played
- Morris Dancers - Morris dance is a traditional dance from England that has been done for hundreds of years. There are several references to Morris dance in Shakespeare. Each village or region has
- Mr. Stephens and Friends - Mr. Stephens is still playing goofy songs for kids even after some of them have grown up. He saw one of them driving away from Urbana High School the other
- Noah I. Brown and Company - Local gospel favorite, Noah I. Brown and Company, has been going strong for sixteen years, proclaiming the word of God through song.
- Orpheus Mandolin Orchestra - The Orpheus Mandolin Orchestra comes to us from Bloomington, Illinois, where it grew out of old-time jam session that attracted a remarkable number of mandolin players. The Orchestra’s repertoire includes
- Paul Asaro - Paul Asaro is known as one of the finest of a select group of pianists who have mastered the demanding two-handed jazz and ragtime piano styles from the first half of the 20th
- Paul Hinson - Paul Hinson taught himself bagpipe basics shortly after college and has been playing in pipe bands since 1982, often for competitions. He has studied with internationally known master pipers and participated
- Paul Kotheimer - Paul Kotheimer has been writing, recording, and releasing DIY acoustic music since the days of the cassette tape. He is quite possibly one of the finest songwriters you’ve never heard of,
- Prairie Dogs - The Prairie Dogs have been a fixture of the Champaign-Urbana music scene for 15+ years. They know a thousand songs and a hundred jokes. Guaranteed to make you laugh or
- Shari Kane and Dave Steele - Shari Kane and Dave Steele throw a four handed guitar party of original and time-honored blues, gospel, swing and ragtime. Steeped in Dave’s smoky vocals, percussive rhythm and innovative lead
- Spudhunters - On Friday afternoon from 4:00pm – 5:00pm in the Busey Bank lobby, get your banking done and your mood lifted while listening to the Spudhunters, who specialize in the traditional dance music
- Stone and Snow - Singer-songwriters Karen Bridges and Clint Thomson, who comprise Stone and Snow, draw from their connection to the snow-capped landscape of the west to create profoundly lyrical folk songs. With an eclectic mix
- Swing It! With the New Orleans Jazz Machine - The New Orleans Jazz machine is a Traditional/Dixieland jazz band that began over 20 years go. At the 2015 festival the band will feature the following musicians: Carl Johnson, clarinet/soprano sax;
- Tiny Arms - Meet C-U’s newest old-time band! Tiny Arms features Claire Johnson and Amanda Ramey on fiddles and Matt Turino on guitar.
- Under the Wolf Moon - Under the Wolf Moon is a group of local musicians, connected through the local Irish session scene. They bring the session experience to the stage, playing traditional Irish tunes (and a
- Urbana High School Wind Symphony - The Wind Symphony is the premier concert band at Urbana High School. The group performs at various events throughout the year including school concerts, community performances, contests, and festivals. Within
- Waterfowl - Waterfowl is a four piece folk-rock band from Champaign, IL whose style and sound invites its listeners through the highs and lows of shifting, seasonal Midwestern life. And like the
- Way Down Wanderers - Fast-emerging Midwestern Americana act, The Way Down Wanderers draw in audiences with soulful generosity, soaring instrumentals, lively harmony vocals & foot stomping sing-alongs. Playing, performing and writing together for just over
- Woody Pines - No stranger to fans of the new folk music coming from all corners of the USA. Alongside artists like Old Crow Medicine Show and Pokey LaFarge, Woody Pines continues to
- Young and the Fretless - The Young and the Fretless play old-time mountain music on the prairie–a mix of Appalachian Mountain and Midwestern tunes and songs. Members are Lyle Konigsberg (fiddle, banjo), Tom Bassett (fretless banjo,