Toby singing made to love in charlotte nc. jan 11
Christian Music News Source
Christian Music News Source
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Your guide to Central Illinois arts and entertainment in 2009
What better way to greet a new year than to embrace what it promises? And we don’t mean the bad stuff we all know is part and parcel of every New Year deal. Let us turn, instead, to celebrating what we know will be the good stuff — especially as it relates to the frankly escapist world of GO!.
That would be the arts-and-entertainment possibilities coming our way in the winter weeks ahead.
You know: that weather-outside-is-frightful stretch during which we need all the help we can get.
To that end, we’ve rounded up a preview of all the big-ticket items already scheduled between now and spring.
Plenty more items will doubtless be added to the mix in the weeks ahead, which is why we invented the weekly GO! Calendar listings, the most complete source around for up-to-the-minute happenings.
Theater
Kicking off the season Jan. 8 with some big yucks will be Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre with the Dennis R. Anderson farce Funny Valentines. Following fast on its peals of laughter will be the Barn’s other farcical winter-spring offerings, Michael Cooney’s Cash on Delivery (March 5) and an encore of the Barn’s 2005 hit, Squabbles (April 30).
Also raising the curtains early on the ’09 season are Bloomington’s Community Players, who’ll open their three-weekend run of Mary Chase’s hare-raising comedy classic, Harvey, Jan. 16. To be followed by yet another edition of Squabbles (Feb. 27) and the latest local staging of Urinetown: The Musical (May 1).
At Illinois State University, the season begins on a high dramatic note in Westhoff Theatre with Kia Corthron’s Breath, Boom (Feb. 20), an ISU-Crossroads Theatre collaboration about the life of a hardened female gang member in New York.
It’s followed by The Rover (Feb. 26), a saucy new adaptation of the classic Restoration farce in the Center for the Performing Arts Theatre; Timberlake Wertenbaker’s drama Our Country’s Good (April 3, Westhoff Theatre), about the staging of a play in Aussie prison; Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita (April 3, CPA Theatre); and this semester’s “Free Will” bargain Shakespeare offering, Julius Caesar (April 22, Allen Theatre).
At Illinois Wesleyan University, the main stage season in McPherson Theatre is comprised of a lone offering, Henrik Ibsen’s courtroom drama, An Enemy of the People (Feb. 17). In IWU’s Laboratory Theatre, it’s Chance Muehleck’s “play about the media,” Spokes (April 8), followed by a pair of one-acts, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Aria Da Capo and Moliere’s The Precious Damsels (May; dates TBA).
At Eureka College, the school’s Pritchard Theatre will be the site of a world premiere, the student-written/performed one-woman show, KD: Two Letters Is All You Need (Jan. 22). It’s followed by Caryl Churchill’s feminist fantasia Top Girls (Feb. 20) and Noel Coward’s comedy of manners, Present Laughter (April 21).
Heartland Theatre Company in Normal has two winter-spring productions on tap, beginning with David Lindsay-Abaire’s drama about a couple coping with their child’s death, Rabbit Hole (Feb. 19), and followed by Olga Mikhailova’s Moscow-set comedy, Russian Dream (April 16).
The Pantagraph’s Holiday Spectacular crew returns with an original Lincoln musical drama, Lincoln’s in Town! (Feb. 13-15, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts).
Meanwhile, that long-running rite of spring, The American Passion Play, returns to the BCPA for a four-weekend run beginning March 14.
National touring productions passing through the area include: Monty Python’s Spamalot (Jan. 17-18, Peoria Civic Center); An Evening with Martin and Langston starring Danny Glover (Jan. 23, ISU Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom); LeAnne Howe: Chocktalking on Other Realities (Jan. 23-24, U of I Krannert Center, Champaign); Rain: The Beatles Experience (Feb. 3, Sangamon Auditorium, Springfield; Feb. 4, Peoria Civic Center); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Feb. 16, Sangamon Auditorium; March 31-April 1, Peoria Civic Center); The Drowsy Chaperone (Feb. 24-25, Peoria Civic Center; April 10, U of I Assembly Hall); and Movin’ Out (March 10, U of I Assembly Hall, Champaign);
Also: The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s History of America, Abridged (March 13, Sangamon Auditorium); Hairspray (March 16, Sangamon Auditorium); It’s Only Make Believe (March 22, Peoria Civic Center); Anna Deavere Smith’s Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change (March 31, Krannert Center); Annie (April 13, Sangamon Auditorium); Footloose (April 19, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); Anne Bogart’s SITI Company: Who Do You Think You Are and Under Construction (April 25 and 28, Krannert Center); and Pinkalicious: The Musical (May 3, BCPA).
Comedy
With at least three regular comedy clubs at play in Pantagraphland bounds — Bloomington’s Funny Bone and New Treehhouse Lounge, Mason City’s Mason City Limits — no weekend will pass by without laughs. So check out their weekly menus.
On the auditorium front, there’s: country jester Rodney Carrington (Jan. 22, Virginia Theater, Champaign; March 13, Peoria Civic Center); Mo’Nique (Jan. 31, Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Decatur); comedian-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (Feb. 14, U.S. Cellular Coliseum); “queen of mean” Lisa Lampanelli (Feb. 21, Peoria Civic Center); Second City Touring Company (March 12, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); frequent Central Illinois visitor Larry the Cable Guy (April 4, U of I Assembly Hall ); and Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show (May 2, BCPA).
Rock-pop-folk
Coming to Twin Cities venues as of press time are: singer-songwriter Susan Werner (Jan. 20, Blue Moon Coffeehouse); Buddy Holly’s Winter Dance Party (Feb. 7, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); rockers 3 Doors Down, Seether and Safetysuit (7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, U.S. Cellular Coliseum); folkie Cheryl Wheeler (March 7, Blue Moon); the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (March 7, BCPA); pop long-runners The Lettermen (March 20, BCPA); classic rockers The Doobie Brothers (April 2, U.S. Cellular Coliseum); singer-songwriters Antje Duvekot and Natalia Zukerman (April 4, Blue Moon); The Manhattan Transfer (April 16, BCPA); and folk singer Willy Porter (Blue Moon, May 16).
Elsewhere: old-timers Styx (Jan. 22, Peoria Civic Center); Christian rockers Toby Mac, NewSong and others in the Winter Jam 2009 Tour Spectacular (Jan. 23, Peoria Civic Center); ’80s metal men Skid Row (Jan. 24, Lincoln Square Theater, Decatur); jam rockers the Disco Biscuits (Jan. 25, Canopy Club, Urbana); rock-opera troupe the East Village Opera Company (Jan. 30-31, U of I Krannert Center); Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (Jan. 31, U of I Foellinger Auditorium, Champaign).
Also: rockers Slipknot, Coheed & Cambria and Trivium (Feb. 2, Peoria Civic Center); guitarist Keller Williams (Feb. 6, Canopy Club); Dove-winning Christian rockers Building 429 (Feb. 13, United Presbyterian Church, Peoria); heavy metal men Clutch (Feb. 15, Canopy Club); Peoria-begat rockers Mudvayne (7 p.m. Feb. 17, Prairie Capital Convention Center); Christian rockers Third Day (March 5, Assembly Hall); Susan Werner Duo (March 6, Sangamon Auditorium); George Thorogood & The Destroyers (March 2, East Peoria Event Center); and veteran folk singer Gordon Lightfoot (March 18, Virginia Theater, Champaign).
Country-bluegrass-gospel
Scheduled for Twin Cities venues thus far are just a couple qualifying concerts: The Bill Gaither Homecoming (March 13, U.S. Cellular Coliseum), and fresh from Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters,” the offbeat Carolina Chocolate Drops (March 27, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts).
Elsewhere: The two-day Y’allapalooza with 14 stars including LeAnn Rimes, Phil Vassar, Jason Aldean, Julianne Hough and more (Jan. 16-17, Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield); Toby Keith and (again) Jason Aldean (Jan. 29, Peoria Civic Center); Jay Unger & Molly Mason: An Early Birthday Party for A. Lincoln (Jan. 31, Sangamon Auditorium); Rascal Flatts and Jessica Simpson (Feb. 6, U of I Assembly Hall); bluegrass groups The Gordons, Special Consensus and Poplar Grove Bluegrass Band (April 3, Kirkland Fine Arts Center); and western swing legends Asleep at the Wheel (April 4, Kirkland Fine Arts Center)
Jazz-R&B-World
In B-N, the big names on board so far include: New Orleans a cappella group the subdudes (Jan. 17, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); Bob Marley’s band, The Wailers (Jan. 22, BCPA); jazz chanteuse Sara Gazarek, performing this year’s WGLT JazzMasters concert (Feb. 7, ISU Center for the Performing Arts); the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Feb. 21, BCPA); and the African Children’s Choir (Feb. 27, BCPA).
Elsewhere: female a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock (Feb. 10, Kirkland Fine Arts Center); Japan’s drum-crazy Kodo (Feb. 24, U of I Krannert Center); the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (Feb. 28, Sangamon Auditorium); Aswat: Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music (March 15, Krannert Center); the Afro-Cuban All Stars (March 18, Krannert Center); Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble (April 4, Krannert Center); Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Peace Band (April 7, Krannert Center); Portuguese singer Mariza (April 15, Krannert Center); Bobby McFerrin and Polygraph Lounge (April 24, Krannert Center); and sax man Joshua Redman (May 2, Krannert Center).
Classical
On the Twin Cities front, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra will be busy in the weeks ahead with: Lincoln Bicentennial (Feb. 6), Gershwin at the Pops (March 6), America the Beautiful (April 3) and The Planets (May 1) — all performed in the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition, the ISO’s subsidiary Illinois Chamber Orchestra performs Beautiful Classics (Jan. 24) and Tall Tales & American Legends (March 21), both in Bloomington’s Second Presbyterian Church.
Elsewhere: pianist Ingrid Fliter (Feb. 3, U of I Krannert Center); the Hugo Wolf Quartet (Feb. 19, Krannert Center); Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra (Feb. 26, Krannert Center); pianist Angela Hewitt (March 5, Krannert Center); Jupiter String Quartet (March 17, Krannert Center); National Philharmonic of Russia (April 14, Krannert); Pacifica Quartet with Erik Ronmark (April 16, Krannert Center); pianist Charles Rosen (April 22, Krannert Center); and violinist-composer Mark O’Connor (May 2, Peoria Civic Center).
Dance
On the local front, the offerings include: Alvin Ailey’s Ailey II (Jan. 30, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); IWU’s Dance Concert 2009 (April 7-12, McPherson Theatre); the annual ISU Dance Theatre Spring Concerts (April 30-May 2, ISU Center for the Performing Arts);
Traditional spring performances by the McLean County Dance Center, Twin Cities Ballet and USA Ballet also are in the offing.
Elsewhere: Russian National Ballet Theatre (“Giselle,” Jan. 22, Sangamon Auditorium; “Sleeping Beauty,” Jan. 23-24, U of I Krannert Center); Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance (Feb. 16, U of I Assembly Hall; Feb. 17, Peoria Civic Center); the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Romeo & Juliet (March 13-14, Krannert Center); Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (April 16, Sangamon Auditorium); and Ronald K. Brown: Evidence, A Dance Company (April 21, Krannert Center).
Etc., etc.
In the realm of things not easily pigeon-holed, Twin Cities venues will host the second edition of I.C.E. World Championship Ice Racing (Jan. 24, U.S. Cellular Coliseum).
Outside Twin Cities limits, odds-and-ends attractions include: the Harlem Globetrotters (Jan. 9, U of I Assembly Hall; Jan. 10, Peoria Civic Center; Jan. 13, Prairie Capital Convention Center); WWE Raw/ECW Live (Jan. 30, Assembly Hall); the big-trucks-don’t-cry opus Monster Jam (Feb. 6-7, Peoria Civic Center; Feb. 20-22, Prairie Capital Convention Center); National Acrobats of China (Feb. 8, Sangamon Auditorium; Feb. 10-11, U of I Krannert Center); Ensemble Galilei with NPR’s Neal Conan in First Person: Stories From Around the World (Feb. 21, Sangamon Auditorium); Montreal’s Cirque Eloize (March 3-4, Krannert Center); Chinese acrobatic troupe Jungua, Descendents of the Dragon (March 11, Kirkland Fine Arts Center); and another Euro-circus opus, Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy (April 22, Sangamon Auditorium).
Christian Music News Source
That would be the arts-and-entertainment possibilities coming our way in the winter weeks ahead.
You know: that weather-outside-is-frightful stretch during which we need all the help we can get.
To that end, we’ve rounded up a preview of all the big-ticket items already scheduled between now and spring.
Plenty more items will doubtless be added to the mix in the weeks ahead, which is why we invented the weekly GO! Calendar listings, the most complete source around for up-to-the-minute happenings.
Theater
Kicking off the season Jan. 8 with some big yucks will be Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre with the Dennis R. Anderson farce Funny Valentines. Following fast on its peals of laughter will be the Barn’s other farcical winter-spring offerings, Michael Cooney’s Cash on Delivery (March 5) and an encore of the Barn’s 2005 hit, Squabbles (April 30).
Also raising the curtains early on the ’09 season are Bloomington’s Community Players, who’ll open their three-weekend run of Mary Chase’s hare-raising comedy classic, Harvey, Jan. 16. To be followed by yet another edition of Squabbles (Feb. 27) and the latest local staging of Urinetown: The Musical (May 1).
At Illinois State University, the season begins on a high dramatic note in Westhoff Theatre with Kia Corthron’s Breath, Boom (Feb. 20), an ISU-Crossroads Theatre collaboration about the life of a hardened female gang member in New York.
It’s followed by The Rover (Feb. 26), a saucy new adaptation of the classic Restoration farce in the Center for the Performing Arts Theatre; Timberlake Wertenbaker’s drama Our Country’s Good (April 3, Westhoff Theatre), about the staging of a play in Aussie prison; Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita (April 3, CPA Theatre); and this semester’s “Free Will” bargain Shakespeare offering, Julius Caesar (April 22, Allen Theatre).
At Illinois Wesleyan University, the main stage season in McPherson Theatre is comprised of a lone offering, Henrik Ibsen’s courtroom drama, An Enemy of the People (Feb. 17). In IWU’s Laboratory Theatre, it’s Chance Muehleck’s “play about the media,” Spokes (April 8), followed by a pair of one-acts, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Aria Da Capo and Moliere’s The Precious Damsels (May; dates TBA).
At Eureka College, the school’s Pritchard Theatre will be the site of a world premiere, the student-written/performed one-woman show, KD: Two Letters Is All You Need (Jan. 22). It’s followed by Caryl Churchill’s feminist fantasia Top Girls (Feb. 20) and Noel Coward’s comedy of manners, Present Laughter (April 21).
Heartland Theatre Company in Normal has two winter-spring productions on tap, beginning with David Lindsay-Abaire’s drama about a couple coping with their child’s death, Rabbit Hole (Feb. 19), and followed by Olga Mikhailova’s Moscow-set comedy, Russian Dream (April 16).
The Pantagraph’s Holiday Spectacular crew returns with an original Lincoln musical drama, Lincoln’s in Town! (Feb. 13-15, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts).
Meanwhile, that long-running rite of spring, The American Passion Play, returns to the BCPA for a four-weekend run beginning March 14.
National touring productions passing through the area include: Monty Python’s Spamalot (Jan. 17-18, Peoria Civic Center); An Evening with Martin and Langston starring Danny Glover (Jan. 23, ISU Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom); LeAnne Howe: Chocktalking on Other Realities (Jan. 23-24, U of I Krannert Center, Champaign); Rain: The Beatles Experience (Feb. 3, Sangamon Auditorium, Springfield; Feb. 4, Peoria Civic Center); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Feb. 16, Sangamon Auditorium; March 31-April 1, Peoria Civic Center); The Drowsy Chaperone (Feb. 24-25, Peoria Civic Center; April 10, U of I Assembly Hall); and Movin’ Out (March 10, U of I Assembly Hall, Champaign);
Also: The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s History of America, Abridged (March 13, Sangamon Auditorium); Hairspray (March 16, Sangamon Auditorium); It’s Only Make Believe (March 22, Peoria Civic Center); Anna Deavere Smith’s Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change (March 31, Krannert Center); Annie (April 13, Sangamon Auditorium); Footloose (April 19, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); Anne Bogart’s SITI Company: Who Do You Think You Are and Under Construction (April 25 and 28, Krannert Center); and Pinkalicious: The Musical (May 3, BCPA).
Comedy
With at least three regular comedy clubs at play in Pantagraphland bounds — Bloomington’s Funny Bone and New Treehhouse Lounge, Mason City’s Mason City Limits — no weekend will pass by without laughs. So check out their weekly menus.
On the auditorium front, there’s: country jester Rodney Carrington (Jan. 22, Virginia Theater, Champaign; March 13, Peoria Civic Center); Mo’Nique (Jan. 31, Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Decatur); comedian-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (Feb. 14, U.S. Cellular Coliseum); “queen of mean” Lisa Lampanelli (Feb. 21, Peoria Civic Center); Second City Touring Company (March 12, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); frequent Central Illinois visitor Larry the Cable Guy (April 4, U of I Assembly Hall ); and Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show (May 2, BCPA).
Rock-pop-folk
Coming to Twin Cities venues as of press time are: singer-songwriter Susan Werner (Jan. 20, Blue Moon Coffeehouse); Buddy Holly’s Winter Dance Party (Feb. 7, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); rockers 3 Doors Down, Seether and Safetysuit (7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, U.S. Cellular Coliseum); folkie Cheryl Wheeler (March 7, Blue Moon); the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (March 7, BCPA); pop long-runners The Lettermen (March 20, BCPA); classic rockers The Doobie Brothers (April 2, U.S. Cellular Coliseum); singer-songwriters Antje Duvekot and Natalia Zukerman (April 4, Blue Moon); The Manhattan Transfer (April 16, BCPA); and folk singer Willy Porter (Blue Moon, May 16).
Elsewhere: old-timers Styx (Jan. 22, Peoria Civic Center); Christian rockers Toby Mac, NewSong and others in the Winter Jam 2009 Tour Spectacular (Jan. 23, Peoria Civic Center); ’80s metal men Skid Row (Jan. 24, Lincoln Square Theater, Decatur); jam rockers the Disco Biscuits (Jan. 25, Canopy Club, Urbana); rock-opera troupe the East Village Opera Company (Jan. 30-31, U of I Krannert Center); Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (Jan. 31, U of I Foellinger Auditorium, Champaign).
Also: rockers Slipknot, Coheed & Cambria and Trivium (Feb. 2, Peoria Civic Center); guitarist Keller Williams (Feb. 6, Canopy Club); Dove-winning Christian rockers Building 429 (Feb. 13, United Presbyterian Church, Peoria); heavy metal men Clutch (Feb. 15, Canopy Club); Peoria-begat rockers Mudvayne (7 p.m. Feb. 17, Prairie Capital Convention Center); Christian rockers Third Day (March 5, Assembly Hall); Susan Werner Duo (March 6, Sangamon Auditorium); George Thorogood & The Destroyers (March 2, East Peoria Event Center); and veteran folk singer Gordon Lightfoot (March 18, Virginia Theater, Champaign).
Country-bluegrass-gospel
Scheduled for Twin Cities venues thus far are just a couple qualifying concerts: The Bill Gaither Homecoming (March 13, U.S. Cellular Coliseum), and fresh from Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters,” the offbeat Carolina Chocolate Drops (March 27, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts).
Elsewhere: The two-day Y’allapalooza with 14 stars including LeAnn Rimes, Phil Vassar, Jason Aldean, Julianne Hough and more (Jan. 16-17, Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield); Toby Keith and (again) Jason Aldean (Jan. 29, Peoria Civic Center); Jay Unger & Molly Mason: An Early Birthday Party for A. Lincoln (Jan. 31, Sangamon Auditorium); Rascal Flatts and Jessica Simpson (Feb. 6, U of I Assembly Hall); bluegrass groups The Gordons, Special Consensus and Poplar Grove Bluegrass Band (April 3, Kirkland Fine Arts Center); and western swing legends Asleep at the Wheel (April 4, Kirkland Fine Arts Center)
Jazz-R&B-World
In B-N, the big names on board so far include: New Orleans a cappella group the subdudes (Jan. 17, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); Bob Marley’s band, The Wailers (Jan. 22, BCPA); jazz chanteuse Sara Gazarek, performing this year’s WGLT JazzMasters concert (Feb. 7, ISU Center for the Performing Arts); the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Feb. 21, BCPA); and the African Children’s Choir (Feb. 27, BCPA).
Elsewhere: female a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock (Feb. 10, Kirkland Fine Arts Center); Japan’s drum-crazy Kodo (Feb. 24, U of I Krannert Center); the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (Feb. 28, Sangamon Auditorium); Aswat: Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music (March 15, Krannert Center); the Afro-Cuban All Stars (March 18, Krannert Center); Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble (April 4, Krannert Center); Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Peace Band (April 7, Krannert Center); Portuguese singer Mariza (April 15, Krannert Center); Bobby McFerrin and Polygraph Lounge (April 24, Krannert Center); and sax man Joshua Redman (May 2, Krannert Center).
Classical
On the Twin Cities front, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra will be busy in the weeks ahead with: Lincoln Bicentennial (Feb. 6), Gershwin at the Pops (March 6), America the Beautiful (April 3) and The Planets (May 1) — all performed in the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition, the ISO’s subsidiary Illinois Chamber Orchestra performs Beautiful Classics (Jan. 24) and Tall Tales & American Legends (March 21), both in Bloomington’s Second Presbyterian Church.
Elsewhere: pianist Ingrid Fliter (Feb. 3, U of I Krannert Center); the Hugo Wolf Quartet (Feb. 19, Krannert Center); Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra (Feb. 26, Krannert Center); pianist Angela Hewitt (March 5, Krannert Center); Jupiter String Quartet (March 17, Krannert Center); National Philharmonic of Russia (April 14, Krannert); Pacifica Quartet with Erik Ronmark (April 16, Krannert Center); pianist Charles Rosen (April 22, Krannert Center); and violinist-composer Mark O’Connor (May 2, Peoria Civic Center).
Dance
On the local front, the offerings include: Alvin Ailey’s Ailey II (Jan. 30, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts); IWU’s Dance Concert 2009 (April 7-12, McPherson Theatre); the annual ISU Dance Theatre Spring Concerts (April 30-May 2, ISU Center for the Performing Arts);
Traditional spring performances by the McLean County Dance Center, Twin Cities Ballet and USA Ballet also are in the offing.
Elsewhere: Russian National Ballet Theatre (“Giselle,” Jan. 22, Sangamon Auditorium; “Sleeping Beauty,” Jan. 23-24, U of I Krannert Center); Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance (Feb. 16, U of I Assembly Hall; Feb. 17, Peoria Civic Center); the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Romeo & Juliet (March 13-14, Krannert Center); Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (April 16, Sangamon Auditorium); and Ronald K. Brown: Evidence, A Dance Company (April 21, Krannert Center).
Etc., etc.
In the realm of things not easily pigeon-holed, Twin Cities venues will host the second edition of I.C.E. World Championship Ice Racing (Jan. 24, U.S. Cellular Coliseum).
Outside Twin Cities limits, odds-and-ends attractions include: the Harlem Globetrotters (Jan. 9, U of I Assembly Hall; Jan. 10, Peoria Civic Center; Jan. 13, Prairie Capital Convention Center); WWE Raw/ECW Live (Jan. 30, Assembly Hall); the big-trucks-don’t-cry opus Monster Jam (Feb. 6-7, Peoria Civic Center; Feb. 20-22, Prairie Capital Convention Center); National Acrobats of China (Feb. 8, Sangamon Auditorium; Feb. 10-11, U of I Krannert Center); Ensemble Galilei with NPR’s Neal Conan in First Person: Stories From Around the World (Feb. 21, Sangamon Auditorium); Montreal’s Cirque Eloize (March 3-4, Krannert Center); Chinese acrobatic troupe Jungua, Descendents of the Dragon (March 11, Kirkland Fine Arts Center); and another Euro-circus opus, Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy (April 22, Sangamon Auditorium).
Christian Music News Source
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Toby Mac Made to Love
Toby Mac performs during Winter Wonder Slam at the Toyota Center 12-12-08
Christian Music News Source
Christian Music News Source
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
tobyMac, Santa on their way
There are very few Christmas memories not connected to music, and the return to Huntsville of tobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam Tour is just such a tradition.
Whether it's putting up the tree, shopping the malls, seeing Santa or traveling to see family, special music can propel all of us a quantum leap to a special memory.
I know for me personally, even though I'm still stuffed from Thanksgiving, I am looking forward to my wife, daughters and myself heading to Waffle House on Christmas morn - usually with Harry Connick Jr. playing in the car.
That's decidedly more sedate than a new Christmas tradition barreling toward North Alabama.
A Rocket City favorite, tobyMac is bringing Winter Wonder Slam this Christmas for the fifth time. If you have yet to experience it, you haven't seen Christmas at full throttle. The high energy of tobyMac's mix of hip-hop, rock and funk is worth sitting on Santa's knee, hoping you've been good enough to go.
No holiday feels right without the time spent with family and friends so Toby brings some of his to share. Relient K comes back showing that they never take themselves too seriously. Their brand of rock inspires the Guitar Hero in us all with their big hits, "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" and "Getting into You." However, their live shows are legend for a breakout of covers you couldn't dare dream of. They've covered the gamut from the Backstreet Boys and Shania Twain to TV theme songs from "Full House" and movies like "That Thing You Do" and "Top Gun."
Family Force 5 is back, this time with new music. "Dance or Die" doesn't sound very festive for this time of the year, but their live show will blow the ornaments right off your tree.
tobyMac never comes to town without introducing us to someone new in his goatee family, and you'll get pumped about this year's selection. Newcomer B. Reith brings his shared passion with Toby for hip-hop and rap that will have you adding his debut CD to your stocking-stuffer list.
tobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam tour is happening Saturday, 7 p.m., at the Von Braun Center downtown. Tickets are $16-$35.
Christian Music News Source
Whether it's putting up the tree, shopping the malls, seeing Santa or traveling to see family, special music can propel all of us a quantum leap to a special memory.
I know for me personally, even though I'm still stuffed from Thanksgiving, I am looking forward to my wife, daughters and myself heading to Waffle House on Christmas morn - usually with Harry Connick Jr. playing in the car.
That's decidedly more sedate than a new Christmas tradition barreling toward North Alabama.
A Rocket City favorite, tobyMac is bringing Winter Wonder Slam this Christmas for the fifth time. If you have yet to experience it, you haven't seen Christmas at full throttle. The high energy of tobyMac's mix of hip-hop, rock and funk is worth sitting on Santa's knee, hoping you've been good enough to go.
No holiday feels right without the time spent with family and friends so Toby brings some of his to share. Relient K comes back showing that they never take themselves too seriously. Their brand of rock inspires the Guitar Hero in us all with their big hits, "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" and "Getting into You." However, their live shows are legend for a breakout of covers you couldn't dare dream of. They've covered the gamut from the Backstreet Boys and Shania Twain to TV theme songs from "Full House" and movies like "That Thing You Do" and "Top Gun."
Family Force 5 is back, this time with new music. "Dance or Die" doesn't sound very festive for this time of the year, but their live show will blow the ornaments right off your tree.
tobyMac never comes to town without introducing us to someone new in his goatee family, and you'll get pumped about this year's selection. Newcomer B. Reith brings his shared passion with Toby for hip-hop and rap that will have you adding his debut CD to your stocking-stuffer list.
tobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam tour is happening Saturday, 7 p.m., at the Von Braun Center downtown. Tickets are $16-$35.
Christian Music News Source
Concert announcement: Winter Jam at Family Arena with tobyMac
Christian rock artist tobyMac headlines Winter Jam 2009, coming to Family Arena Jan. 25.
Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, Francesca Battistelli, and Stephanie Smith are also on the bill.
The tour also features speaker Tony Nolan and pureNRG and the Precious Girls Club Pre-Jam Party. NewSong hosts.
The Afters, Family Force 5 and BarlowGirl are scheduled to play select dates.
The tour has a “no tickets policy.” Fans pay $10 at the door for admission.
Check www.jamtour.com or www.premierproductions.com for more information.
Christian Music News Source
Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, Francesca Battistelli, and Stephanie Smith are also on the bill.
The tour also features speaker Tony Nolan and pureNRG and the Precious Girls Club Pre-Jam Party. NewSong hosts.
The Afters, Family Force 5 and BarlowGirl are scheduled to play select dates.
The tour has a “no tickets policy.” Fans pay $10 at the door for admission.
Check www.jamtour.com or www.premierproductions.com for more information.
Christian Music News Source
TobyMac’s new rap
TobyMac has released three solo albums, all certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 copies. His mix of rap, rock and pop has made him a Christian-radio heavyweight, and 2007’s Made to Love was one of the year’s most played singles. He sold millions of records as part of Christian band dc talk and also has collaborated with genre giants Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman and Kirk Franklin.
But this early Tuesday morning in Franklin, a “small sort of town” just outside of Nashville, TobyMac is just dad.
“I had to drop the kids off at school this morning,” he says, referring to two of his five children. “I’m still on tour hours. I’m not used to popping up this early.”
TobyMac, whose real name is Kevin McKeehan, returns to Houston on Friday as part of his Winter Wonder-Slam. He recorded a live DVD in 2007 at the Berry Center.
After completing his dad-ly duties, he took time talk with the Chronicle’s Joey Guerra about new music, Christmas memories and Kanye West:
Q: How did Portable Sounds, your last studio disc, change your outlook on music?
A: I think Portable Sounds was definitely a labor of love. It took me a little over a year to make the record. In Jamaica they call it a one pot. Here they’d probably call it a big ol’ pot of gumbo. My music really derives from hip-hop meets guitars. I think I grew artistically. I sang more on this record than I did in the past. I definitely have spread my wings in that area. These songs come from life. They come from my experience, my failures, my struggles, my success stories. My resolve is in my faith in God.
Q: Was rapping always part of the musical picture?
A: That’s where I entered. I guess I sang in some choral groups in school. But I would take 12-inch vinyl, turn it over to the instrumental and rap to it. I would make tapes for my friends. I would rap about us, the boys in the D.C. area, rolling down to Georgetown and hanging out. I began to see it as an outlet and a way to express something I was more passionate about. It was always this sense of rhyming verses with a melodic hook in the chorus.
Q: Have you been thinking yet about a new record?
A: I’ve been hard at work the last couple months in the studio. I have about four or five tracks finished. I’ll probably put out a record late fall next year. I’m going to try to work in between shows. I’m definitely a writer that writes and just runs to the studio. I was going through something last night, where my wife and I were sitting up with a friend, trying to speak truth into their lives — even out of that, I would hope to get something. Just a morsel of truth I can share with people. Hopefully, they can glean from that.
Q: What’s the balance like of making quality music and family life?
A: I have the Rock of Gibraltar as a wife. My wife (Amanda) is an incredibly strong, loving woman. That’s the beginning of all the great people around me. It makes things a lot easier. I have amazingly talented people around me that make me better and bigger than who I am. Half of life is balancing our lives. Not indulging in one area. It’s putting little things in place. And it’s hard sometimes.
Q: Everyone is revving up their ‘best of ’08’ lists. What are some of your favorite musical moments of the past year?
A: I got to go a Coldplay show, which I thought was amazing and totally inspiring. There was a lot of production, and there were a lot of tricks, but they were used in a way that supported the song. It didn’t take away from the music. I’ve definitely been sniffing around what Kanye’s doing with (808s & Heartbreaks). I don’t always agree with his philosophies, but I’m interested in the kind of songs and the music he makes. He’s almost stepping a little bit away from beats and rhymes. I can appreciate somebody moving in a new direction. He could’ve rested on his laurels.
One song that just feels good to me, whenever I hear that Pocketful of Sunshine song, that ‘Take me away …,’ it just makes me feel good.
Q: What about movies?
A: I love film. I don’t get to go as much as I want, but we definitely catch up on the bus. I went out and saw The Duchess with my wife. I thought that was great, even though it’s not the most action, thrilling type movie. She loves those period pieces. My wife’s from Jamaica, so she’s got a lot of love for England. It was pretty intense drama.
I took my kids to see Bolt. It was great, man; I enjoyed it. If I didn’t look at my watch or my phone for two hours, then the film was good enough to take me on a trip.
Q: What are your memories of Houston?
A: We shot our live DVD (Alive & Transported) there. That, obviously, and the intensity of that and the vulnerability of that all comes to mind. Houston really embraced us early. It’s become my favorite touring city right now. It feels very welcoming to what I’m doing. Of course, I hit the Galleria and bought things for the DVD shoot. Houston’s gone from one of the toughest touring markets to one of the best, and KSBJ (89.3 FM) has a lot to do with that.
Q: Your songs have popped up in lots of commercials and films. Where’s the strangest place one has ended up?
A: Probably Transporter 2. I definitely didn’t expect that. I didn’t even know it was happening. I got crazy calls from my friends. I definitely was super-dad when it showed up in that film with the Rock, where he played football (The Game Plan). My kids were tripping on that. They were like, ‘Daaad!’
Q: What were the best and worst Christmas gifts you received as a kid?
A: The best gift was definitely when I was about 10. I got a Mono Shock bicycle, and it was canary yellow. My parents didn’t wrap stuff. They would put things under the tree, as if Santa had come during the night and left them there. I woke up, walked out, and there it was. It was, like, the greatest moment of my life.
I remember my neighbor’s father, who was also my little-league football coach, was always the prankster. I was so excited to open this gift he got me. It was in a tin, like a pie tin, this big brown thing. He was like, ‘It’s a cow pie.’ I didn’t know what it was. Cow dookie, man. I remember being utterly confused. I didn’t even understand it.
Christian Music News Source
But this early Tuesday morning in Franklin, a “small sort of town” just outside of Nashville, TobyMac is just dad.
“I had to drop the kids off at school this morning,” he says, referring to two of his five children. “I’m still on tour hours. I’m not used to popping up this early.”
TobyMac, whose real name is Kevin McKeehan, returns to Houston on Friday as part of his Winter Wonder-Slam. He recorded a live DVD in 2007 at the Berry Center.
After completing his dad-ly duties, he took time talk with the Chronicle’s Joey Guerra about new music, Christmas memories and Kanye West:
Q: How did Portable Sounds, your last studio disc, change your outlook on music?
A: I think Portable Sounds was definitely a labor of love. It took me a little over a year to make the record. In Jamaica they call it a one pot. Here they’d probably call it a big ol’ pot of gumbo. My music really derives from hip-hop meets guitars. I think I grew artistically. I sang more on this record than I did in the past. I definitely have spread my wings in that area. These songs come from life. They come from my experience, my failures, my struggles, my success stories. My resolve is in my faith in God.
Q: Was rapping always part of the musical picture?
A: That’s where I entered. I guess I sang in some choral groups in school. But I would take 12-inch vinyl, turn it over to the instrumental and rap to it. I would make tapes for my friends. I would rap about us, the boys in the D.C. area, rolling down to Georgetown and hanging out. I began to see it as an outlet and a way to express something I was more passionate about. It was always this sense of rhyming verses with a melodic hook in the chorus.
Q: Have you been thinking yet about a new record?
A: I’ve been hard at work the last couple months in the studio. I have about four or five tracks finished. I’ll probably put out a record late fall next year. I’m going to try to work in between shows. I’m definitely a writer that writes and just runs to the studio. I was going through something last night, where my wife and I were sitting up with a friend, trying to speak truth into their lives — even out of that, I would hope to get something. Just a morsel of truth I can share with people. Hopefully, they can glean from that.
Q: What’s the balance like of making quality music and family life?
A: I have the Rock of Gibraltar as a wife. My wife (Amanda) is an incredibly strong, loving woman. That’s the beginning of all the great people around me. It makes things a lot easier. I have amazingly talented people around me that make me better and bigger than who I am. Half of life is balancing our lives. Not indulging in one area. It’s putting little things in place. And it’s hard sometimes.
Q: Everyone is revving up their ‘best of ’08’ lists. What are some of your favorite musical moments of the past year?
A: I got to go a Coldplay show, which I thought was amazing and totally inspiring. There was a lot of production, and there were a lot of tricks, but they were used in a way that supported the song. It didn’t take away from the music. I’ve definitely been sniffing around what Kanye’s doing with (808s & Heartbreaks). I don’t always agree with his philosophies, but I’m interested in the kind of songs and the music he makes. He’s almost stepping a little bit away from beats and rhymes. I can appreciate somebody moving in a new direction. He could’ve rested on his laurels.
One song that just feels good to me, whenever I hear that Pocketful of Sunshine song, that ‘Take me away …,’ it just makes me feel good.
Q: What about movies?
A: I love film. I don’t get to go as much as I want, but we definitely catch up on the bus. I went out and saw The Duchess with my wife. I thought that was great, even though it’s not the most action, thrilling type movie. She loves those period pieces. My wife’s from Jamaica, so she’s got a lot of love for England. It was pretty intense drama.
I took my kids to see Bolt. It was great, man; I enjoyed it. If I didn’t look at my watch or my phone for two hours, then the film was good enough to take me on a trip.
Q: What are your memories of Houston?
A: We shot our live DVD (Alive & Transported) there. That, obviously, and the intensity of that and the vulnerability of that all comes to mind. Houston really embraced us early. It’s become my favorite touring city right now. It feels very welcoming to what I’m doing. Of course, I hit the Galleria and bought things for the DVD shoot. Houston’s gone from one of the toughest touring markets to one of the best, and KSBJ (89.3 FM) has a lot to do with that.
Q: Your songs have popped up in lots of commercials and films. Where’s the strangest place one has ended up?
A: Probably Transporter 2. I definitely didn’t expect that. I didn’t even know it was happening. I got crazy calls from my friends. I definitely was super-dad when it showed up in that film with the Rock, where he played football (The Game Plan). My kids were tripping on that. They were like, ‘Daaad!’
Q: What were the best and worst Christmas gifts you received as a kid?
A: The best gift was definitely when I was about 10. I got a Mono Shock bicycle, and it was canary yellow. My parents didn’t wrap stuff. They would put things under the tree, as if Santa had come during the night and left them there. I woke up, walked out, and there it was. It was, like, the greatest moment of my life.
I remember my neighbor’s father, who was also my little-league football coach, was always the prankster. I was so excited to open this gift he got me. It was in a tin, like a pie tin, this big brown thing. He was like, ‘It’s a cow pie.’ I didn’t know what it was. Cow dookie, man. I remember being utterly confused. I didn’t even understand it.
Christian Music News Source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
