Mason Via opens for Emily Nenni at the Levitt AMP concert series then performs at The Alamo for a ZRH Foundation fundraiser this Thursday night.
Look out, folks, June is coming in hot with all kinds of live music happening here, there and everywhere. Let’s get going and see what there is to entertain us right now.
Thursdays are jumpin’ enough to keep you hoppin’ like a June bull frog and flyin’ like those June bugs that come out in May. Let’s begin with the Levitt AMP concert as this week gives us country music performer Emily Nenni as the headliner with Mason Via opening.
In a special tie-in, after the outside concert performance, Mason stops by The Alamo to keep on playing in support of the ZRH Foundation, a locally based organization committed to “empowering young people by providing access arts and culture education” and supporting live music for “its ability to bring people together through rituals of joyful revelry and communal celebration,” which sure sounds good to me.
The group (named in honor of Zachary Ryan Harris) puts its money where its heart is and not only helps fund the Levitt AMP shows, but also contributes to several other local arts groups. Mason Via’s post-Levitt gig at The Alamo will directly benefit our community, so get on down there and enjoy yourself while doing a good thing through helping others.
More Thursday action brings us to Thursday Night Live at Motorheads with this month’s showcase of local talent featuring Lisa Lowe, Chris Noonan, Steve Gragert, Artificial Light (Jesse Metzger, Jay Leon, Kevin Bertoni, Nick Shaw, Talon Nave and Phil Rath) and Stargazer (Jill Watson, Travis T. and Jesse James).
Plus, around town we have Johnnie Owens & Butter at the Curve Inn, Keith Dunlap down in Chatham at Sangamo Brewing, Al Kitchen at Mother Road Diner, Blair House Project at Casey’s Pub and The Art of Jazz continues at the Pharmacy downtown with the rockin’ jazz trio of Jose Gobbo, Kyle Honeycutt and Ben Wheeler.
One more Thursday heads up gets us to the Sangamon County Fair kicking off in New Berlin with Deja Voodoo and Brushville firing it up in the Warren Boynton State Bank Pavilion. With only one grandstand show this year when Tracy Byrd flies in on Friday with Jake Worthington, the pavilion area holds most of the fair’s live music. Be sure to look for an assortment of area acts there this weekend. Do this for fun and in support of your county fair, which just so happens to be celebrating 75 years of existence in 2025.
Before we go any further, let’s take a trip to Comer Cox Park and Springfield’s renowned Juneteenth Celebration. There’s much happening on this joyous occasion of freedom. But as you know, we stay focused on the music here, so please take some time to look up other special events scheduled all over town. On Saturday after the parade folks from the Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church will “lead a revival with music performances and spoken word tributes” with various live music shows to follow throughout the day. Then at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Kapital Sound delivers the goods with some of our finest musicians making some of the best music you’ll hear anywhere in the Springfield area to honor Juneteenth.
Now while all this is going on, you know we have a plethora (I have to use that weird word every once in a while) of music-makers making music everywhere you look, so please peruse our listings to see where, what, when and who you might go see. And why, you may ask? Because we respect, love and promote the power of live music every way we can. See ya!