Musical Hospitality

07/03/2019

If bad weather comes through Galva this evening the John Sloan Coffeehouse (with performance by Glory Days Garage Band) will be moved to the Swamp, next to Crescent City in downtown Galva.

07/02/2019

The Kewanee Arts Council is considering bringing a new game to town.
At a meeting this week, council members tossed around ideas for fund-raising. We considered a trivia contest, with categories based on the arts — theater, music, movies, and so on.
But council members felt trivia may have run its course, when it comes to popularity with the public.
To be sure, the State Bank of Toulon still attracts many players, and raises lots of money, with its Relay for Life trivia contest in the spring. But that contest is well established, and is for about as good a cause as there is.
Other local trivia contests have struggled to break even.
So another idea was brought up: Rock and Roll Bingo.
Rock and Roll Bingo, apparently, doesn’t use cards with numbers and letters. Instead, cards have the titles of popular songs.
Snippets of rock and roll songs are played, and players have to identify the songs. If the song is on their card, they mark it off, and they win if they get a bingo.
This has been a popular game elsewhere, and it does sound like fun. But we’d like a little feedback before we start the preparations (which, it seems, are extensive) to run a Rock and Roll Bingo session.
So if you think Rock and Roll Bingo sounds like something you’d like to do, let us know in the comments here. (Likewise, leave a comment if you think it's a bad idea.)
If enough people like the idea, we could be beginning a new era of local entertainment in Kewanee!

07/02/2019

If you're not doing anything on the night before the Fourth, come on over to Wiley Park in Galva for this year's John Sloan Memorial Coffeehouse. After an open-mic session that starts at 6 p.m., the Glory Days Garage Band will perform of section of oldies (but goodies). We'll be done in time for you to head over to downtown Galva to hear King Jeremy play, starting at 9.

05/21/2019

If you missed the debut of the Band With No Name last week, you can catch us from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the South Street Center!

05/13/2019

If you're not busy Thursday evening, come out to the South Street Center at 6 p.m. to hear Kewanee's newest rock and roll band (so new, in fact, that we don't have a name yet.) No admission charge or donations accepted, and you can BYOB if you wish. (The more you drink, the better we'll sound!) We're looking for feedback, positive or negative, before we try to officially go public. The band consists of Chris Cinnamon on drums; Bill Thieben on vocals; Tom Campbell, Steve Martin and Mike Berry on vocals and guitar; and Bob McKee on bass.

04/29/2019

Witherward performing "Sleeping with Shadows" at Musical Hospitality.

04/22/2019

KEWANEE — Musical Hospitality will present a coffeehouse Sunday evening featuring a performance by Witherward.
Whitherward is an adverb meaning “toward what or which place.” It is also a band with a unique story.
Upon Whitherward’s creation in 2014, Edward A. Williams and Ashley E. Norton set a goal to leave Nashville and play music they love, for people who love music. It seemed fitting for their dreams of touring the world with their music.
Now a nationally and internationally known storyteller touring duo, Whitherward wanders the country and overseas year-round, celebrating the many sub-genres of folk, and never settling in one place.
The group hit a milestone in 2018 when they received a sponsorship from Subaru Europe. They traveled across England, Scotland, Wales, Germany and The Netherlands for just under two months, performing in more than 20 cities and releasing an episode of “Songs From A Subaruå” in each one.
Whitherward records Americana/indie-folk music with a full band. They will appear in Kewanee as a duo.
They have been described as a modern-day Simon & Garfunkel, with influences of rock, folk, jazz, classical and singer/songwriter. They have a versatile bouquet of music videos that range from weird to wild. Theirs is a live performance full of comedy, friendship, intricate arrangements, deeply unique solos and thunderous harmony.
Sunday’s performance begins at 7 p.m. at the South Street Center, 200 E. South St. Doors will open at 6.
Admission is free; donations will be accepted.
While Mucial Hospitality does not serve alcoholic beverages, those attending are free to "bring their own" to enjoy during the show.
Musical Hospitality operates under the auspices of the Kewanee Arts Council.

01/28/2019

A concert Saturday night by Jazz on the Side, previously announced, has been postponed.
The concert had been scheduled at the South Side Center, but because of a remodeling project the center, the concert has been postponed. A new date for the concert will be announced later.

10/15/2018

KEWANEE — Folk noir duo Society of Broken Souls will present an evening of their original songs at Musical Hospitality on Sunday at 7 p.m. at the South Street Center, 200 E. South St.
The stop in Kewanee is part of an ongoing national tour in support of their latest album, Midnight and The Pale.
Called “a songwriting powerhouse” (Ben Kieffer, Iowa Public Radio), multi-instrumentalists Dennis James and Lauryn Shapter perform their own brand of Americana music. While they have their roots as an acoustic duo, their live show has blossomed into an expansive setting for weathered characters, tough topics, and quiet beauty.
Fiddle, drums, keyboard, and acoustic and electric guitars, in intricately woven and varied arrangements, create a wide, dynamic range of sound. As they take turns singing lead and harmony, the pair paints an impressive emotional landscape, ranging from the rebellious and jubilant to the introspective and heartfelt.
Their April, 2018 release, Midnight and The Pale, is their fifth collaboration and their second under the moniker Society of Broken Souls. Written, arranged, produced, performed, and engineered entirely by the duo at their home recording studio, the album has been called “quietly epic” (Little Village Magazine), “hypnotic” (The Celebrity Cafe), “duskly, darkly, and naturalistic folk” (Jonathan Frahm, Pop Matters) and “a dynamic and vast sonic palette” (The Daily Country).
Admission to Sunday’s concert will be free; donations will be accepted. Light refreshments will be served.
Musical Hospitality is a monthly series of performances and performance opportunities, held under the auspices of the Kewanee Arts Council.
For more information about Society of Broken Souls, visit the about page on their website, societyofbrokensouls.com. For more information on Musical Hospitality, please visit their page.

09/05/2018

We have a schedule change! The Society of Broken Souls concert scheduled for Oct. 20 has been changed Oct 21, due to a conflict at the South Street Center.

08/06/2018

After a long wait, the Beatles will finally be coming to the South Street Center next month.
At least their music will be performed, by the trio of Tom Campbell, Patrick Sloan and Mike Berry.
The concert of Beatles tunes had been scheduled for last March, but an early-spring snowstorm forced the cancellation of the show.
Now, the concert has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the center at 200 E. South St. (across from Walmart).
There will be no admission charge for the concert, but donations will be accepted.
Then, on Oct. 20, the second concert in this season’s Musical Hospitality series will be performed by the Society of Broken Souls.
They describe themselves as a “Folk Noir duo,” of Dennis James and his wife, Lauryn Shapter. You can see a video of one of their performances at http://www.cowboysindians.com/2018/05/video-premiere-society-of-broken-souls-wings-on-a-prayer/
According to their website, “Performing their own brand of American Roots Music, they write unflinching songs that confront our shared, raw humanity while celebrating the beautiful mosaic of the human experience. Having performed in 25 states from coast to coast over the last decade, their live show features seamless harmony vocals and a wide array of instruments and sounds. From stripped down, bare-bones acoustic arrangements to a denser and edgier electric sound, their songs invite the listener to walk through the fire with them — and to find freedom, strength and courage on the other side.”
Visit https://societyofbrokensouls.com/home for more information.

Society of Broken Souls gives C&I a first look at their music video for “Wings on a Prayer,” off of the new album Midnight and the Pale, available now.

04/20/2018

KEWANEE — Jazz on the Side will perform Saturday evening at a coffeehouse program at the South Street Center, 200 E. South St.
Jazz on the Side is a group of local musicians that spun off several years ago from the Kewanee Community Band. Under the direction of Chris Cinnamon, Jazz on the Side performs songs ranging from jazz classics like “In the Mood” to more modern compositions.
Saturday’s event will be the first Musical Hospitality coffeehouse at the South Street Center. A coffeehouse that had been scheduled in March, of three local musicians performing a concert of Beatles songs, was cancelled because of a snowstorm.
Plans are being made to hold that coffeehouse next month.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and the performance will begin at 7.
The Jazz on the Side program will be followed by an open mic session. Local performers are encouraged to come and share the stage.
Light refreshments will be served.
There is no charge for admission. Donations will be accepted.
Musical Hospitality is affiliated with the Kewanee Arts Council, which is working with Kewanee Senior Citizens to offer arts programming at the South Street Center. Anyone with ideas for arts programming in the Kewanee area, or who would like further information, can e-mail Mike Berry of the arts council at [email protected]