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Indie Rock Show Coming to Bishop Hill...
The indie rock band Dickie will perform a live concert on Friday, March 28th at Bishop Hill Creative Commons, located at 309 N. Bishop Hill St, Bishop Hill, IL. The show will begin with a potluck dinner at 6PM, with music starting at 7PM, and is open to guests of all ages. A $20-30 donation is suggested. Trevor Sensor will open the show.
Dick Prall, the band leader of Dickie, is a master of what a recent interviewer called “self-deprecating indie rock.” For almost a decade, the 55-year-old Iowa artist has been best known as Dickie, the loving nickname that his late mother bestowed on him before she passed away in 2013. Dickie’s newest release, the Headful of Hiss EP, is a gleaming testament to his ever-strengthening gifts as a songwriter, spanning lush folk, irresistibly catchy pop, yearning alternative, windswept heartland rock, and the timeless sensibility of ’60s classics. Produced in Des Moines by Bryan Vanderpool of illustrious folk-pop duo The Well Pennies, the record comprises five exquisitely well-wrought songs that cloak ruminations on anxiety, substance abuse, and depression in majestic, sweetly tuneful, aw-shucks beauty.
Prall grew up in Sheffield, Iowa, and he lost both his father and his older brother at a very young age. A youthful admirer of the Beatles and R.E.M., he didn’t take up guitar until he was 25. Four years later he had already released his debut (as Dick Prall Band), 1998’s Somewhere About Here, which the alt-country bible No Depression celebrated as a “track-by-track monster.” He became a linchpin of the Chicago scene, and his next album (as Starch Martins), 2001’s Dressing Up the Failure, won praise from the Chicago Sun-Times for achieving “a brand of rootsy power-pop that is smart, introspective, and filled with great hooks.” His solo debut, 2005’s Fizzlebuzzle, was “a box of chocolate for your ears” (Performing Songwriter), while 2007’s Weightless featured Glen Phillips on one of its “daring, original songs” (Chicago Tribune). Dickie’s self-titled 2015 debut album topped several year-end “Best Of” lists. The follow-up, 2019’s Minus Thieves, was “delightfully out of step” (Little Village) and co-produced by Pat Sarsone (Wilco). With Headful of Hiss, the group’s latest release, Prall says, “My goal is to write a song that I like and I’m confident enough to share with other people. And that’s really it.”
Known for his distinctly husky vocals, intellectual lyrics, and atmospheric folk-laden, punk-infused indie rock, Trevor Sensor is an American singer/songwriter from Sterling, Illinois. Growing up in the small city (occasionally deemed the “former hardware capital of the world”), the abandoned factories and working-class bars that adorn the rust belt landscape ultimately fed into what the young songwriter would use to fuel his musical creations. This, alongside the elusive idea of pop culture and stardom, inspired Sensor to try and escape the city himself. He eventually relocated to Iowa, where he studied literature and philosophy at college. The words of great minds such as Marcel Proust, Søren Kierkegaard, and beat generation authors William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, would be some of the vital elements to Sensor’s art. He went on to discover his musical voice in a number of bands before penning his own songs, and after a number of live performances, he caught the attention of Indiana-based indie label Jagjaguar.
For tickets and more information please visit xroadscc.org.
Local Music Organization Chosen for Global Music Project...
Center for Music Ecosystems is delighted to announce the launch of the 2024 Music Policy Resilience Network. Due to the massive impact live music has had socially, culturally, and economically on Henry County, Illinois and the surrounding area, local non-profit organization Crossroads Cultural Connections was selected to participate as part of a cohort of 20 cities around the world which will benefit from bespoke research, masterclasses, international best practice examples, and knowledge exchange, focusing on the most important issues facing their areas and music ecosystems.
Center for Music Ecosystems’ mission is to demonstrate that music bolsters economies and improves livelihoods. The organization collaborates with leaders and policymakers to foster policies that lead to social and economic development at local, national, and global levels.
“Despite being a rural area, Henry County has become a destination for live music, and I think that is something we all should be proud of, but I also think we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible. Everyday world-class musicians from across the globe are asking to come here to perform. Guests from surrounding areas and beyond are traveling here to attend shows. My hope is that by participating in this project, we can not only solidify the work we have been doing, but also build something that will ensure live music is part of life in this area for well beyond our lifetimes,” says John Taylor, president of Crossroads Cultural Connections.
The Music Policy Resilience Network is a landmark transnational collaboration that aims to implement pro-music and culture policies that foster resilience in cities facing unique geographical, economic, or sociological challenges. It is generously supported by the Nordic Culture Fund and the Levitt Foundation.
The Music Policy Resilience Network is a result of 2022’s Defining Resilience in Remote Music Ecosystems and 2023 2024’s Music Policy Resilience Lab. It aims to further resilience in places that are, in some way, geographical outliers, facing various sociological, geographical, economic—or simply logistical—challenges to incorporating music and culture into strategic objectives, but united in their desire to advance their music ecosystems to their fullest potential.
2024 CITIES: Arundel (Norway), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Cuenca (Ecuador), Cumberland (Maryland, USA), Darwin (NT, Australia), Dera Ismail Khan (Pakistan), Ede (Nigeria), Folkestone (UK), Gallup (New Mexico, USA), Galva (Illinois, USA), Gander (Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada), Homer (Alaska, USA), Lerwick, Shetland (UK), Mariehamn (Åland Islands, Finland), Nuuk (Greenland), South Tarawa (Republic of Kiribati), St. Johnsbury (Vermont, USA), Torshavn (Faroe Islands), Umeå (Sweden), Whitehorse (Yukon Territory, Canada), Whitesburg (Kentucky, USA)
Songwriter Shines Spotlight on Neglected Historic State-Owned Buildings with Heartfelt Anthem...
When singer-songwriter Dan Holmes heard the historic state-owned properties in his hometown of Bishop Hill, Illinois had fallen into disrepair he knew he needed to do something. "So, like I usually do when moved, I wrote," said Holmes. The finished product ended up being a song, titled "Hometown", which is partly a history lesson of the colony and partly an autobiographical account of a childhood spent in Bishop Hill and insight gained through a life of travel. Holmes, very gently, makes a nod to the long neglected historical landmarks owned by the state, in hopes that "it might help the cause". The Bishop Hill Colony Church was recently added to Landmarks Illinois' Most Endangered Historic Places List.
Holmes began playing guitar at age 10, learning by listening to James Taylor, Paul Simon, Jim Croce and John Denver records. His music career later began to grow while attending Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. For a time, Holmes moved to the east coast and experienced some success there, once opening for Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger. When his father was diagnosed with cancer he moved home and put music on hold for a time, while he began a career in education. Years later, Holmes began performing again, including four tours of Europe, performing at the Illinois State Fair and the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk To Cure Breast Cancer, and writing music for the Appalachia Service Project.
Dan calls himself an "old school singer/songwriter" who loves creating music about the presence of God in our world. He lives in Belvidere, Illinois with his wife.
"A recording of Hometown" can be heard at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngk0muiXq80
Those interested in helping the cause are encouraged to voice their concerns to Governor Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and their state legislators.
Blue Star Home Program Announced...
Applications are begin accepted for those that wish to participate in the Blue Star Home Program ("the Program").
Upon completion of an extensive background check, a Blue Star home will be given the opportunity to display a blue star on on their homes indicating that they have chosen to assist any young person that feels threatened in any manner, whether that threat is bullying, suspicious activity or imminent bodily harm.
Any juvenile that is uncomfortable with conditions outside a Blue Star Home may seek refuge from those conditions by ringing the door bell, pounding on the front door or yelling for help.
Blue Star Home participants are limited to assessing the situation, calling the child's parent or guardian absent an immediate threat, reporting all such incidents to the Galva Police immediately after contacting the child's parent or guardian, or in the case of a threatening situation immediately dialing 911.
Further, Blue Star Home participants agree that they will NOT take the law into their own hands, and that they will always have the best interests of the child in mind when offering assistance.
The Galva Police Department reserves the right to reject any application for the Blue Star Home Program for any reason or for no reason at all.
If you would like to participate in the Program, download the Application, fill it out in its entirety, and return it to City Hall. If your application is approved, you will receive a call from the Galva Police Department indicating acceptance into the Program and will be allowed to pick up your Blue Star from City Hall.
Letters from Galva...
Galvan Ryan Olson Featured In Airman Magazine...
When Ryan was a senior at the Air Force Academy, Airman Magazine wanted to do a video on the space program at the Academy. Ryan was the number one cadet in the Astronautical Engineering department and was chosen to do this video.
The Galva Giant Makes It To YouTube...
OSF Announces The Care-A-Van Mobile Health Care Unit...
Gary Metiever Produces Galva Levitt Amp Video...
Eagle Enterprises Publishes New Recycling Standards...
View or Print the Recyclables List
Sons of the American Legion...
The Galva American Legion Post #45 has received their charter for a new Sons of the American Legions Squadron.
The Legion is looking for new members to get the squadron rolling.
If you have a parent, grandparent or great grandparent or step parent or step grandparent that was in the military, you are eligible to join.
If interested, please contact Wayne Glisan at (309) 335 - 2931, Lloyd Anderson at (309) 853 - 7347 or Earl Stuckey at (309) 853 - 7917
