music

This month’s SoundCheck episode looks at the heartbreaking and heartwarming story of the weird sounds of Equal Sponge 22.0. The duo will be on KSMU’s Studio Live Friday, October 11 at noon, followed by Studio Live Social Hour at our new location, Tie & Timber Beer Co. from 6-8 that same day.

The year is 1996. The Springfield music scene is full of classic acts such as the Skeletons and the Smarties. Big Smith is beginning to take the town by storm.

KSMU’s series SoundCheck takes a sneak-peak at the bands of Studio Live. This month, the young songwriter Avery Mann lets us in on how he learned to play the guitar. Catch him on Studio Live on Friday, September 13, 2019 at noon, followed by Studio Live Social Hour at the Backlot at Alamo Drafthouse from 6-8 pm that same day.

The Queen City Shout Festival kicks off Wednesday evening, August 21, 2019 with 93 music acts, an art gallery and film festival. The five-day event is held on historic Commercial Street in Springfield, and organizers say proceeds go toward alleviating poverty here in the Ozarks. 

Music, art, film, poverty relief. These are the elements that make up this year’s Queen City Shout.

I first learned about the festival when one of my bands played there years ago. I’m back this year with another band.

Andy Havens is scheduled to perform on KSMU’s Studio Live August 9 at noon.

“I like character-driven songs. I can get into the mind of a character and explore some things that I find interesting,” said Havens.

Havens has been writing songs since he was 14 years old. That’s long enough for him to know what he’s after when he sets out to write.

The Margins, a Springfield-based band scheduled to perform on KSMU's Studio Live July 12 at noon, is comprised of musicians Todd Balisle, Jody Bilyeu, Jonathan Keeney, Mike Rumsey and Jacob "Toad" Wyrick. 

For our monthly series SoundCheck, the band members dissect three songs to give us a look at what inspires them and what they think makes a good rock ‘n’ roll song. The Margins also have strong opinions on candy. Their discussion on the subject is below in the bonus audio.