As the school year draws to a close, Champaign-Urbana is nearing the time of year when students head home for the summer and the community quiets down. With only five weeks left in the semester, however will you spend them?
The answer: By exploring the lively and diverse C-U music scene!
If you’re looking for some shows to catch before you head home for the summer, buzz has your back with this list of the hottest live shows coming to C-U this month.
At The Canopy Club
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Campus’ own Canopy Club starts the month off with a visit from indie-folk rock band The Brook & The Bluff on April 5. The performance will be opened by special guest Hotel Fiction and local musician Josh Spinner.
The fun continues April 6 with “Gimme Gimme Disco,” an ABBA-inspired disco night full of hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s. “The Voice of UIUC,” hosted by UI’s own CSSA, will close out the weekend on April 7 showcasing “some of the best international talent on campus.”
Currently, sold-out shows taking the Canopy Big Room this month include visits from Alabama singer/songwriter Jessie Murph on April 16 and hit artist Matt Maeson on April 26.
University groups such as Lyric Theatre at Illinois and UIUC A Capella group No Strings Attached will be performing on April 13 and 28 respectively. Lyric Theatre’s “Fugitive Songs” performance will make an appearance at the Rose Bowl Tavern in Urbana on April 6 as well.
Further can’t-miss Canopy events for the month of April include a “Delicious Entertainment Drag Show” on April 21 and “The Tortured Partiers Department,” a party for Taylor Swift’s upcoming album, on April 25.
A complete list of The Canopy Club’s April events can be found here.
At the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
Lyric Theatre at Illinois kicks off Krannert Center’s April calendar with their performance of “Black Square,” an opera piece described as “an absurdist fable commemorating the October Revolution.” The show runs April 2 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. as well as April 6 at 2 p.m.
Celebrated Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will be performing in the Foellinger Great Hall on April 6, accompanied by pianist Kathryn Stott. The currently sold-out show will consist of seven pieces spanning an almost two-hour-long program.
Additionally, Illinois Theatre will be presenting “The Gangster Play: Circus/Circus” from April 12-20. The satire piece, “forcibly adapted from Brecht’s ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo UI,’” uses a world of “gangsters and unprincipled politicians” to convey a “satirical allegory of Hitler’s rise to power.”
“CASCaDe: an Arts-Science Celebration” will present student work to celebrate the launch of the Collective for Arts-Science, Creativity and Discovery, etc., on April 19 on Stage 5.
April is also concert season, with nearly every UI music ensemble performing at the venue at some point during the month. Krannert’s full calendar of April events can be found here.
At the Rose Bowl Tavern
The Rose Bowl Tavern is back with each and every one of your weekly favorites, including The Urbana Hootenanny on Monday nights, trivia and jazz jams on Wednesday nights and Americana Happy Hour on Thursday nights.
A memorial concert for late community member Carly Benny will be held on April 12, including performances from The Dirty Feathers, The Bashful Youngens and Colonel James. Though the show has no cover charge, funds collected will be put towards a memorial tree for Benny at West Side Park in Champaign.
Bat Factory will be hosting its 2024 Goth Prom on April 19. The 18+ event will include performances from Pink Diamond, Na’amah Mars and Magic Miss Elle.
Indie pop-rock band The Claudettes will visit the tavern on April 27 to perform with special guest J’Lyn Hope. The Chicago band was formed by pianist and songwriter Johnny Iguana, co-composer for the score of the Hulu series “The Bear,” and piano player on three Grammy-nominated albums.
The Rose Bowl Tavern’s April event calendar can be found here.
At the Virginia Theatre
A.J. Croce will be stopping by Champaign on his 50th-anniversary tour “Croce Plays Croce” on April 9. The night will feature “a complete set of classics by his late father, Jim Croce, some of his own tunes, and songs that influenced both him and his father.”
KANSAS will additionally be making a 50th-anniversary tour stop at the Theatre on April 12. The Topeka band, who made their debut in 1974, will perform songs spanning their 16 studio albums.
April also sees the annual Roger Ebert Film Festival taking to the Theatre, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. Running April 17-20, films at this year’s festival include “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Man on the Moon,” “The Best Man” and more.
A complete April calendar of events at the Virginia Theatre can be found here.
