Josh Birnbaum

The Daily Illini

Singer and percussionist Sandy Phillips of the Blues/R&B;/Soul band Candy Foster and Shades of Blue plays tambourine at Cowboy Monkey on Saturday night. The band has been together for five years and is comprised mostly of local residents, however, their sax and trumpet players, Casey Fitzpatrick and Nate Hatcher, respectively, are graduate students at the University of Illinois. “They are our Illini connection; we love them,” said Phillips, whose husband Danny also plays drums for the band.