Alt-country band Midnight Miles debuts full-length album Friday
BLOOMINGTON — Help celebrate the new album by the six-piece alt-country band Midnight Miles and lead singer Brett Conlin, a Kewanee native who also owns downtown Bloomington’s Lone Wolf Barber Company. Midnight Miles will debut songs from “Quicksand Town,” Friday evening at The Bistro in an event that will also feature a few highlight drag performances. The band describes their music as a “whirlwind of catchy melodies and carefully crafted words.” Midnight Miles also released an EP several years ago. Friday’s show is 7 p.m. at The Bistro, 316 N. Main St.
Season opener has Peoria Prowlers versus Prairieland Punishers
PEORIA — It’s a clash of central Illinois roller derby teams Saturday, when the Peoria Prowlers host the Prairieland Punishers of Decatur. They’ll take the track at 5 p.m. at the Peoria Civic Center, 201 SW Jefferson Ave., in the Prowlers’ home season opener. Tickets are $11 here, or $13 at the door, and a portion of ticket proceeds benefits Central Illinois Friends, the HIV service provider and LGBTQ+ advocacy organization serving the region. Post-game, join in an informal mixed-levels game, then stick around afterwards for an adults-only mixer at Kickback on Fulton, 456 Fulton St.
Midwest Vibes by Gender Envy showcases queer jazz, hip-hop musicians
BLOOMINGTON — A night of hip-hop and jazz by queer central Illinois musicians is coming Saturday. “Midwest Vibes” by Gender Envy features Me’Lo the Generation Hero and FURY, hip-hop artists and rappers from Chicago; plus others including Channel Seven, M0j0, and Ms. Jones If You Nasty. The show is presented by Gender Envy, a coalition devoted to providing performance spaces in central Illinois for female-identifying, nonbinary and gender-expenasive musicians and artists. Doors open at 6 p.m.; music starts at 7. Tickets are $7 in advance here, or $10 at the door, at Meltdown Creative Works, 716 E. Empire St.
