If you haven’t heard of Pygmalion Music Festival, then you might not frequent this site very often, or really any art or community website in the area. But I’m here to tell you one thing: if you do nothing else worthwhile in Champaign-Urbana during your time here, do this:

Go to Pygmalion Music Festival.

It’s absolutely incredible that we have such an amazing weekend for us here in CU. Acts are coming from all over the country, and local bands have a chance to play alongside well-known bands. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Anyone who says CU is just a town in the middle of nowhere, that there’s nothing fun to do here, etc. is just plain wrong. The list goes on and on, but I believe Pygmalion to be the epitome of cool in the area.

Now in its fourth year, and building credibility daily, Pygmalion is being covered by national publications such as Pitchfork and The Onion. Artists are submitting their stuff from all over. And if you don’t take advantage of it, you might be a fool.

Even if you don’t want to spring for the festival pass (which, at $50, is extremely reasonable, not to mention the tote bag full of goodies you get along with it), you can still check out different shows. Think of it as a way to find new music that you might have never heard of. Be enchanted by the four part harmonies and face-melting guitar of Elsinore. Dance your ass off at Dan Deacon. Revel in the indie-rock of Black Mountain. Whatever you do, do yourself a favor and see at least one show this weekend (starting tonight). If you need any recommendations or help, the fine folks in CU have made it easy for you:

-Carlye Wisel, a former buzz writer and Music Editor and founder of OverUC.com, has done an excellent job in pre-coverage for the festival.

-smilepolitely.com, a self-proclaimed “Champaign-Urbana culture blog” and online magazine has run various previews for the fest.

-And of course, we here at the217.com have made every effort to keep you informed, and will continue to do so throughout the weekend.

So get out there, grab your camera, and rock. You won’t regret it, I promise.

pygmalionmusicfestival.com

Don’t wait to buy your Pygmalion passes for the fall — they’re on sale now at pygmalionmusicfestival.com. This is the easiest and cheapest way to see all your favorite acts from Champaign-Urbana, as well as great national acts, all in your own back yard!

Head over there now to buy your tickets.

Sometimes we here at the217 make a mistake, and we’re sorry about that. We recently used an old picture of local band The Beauty Shop in our centerpiece, and their lineup has changed. We also had their incorrect contact info in our artist index, which has been changed. So sorry about that, and if you want to see how great The Beauty Shop is, head over to their myspace and check out their upcoming shows or listen to their music, maybe you can even buy it (*gasp*)! I personally recommend it.

I went to see Ryan Groff (of elsinore) last night at WEFT studios, and it didn’t disappoint, to say the least. Every time I go see Ryan or elsinore perform, I am always blown away at what they’re currently doing. The first time I went to see them it was just Ryan and Dave (percussion) performing, opening for the Profits, who were terrible. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how good elsinore was… and two years later they’re still captivating me.

Between their 4-part harmonies, catchy songwriting and bold move to ditch the congas and go to a full drum kit, elsinore never lets you down live (or in studio). Ryan doesn’t, either. This was actually my first time seeing him completely by himself, although I’ve listened to his solo album numerous times. Last night he was all about looping, reverb, and heavenly vocal and guitar jams. It was inspiring, and again, was a reminder of how much talent there really is in this town.

Horrible-quality phone photo, again.

Support your local artists, people!

In case you haven’t noticed, the Local Music Awards are tonight. It’s been a crazy past couple of weeks for everyone here at the217, buzz, and WPGU, but the night is finally here. We’re doing a lot of cool stuff with the awards this year, so if you can’t make it out to the show or want to catch some post-coverage, the217 has got your back.

Right now, you can catch a schedule from the buzz. You can also tune in all day long to hear WPGU playing a lot of local music. From 3-6, The Red Baron will be broadcasting live from the Highdive, and from 6-9, Ashley E. will be doing the same thing. They’ll be giving updates and doing interviews on the air as the night goes on, so tune in to WPGU.

Matt Fender will also be live blogging the entire event, which you can find on the LMA page. We’ll have photo galleries being updated live as the night goes on, and you can catch video performances of all the bands tomorrow morning. Have a little Corn Desert Ramblers with your cornflakes.

We hope to see you all at the LMA’s tonight, but if you can’t catch them, hang out with the217 because we’ve got you covered.

Monday night rage with Zmick was, for lack of a better word, raging on Monday. It was a particularly full crowd at the Canopy, and Zmick provided all the sweet tunes accompanied well by good people and good drink specials. My particular favorite of the evening was a cover of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”, in which they inserted the word “acid” for “vitamins”.

If you haven’t been to see Monday night rage with Zmick yet, it’s definitely worth your while. No matter how terrible the weather or how many midterms are floating around, there’s always a solid crowd there and Zmick is always tight.

Oh yes, and it’s free.

I apologize for the lack of quality. They were taken with my phone — I was caught off-guard at the awesomeness.

So I went to New Sound Sundays at the Canopy last night, and it was an exceptional one.

The night started off with local act Sunset Stallion, who are just getting started but are already showing their good songwriting and sheer musical talent. From Martin O’Donnell’s drum skills to Chad Warner and Hannah Newman’s impressive voices, the band has definite potential.

Next was an act that almost blew my face off, Astronautalis, from Florida. I’ll come back to that.

After Astronautalis was Jon Childers, another Chambanite who plays his own distinct brand of rock and roll. The crowd watched intently as Jon told stories about his Easter experience, and how he couldn’t play almost any of his songs for his grandparents because none of them were appropriate. As good as the stories were, so were the songs. Jon’s got soul, so hit up his myspace for some tunes.

Back to Astronautalis, this man (Andy) is a one man show, but don’t get too many vivid images of Dick Van Dyke just yet. He travels with his computer and plays excellent tracks, and then he raps/sings over them. Normally I’m not a fan of rap in general, but this guy was one of the most incredible acts I’ve ever seen. He was a mixture of genius, raw talent, and energy, and if you don’t check him out, you’re missing out.

Just another reminder of how fantastic Champaign-Urbana and its scene is, so don’t forget to go see great local shows in your own back yard. And if you ever need help as to where to find them, the217 has got you covered.