The Great Northern Bluegrass Festival will return to the Chicago area the weekend of March 18 – 20. Citing new digs for 2011, organizers of the suburban bluegrass festival announced the festival is set for an 8,800 square foot ballroom located in the Hyatt Regency Woodfield, Schaumburg, Ill.

While this festival is way more than your typical concert fest, organizers are boasting special Saturday night “headliner” of seven-time International Bluegrass Music Association female vocalist of the year winner, Rhonda Vincent. Other entertainment includes a host of local, and Illinois, entertainers as well as some handpicked imports from Kentucky and Missouri.

This festival is more than just about the concerts. Those interested in learning how to pick bluegrass style, several workshops, camps and instructional jam sessions are scheduled throughout the three-day festival. Learn jamming etiquette, fundamentals, back backup and chord changes by instructor Keith Yoder.

Admission fees range from $5 to $55 plus special hotel room rates are available for attendees. For more information on 2011 Great Northern Bluegrass Festival, call 217-243-3159 or visit bluegrassmidwest.com.

Festival Information:

Great Northern Bluegrass Festival featuring:

Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Monroe Crossing, Special Consensus, James King, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Morgan Daniels Band, Art Stevenson & High Water, Kati Penn & New Town, Southern Raised, New Heir Bluegrass, and The Punches Family.

WHEN: Fri, March 18, 19 & 20, 2011.

WHERE: Hyatt Regency Woodfield, 1800 East Golf Rd, Schaumburg

TICKETS: $5 – $55 plus hotel room fees if applicable.

MORE: bluegrassmidwest.com

Watch: Rhonda Vincent and the Rage with Dolly Parton.

Chip Covington (Right) with artist "Harris". chicagobluegrass.com

Now in its 12th year, the Bluegrass Legends Concert Series once again returns to Evanston with a full season line up.

The series, founded by Evanston resident Chip Covington, features one show each month from September to May at the American Legion Music Hall, 1030 Central St.

Growing up in Evanston, Covington received his first banjo at just 11-years-old. At that time, in 1968, there wasn’t a big bluegrass scene to be found. It wasn’t until Woodstock in 1969 that Covington was actually exposed to bluegrass.

“Bluegrass is a participatory music… it’s about passing on the skill,” Covington said. “What impressed me about it as a kid growing up… I went out to these big festivals and these people accepted me even though I was a spoiled little rich kid.”

Nearly every show in the concert series has a capacity 150 person crowd with the bulk of attendees coming from the north side and north suburbs, though several make the trek from Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri. Covington has made an effort to get to know all those that venture out for the concert series. Attendees have also gotten to know each other.

“Now everybody knows everybody at shows,” Covington said. “There’s a sense of community there. It’s pretty impressive.”

The small venue lends itself well to encouraging a connection between the performers and the audience, a connection that is a must to make a good show a great show.

Junior Sisk and Rambler’s Choice will headline the upcoming Sept. 10 show, scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Direct from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the men will perform fresh, original and traditional bluegrass music.

Tickets can be reserved online at the series website, chicagobluegrass.com.

The reservation allows concert-goers to pick up their tickets until 7:45 p.m. the night of the show. Tickets must be paid for, in cash, at the door. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children under 12 and seniors 65 and older. For information on future, shows visit the series website.

The Oak Ridge Boys
Sun. Dec. 13, 2009 – 4PM
Star Plaza Theatre – I-65 At US 30, Merrillville, IN
$39 – $49 | ticketmaster.com

Kellie Pickler
Wed. Dec. 16, 2009 – 6PM
Joe’s Bar* – 940 W. Weed St, Chicago
Tickets through US99.com

The Hoyle Brothers
Fri, Dec. 18, 2009 – 5:30PM
The Empty Bottle* – 1035 N. Western Ave, Chicago
emptybottle.com

Yard Fulla Cars
Fri. Dec. 18, 2009 – 8:30PM
Joe’s Bar* – 940 W. Weed St, Chicago
$10 – joesbar.com

Eli Young Band with the Clayton Anderson Band
Sat, Dec. 19, 2009 – 8:30PM
Joe’s Bar* – 940 W. Weed St, Chicago
$10 – ticketmaster.com

The Oak Ridge Boys
Sat. Dec. 19, 2009 – 8PM
Hemmens – 45 Symphony Way, Elgin
$45 – $75 | hemmens.org

Lucky Town
Sun, Dec. 20, 2009 – 7PM
Blue Chip Casino* – 2 Easy Street, Michigan City, IN
luckytownmusic.com

January 2010

David Allan Coe
Sat, Jan. 9, 2010 – 8PM
Durty Nellies* – 180 N Smith, Palatine
$22 – ticketmaster.com

Phil Vassar
Thurs, Jan. 14, 2010 – 7:30PM
Peoria Civic Center – 201 SW Jefferson St., Peoria, IL
$25.50 – $55.50 – ticketmaster.com

June’s Got the Cash: a Tribute To Johnny Cash & June Carter
Fri, Jan. 15, 2010 – 8:30PM
Abbey Pub* – 3420 W Grace St, Chicago
$10 – ticketmaster.com

Henhouse Prowlers (Bluegrass)
Bluegrass Legends Concert
Sat, Jan. 16, 2010 – 7PM
American Legion Post 42 – 1030 Central St, Evanston
$10 – chicagobluegrass.com

Brad Paisley with Miranda Lambert
Sun, Jan. 24, 2010 – 7:30PM
U.S. Cellular Coliseum – 101 S. Madison Street, Bloomington, IL
$39.75 – $54.75 – ticketmaster.com

Upcoming – Blake Shelton, Kenny Rogers, Joe Nichols, Justin Moore and more.

*This venue may require patrons to be over the age of 21. Please check with venue prior to purchasing tickets.

Summer Concert Preview

CHICAGO – Get ready, get set…go! Just a few days from now, Keith Urban will ring-in Chicago’s summer mega country music concert season when he takes the stage with the Zac Brown Band at the Northwest Suburban Allstate Arena, Friday. Shortly after Urban kicks it off, mega stars like Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Taylor Swift, Big & Rich and Carrie Underwood, will join him by bringing their summer tour stops to the Windy City.

Chesney will return to Soldier’s Field on June 13 with Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry, Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum while Rascal Flatts along with Vince Gill and Darius Rucker will make history on July 18 as the first country music act to play at Wrigley Field.

Now in its 17th year, Country Thunder USA is continues to be one of the best country music tickets of the summer. Although this year brings some stiff competition, the Twin Lakes, Wisc, amphitheater style festival not only boasts a mega star line-up of Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Tracy Lawrence and Taylor Swift – just to mention a few – festival management promises new features like redesigned camping, updated vending and most importantly cheaper beer.

If you’re looking for a more traditional 1-day style of concerts, George Strait with Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley with Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith with Trace Atkins are set to play the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater throughout the summer.

Those of you looking for an economical alternative, the Lake County Fair, located in Grayslake, Ill, has a first prize lineup on a beer budget. Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson, James Otto and Randy Houser, to name a few, are on tap starting July 28.

Artist like Phil Vassar, Chris Cagle, Heidi Newfield and Keith Anderson as well as a handful of local talent like Lucky Town and Yard Fulla Cars are set to Joe’s Bar. Be sure to grab your tickets soon, they’re selling out fast.

CMC

View the 2009 Concert, Festival and Fair Guide

Here’s a listing of Chicago country music concerts for the month of May 2009. Be sure to keep an eye out for Country Music Chicago’s Summer 2009 Concert, Fair and Festival Guide. Expect it to be in your inboxes soon.

Martina McBride
Part of 8 Shows at Joes Series from US99
Joe’s Bar | Chicago
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | 8PM | N/A | us99.com

Steve Azar
Joe’s Bar* | Chicago
Friday, May 8, 2009 | 9PM | $10 | Ticketmaster

Keith Urban with the Zac Brown Band
Allstate Arena | Rosemont
Friday, May 15, 2009 | 7:30PM | $20 – $60 | Ticketmaster

Yard Fulla Cars
Concert to benefit the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
Bobby McGees | Chicago Ridge
Saturday, May 16, 2009 | 9PM | $10 Donation | Door

Chicago Bluegrass Festival
American Legion Post 42 | Evanston
Saturday, May 16, 2009 | 7PM | $15 – $20  | Door

Eli Young Band – Joey + Rory – Carter Twins
Joe’s Bar* | Chicago
Friday, May 22, 2009 | 9PM | $10 | Ticketmaster

Mark Chesnutt
DC’s Country Junction* | Lowell, IN
Friday, May 22, 2009 | 6:30PM | $20 – $25 | Tickets

George Strait with Blake Shelton and Julianne Hough
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre | Tinley Park
Saturday, May 23, 2009 | 7:30PM | $35 – $75 | LiveNation.com

Leann Rimes – SOLD OUT
Blue Chip Casino* | Michigan City, IN
Saturday, May 23, 2009 | 8PM | $50 – $75 | Ticketmaster

Sara Evans
The Venue Exclusively at Horseshoe Casino* | Hammond, IN
Thursday, May 28, 2009 | 8PM | $38 – $58 | Ticketmaster

The Lost Trailers
Joe’s Bar* | Chicago
Friday, May 29, 2009 | 9PM | $10 | Ticketmaster

Upcoming: Country Thunder, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Kenny Rogers, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Heidi Newfield, Keith Anderson, Chris Cagle, Phil Vassar and much, much more.

Please note: information subject to change without notice.

* This venue may require patrons to be 21 and older, please check with venue prior to event.

The inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival will be held at the historic Congress Theater on November 22, 2008. Concertgoers will experience the genre-defying evolution of Bluegrass and Blues music that continues to shape and inspire popular music of today.  This one day event is also a party with a purpose, a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society, a non-profit organization that raises money for crucial, life-saving research of congenital heart defects, America’s #1 birth defect.

Tickets for the festival are available at a discounted rate for $31 through the event’s website (cbgbfestival.com), ticketmaster.com, and frontgatetickets.com.

Interested in attending this event with other CMC fans?  Visit our FREE Meetup Group Here!