Looking for karaoke contenders
If you can carry a tune to karaoke, you might be a star this summer, at least at the two state fairs.
The Illinois and Du Quoin state fairs will showcase karaoke talent at the State Fairs Karaoke Contest. The winner will have the opportunity to be an opening act on the grandstand stage at both fairs this summer.
County fairs will host qualifying rounds. The first- and second-place winners at those will move on to the finale at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 20, with the overall winner performing two songs that night before the Little Big Town concert.
The overall winner also will perform at the Du Quoin State Fair for a concert that has yet to be named.
"We hope this contest draws in a new audience for our county fairs," said State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon. "These county fairs are vital to our communities and to our rural economies. Quite frankly, this is the perfect fit and win-win for all involved."
The eligibility requirements: Solo acts, only, age 18 or older. Each participant is advised to pre-register at illinois.gov/statefair. Space is limited at each venue; once the host site's slots are filled, the registration will be closed. Registration is already underway.
The county fair contests are: June 7, Macon County Fair, Decatur; June 20, Jasper County Fair, Newton; June 22, Greene County Fair, Carrollton; June 23, Henry County Fair, Cambridge; June 25, Perry County Fair, Pinckneyville; June 29, Schuyler County Fair, Rushville; July 3, Grundy County Fair, Morris; and July 11, Heart of IL Fair, Peoria.
The Illinois State Fair is Aug. 12-21; the Du Quoin State Fair, Aug. 26-Sept. 5.
Young musicians will play at Krannert
The East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra, conducted by Kevin Kelly, will play its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana. Admission is free.
The program: Leonard Bernstein's Overture to "West Side Story"; George Gershwin, selections from "Porgy and Bess"; Otar Gordeli's Concertino for Flute, featuring the orchestra's Concerto Competition winner Matthew Reeder; Johann Strauss: "On the Beautiful Blue Danube"; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet"; and Hector Berlioz's "Hungarian March."
On the same day, the youth orchestra's chamber ensembles — brass quintet, wind quintet and string quartet, plus Concerto Competition runner-up Noah Larson, a violinist — will perform at 4:30 p.m. in the Krannert Center lobby. That program also is free.
Alma Afrobeat Ensemble in concert
The Alma Afrobeat Ensemble is making a stop at the Cowboy Monkey in Champaign at 9:30 p.m. Saturday as part of its 10-day Midwest tour to support its third album, "It's Time."
The group is based in Barcelona, Spain.
"It's a little weird," guitarist and group founder Aaron Feder said in a release. "I actually started the band in Chicago in 2003. But I moved to Barcelona 10 years ago and that's where it really began to happen. So this is actually our first proper American tour."
The band was the headline act on the last night of WOMAD Canary Islands, sharing the stage with Ebo Taylor, master of Ghanaian highlife music, and junkyard pioneers Konono No 1.
Afropop Worldwide has called Alma Afrobeat's sound "as dark and intensely danceable as any African musical experience can be," and their songs have been featured on PRI's The World, in movies and on TV.
"'It's Time' has 35 minutes of music that we played live in the studio, with just a few overdubs later," Feder said. "Then we gave those tracks to some DJs to reimagine the music. We've done that all through our career, with every album. The only instructions were that they shouldn't sound like the originals."
The remixes bring in elements of hip-hop, coup decal, dance music and dub.
The cover for the Cowboy Monkey show is $7. People must be 21 or older to enter.
TromBari to play at the Post
TromBari will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at The Iron Post, 120 S. Race St., U. The lineup for the jazz quintet: Glenn Wilson, baritone saxophone; Jim Pugh, trombone; Larry Gray, bass; Matt Endres, drums; and George Turner, guitar.
For more on Wilson, visit jazzmaniac.com.
Art scene
Color Splash party at Danville Art League
The Danville Art League's next Color Splash party will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the league building, 320 N. Franklin St.
If the party fills up, the league will offer a Friday evening party as well. May's Color Splash will feature a spring farm scene with instructor Linda Virostek. The cost is $35 per person per Color Splash, which includes all supplies and refreshments.
Color Splash parties are painting parties anyone can enjoy; no experience is necessary. The Art League also offers private parties for organizations and special occasions.
The Color Splash parties are fundraisers for the Art League. For more information, call 442-9264 or visit danvilleartleague.com.
Theater scene
Auditions for Darkhorse production in Danville
The Darkhorse Theatre Company in Danville will have auditions at the Fischer Theatre for its inaugural production, "August: Osage County" by Tracy Letts. The auditions will start at 6 p.m. next Sunday and May 30.
The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play will be directed by Joel Shoemaker and be presented Aug. 25-27.
The play has parts for six males and seven females. People who audition are asked to prepare a monologue approximately one minute in length. There will also be cold readings from the script. Copies of the script may be found at the Oakwood and Danville public libraries.