WHAT: Brandon Washington, Larry Gates
WHERE: The Clark Bar (free)
WHEN: Tuesday, June 19th at 7 p.m.
The Champaign-Urbana Singer-Songwriter shows continue with a pretty solid duo again this week. Temple of Low Men’s Brandon Washington and Curb Service/Lorenzo Goetz’s Larry Gates join in on the weekly event this time around.
WHAT: Goblin Colors, Forget The Times, Problems That Fix Themselves
WHERE: The Brass Rail ($5)
WHEN: Tuesday, June 19th at 9 p.m.
Michigan’s Forget the Times is rolling through C-U on their string of tour dates as a part of their ILLI NOISE tour with Problems That Fix Themselves. Locals Goblin Colors will make them feel like home in the cozy Brass Rail this week.
WHAT: Old Californio, Tractor Kings 
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Wednesday, June 20th at 9 p.m.
Hopefully the beer garden stays dry for this mid-week show at Mike ‘N Molly’s with Old Californio and Tractor Kings. Old Californio will also be playing an acoustic show at Parasol HQ earlier in the day with Hathaways, so if you can’t catch them on Wednesday evening you can check out their show over in Urbana.
Listen: “Harmony”
WHAT: Psychic Twin, Kirkwood West, Beats by Otter
WHERE: Luna ($5)
WHEN: Wednesday, June 20th at 10 p.m.
This is the first I’ve heard of shows happening at Luna downtown, and there is definitely a good one happening this week. Psychic Twin has been busy with a new album in the works, as well as getting some exposure through Lefse Records in a new release series starting at the end of the month. Harsh Pro will be supplying his typically awesome light show for this one, so this one is definitely worth catching.
WHAT: God-Des & She
WHERE: Emerald City Lounge ($10 presale/$12 day of)
WHEN: Wednesday, June 20th at 10 p.m.
Hip hop duo God-Des & She stop through and play at Emerald City Lounge on Wednesday. We had a few words with them when they visited C-U last October. They’ll hit Tennessee for a few dates following this one, as well as others scattered throughout the Midwest.
WHAT: Evie Ladin, Keith Terry, Don’t Ask
WHERE: The Iron Post ($8-$10)
WHEN: Thursday, June 21st at 7 p.m.
The CU Folk & Roots Festival is presenting some shows in the upcoming weeks, and this one takes place over at the Iron Post. If you’re a fan of a lot of banjos this is the one for you. Folk music exists all over, and Evie Ladin hail all the way from Oakland and are travling around the Midwest this month.
WHAT: The Divide, Jared Bartman & Friends 
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, June 21st at 10 p.m.
The Divide just recently recorded a new EP which was produced and mixed by Elsinore’s Ryan Groff (which you can stream below). They’re bringing those new tunes to Cowboy this Thursday with Jared Bartman, who will be playing with a full band this time around as opposed to solo.
WHAT: Sun Stereo, Swords, DJ Legtwo 
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Friday, June 22nd at 10 p.m.
On the heels of their new release Rogue Satellite, Sun Stereo has been keeping busy, playing pretty frequently the last few weeks. They’ll take the stage at Cowboy Monkey this Friday with an interesting mix of acts on the bill. Head over to their Bandcamp or stream the new record below.
EDITOR’S PICK: TROUBADOUR DALI, CLOUDMANNER, MONHEIM
Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5) – Saturday, June 23rd at 10 p.m.
St. Louis, Missouri’s Troubadour Dali might not be as surreal as their name appears, but they have some pretty interesting stuff under their belts. Their mixture of atmospheric sounds with psych undertones creates a pretty awesome result. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club definitely comes to mind when hearing these guys. This is pretty much what blissful distortion sounds like.
Cloudmanner is still a slight mystery to anyone who hasn’t seen them in the live setting, and the only indication of what they sound like would be through the constant appearance of “shoegaze” on their Facebook page and Bandcamp multiplied by 1,000. What we do know is it’s a project of Evil Tents/Terminus Victor dudes, so surely they will bring it in this outfit as well, since they are pretty great in their other outfits.
WHAT: Young Jesus, Folded Bones, Morgan Orion 
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Saturday, June 23rd at 10 p.m.
Chicago’s Young Jesus invades Cowboy Monkey this weekend with a few familiar C-U faces. Their new record came out earlier this year, and Music Defined seems to think it’s one of the top 25 records from 2012 (so far). You can be the judge and stream it below to see what you think.
WHAT: Keith Harden, Kate & James Hathaway, Anthony Gravino, Gloria Roubal
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s
WHEN: Sunday, June 24th at 7 p.m.
“Writers in the Round” Summer Series starts up this weekend with some familiar singer-songwriters mixed with some out-of-town artists. This monthly showcase will be hosted by Gloria Roubal, and you can check out the rest of the listings here for the next few months linked above.
