🎻 The story behind a local Realtor’s vision for a vibrant local music community

I’ll let you in on a secret: What you see in this newsletter today is quite different from its original concept. If we’re being honest, it wasn’t even my idea.

My wife Katie and I love live music. We gradually came to realize that the Tri-Cities area offers a lot of it — if you know where to look. Seeking out local live music became our go-to weekend activity, and we often found ourselves tentatively mapping out venues (often local breweries) early in the week so that we were ready to go once Thursday, Friday and Saturday rolled around.

Meanwhile, I’d been eyeing the proliferation of Substack-style newsletters during the past few years, and ideas were rattling around in my mind. I was bouncing a few of those off of Katie this past summer when she planted the seed.

“Why don’t we create and send out a list of every live music performance in the area? With performers, times, links, everything?”

That was the ‘aha’ moment, as they call it. I was excited. No one was doing that, and it was exactly what we wished we could find. 

I’ll save the rest of the story for another time, but that context is useful for today’s main story, which focuses on our local music community.

It was through Tri-Cities Central’s weekly live music rundown that I met Ryan Carney.

For nearly a year, he’s been promoting open mics and jam sessions across the Fox Valley — attracting many of the same performers at the same venues we showcase in the newsletter every week.

Ryan’s idea for Fox Valley Jammers Club, a Facebook group that unites local musicians and aspiring performers around in-person open mics and jam sessions, originated as the world emerged from the initial COVID wave back in 2021.

Fast forward to today — and the group has evolved from a nascent idea into a thriving, community-oriented group approaching 700 active members.

The community aspect of the group stuck a chord with me. It’s cool to see a growing network of young musicians, seasoned performers, music enthusiasts and diverse local venues work together and support each other in creative ways.

And it’s still early days — they’re just getting started.

Get the story behind the group, including the “State of the Jam” dinner party Carney and co-host Izzy Kucera are planning for early February.

📰 News to use

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☑️ Parking project: St. Charles has invited the community to weigh in on the initial draft of its new downtown parking study via an online survey or in person at an open house tomorrow night.

🔒 Parks & rec: Batavia plans to use a state grant to renovate Callahan Community Center on Houston Street into a dynamic public recreation center — at no cost to taxpayers.  

☑️ Metra moves: Not only is the transit agency rolling out a new code of conduct to enhance safety, but it’s also expanding bike access on trains starting next month.

☑️ Climate goals: Kane County’s first Climate Action Implementation Plan (CAIP) will focus on how to reduce the impacts of climate change locally — see a draft of the plan and get details on upcoming community input sessions.

🔒 Alderperson recommendation: Geneva is one step closer to borrowing $30M to fund electric infrastructure improvements for the North Geneva Business Park and other projects.

🔒 Flood-plain parcel: Interested in a relatively cheap piece of downtown Geneva property spanning slightly less than three-quarters of an acre? The city is taking offers.

☑️ Route 25 is open! The east side of Geneva just got a little bit easier to navigate.

🏘️ In the community

🔒 A fork in the river: A crowd of 400+ turned out last Wednesday in St. Charles night to learn about the pros and cons of various dam removal options.

☑️ Pedestrian paradise: A friendly reminder that 6PM on Wednesday marks the grand opening of First Street Plaza in downtown St. Charles — complete with hot cocoa and cider from Alter Brewing.

🔒 Extra resources: Gov. Pritzker has allocated $17M to help municipalities outside Chicago support migrants seeking asylum in their communities.

☑️ Fox River Foundation: A local non-profit awarded more than $250K in grants to community-focused organizations, including two in Batavia and another in Geneva.

☑️ Public hearing: Geneva is giving the community a chance to offer input on the proposed Bullock Campus project at 7PM on Thursday at City Hall.

☑️ The wild west: If you live, work or spend time in Elburn, the village is seeking local input via survey as it plans updates to its zoning ordinance and prioritizes future developments.

🔒 Roof restoration: Geneva City Council has approved a $199K project aimed at shoring up the Geneva Public Works building’s metal roof.

🏬 Local biz

☑️ V-Day vibes: The Graceful Ordinary will help one lucky couple recreate their wedding dinner in style through a social media giveaway.

☑️ We hate goodbyes: The Cottage — a home decor and furniture shop on 3rd Street in Geneva — is moving to Wheaton. The current location’s last day will be 2/24.

☑️ Perpetual golf season: Chicago Golf Report recently interviewed the owner of Mike’s Golf Center in St. Charles, discussing his company’s story and the burgeoning golf simulator industry.

☑️ Head start on spring: Batavia’s Prairie Path Cycles is offering free bike maintenance classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays in January. Apologies for the late notice.

🔒 Local gems: In the initiative’s second year, six businesses have been selected for St. Charles Business Alliance’s “Made in St. Charles” program.

🎸 Live music 

*Below are “listed” start/end times — actual play times tend to vary. The 🎟️ symbol indicates an admission fee. Links to band/event info are provided where available.

Wednesday (1/24) ⬇️

✔️ Austin Hopkins: Flagship on the Fox | St. Charles | 6-9PM | Musician info

Thursday (1/25) ⬇️

✔️ Matt Keen: Flagship on the Fox | St. Charles | 5-8PM | Musician info

✔️ PBJ: EvenFlow | Geneva | 9PM

✔️ Anthony Padilla: The House Pub | St. Charles | 9PM-12AM | Musician info

🎈 Special events

Thursday

☑️ Pub Theology | 6:30-8:30PM | Sturdy Shelter Brewing | Enjoy a beverage and join an open discussion with people of varying religious traditions, philosophical perspectives and life experiences.

🎟️ Studio 64 Improv Night | 8PM | Arcada Theatre | Enjoy made-in-the-moment musical comedy from a seasoned improviser ensemble.

Friday

☑️ How to Save Money & the Planet | 6PM | Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva | An interactive presentation outlining key steps people can take to minimize their environmental impact while saving cash.

Saturday + Sunday

☑️ Chicago Home Show | 10AM-5PM | Kane County Fairgrounds | Peruse hundreds of home-related exhibits highlighting home improvement products and services plus trendy remodeling ideas at this free show in St. Charles.

🌖 Weather snapshot

🌨️ Today: High 33F | Low 31F | Wet wintry mix

🌨️ Tuesday: High 35F | Low 32F | More of the same

🌧️ Wednesday: High 38F | Low 35F | Cold rain, yuck

🌧️ Thursday: High 40F | Low 33F | 4 days of awful weather

📖 Thanks for reading

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