Bands in Your Backyard

Looking for some local country music? You need to check out Jake Rebman! Taken by Mattioda Media @mattiodamedia on IG Jake Rebman is a songwriter and performer in Peoria who makes country music. He sings and plays guitar. When performing live, he is joined by The Waitin’ Rounders to provide a full band experience. They consist of Jake’s sister Sophia on vocals, Linc on drums, Chase on pedal steel, Dusty on lead guitar, and Jameson on bass. Additionally, Jake’s brother sometimes helps run merch at shows, creating a bit of a family business.   Jake Rebman released his first album,  Songwriting Competition, in 2022. I don’t regularly listen to country music, but I really enjoy Jake’s music. This is especially true as there are not many local country artists in the Peoria area so it provides variation. One of my favorite songs of Jake’s is “Walmart Aisle.” It is an upbeat and fun song that is hard not to dance along with. Jake’s most recent release is a live recording of “Boxer w...

Are you looking for a new and heartwarming sound? You should check out Silly Old Bear!  Silly Old Bear is a project started by Jacob and Conner over a year ago, and they are based around Peoria. Generally, they make indie folk music!  Silly Old Bear played live for the first time this year at Art & Music in the Garden which was an art vendor and music event put on in Luthy Botanical Garden by Mt. Moon. Conner played bass, while Jacob sang and played guitar. They were joined by friends for this performance, with Matt on drums and Annette on cello. It was a gorgeous show and a beautiful day, and Silly Old Bear’s music fit perfectly playing in an environment like a botanical garden.  Jacob and Conner are also in a band called Grey Slush together, which is popular in the Peoria DIY scene.  Silly Old Bear currently only have three songs released, "t/n", "raspberry soda", and "long time, no see". My favorite of the three is "t/n", though I adore al...

If you are interested in brass and guitars, this is the band for you! Let me introduce you to a LEGENDARY band in the  Midwestern  DIY music scene.  Must Build Jacuzzi was founded in the Peoria area, though they are more spread out these days, and are a ska/punk band. The band consists of Caleb on vocals and guitar, Bill on vocals and bass, Austin on drums, Keaton on saxophone, Josh on trumpet, and Ben on trombone. Must Build Jacuzzi doesn't play as many shows as they used to, but they are still beloved and have a great number of people ready to see them when a show is announced (including me). They are so fun to experience live and have an amazing stage presence. Must Build Jacuzzi always gets the crowd to stir, as there is typically moshing and skanking, along with the band themselves jump around on stage.  Must Build Jacuzzi has an album, which was released in 2018, titled Last Place , and it has my two personal favorite songs on it: "February Heat Wave" and "Shot...

The stairs! They are blank!  The Blank Stairs is a three-piece group based in Peoria, and consists of Cami, Josh, and Abbey! Cami is the singer and the guitarist, and Josh is the other singer and the bassist, though they do a switch-a-roo and trade instruments during their shows! Lastly, Abbey plays drums! Cami and Abbey are also in Emily the Band, who I wrote about in a previous blog!  The Blank Stairs latest single is titled "EAT ROCKS" and it is my favorite release yet. You just can't help but want to sing and dance when they play it! They do have an album out, which was released in 2021, titled Face Paint . The song "Sidestep" from their album is certified bop, and I always want to rage when it comes on.  I contacted The Blank Stairs to ask a couple of questions! Cami and Josh took turns answering! How long have you been making/playing music? Cami: We've been making music together as a band roughly 7-8 years now, but individually, we've been playing ...

If you're looking for some queer pop-rock in the Midwest, you've found the right blog post!  mars hojilla (oh-heely-uh) is the main stage name for Myles (he/they), who is a wonderful transmac musician. He currently lives in the Urbana area, but regularly plays in Iowa City, IA! Myles plays both solo and with a full band. The full mars hojilla band typically consist of Chloe (she/her) on drums and Logan (he/him) playing bass or violin, while Myles sings and plays guitar. Seeing Myles perform as a trans person is always uplifting, especially as he is not afraid to truly be himself. It is amazing to see people like me doing super cool things. Outside of being trans, he is simply an amazing performer.  Myles is also involved with an Iowa City based band titled Two Canes, and it is more of a hard rock project than mars hojilla. In the past, they were a part of THEory DROPOUTS, which was a Peoria-based band active from 2018-2022. As I've mentioned in my blog on Emily the Band, ...