PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

The festivities will begin June 2, when local indie-rock band Grey Slush is to perform. The jam-oriented group is one of the more adventurous ones in this year’s lineup, according to Paul Maloney, Kelleher’s general manager. He booked almost all the bands this season. “We’ve been in business 21 years, so obviously in that time you’ve got to learn to evolve, improve, expand,” Maloney said. ‘GETTING MORE PEOPLE DOWN HERE ... HELPS DOWNTOWN ... HELPS PEORIA. MORE TAX DOLLARS COMING IN. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT’ — Sean Sullivan Weekend parties will continue through Aug. 26. Complementing them will be regular Wednesday appearances by the Peoria Municipal Band, which also performs Sundays from early June through mid-August at Glen Oak Park. The band’s Water Street residency is to begin June 7 and end Aug. 9. On Friday, July 7, the Municipal Band is to open a double bill, followed by longtime local rock band Highway J. Pat Sullivan said he was inspired to bring the bands to the riverfront by the street parties he attended while visiting relatives in Greenville, S.C., and Baltimore. “All these young professionals come and older ones, too,” the elder Sullivan said. “They all started gathering and all of a sudden, these bands started playing. The block was packed shoulder to-shoulder. “I go, ‘That’s how you do it. … I’d like to try that.’” Initially, concert organizers were con cerned about safety in the Kelleher’s neighborhood. The band’s older-skewing fan demographic exacerbated that worry. “We wanted to show it’s safe down here,” Sean Sullivan said. “How do you do that? Get the Municipal Band down here … We haven’t had any issues at all.” Meanwhile, local government has been accommodating in barricading Water for the street parties. Several

City Council members are regular attendees, said the Sullivans. “We’ve done it for so long that they want us to have it,” Pat Sullivan said. “They usually like us to up it.” Upping it is exactly what Maloney and the Sullivans have in mind. The block party scheduled for June 30 is to feature two groups, rock and-rollers Twisted Whiskey and ‘80s hair-band Decade of Decadence. As an extra attendance incentive, there will be ticket giveaways for Foo Fighters and Green Day concerts next month in Milwaukee. All of this may be a harbinger of things to come. The Sullivans suggested the grassy area they own across Water Street from Kelleher’s could play host to two or three bands on a Saturday. Some of those bands might come from beyond central Illinois, said Sean. Traffic on Water Street can be limited as far northeast as Liberty Street. “I don’t want to say Tailgate ‘N Tall boys, because we’re not trying to go that big, that extravagant,” said Sean. “But something where we have an open ing, a middle and a headliner out there. Something that’s more of an all-day event than just having a Friday-night or Saturday-night band.” As Maloney and the Sullivans see it, such plans help attract visitors Downtown, as well as potential tenants. Bearded Owl and 8 Bit are housed in structures the Sullivans own. They have three square blocks of buildings in the Warehouse District. “Getting more people down here not only helps Kelleher’s … it helps everything we have,” Sean Sullivan said. “It’s going to help the Warehouse District as a whole, which would in turn help Downtown, which in turn helps Peoria. More tax dollars coming in. And that’s what we want.”

2023 Block Party Band Schedule The Peoria Municipal Band performs on Wednesday nights in front of the Le Vieux Carre building on Water Street between June 7 and Aug. 9. The band also is scheduled for a July 5 concert. JUNE 2 – Grey Slush JUNE 3 – West MacQueen Street Band JUNE 9 – Tambora JUNE 10 – Vinyl Tap JUNE 16 – Hoosier Daddy JUNE 17 – Dexter O’Neal and Funk Yard JUNE 23 – The Coco Loco Band JUNE 24 – Hindsight JUNE 30 – Twisted Whiskey, Decade of Decadence JULY 1 – 3 and a Half Men JULY 7 – Peoria Municipal Band, Highway J JULY 8 – TBA JULY 14 – Jonny Quest Band JULY 15 – The Coco Loco Band JULY 21 – Windows Down JULY 22 – The StyleCatz Rat Pack Tribute Trio and Las Vegas Style Revue JULY 28 – Hoosier Daddy JULY 29 – Off the Record AUG. 4 – TBA AUG. 5 – Highway J AUG. 11 – Dexter O’Neal and Funk Yard AUG. 12 – Kasino AUG. 18 – West MacQueen Street Band AUG. 19 – Tambora AUG. 25 – Hindsight AUG. 26 – Jonny Quest Band

Nick Vlahos is a longtime Peoria print journalist and regular contributor to Peoria Magazine

JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE 71