Recently, Champaign-Urbana has been lucky to be on the receiving end of the influx of talent being developed 120 miles east of C-U in Indianapolis. The “biggest small town in the world” has developed some …
Posts by Smile Politely Editors:
Santa Performs at WEFT Sessions Tonight
After almost nine months of being MIA, college rock favorites Santa are returning to the stage to promote their debut extended player, My Bones. Each member spent their requisite semester abroad in the fall, and …
Ask Politely
It’s springtime, which means students at the University of Illinois (and all their friends, who come in from campuses all around) are ready to get their drink on. And you know why: It’s Unofficial, people. …
Often Racing, Rarely Stopping: Headlights Blog from the Road
With their recently released sophomore album, Some Racing, Some Stopping, in their hot little hands, local indie-pop darlings Headlights take to the half-pipes and highways on the first leg of their North American tour. Guitarist …
Ask Politely #4
WUNA, or the West Urbana Neighborhood Association, is known for its amazing ability to organize and engage its immediate community with relevant and important issues facing its neighborhood, one of the most economically diverse in …
Hathaways Perform at The Iron Post on Sunday
Good thing for places like The Iron Post, a live music joint universally known as a dive by all those who keep it real: it simply doesn’t matter what they look like. The focus has …
The Silent Years Tonight
Mike ‘n Molly’s will be the place for you to see one of the better under-the-radar bands from the midwest tonight. The Silent Years, from Detroit, make a stop to perform alongside local punk stalwarts …
Smile Politely Exclusive: Headlights – “Cherry Tulips” Video
Local indie pop sensations Headlights dropped their sophomore album today on Polyvinyl Records, entitled Some Racing, Some Stopping. The band was generous enough to give Smile Politely the exclusive rights to the video for the …
Ask Politely #3
lllinois American Water Company, provider of Champaign-Urbana agua, is currently building a new treatment plant on West Bradley Avenue that will pump out 15 million gallons a day. With a price tag of $51 million, …
New Ruins; Mt. St. Helens Tonight
House parties once ruled the CU music scene. On any given weekend in the late 90’s, there were at least 2-3 shows happening, usually in Urbana, before WUNA decided that rock music was a bad …