May 1, 2026: 16 music sandwiches

Today is a garden sandwich with musical bread. Next door to us at the Hope Center for the Arts, a heartland grown sound that’s been honed for 40+ years takes the stage in Springfield. The BoDeans formed in Wisconsin but have brought their take on roots music into the 21st century and we’ll speak with founder Kurt Neumann about his time in the music industry and more before you can see their show Sunday, May 3rd. Polyglot Emily Wells is known for her inventive and evocative take with the music that she makes. One of the most interesting of which is shifting some of the more electronic all in one approach to  more acoustic bodies and instruments arrangements. She joins us alongside her string quartet of friends for Live Music Friday as her Antenna Cloud Farm residency concludes with a concert at The Shea Theater on May 2nd. And on the eastern edge of Springfield, the 16 Acres Garden Center has been bringing color to the yards and landscape of the area for almost 65 years. We take a tour of what spring is bringing to their facilities and learn about early pitfalls new gardeners can avoid.