Live and Local with Kevin Kelly

The show brings you music by, and conversations with, local and visiting artists giving performances throughout our listening area. I'll be taking a break from the show for a bit and will return with new guests on January 11. In the meantime, please enjoy lots of music during the noon hour.

Bah Humbug Productions and Parkland Theatre just completed their third annual run of their own adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. In a special two-hour edition of "Live and Local" on Wednesday, we will broadcast that complete production, specially adapted for radio, with my interviews of those involved. NOTE: Audio archives are not available for this show.

George Faber is a guitarist, harmonica player and singer-songwriter, born and raised in Champaign-Urbana, now living in Minnesota. He'll play at the Iron Post in Urbana Christmas week with several of his musical friends. I'll talk with George on the Monday edition of "Live and Local," and we'll have a live studio set from Matt and Tom Turino.

On Friday's "Live and Local," we'll have a live performance by a trio based in Urbana called the Flexible Flyers. They describe themselves as well-grounded in old-time fiddle and banjo dance music but also influenced by post-bebop jazz, Arabic classical, Irish fiddling and more. And we'll hear about the handbell choir Bells in Motion, who perform in Eureka on Sunday.

The New Orleans Jazz Machine is an area Dixieland sextet led by clarinetist Carlyle Johnson. They'll be playing at the Urbana Free Library on Sunday, and Carl will join us on the Thursday edition of "Live and Local," with pianist Bill French. We'll also hear a scene or two from the Creative Dramatics Workshop production of Little Women, happening in Sidney this weekend.

The Iron Post, a restaurant and bar in downtown Urbana, has bringing a wide variety of live music to our area for ten years. Owner, operator and booking agent Paul Wirth will join us on the Wednesday edition of "Live and Local." We'll also hear from conductor Karen Lynne Deal about the Illinois Symphony Orchestra's holiday pops concert, this weekend in Bloomington and Springfield.

The Millikin University Faculty Jazz Sextet will present the School of Music's second annual Holiday Concert on Saturday, Dec. 19. We'll feature the sextet on the Monday edition of "Live and Local," playing live in our studio. I'll also talk with the man who plays FDR in the touring production of the musical Annie, playing in Urbana Monday night.

The Millikin Univeresity Children's Choir program will present its two top choirs in concert on Sunday in Decatur, and I'll talk with their director, Melissa Miller, on the Friday edition of "Live and Local." We'll also visit with singer Garrett Taylor, a Catlin native, who performs with the Danville Symphony on Saturday, and Jeremy Swerling, conductor of the Symphony.