[NEWS] December 22, 2009 - New Year's Updates
For the third consecutive year, Chicago's Family Groove Company will host a New Year's Eve celebration at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA. This New Year's will be an evening of firsts for the band, however. FGC will present three sets of music, kicking off the evening with the band's first ever full length acoustic set. FGC is also thrilled to announce, in another exciting first, that the evening will feature the debut of the FGC horn section.
Click here for advance tickets.
Click here for the Facebook event.
[NEWS] October 26, 2009 - New Year's 2009 Announced!
FGC is very pleased to announce that the band will be celebrating New Year's Eve 2009 at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA. Our third New Year's in a row at this incredible venue, we will once again be pulling out all the stops! Stay tuned for more information on this year's theme, advance tickets, and other details.
[NEWS] October 14, 2009 - Riverview Music Festival, Everyone Orchestra, Video Blogs!
Lots of good stuff in FGC world this month. The band just came off a great weekend playing with Umphrey's McGee in Peoria, and at the Riverview Music Festival in Elgin. FGC played to a packed house in Peoria, and had a blast with a high energy (though admittedly rather chilly) set at Riverview. The UM collaboration continued at the festival when guitarist Brendan Bayliss joined the band for a rendition of the Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood tune, "Little Walter Rides Again" (Click here for video).
Jordan and Janis later appeared with Brendan, Joe Russo, Michael Kang, Jennifer Hartswick, Allie Kral and others for an incredible Everyone Orchestra set. (Click here for some video footage!) We'd particularly like to thank EO conductor Matt Butler for all the hard work and for putting together a spectacular line up. Sunday at Riverview really proved to be a special night - thanks to everyone who came down and made it so much fun for us!
FGC is very excited about the band's new video blog! The series will feature a behind the scenes look at FGC performances and touring. The latest (Volume 3) is below and be sure to check out Volume 1 and Volume 2 on YouTube.
Looking ahead, the band is gearing up for the Rock and Roll Halloween Masquerade Ball at Three Sisters Park this weekend. FGC will be rockin' out as Green Day - don't miss it! Later in the month the band will head over to Des Moines, followed by shows in Milwaukee, Charleston, and Springfield.
Fans can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks - stay tuned to the official site for all the latest!
[NEWS] September 1, 2009 - Off to moe.down, Victor Wooten Later This Month!
FGC will head out to Turin, NY this month for the band's first visit to moe.down. FGC was thrilled to have been asked to be a part of this special event, and is looking forward to playing two sets Saturday afternoon. Later in the month, FGC will join Victor Wooten for a pair of shows in Iowa City and Lawrence, KS. The band's relationship with Victor began several years ago when he and Janis hit it off at his F.U.N.K. Fest in Indiana, and FGC is very excited to be working with Victor again!
August was a busy month for FGC. After headlining the Grateful Garcia Gathering, the band headed west for a string of Colorado dates, including FGC's debut appearance at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre. The band then looped back east with a stop at the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Festival in Ozark, AR. Despite some ill timed vehicle trouble in Kansas, the band tore through one of the better sets of the summer at Mulberry.
Fat Fest in Wabasha, MN followed shortly after Mulberry Mountain, where the band enjoyed another particularly strong set. Later in the weekend Jordan and Janis joined the Everyone Orchestra (a line up that included Michael Kang of SCI and Vinnie Amico of moe.) for a fantastic ninety minutes of improvised music. Deftly led by conductor Matt Butler, there was general consensus amongst the band that the Fat Fest EO performance was one of the strongest yet.
The band's looking ahead to a very busy fall. October and November dates will be announced shortly - stay tuned to the official site for all the latest!
[NEWS] July 22, 2009 - Jordan to Join EO at Fat Fest, Band Gears Up For 3G's, CO, and Harvest Fest
On the heels of two fantastic nights at the Abbey in Chicago and on the Terrace at UW-Madison, the band is getting set for what will be a very busy second half of the summer. Up first is a highly anticipated return to Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, followed by a headlining appearance at the 3G's Festival in Black River Falls, WI. Immediately following the 3G's, the band will head out to Colorado for an exciting run of shows, including FGC's debut at the Mishawaka Amphitheater and an appearance at the Dancin' in the Streets Festival in Denver. FGC will then begin heading back east with a stop at the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Fest in Arkansas.
Later in the month, FGC is looking forward to returning to Fat Fest in Wabasha, MN. The band will offer a main stage set on Thursday evening, and Jordan will perform double duty as the Everyone Orchestra's keyboardist for the ensemble's main stage set on Friday night.
[NEWS] June 21, 2009 - Summer Off to a Great Start…URA, UW-Madison Terrace, and The Abbey Around the Corner!
FGC had a blast at Summer Camp last month, and the band would like to thank all the campers that came out and made the weekend so much fun. FGC played three sets over the course of the weekend, and if you throw in Mattias and Jordan's Women's Downhill set, their special appearance with 56 Hope Road, and Jordan's sit in with Keller Williams' Sexy Bitches, FGC was awfully busy at this year's Camp! Check out audio from FGC's three sets on archive.org, and some fantastic photos can be seen here!
Coming up later this month are appearances at the Tall Tree Lake Festival and the Universal Rhythm Assembly, along with a stop at the Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI. Looking ahead to next month, the band is looking forward to its return to the Terrace at UW-Madison, and everyone in the FGC family is already gearing up for the band's next Chicago appearance next month at the Abbey!
[NEWS] May 14, 2009 - Summer Camp 2009!
Memorial Day weekend, summer, and the festival season are all almost upon us, and everyone in the FGC family can't wait for another incredible Summer Camp Festival! This year's Camp features Willie Nelson, Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood, and Method Man and Redman in addition to perennial favorites moe. and Umphrey's, and FGC fans will happily note that FGC will be playing three sets over the course of the weekend!
First, the band will greet the Thursday pre-party faithful with a 6:30pm set on the Starshine Stage. The band will follow that up with a 1:00pm Sunshine Stage set on Saturday afternoon, and a much anticipated late night set Saturday evening, billed as Family Groove Company Presents: The Big Lebowski.
Also of note, FGC side project, Women's Downhill will be kicking off the Thursday pre-party at 2:00pm on the Starshine Stage, and FGC fans can look out for Jordan and Mattias making a special appearance with 56 Hope Road at their late night camp fire set Thursday night.
In other news, the band is back on the road after taking a short break while Janis toured with the Steve Kimock Crazy Engine. The Park West show earlier this month was a huge success, and featured an impromptu Everyone Orchestra set at the end of the night led by EO conductor Matt Butler, who was on hand to play drums with Hot Buttered Rum. Great shows in Minneapolis, Ames, and Davenport followed, and the band is now in the midst of a couple dates out East.
Summer dates are steadily being released, and the band is looking forward to another great festival season. Stay tuned to the official site for all the latest!
[NEWS] April 6, 2009 - Women's Downhill!
The
FGC family is proud to announce a new FGC side project, Women's
Downhill. The new band finds FGC lead singer, keyboardist, and
composer Jordan Wilkow in a duo with FGC drummer Mattias Blanck. The band
intends to explore jazz, pop/rock, and blues sensibilities in a small
combo format, with Wilkow playing keyboard bass in addition to piano,
organ and vocals.
"I'm really excited to see how this develops," Jordan says. "Right now, we just intend to be as open to new ideas as possible. I could listen to jazz organ masters all day, so there will definitely be some of that aesthetic present. But I love Elton John and Billy Joel too, and there are times when I can't get that White Stripes/Doorbell song out of my head, so it's become a real curious collection of ideas, and we're finding all kinds of unlikely common threads."
Women's Downhill will debut at the Canopy Club on April 16, and will follow that show with the new band's Chicago debut at the Double Door on April 24.
[NEWS] March 10, 2009: 3/14 Denver Venue Change
Please note that FGC's Denver performance for Saturday March 14, previously scheduled at Owsley's Golden Road in Denver, has been moved to Dulcinea's 100th Monkey. FGC will go on at midnight, following the Les Claypool show next door. Details on the tour page.
[NEWS] February 24, 2009: Chicago Show Rescheduled
FGC is very happy to announce the rescheduled date for the band's recently canceled Chicago appearance. FGC will return to the Park West Theater on Saturday, May 2nd. This time around, the band will co-headline the night with bluegrass phenoms, Hot Buttered Rum String Band. We're happy to add that FGC's good friend and Everyone Orchestra conductor, Matt Butler will join Hot Buttered Rum on drums for the evening. Further details will follow shortly - be sure to check back on the official site for all the latest!
[NEWS] January 28, 2009: FGC Announces Winter Tour 2009; Bassist Janis Wallin to Tour with Steve Kimock
FGC is proud to announce the Chicago quartet's 2009 Winter Tour. After a swing through the Southeast, the tour will see FGC make headlining appearances in major markets throughout the Midwest, before heading to Colorado for dates in Denver and Boulder among others.
FGC will hit some of the band's favorite venues over the course of this ambitious tour, including the Park West Theater in Chicago (for a co-headlining appearance with Soulive), the Majestic Theatre in Madison, the Bottleneck in Lawrence, and the Cabooze in Minneapolis. FGC will also make several noteworthy debut appearances in a number of prestigious venues, including the WorkPlay Theater in Birmingham, Rhythm and Brews in Chattanooga, the Vogue Night Club in Indianapolis, and the Fox Theatre in Boulder.
The tour will begin on January 28 in Birmingham and wrap up at the end of March, at which point FGC will take several weeks off the road while bassist Janis Wallin tours as bass player for Steve Kimock's new band, the Steve Kimock Crazy Engine. FGC has made the following statement:
"We are extremely happy for our bassist and dear friend Janis. We've met and performed with numerous world-class musicians over the years, and we knew it was only a matter of time before one of them took note of Janis's extraordinary talent and invited her to share it with a new audience. The Kimocks have been very gracious and accommodating of FGC's tour schedule, and we look forward to announcing plans for our spring and summer tours shortly. In the meantime, we'd like to say we're tremendously proud of Janis, and all four of us are geared up for a fantastic Winter Tour."
Winter Tour 2009:
1/28 | WorkPlay Theater - Birmingham, AL *supporting
Strange Design
1/29 | Bourbon Street - Auburn, AL
1/30 | Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA *supporting The Bridge
1/31 | Dave's Darkhorse - Starkville, MS
2/03 | World Grotto - Knoxville, TN *supporting Strange Design
2/04 | Rhythm and Brews - Chattanooga, TN *supporting Strange Design
2/12 | Cicero's - St. Louis, MO
2/13 | Mojo's - Columbia, MO
2/14 | Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
2/20 | Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI
2/21 | Park West Theater - Chicago, IL *co-bill w/Soulive
2/26 | Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN
2/27 | DG's Tap House - Ames, IA
2/28 | Iowa City Yacht Club - Iowa City, IA
3/01 | Copper Dragon - Carbondale, IL *supporting Cornmeal
3/06 | The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN *supporting ekoostik hookah
3/11 | Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO *supporting Izabella
3/12 | Hodi's Half Note - Fort Collins, CO
3/13 | Three20South - Breckenridge, CO *supporting Mama's Cookin
3/14 | Owsley's - Denver, CO *supporting Moonalice
3/15 | Quixote's - Denver, CO
3/19 | Miramar Theatre - Milwaukee, WI
3/20 | Crusen's - Peoria, IL
3/21 | Vaudeville, Mews - Des Moines, IA
[NEWS] February 12, 2009: Park West show canceled
FGC is very disappointed to announce that the 2/21 show at the Park West has been canceled. Alan Evans, drummer for the co-headliner Soulive has broken his hand, leaving Soulive unable to play the show. As we were unable to find a suitable replacement for the evening, all parties involved concluded that the only viable option was to cancel the show and refund all advance ticket purchases. Pre-sale was very strong, and we want to assure all those planning on attending the show that every possible option short of canceling the show was explored. We regret any inconvenience, and thank you all in advance for your understanding -- please stay tuned for an upcoming announcement regarding FGC's next Chicago appearance.
[NEWS] January 1, 2009 - Happy New Year!
FGC rang in the New Year at Davenport, IA's Redstone Room with an evening that included what the band called Rock Star Celebrity Death Match. The Death Match fight card featured Motley Crue vs. Poison, the Grateful Dead vs. Phish, the Bee Gees vs. Gloria Gaynor, and MC Hammer vs. Vanilla Ice. FGC demonstrated impressive facility with a wide range of musical styles, covering songs by all eight artists throughout the evening. The show's encore saw a baby grand piano make its way into the audience, with Jordan leading the crowd in a mass sing-along that included "The Joker" and "Hey Jude".
Chicago's Daphne Willis and Co., who opened the evening, joined the band for the encore, and earlier in the evening Daphne contributed her tremendous voice to FGC's performance of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."
FGC is now off the road until late January. Look for the first tour dates of 2009 (and some very big news) to be announced shortly!
