418 South Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, United States
LIVE MUSIC
Union County Sal with Squadfathers, Guests
Bluegrass concert: Award-winning Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Bluegrass concert: Award-winning Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
.jpg/:/cr=t:31.58%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:44.59%25/rs=w:1209,h:605,cg:true)
7 p.m. Saturday, April 12
Bar and Doors at 6
$15 (see link) and at the door night of show
Jazz and Standards vocalist Union County Sal is returning to the Balcony stage at the Varsity on Saturday, April 12.
Sal will be backed by the Squadfathers and a few guests, who will also perform their own numbers. Musicians are Joe Palermo, guitar; Eric Bandera, guitar; Jimmy Beers, drums; Mike Alderfer, bass; Mike Arthur, keboards, Jim Childers, trombone; and Chris Thornton, saxophone.
Come prepared to hear songs by Gil-Scott Heron, Mose Allison, Dave Brubeck and others.
It all begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 12. The Varsity Bar and doors open at 6.
Tickets are $15 and are available in advance at Eventbrite (see link). Tickets will also be available at the venue on the night of the show when doors open. Sal’s appearances at the Varsity have been sellouts, so patrons are advised to get tickets in advance.
This concert is made possible in part through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
Bluegrass concert: Award-winning Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Bluegrass concert: Award-winning Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Bluegrass concert: Award-winning Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Thursday, May 15
6 p.m. Doors and Varsity Bar
7 p.m. Opening Act (tbd)
8 p.m. Show
$15 adv / 17 at the door night of show (see link)
Grammy Award nominee (2025) and winner (2024) Bronwyn Keith-Hynes will be bringing bluegrass to the Varsity’s Big Room on Thursday, May 15.
Keith-Hynes has long been renowned as a prolific instrumentalist, earning two IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards as well as a Grammy for her work with Molly Tuttle Golden Highway and a 2025 Grammy nomination for her latest album. But on that latest album, “I Built a World,” the Charlottesville, Virginia, native unlocks an impressive new sound: her voice.
“I Built a World” is her first vocal album, but Bronwyn has been a musician since before she can remember. As a child, music lessons gradually transitioned into public performances, with a particular emphasis on Irish music after her family relocated to Charlottesville. And her lifelong musical education continues to shape her work today.
An on-stage collaboration with fellow Charlottesville native Dave Matthews taught her how a crowd could feed a performer’s energy. And attending Berklee College of Music during the early years of its American Roots Music program offered inspiration from classmates like Sierra Hull and Alex Hargreaves, as well as an introduction to Tuttle and most of Bronwyn’s Golden Highway bandmates.
"My favorite bluegrass musicians today are the ones who are rooted in traditional music, but don't really see any boundaries," she says. "It's as if they draw from a traditional bluegrass vocabulary, but use it to say what they want to say."
A background in dance also makes her a captivating and energetic live performer.