Trail Mix Productions is returning to its roots by hosting a concert of four local acts — Butterfield Creek, Doug Raffety, the Uh Ohs and the Six of Spades — at Izaak Walton nature preserve on Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m.
In recent years, Trail Mix has featured national acts such as Sunny War and the Tray Wellington Band. In January, Trail Mix held its first concert at Thornton Distilling Company.
Trail Mix will hold its second concert at Thornton Distilling with a show featuring Nellie McKay on April 26. Its first concert at the Rock Shop in Homewood on April 18 will feature a return performance by Phoebe Hunt.
Event director Steve Ploum said Trail Mix plans to continue to host an annual concert featuring exclusively local musicians. Raising funds for Izaak Walton and drawing attention to its available amenities will also continue to be a part of Trail Mix’s mission, Ploum said.
“There’s no one headliner. It’s just a time for our local artists to have everybody come see them and play together,” talent manager Kristin Ryan said about the April 5 show.
Butterfield Creek, named after the 15.2-mile-long creek in Homewood, Glenwood and Chicago Heights, is a woman-fronted folk-pop band with Ploum on the guitar.
The Uh Ohs is a folk duet consisting of Josh and Renaissance Robieson who are husband and wife. They sing and play guitar and violin.
“The Uh Ohs are technically out of Tinley Park. One of the members was a member of my band in the past,” Ploum said.
Doug Raffety, in addition to being a musical composer, is a teacher’s assistant for Homewood District 153.
Six of Spades is a group of six Homewood-Flossmoor High School seniors — Ave Van Til, Kendall Laven, Ruby Moxley, Kelly Parker, Jazmin Rhodes and Amy Ward — who sing and play guitar, bass, flute, keyboard, ukulele, various percussions and other instruments.
The April 5 show will be Six of Spade’s second time playing Trail Mix and their first time playing Trail Mix since Ward joined the group. At the last Trail Mix where they performed, the Six of Spades had five members but they’re back to having six.
Members said they were friends with Ward at Homewood-Flossmoor High School and sang with her in another group before Six of Spades. She’s played other shows with Six of Spades and her addition feels natural, members said.
Laven described playing Trail Mix in May 2023 as “one of our favorite memories.“
“Everybody there treated us very professionally. We don’t always get that, being 17-year-olds,” Laven said.
Van Til said the intimate setting at Izaak Walton is perfect for Six of Spades’ style of music.
One of the songs on Six of Spade’s regular setlist is a cover of Ketchum, ID by Boygenius. In the past, they’ve dedicated this song to the original sixth member who moved to Michigan.
“At our last show, my aunt said she heard people in front of her when we sang that song,” Parker said. “They were saying that we always play that song for our past member. And people think that she’s dead. She’s not. She’s not.”
“I forgot that we originally started singing it in dedication to her. It’s just what we’ve done. It’s a part of us,” Parker added.
Trail Mix volunteers will collect a “suggested donation” to enter the doors of the April 5 show, Ploum said. All the profit made at this show is set to go to Izaak Walton. The local musicians are volunteering their time for this cause, Ploum said.
Tickets for the other two Trail Mix shows in April can be pre-ordered on trailmix.org.
