Trail Mix Productions is expanding its role in the local music scene beyond its original Trail Mix Concert Series by acting as a matchmaker between acoustic musicians and local venues hosting concerts dubbed as “Trail Mix Presents.”
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery is hosting Trail Mix Presents concerts on the patio outside by the Caboose from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on many Saturdays until September. Bergstein’s NY Deli & Sandwich Shop also is hosting local music affiliated with Trail Mix. The shows are from noon to 2 p.m. in the café area of Bergstein’s Deli the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
Shop as a part of Trail Mix Presents. (Provided photo)
While event organizer Steve Ploum has helped out at some of the first Trail Mix Presents shows, this isn’t to be expected at future events. Unlike the Concert Series, the crew isn’t setting up a green room or the sound equipment. Trail Mix is merely putting local and regional musicians in touch with venues in the South Suburbs and giving these shows its stamp of approval.
“Either I’ve worked with them before or they have a Trail Mix vibe, [meaning] similar to what we’ve done,” Ploum said, describing the musicians playing for Trail Mix Presents.
Ploum said Trail Mix Presents isn’t beneficial to just musicians by “helping them get booked” but is also to venues.
“A lot of venues have talent buyers because they put on a lot of live music, and it’s a major part of what they do,” Ploum said. “But not all venues have talent buyers. They like the idea of having live music and Trail Mix can help out in that area.”
Trail Mix, which began in 2016 as a daylong music festival before converting to a yearlong concert series in the summer of 2021 and receiving its designation as a nonprofit organization in early 2023, provides this service for free. The Trail Mix Presents venues pay the musicians.
Bill Davis, co-owner of Bergstein’s Deli, said at the deli’s previous location in Chicago Heights he’d sometimes host open mic nights and hosting Trail Mix Presents shows is similar.
“We don’t have a big space. So, we do more solo, maybe duet kind of acoustic music. We’re not rocking the house,” Davis said.
Davis said the plan is to continue having only one act performing at each Trail Mix Presents show at Bergstein’s Deli. So far, acoustic guitarists John Shonkwiler and Doug Raffety have performed.
Local bands The Uh Ohs, Butterfield Creek and Radio Collective have performed at Flossmoor Station as part of Trail Mix Presents.
“It’s really good exposure. We’re getting more people out on the Caboose deck,” Flossmoor Station owner Carolyn Armstrong, adding that the patio was full of people at the July 13 show.
Armstrong said Flossmoor Station plans to host Trail Mix Presents shows on the patio until September but she is trying to find a way to continue inside during the colder months.
“I hope we try to find a place inside to have them,” Armstrong said. “We definitely want to keep it going.”
TrailMix.org added a tab for information about Trail Mix Presents. The tab includes a link to a form a venue can fill out to request Trail Mix acts. While there aren’t currently any details about what bands are playing or when and where they’re playing, Ploum said the webpage will be revamped.
Bergstein’s Deli is at 18064 Martin Avenue and Flossmoor Station is at 1035 Sterling Avenue.