The more I get involved in the Peoria area music scene, something strange has come to my attention. There are two thriving musical communities in Peoria existing almost completely independent of one another. Bradley kids don’t know about Peoria artists, and Peoria locals don’t know about Bradley artists. As someone who has made an effort to live on both sides of the fence, I know as well as anyone how we could all benefit from bridging the gap between these two worlds.

And that’s exactly what I intend to do.

In the years I’ve had the pleasure of calling this place home, I’ve made it my mission to experience as much local music as I can. Countless weekends spent at basement shows and college bar open mics have shown me exactly what the Bradley scene has to offer, and I want to share it with all of you

 From the beginning of my time with Peoria Music Live, one of the goals I wanted to accomplish was to burst the Bradley Bubble for the music culture. This has been difficult as the current circumstances have made music on campus less present and available. 

There are, however, some amazing individuals that work hard to keep music happening at the university and they are as excited about the prospect of breaking the Bubble as I am. To help me get the word out, I’m working with the passionate minds of Brave Sounds Entertainment.

Brave Sounds is an on campus group dedicated to artist development and event coordination. Essentially, they’re the heart of the Hilltop music scene and they exist to give talented people a platform. They work with artists on songwriting, publicity, and getting gigs around the area. I really admire the work they do and I think you’ll come to feel the same way soon. 

Recently they’ve been vital in keeping music alive at Bradley through their livestream shows and open mics (which are an absolute blast). Follow them on Twitch and Instagram @BraveSoundsEnt to check out some of these great events.

So that brings me to what this will be, Bridging the Gap. Over the next few weeks I’m going to be working with Brave Sounds to feature some of the talented artists from Bradley that you probably haven’t heard of yet. We’ll be bringing the Bradley scene straight to you with a series of interviews and videos right here through Peoria Music Live.

I’ve already got some great artists lined up that will give you a whole new perspective on music in Peoria. Check back next Monday for more!