From Beats to Ballads: 11 IL Concerts That’ll Save Your January

It's been cold, and while it hasn't been an absolutely brutal winter in Rockford, Chicago, and Northern Illinois as a whole, the weather still kind of sucks.

There's been a distinct lack of sunshine that one such as myself needs at this time of year.

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While I can use my Happy Lite until my heart's content, I still would love to have something to look forward to; then I realized there is one thing that makes me just as happy as some manufactured sun: live music.

Keep Reading: How Does the Rest of America Not Know About This Beloved Illinois and Wisconsin Joint?

There's a plethora of music happening in Illinois in January. Some are big names, and some are not so big, but I have put together a list of the artists you should check out this month.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Friday, January 17, at the Genessee Theatre

7:30 p.m. - $37

Joy Oladokun

The Prine Family Presents: You've Got Gold Celebrating The Songs Of John Prine & Benefitting The Hello In There Foundation — Getty Images

Friday, January 17, at Thalia Hall

8:00 p.m. - $28

Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Blues Traveler Performs At Marquee Theatre — Getty Images

Saturday, January 18, at the Riviera Theatre

7:30 p.m. - $5

The Black Crowes

Saturday, January 18, at Hard Rock Live Rockford

6:30 p.m. - $99

Kaskade

Major League Baseball's All Star Bash Presented By MLB.com, Delta And Nivea — Neilson Barnard

Saturday, January 18, at the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier

7:00 p.m. - Sold Out (Resell tix for $113)

Aerosmith

Sunday, January 19, at United Center

7:00 p.m. - $65

Kelsea Ballerini

Keith Urban and Vince Gill Return to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena for Urban's All for the Hall Concert Benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — Getty Images for the Country Mus

Thursday, January 23, at United Center

7:00 p.m. - $46

Ashley McBryde

2023 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival - Day Two — Getty Images for Pilgrimage Musi

Thursday, January 23, at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts

7:00 p.m - $40

Scotty McCreery

2022 iHeartCountry Festival Presented By Capital One – Show — Getty Images for iHeartRadio

Thursday, January 23, at Rialto Square Theatre

7:30 p.m. - $49

Frank Black

Pixies Perform Live In Sydney — Getty Images

Saturday, January 25 & Sunday, January 26 at the Metro

7:30 p.m. - Sold Out (Resell tix for $44)

Cody Johnson with Ashley McBryde

Saturday, January 25, at Vibrant Arena at the Mark

7:30 p.m. - $54

Did I miss any shows that need to be added to the list? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Check Out the Best-Selling Album From the Year You Graduated High School

Do you remember the top album from the year you graduated high school? Stacker analyzed Billboard data to determine just that, looking at the best-selling album from every year going all the way back to 1956. Sales data is included only from 1992 onward when Nielsen's SoundScan began gathering computerized figures.

Going in chronological order from 1956 to 2020, we present the best-selling album from the year you graduated high school.

Gallery Credit: Jacob Osborn