A Cincinnati-based Americana duo which used to call Bloomington-Normal home is returning to its stomping grounds, playing a trio of shows in Central Illinois next week.
Stone & Snow's upcoming appearance in Peoria Heights is on the heels of an unexpected invitation to perform at the Great American State Fair.
"I had seen a call on social media with a call for submissions to perform there, and it actually looked like a great opportunity." said Bridges.
That was before the headliners started dropping out. In a public fallout amid accusations they'd been misled by Freedom 250 — the Trump-backed organization which led the Great American State Fair and other 250th anniversary initiatives like the MMA fight on the White House lawn — artists like Martina McBride and remnants of Milli Vanilli, the Commodores and Morris Day announced they would not participate in what appeared to be a partisan event.
"There were like nine headliners that were going to perform," said Bridges. "I went back to that post and we read it again. We talked about it and I was like, 'What if we just applied on a lark?'"
"We didn't think we would ever get in," Thomson said. "Even if we did, we could just say, well, we're gonna come and play a bunch of protest songs, and they're gonna say no, you're not."
"We had just played a show in Cincinnati, a group show called This Scene Kills Fascists," Bridges said. "If anyone did a cursory review of our social media, maybe they wouldn't want us to be there. But they did, and so then we really had to think about, should we really do this?"
Several states, including Illinois, also pulled their participation in state-specific pavilions along the National Mall. The Peoria Riverfront Museum stepped in on behalf of Illinois, volunteering artifacts in what it said was meant to be an attempt to "do the right thing, in a nonpartisan way on the national stage."
Ultimately, Thomson said, it was a chance to play and see the nation's capitol, a place he and Bridges had never been.
"Unfortunately, President Trump kind of coopted the event and turned it from what was supposed to be a bipartisan event into a partisan event by kind of hijacking it with his Freedom 250 organization," Bridges said.
But the line-up on the National Endowment for the Arts Legacy Stage, where they played anti-Trump administration protest songs along with others from their catalog, was professionally run and a diverse slice of performers from across the country.
"We just thought we'll go there and be ourselves," Bridges said. "We'll play our protest music, because that's kind of who we are. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna go and sing truth to power, in a way. So, that's when we decided to go."
Building community in Cincinnati
The band was previously based in Bloomington-Normal, where Stone & Snow partnered with the Bloomington print shop Half Hazard Press to launch the Hallowed Hall. That micro music venue, which hosted listening room-style shows and produced custom show posters for each guest, was the thing Bridges and Thomson were most hesitant to leave.
They relocated to Cincinnati in 2023.
"We kind of, I guess, outgrew Bloomington-Normal," Bridges said "It's is a bigger market, and it's closer to other markets that we can easily travel to. It just seemed to make sense."
Thomson said Cincinnati's Americana scene is small, but its proximity to northern Kentucky connects them to vibrant country and bluegrass communities. And Cincinnati's robust jazz scene was a surprise to them. Bridges said Stone & Snow's chameleon-like sound allows them to fit in just about anywhere.
Since moving, Stone & Snow has also, somewhat, reinvented the wheel, launching Moonrise Music Hall in an old church owned by a Cincinnati chiropractor. It's modeled on Hallowed Hall, minus the posters, installing a listening room-style approach and chances to jam with other musicians. The venue can seat up to about 200 people.
"When we moved over here, we knew we wanted to bring that concept with us," said Bridges. "It's been a really valuable partnership for us. It's hard sometimes, I think, to connect with other musicians, because everyone's always working when they can. It's hard to get out to other people's shows. So, when we can book other bands and do a show with them like that, we can connect with people all over and make new connections that lead to new opportunities."
Stone & Snow plays a free show at Pour Bros. Craft Tap Room in Peoria Heights on Aug. 7. The band also opens for Bronwyn on Aug. 6 at Cà d'Zan House Concerts in Cambridge and will play in Bloomington Aug. 8 as the official relaunch of the Hallowed Hall at Half Hazard Press.
