For nearly 25 years, Renegade has brought southern classic rock to Central Illinois. And this Saturday, in the final outdoor concert of the season Renegade will perform at Lake of the Woods Bar at 8 p.m.
Organized by lead vocalist, Ken Stanley, Renegade performs high-energy covers of well-known artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Blackfoot and Eric Church.
“It’s American blue collar music,” Stanley said. “We are blue collar workers that can relate to the music we are playing.”
But for Stanley, it has always been the energy the crowd gives when the group performs live that makes them keep coming back for more.
The band began playing country music a couple times a month for VFW’s Moose Lodge Eagles, but now the group plays almost every Saturday in venues in Decatur, Pekin, Sadorus and Urbana.
Current band members include Brian Ball on drums, AJ Williams on lead guitar, Tom Cortese on the keyboard and Brian Dalbey on bass. Ball has been with the band for 23 years. Eric Summers is the sound technician for the band.
Although band members have changed, and Ball and Stanley have had to make adjustments to help the band grow and change into what they are today, Stanley said the group continues to be close. Although each of the men work and have lives outside of the band, they have “a passion, a good following, and they’re all friends and family, ” Stanley said.
