*Editors Note: the interview with Wildwood came from 2019.
Summer concerts are back.
The Mahomet Parks and Recreation Department will kick off their summer concert series on June 4 with Mahomet’s Wildwood playing at Barber Park from 6:30 to 8. Wildwood will also be at the Mahomet Public Library on June 13 from 2 to 3 p.m.
The four-member, family-focused band has graced the Mahomet area with their contemporary bluegrass music for nearly a decade.
It’s a product of a father’s love for music and his daughters.
Keith Rushing, a guitarist who also plays the fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and banjo, introduced his girls music at an early age.
The girls, Kaitlin, Megan (Baird) and Kelly (Prather), followed in their father’s footsteps, expanding their musical talents throughout high school and college by participating in various choral groups and variety shows. The family would often perform together at the Mahomet United Methodist Church’s annual Nine Gal Tavern dinner show.
As many children do, the girls went their separate ways during college. Keith joined the Middletown String Band, performing at events throughout Champaign County.
But once Kaitlin and Megan returned to their homes in East Central Illinois, Keith encouraged them to perform alongside him.
When members of the Middletown String Band moved in 2013, the family’s long-time friend Don Willi suggested that he and Keith join up with Megan and Kaitlin to form the Wildwood String Band.
Drawing from familiar songs their parents played, Wildwood comes from “Wildwood Flower” by the Carter Family.
Kaitlin’s husband, Brian, also joined the band.
Brian is “also the tallest in the family. So dad saw the opportunity for a stand-up bass player!” Kaitlin said.
Willi passed away in 2016. but the four other members decided to carry on.
“Each of us has been involved in music outside of the family, but the band became a place where we could practice, try new things, and just have fun with the music without any pressure,” Kaitlin said. “We push each other, but when you’re playing with people you love, there’s no such thing as failure.”
In their creative space where they can blend their bluegrass influences with tight harmonies, the Wildwood String Band is able to take anything from doo-wop to Led Zeppelin to Carter Family to Doc Watson, and make it unique.
“We feel lucky to have something to do together,” Kaitlin said.
Food vendors will also be available at Barber Park Friday night. Guests should be lawn chairs or blankets to sit on to both events.
