08/19/2026
Downtown Urbana is on a Roll for hosting LOTS of especially great music lately. Of course, the Prairie Crossroads Blues Fest featured 5 great Blues bands on August 7-8 in the Bunny’s parking lot. Also, some great shows at the Rose Bowl recently have included Larry and Joe, and Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys.
And the great music around town continues on this Thursday, August 20 when the great Mark Hummel and his very talented band return to the Rose Bowl at 8:00 p.m. for a CD Release party
for his new CD: “Road Dog”. Hummel is an internationally acclaimed, and Grammy-nominated harmonica player playing out of the San Francisco Bay area.
Mark has toured and recorded with LOTS of Blues legends, and has appeared on over 30 recordings since 1985. He has been with Electro Fi Records since 2000, releasing five CDs. His
current tour also features band members Billy Flynn, Rodrigo Mantovani and Patrick Seals.
Here are a few recent comments about Mark’s work:
“Mark Hummel is a Harmonica Virtuoso. He is one of a handful of the Best Players ever on the Instrument”. – Blues Revue Magazine
Hummel plays the harmonica with the fat, full sound that made Little Walter sound almost like a saxophonist rather than a harp man". -Chicago Sun-Times
Enjoy this recent video of Mark playing some great Chicago Blues:
https://youtube.com/shorts/7w9fo-gyty0?si=8RkfyINk6Tz43TwF
Don’t miss this great show on August 20 at 7:00 at the Rose Bowl, downtown Urbana!
