The first few weeks of September have been a whirlwind of excitement and adventure for the Fun DMC crew. We’ve already performed at 5 events, celebrated the birth of a new band member, celebrated Katey’s one-year anniversary with Fun DMC, had a band birthday, and SO MUCH MORE!!!

Check out some of the places we’ve been and our highlights from the past few weeks:

Saturday, September 2 – Mycah Huebner & Patrick Hildebrand Wedding

We were so delighted to have the opportunity to be a part of such a beautiful wedding at the Wyndman Springfield City Center! Mycah and Patrick were delightful to work with and everything about their day was absolutely perfect. We especially enjoyed the bourbon bar stocked with some of our favorite selections, the tiered trays of donuts in place of the traditional wedding cake, taking a pre-wedding picture in the Pinnacle Club Lounge, and of course we loved working with wedding planner Katie Centeno. Katie is the owner and event coordinator at Pink Anchor Weddings and Events and has over 8-year of experience in the events industry. We loved having such an organized and experienced point person to talk with regarding all of the details and appreciated not needing to disturb the bride or groom on their big day. When we had questions about the color and placement for the 16 uplights we provided or wanted to clarify the timeline of events for the evening, Katie was quick with a response! The entire reception went off without a hitch and will be a night to remember!

Sunday, September 3 – Labor Day Weekend at the Curve Inn

After several weeks of private events, it was so wonderful to be back out in the public and performing at one of our favorite bars!! A night at The Curve Inn is never a disappointment, but this Labor Day weekend show was especially fun. We had an enthusiastic crowd ready to dance the night away! We may have been down a members of Fun DMC, but that didn’t stop us!! Aaron knew months ago that he would need to miss at least a couple events as he was anticipating becoming a first-time dad. He prepared and recorded his parts to every song and divided his responsibilities and lyrics between band members so even in the event he had to leave mid-show, we would be able to continue without pause. So as Aaron eagerly awaited the arrival of his baby boy, the rest of Fun DMC lit up the Curve Inn with one of the most high-energy performances we have done to date.

Tuesday, September 5 – Jonah’s Birth

When we got a text from Aaron on Monday, September 4th, saying “Happy Labor Day”, I was over the moon!!! I was so excited that this might be the announcement that the Stanley’s beautiful baby boy was finally going to make his entrance into the world. I respond with the simple text, “LABOR DAY?!?!”. I was on the edge of my seat until receiving a response. Much to my disappointment, the “Happy Labor Day” message WAS NOT a birth announcement and instead just a nice holiday greeting. Later that night, while we were deep into a business discussion on Facebook messenger, our group received a picture of the front of a hospital followed by a simple message saying, “Gonna be busy for a few minutes”. Just a few hours later Jonah made his highly anticipated arrival into this world. <3 We are so excited for Aaron and Callie!!! We love having Jonah as the newest member of our Fun DMC family and can’t wait to have him on stage with us at some point!!

Wednesday, September 6 – The Illinois Emergency Management Association Training Summit

Fun DMC had the great pleasure of returning for the second year to play this Wednesday night event at the Bank of Springfield Center (formerly Prairie Capital Convention Center) in downtown Springfield, IL. We were hired by The Illinois Broadcasters Association to provide entertainment at the after party for the Illinois Emergency Management Association Training Summit. The mezzanine level reception hall, along with Nelsons Catering, played host to the IEMA event. After much dancing and hula-hooping with all of the IEMA employees, Katey and Chad’s continued their evening for a proper anniversary celebration including dinner and drinks.

Thursday, September 7th – Friday September 15th

Fun DMC went on a short “break” and took a few days away from gigs to spend time elsewhere doing some other very important things. For instance:

• Katey and Chad traveled out of state for a wedding
• The Reynolds’ Family took a trip out of state as well.
• The Stanley Family had their first weekend home as a new family of 3
• Talon played Destiny 2 for almost two weeks straight.
• The Kamerads did newborn pictures of Jonah
• Albert closed on his new business and is now the proud owner of the Koala Center for Sleep in Springfield, IL
• Katey restarted her podcast and began a new class session
• Robert worked on booking over a half dozen gigs for 2018
• Aaron worked on an insanely large project at work
• Robert fasted for 48 hours got a weighted vest to run in for his birthday (Happy Birthday, Robert!)
• Albert did another show with Take 10
• AND Talon played more Destiny 2.

Saturday, September 16th – Petersburg Harvest Fest

Fall and especially fall festivals have a special place in my heart! When we were asked to perform at annual Petersburg Harvest Fest, the answer was absolutely “yes”. We knew it was going to be an amazing night when we pulled our trailer up to the stage and directly in front of the tent was a wrestling ring surrounded by people yelling and cheering on their chosen performer. We have never had such an enjoyable load-in. Watching and listening to pro-wrestling while we set up put everyone in the perfect mood to put on a spectacular show for the crowd in Petersburg. The incredible pro wrestling event put on by Proving Ground Pro was followed by Petersburg favorite Brandon Boston performing live. We loved being a part of this event! The crowd was so energetic the entire time! A huge thank you to the Petersburg firemen for making sure no one went thirsty by serving beer and local wine from the West of Wise Winery.

Sunday, September 17th – Michael Dorris and Chelsea Nemer Wedding

Even though Friday and Sunday weddings are becoming more common, there was nothing ordinary about this Sunday wedding at the Oak Terrace Resort in Pana, IL. The wedding itself was a beautiful lake-side ceremony where the bride stunned the guests with her dazzling fairy-tale dress and the groom made everyone tear-up by promising to continue working on his sign language for his new bride. Multiple sign language interpreters were along for the entire wedding day to provide services for several of the wedding guests, members of bridal party, and bride. The ceremony was followed by a reception in the banquet hall at the Oak Terrace Resort. There guests were treated to a Mexican themed buffet and the kids tables were decked out games and activities. Every detail had been taken into consideration and the room looked beautiful. One of my favorite parts of the night was when the bride entered the room for her dances and her dress was lit up!!! There were lights built into the skirt of her dress! Every aspect of the wedding and reception highlighted the couple’s unique personalities and was perfectly suited to them! At the end of the night, Chelsea approached the band with gifts for each of us. She had personalized Yeti tumbler’s with each of our names and her wedding date! It was such a generous and thoughtful gift and the perfect way to end our night!