Sweet Lucy has been a band over 30 years in the making, bringing some old grey heads and some fresh young excitement to the sometimes moribund Rockford music scene. Rising from remnants of prior bands and bringing in new talent as well, Lucy is a high energy mix of old and new artists and music.

Kim McCloskey, Bass and Vocals, has been a musician for well over 30 years and currently moonlights as one of the most formidable attorneys in Rockford. Beginning in the '80s with Smuggler and following a relatively brief (on the cosmic scale) hiatus of 20 some odd years, continuing with both Blue Cheese and the more aggressive RAMI winners Slate, Kim has been an increasingly potent force in Rockford Music.

Ruth McCloskey, Multi-instrumentalist and Backing Vocals, accompanied Kim in Slate during that band's all too brief existence. Ruth also currently contributes blues harp to Lucy's sound, although she also will add flute, keys, and possibly guitar in the future.

Tim Schulz, Guitars and Vocals, came to DeKalb as a grad student in the early ‘80s, drank his way out of NIU, and when he sobered up, realized that the guitar was his best friend. He’d spent the late '70s playing folk music in college in central Illinois, and now picked up his ’69 SG Special and played with multiple bands in every bar in DeKalb, sometimes even more than once. Since1994 Tim has flustered people mainly in Rockford, spending 1999-2009 with Prime Time Live and playing lead guitar with other classic rock and fusion outfits north and east of DeKalb.

Pat O'Brien , Percussion, emerged from a sojourn in the deserts of Las Vegas where he played in any project good enough to deserve him. Back in Rockford, he's done studio work with songwriter/local legend Michael Banks. And before Vegas, he played with Bare Bones, Teenage Tarzan, and a number of other head turning Rockford locals. He's a rock steady pro and deserves a much better biography than we can supply here.

Melissa Ridgeway, Lead Vocals... What can be said about sweet Mel? The youngster in the band, the big lead voice and stage presence, she was actually honest to God named after the Allman Brothers tune. Melissa is a brave soul who does extraordinary and important things outside of music, but does many
extraordinary things with Lucy as well. Lead and backing vocals and fronting the band, she's powerful or subtle, loud or whisper quiet as the music demands. Coming out of the karaoke scene she's new to performing with live bands but has adapted... well... extraordinarily. She must be seen live.
 
As must Sweet Lucy. We're young and old, new to one another and full of power and surprises. Like the fortified wine that we're named for, we have a kick that may leave you with a grin and a headache, but the grin will be well worth it.

Sweet Lucy is playing the Penny Road Pub in Barrington on May 14th.

http://www.youtube.com/sweetlucyvids

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