Oct. 12, 2024 6:45p
(WGTD)---A singer-songwriter who put his craft and family ahead of the pursuit of stardom was noted and celebrated at Carthage College Friday night.
An award-winning documentary on the life of Ike Reilly of the rock/blues/folk band “The Ike Reilly Assassination” was screened. The film was followed by a short, live performance by the band.
What’s Carthage’s connection? Two of Reilly’s sons graduated from Carthage while a third remains enrolled. All three perform from time to time with their 60-year-old father’s band.
Speaking on WGTD’s Morning Show this past week, filmmaker Michael Schmiedeler said he first heard Reilly perform in 2018. "I was blown away," he said. "it was like how are these guys not huge? Their music is amazing--the storytelling--the music itself is just so different and unique."
"And then I met Ike," Schmiedeler continued. "And he is the most charismatic people on stage and on camera that you'll ever meet."
Reilly’s early years were spent as a gravedigger and hotel doorman. He finally signed with a record label at age 40, but still lives in his hometown of Libertyville, Illinois, eschewing possible career-building moves to places like Nashville or Los Angeles.
Reilly told WGTD’s Greg Berg he’s always been more serious about making music instead of making it big in music. I'll spend illogical amounts of time on something that wouldn't get me anywhere career-wise but if it was satisfying musically I would chase it around," he said.
The film, "Don’t Turn Your Back on Friday Night”, is available as a pay-per-view on a number of online platforms.
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