We’re back in Lincoln on December 12. Join us at Copper & Oak for a Saturday night of piano, guitar, and two voices.
Bell & Field at Ram’s Riverhouse
We’re bringing piano, guitar, and two voices to Ram’s Riverhouse in Port Byron on Friday, December 4, 2026, from 7–10 PM. If you’ve been wanting a night out with live music you can actually listen to, this one’s for you.
We’ll move between intimate, quieter moments and fuller, rhythmic songs, trading leads and harmonies and letting the two instruments carry the mood. Come early, settle in, and stay as long as it feels good to sit with the music.
Ram’s Riverhouse is right on Main Street in Port Byron, IL, an easy spot to drop in for an evening of live music.
Hundreds of Feet of Cable and a Post-Wedding Beer
Our first wedding as Bell & Field began, appropriately enough, with hundreds of feet of extension cable.
We have played together for years, but weddings come with their own particular set of rules. The details matter. The timing matters. And when the ceremony area is a considerable distance from the reception tent, the extension-cord department suddenly matters very much indeed.
Fortunately, we had arrived prepared to become a small electrical utility with guitars.
Two Systems, One Very Long Power Run
We set up two separate sound systems: Greg’s older Bose tower inside the reception area and Tom’s tower outside for the ceremony. We also supplied a microphone for the officiant and handled the recorded ceremony music, which meant this was never going to be one of those stroll-in, plug-in and start-playing afternoons.
The ceremony and reception spaces were far enough apart that our collection of cables finally got the chance to justify the amount of room it occupies. Somewhere in every musician’s gear pile is an item that seems excessive right up until the exact day it becomes essential. On this occasion, it was several hundred feet of extension cord.
Summer was operating at full strength during setup. Caterers, DJs, florists, photographers and musicians were all working in the heat, and the reception tent was especially warm before the fans came on and some of the panels were opened. Once that happened, conditions improved considerably. Until then, we were sweating through the glamorous portion of live music: carrying equipment for setup.
The ceremony went well. Music was queued on time for the entrances and exit, and the microphone was in place for the officiant. Afterward, we moved into live music for the cocktail hour. The playing felt comfortable and solid.
Tower Envy Arrives at the Wedding
The day also produced a small development in our ongoing equipment saga. We have been using our two systems together a bit more often, but Greg was surprised by how evenly Tom’s tower handled the sound outside. It performed extremely well and, unlike Greg’s older Bose tower, it has Bluetooth.
This is how gear upgrades begin. Not with a grand plan or a careful household budget, but with one musician looking across a ceremony area at the other musician’s newer tower and realizing technology has continued moving forward without him.
Greg’s Bose still did its job inside the tent. Nevertheless, the seed had been planted. Hundreds of feet of cable had carried power across the grounds, and one tiny Bluetooth feature had carried Greg directly into thoughts of an upgrade.
The wedding itself was a festive occasion, and Tom found the ceremony inspiring. He also had the chance to catch up with friends he had not seen in some time. For our part, the unusual combination of recorded ceremony cues, two sound systems and live cocktail music made the afternoon different from our usual jobs—and reinforced just how much communication and preparation weddings require.
Dinner, a Beer and an Extremely Specific Memory
After we packed up and the DJs took over, we called an audible. We were close to Geneseo, so we stopped at RaeLynn’s for dinner and a beer. Tom and Greg do not often have a beer together, but after the long setup and the summer heat, this one was especially refreshing.
Post-show meals are where the second half of the gig happens. The equipment is finally out of our hands, there is food on the table, and we can run through ideas without also checking a cable path or wondering whether a reception-tent fan is about to come on.
This particular stop also supplied one of those reminders that a musician’s past is never entirely past. A member of the waitstaff recognized Greg from a dueling-piano show roughly five or six years earlier. This was from the pre-beard era, when his hair was probably longer, which made the recognition impressive enough.
Then came the truly durable detail: she remembered that the final song from that old show had been WAP.
Of all the songs and all the performances that might follow a person through the years, sometimes history selects one on your behalf. Greg hates admitting that particular closing number, but apparently the archival record remains alive and well in Geneseo.
By the end of dinner, we had landed on the same takeaway from our first Bell & Field wedding: we would like to play more of them. The day demanded extra planning, extra equipment and enough cable to reach the next county, but it also gave us a new kind of job to build toward.
If you are planning a wedding or another gathering and think an acoustic duo might fit, you can take a look at booking Bell & Field. We’ll bring the music—and, if necessary, a truly unreasonable quantity of extension cord.
Shadow Lake Wedding – September 12, 2026
If you’re spending a late-summer Saturday catching up with friends and family, this one fits right into that kind of day. It’s the sort of afternoon where people are still finishing coffee, getting dressed, helping set out centerpieces, and suddenly it’s time to walk down an aisle and celebrate love and family.
On Saturday, September 12, we’ll be out at Shadow Lake in Geneseo for a private wedding. It’s a 3pm start for the ceremony followed by cocktail hour, which usually means we’re in that in-between light: too early for sunset, but late enough that people are settling in and ready to stop running around for a moment.
This is our first time playing at Shadow Lake, but we’ve heard about it from other musicians and a couple of photographers who’ve worked there. The big things they all mentioned were how beautiful it is. From a practical standpoint, that usually means we’re paying attention to wind on the mics and where the sun is hitting the keys and guitar.
Show Details
- When: Saturday, September 12, 2026 – 3:00pm
- Where: Private wedding at Shadow Lake, Geneseo, IL
- Who: Bell & Field (piano & guitar duo)
- What to expect: Live music for the ceremony and reception, including the couple’s chosen processional and first-dance songs, softer instrumentals while guests arrive, and a mix of piano-led ballads and acoustic covers as the afternoon turns into evening.
About Bell & Field
We’re a piano-and-guitar duo that spends a lot of weekends doing exactly this: learning a couple’s key songs, showing up early enough to sort out cables and soundchecks, and then adjusting the set in real time based on who’s actually in the room (or in this case, by the lake). Some moments call for just piano under a quiet conversation, others call for everyone singing the chorus whether they planned to or not.
About the Venue
Shadow Lake used to be a campground, and a group of local couples put in the work to turn it into a wedding spot. It sits just north of Geneseo, with a big lake and a lot of trees around it, and they’ve built out a large tented area for gatherings. From our side of things, that means we’ll likely be setting up with the lake in our sightline, keeping an eye on the weather and making sure the sound carries evenly without getting swallowed up by all that open space.
We’re looking forward to meeting the families, playing the songs that matter to this couple, and doing our small part to keep the day moving smoothly from ceremony to the first round of toasts.
The Hurricane After Hog Days
The musical portion of our first Bell & Field appearance at Kewanee Hog Days involved guitar, piano, sax, two speaker towers and no feedback problems. The post-show portion involved three grown musicians packed into a carnival rocket ship while Tom stared intensely at a tuft of hair on the back of Greg’s head.
One of those situations required considerably more nerve than the other.
A Breeze After the Scorcher
Sunday arrived with nearly ideal weather, especially after the incredible heat the day before. A breeze moved through the Chop Tent, the temperature stayed comfortable, and our little corner had just enough room for the three of us and our gear.
When we arrived, our friend Chris Stevenson was playing. Greg had not seen him in a long time, going back to his days working at Highlands in Bradford, so we sat down and enjoyed Chris’s guitar work before beginning our setup.
We used two speaker towers in a slightly unusual arrangement. One pointed away from the tent toward the larger carnival area, while the other stayed inside. Neither tower sat behind us, which meant we avoided the feedback problems that can turn a pleasant festival afternoon into three musicians quietly negotiating with an angry electronic goose.
Tom’s family joined us, and Greg’s mother made the trip down from Lake Barrington, also joined by Greg’s family and dog, Leo. Nearby, hamburgers and pork chops were being made, supplying both excellent food and a very appropriate soundtrack-adjacent aroma for Hog Days.
With guitar, piano and sax tucked into the corner, we worked our way through the set, including Be-Bop-A-Lula and Sweet Home Chicago. It was Bell & Field’s first time performing at Hog Days, and having Paul there let us approach the afternoon as a trio.
Twelve Tickets, Sold in Multiples of Fifteen
After the show, Greg proposed a carnival ride. Paul was in. Greg was in. Tom was very much not a carnival-ride person, but peer pressure remains a surprisingly effective management tool within this group.
The ride required twelve tickets for the three of us. Greg could only buy fifteen, leaving us with three bonus tickets and no intention of going on anything else. An attempt to give those extras to the group ahead of us did not go especially smoothly: they left the line, then eventually returned at the end. Clearly something had offended them, or they just enjoyed the unnecessary drama.
At least the mathematics had been sound.
The ride was the Hurricane, a rocket-shaped contraption that travels in a circle while also moving up and down. As we took our seats, we were all smiles, waves and thumbs-up for Tom’s family watching from the side. This was the cheerful part, before the tremendous G-force began rearranging everyone’s priorities and faces.
Greg immediately slid against the side of the rocket and received a rapid reminder that it had been a long time since his last ride of this sort. He felt a little sick but made it through fine. Paul, a Navy veteran, handled the whole thing without trouble.
Tom had remembered the standard nausea-avoidance strategy: choose one fixed object and stare at it. The available fixed object was the back of Greg’s head. More specifically, one tuft of hair on the back of Greg’s head.
So while the Hurricane spun, climbed and dropped, Tom ignored the carnival, the horizon and every other visual option. Greg’s hair became his entire navigational system. The strategy mostly worked, which is about the highest rating any carnival-ride strategy should reasonably receive.
The Emergency Corndog Protocol
Once we were back on solid ground, Tom required a Snazzy’s lemon shake-up and a corndog to get going again. This appears to be the proper recovery meal after using another musician’s haircut as a meditative focal point.
The photos from the ride captured the moment in all its dignity. We had gone to Hog Days to play music with Paul, spend time with family and friends, eat pork chops and make our first appearance at the festival. We left with all of that, plus a useful lesson: when Greg suggests a ride after a show, Tom should either resist peer pressure or make sure Greg has a dependable hairstyle.
If you’re considering some live music for your own gathering—carnival ride strictly optional—you can take a look at booking Bell & Field here.
Canopies, Cold Compresses and a 101-Degree Heat Index
My arms were the first warning.
We were at a private (but public) gathering we’ve played for three years, tucked beneath a large canopy with another canopy added for good measure. On paper, that sounded like plenty of shade. The weather had other paperwork: 92 degrees, with a heat index of 101.
I hadn’t fully registered how hot I was until my arms started feeling weak. Playing piano became harder, my stomach joined the protest, and eventually I had to step away. There is nothing quite like being physically outmaneuvered by a keyboard while two canopies look on, having already done everything canopies know how to do.
I retreated to the car for air conditioning and water. That wasn’t enough, so the next round involved Gatorade over plenty of ice and cold compresses on my neck and forehead. I ended up away from the music for roughly half an hour, cooling down and reconsidering several of my previous assumptions about my ability to function outdoors.
Tom and Paul, Apparently Heatproof
Tom and Paul kept playing while I recovered. They used the unexpected duo time to try songs we don’t normally play as a trio, including Can’t Help Falling in Love, All I Have to Do Is Dream and Elvis Presley Blues. The songs went over well, giving the afternoon a musical detour rather than simply leaving a piano-shaped hole in the set.
The contrast was not especially flattering to me. Tom had run four miles that morning. Paul had played a four-hour show in 96-degree weather the previous night and was heading to another performance that evening. Paul is also 78 years old and in excellent health.
I, meanwhile, had been sent to the couch by a heat index and rescued with iced Gatorade.
Tom and Paul are accustomed to working in that kind of weather, but their stamina still gave me plenty to think about regarding my own health. Paul, in particular, was operating on a schedule that would have been ambitious without the temperatures. With the temperatures, it bordered on an entirely different species of musicianship.
Soon enough, I was able to return, and the three of us finished strong. It certainly wasn’t my best show, but Tom and Paul made something useful and memorable out of the disruption. After three years at this gathering, the day also reinforced how much we value the time we get to spend making music with friends—even when the atmosphere is trying to steam the piano player.
Elvis Enters the Weather Report
Once we stopped playing, a parade began. I returned to the car for more air conditioning and water, then immediately fell asleep for about half an hour. When I woke up, the parade was still passing.
There was a marching band, with drummers carrying their instruments down the street. Then came an Elvis impersonator in full costume, singing in the same heat that had already removed me from active duty once.
This arrived shortly after Tom and Paul had played Elvis Presley Blues, so Elvis had now appeared twice: first as a song, then physically in the parade. He, too, seemed better equipped for the temperature than I was.
The heat was no joke, though. While packing up, I learned that another person at the gathering had been affected much more severely. Paramedics were called, and the person recovered enough to be helped into the air conditioning before they arrived. It was a frightening end to an afternoon that had already given us more than one warning about the conditions.
By the following day, our forecast for another three-hour outdoor show had dropped to 79 degrees with clouds. Never has 79 sounded so much like luxury.
The scorcher will remain a fond memory: two canopies, three musicians, one involuntary intermission, several cold compresses and a surprise appearance by Elvis. Next time, I’ll be arriving with considerably more respect for the weather—and probably considerably more Gatorade.
If you’re considering live acoustic music for your own gathering, you can get in touch with Bell & Field here. Shade is always welcome.
Rain, Three America Songs and a Bag of Coffee Grounds
The rain arrived about 45 minutes before our 1 pm start at Edison’s Gastropub, which is excellent timing if you are a cloud and less useful if you are carrying instruments.
Fortunately, the spacious canopy was already in place. Edison’s open doors and wide flip-up bar window also gave this outdoor show an indoor route, with the live mix carried into the building. The weather kept switching between rain and less rain, but the tent did its job and we started on schedule.
Our voices took a little time to warm up. That happens sometimes, especially during an afternoon set when the vocal cords apparently expect a written invitation. Once they were fully clocked in, we brought back Bittersweet, a song that had been away from the set for a while.
Three Stops Across America
The middle of the show included an unusual three-song America run: Lonely People, A Horse With No Name and Ventura Highway. Most trips across America require fuel, snacks and several arguments with a navigation app. Ours required a guitar, piano and a careful count-in.
We also debuted the Statler Brothers song Flowers on the Wall. Add Margaritaville, which has been turning up more often in our summertime sets, and the afternoon covered a fair amount of musical geography without either of us leaving the canopy.
The intermittent rain continued through much of the set. By the final notes of Tiny Dancer, the weather had supplied nearly every variation available between damp and slightly less damp.
Karaage!
The day also had a strong food subplot. Before the show, karaage from Edison’s new menu handled the pre-performance meal. Greg ate plenty of Lawson’s karaage-kun during his 10 years in Japan, and was happy to see a similar item on the menu here.
Back at Edison’s, the post-show stretch included a quick conversation with manager Jewel and owner Paul about dates for next year. That brought the afternoon neatly back to where it began: under a well-planned canopy at a venue built to keep the music going when August weather ignores the forecast.
We finished packing up the last or our items, and Tom set off for his immediate next gig. That’s true endurance!
If you are planning an event and could use a piano-and-guitar duo with songs, stories and weather-tested equipment, take a look at our booking page. We would be glad to hear what you have in mind.
Back in David Guzzardo’s Yard – September 5, 2026
Kewanee has quietly become part of our late-summer routine, mostly because of one backyard on West Central where David Guzzardo keeps inviting us back. This will be our third time setting up in his yard before the parade rolls through, and at this point it feels less like a “gig” and more like dropping back into a tradition he’s built with his friends.
We’re playing midday again, two hours before the parade starts. It’s that window where people are drifting in with lawn chairs, someone’s checking the time for the parade lineup, and the excitement is brewing all through the neighborhood. By the time the sirens and marching bands kick in, we’re usually packing up cables and finishing the last bit of coffee or whatever’s in our cups by then.
One thing that always stands out about David’s place is how thought-through he is as a host. The first few years he surprised us with a bottles of wine. This year he mentioned he’s got a shade canopy ready for us, which tells you he understands what it’s like to play two hours in the September sun. Hopefully the weather will be great that day!
Musically, these yard shows always tend to be a blast. A bunch of friends together enjoying each others company, good weather and the parade. It never feels like we need to “put on a big show”; it’s more about keeping the afternoon moving and giving everyone a soundtrack while they get ready for the rest of the day.
The Basics
- When: Saturday, September 5, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
- Where: Private event at David Guzzardo’s place in Kewanee, IL
- Who: Bell & Field (piano, guitar, and two voices)
- What to expect: A two-hour backyard set before the parade, with a mix of familiar covers and Bell & Field originals, shaded under David’s new canopy and folded into his annual gathering of friends.
About Bell & Field
We’re a piano-and-guitar duo that builds each set around the room we’re in, or in this case, the yard we’re in. For David’s party, that usually means keeping things tuneful and easy to follow: some classic songs people know the words to, some newer ones people recognize from the radio, and a handful of our own that fit that same lane. If the group leans in and starts calling out requests, we’ll chase those down too, as long as they’re somewhere in our mental songbook.
The Room & The Neighborhood
David’s yard sits right along the path of the Kewanee parade, which gives the afternoon a built-in timeline. When we start, the street is usually already filled up with people finding spots along the curb. The yard itself has become familiar to us: same patch of grass for the speakers, usually the same group of friends who remember at least one song from last year, and now a new shade canopy that should make the midday stretch a little easier on everyone.
It’s always good to be invited back to the same yard. We’ll do our part to make these two hours before the parade feel easy, tuneful, and worth showing up a little early for.
First Songs, Hot Sax and a McDonalds Coda at Tuggers
Payton Schott had rehearsed with us a couple of times before Tuggers, but rehearsal and a live audience are different neighborhoods. On August 22, she stepped into both of her songs for the first time in front of a live audience, with Tom beside her for California and Greg joining her for the Sara Bareilles version of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
California was still new for Tom and Payton, so they were feeling their way through the timing. That is one of the honest parts of working up a song in public: sometimes everybody knows where the road goes while still checking the map. It was a great start.
Two Firsts and a Few Nerves
Then Greg and Payton performed Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. A few nerves showed through, but the performance was sublime. Payton did great on both songs, and she is looking forward to learning more material with us and making more appearances.
It happened on an unusually light day at Tuggers, which was a shame because we had brought along some serious musical company. Tom had family there, a few friends came up from the Quad Cities, and some guests who often see the larger band Tom plays with at the casino stopped in to hear the duo.
Some of those friends got up for a couple of songs to dance. Paul Weddle also had Dottie there, and she danced too. The number of people in the room may have been lighter than usual, but the number of people willing to leave their chairs held up nicely.
Paul Weddle Hits the Gas Pedal
This show was also the first time Paul had joined us at Tuggers, and he brought plenty of energy with him. Greg described him as being on fire on saxophone, which made Take the Long Way Home, one of our favorites to play with him, a centerpiece of the evening.
It had been a while since we had seen Paul and Dottie, but this was not going to be a long reunion followed by another long gap. We already had two more shows with Paul coming the following week at Hog Days in Kewanee. Tuggers became the first stop in a very saxophone-friendly stretch of the calendar.
The River, the Lights and the Golden Arches
The weather cooperated for an evening beside the Mississippi, and the shade screen kept our performance space comfortable. Once again, the lights worked especially well there. Some spaces simply suit a small light show better than others, and Tuggers gives those lights the river as a backdrop.
After the songs, the saxophone and the load-out, the night ended with Tom, Malissa and Greg grabbing a quick bite at McDonalds. It was not the most scenic part of the evening, but every working musician knows that the final destination is sometimes determined less by the Mississippi River and more by what is still serving food.
If you are considering live acoustic music for your own gathering, you can take a look at booking Bell and Field. We would be glad to hear what you have in mind.
A Horse with No Name Finally Finds the Right Two Chords
Before we left for this private party, we ran through A Horse with No Name one more time.
Not because it is especially complicated. Quite the opposite: it has two chords. But we had attempted it once before by request and somehow managed to play different chords from each other. Two musicians who have worked together for years, defeated by a song with roughly the harmonic complexity of a doorbell.
So we did our homework. We worked out the harmonies, the solo, the bass line, the guitar and piano parts, then gave it one last check before heading out. This time it became a little two-chord redemption story—and a reminder that even the simple songs deserve more than a hack version.
A Trailer, Some Dogs and New Technology
We set up outdoors on a trailer, with several dogs nearby enjoying the nice weather. The booking gave us four hours to stretch out, with two short breaks and background music keeping things moving while we stepped away.
It was also our first show using the new interactive request technology Greg has been building into the website. Plenty of requests came through, which meant Greg got a real-world look at where the system needed adjustments. Nothing tests new technology quite like taking it out to a party and asking it to behave while you are also playing guitar, piano and everything else within reach.
The requests took us into songs we rarely play—and some we had never played at all. Pancho & Lefty was a particular treat. Then came Rhinestone Cowboy, a song we had never received as a request before. We both love Glen Campbell, and Greg was more than ready to play it.
The Lights Had Their Own Set List
Once the sun was out of the way, the lighting setup got to do its part. Greg does not simply run one sound-synced program and hope for the best. He has different scenes arranged for different kinds of music, so he rotated the lights throughout the night.
We also got to catch up with friends we had not seen in a while. By load-out, Tom may have had more energy than when we started—which is a useful trait when the instruments, stands, cables and lights all have to find their way back into the vehicle.
The Glamorous Road Diet
Of course, no short Bell & Field road trip is complete without carefully planned culinary support. Greg stopped at McDonald’s on the way there. The party was far enough into the country that Taco Bell was not waiting conveniently on the route home, but after dropping Tom off, Greg corrected that problem with his usual bean burrito and steak quesadilla.
And there it was: outdoor trailer stage, dogs, shifting light scenes, unusual requests, one successfully redeemed two-chord song and fast food on both ends of the trip. The working-musician life, at least the version where nobody is handing you a catered dinner.
If that sounds like the right kind of music for your own gathering, you can take a look at booking Bell & Field. We’ll bring the songs—and we promise to agree on the chords.
Audience Gallery
Audience photos from the show.
