Some Saturday nights are for squeezing into a crowded room and shouting over the music. This one at Tiny Acres is the opposite. It’s a work thing, a corporate night out, where people will probably be trying to finish a conversation they started in a meeting three months ago.
This show is a private corporate event out at Tiny Acres Events and Wedding Venue in Monmouth. It’s not open to the public, but it’s still one of those dates that sticks out on our calendar. Partly because it’s on a working farm in the middle of summer, and partly because corporate events have their own rhythm that’s different from a regular show.
From what we’ve seen of Tiny Acres, it’s spread out over quite a bit of farmland, with a renovated 1850s barn, a reception hall that can hold a lot of people, and a cabin on-site. It’s the kind of place where the walk from the parking area to the main building probably tells you more about the night than any schedule does—who’s hanging back to talk, who’s heading straight for the bar, who’s wandering off to look at the fields.
For a night like this, we’ll probably lean into songs that let people ease into the evening—some familiar piano and guitar covers, a few of our own, and enough space in the set list to pivot if the room suddenly decides it wants to sing along instead of just chat.
Show Details
- When: Saturday, August 1, 2026, from 7:30–9:30 PM
- Where: Tiny Acres Events and Wedding Venue, Monmouth, Illinois
- Who: Bell & Field (piano and guitar duo)
- What to expect: A private corporate gathering on a working farm, with live acoustic music that can sit in the background while people catch up, and step forward if the night turns more toward listening and singing along.
- Venue website: tinyacresevents.com
About Bell & Field
We’re a piano-and-guitar duo that moves between covers and originals, and we tend to read the room as we go—if people are talking shop, we keep it lighter and familiar, and if the room settles in, we stretch out a bit more. Corporate nights usually mean building a set that can shift from background to “oh, I know this one” without making anyone feel like they’re suddenly at a concert instead of an event.
About the Venue
Tiny Acres is a full-service event and wedding venue set on a working farm outside Monmouth. They’ve got a large reception hall, a renovated 1850s barn, and an on-site cabin that doubles as a bridal suite. It’s built for weddings, reunions, and company gatherings, so this kind of corporate night fits right into what they do all the time.
So, Saturday night we’ll be out at Tiny Acres, setting up the keys and guitar while folks finish their week and find their tables. Different kind of show, but still a good way to spend a couple of August hours.
The drive over set the tone. The forecast was calling for heavy rain and possible storms, so we were half-joking, half-serious about whether this was going to turn into an “adventure gig.” Somewhere along I-80, we passed a red pickup that Tom thought might be his parents. They took an off-ramp, we kept going, and we didn’t think much of it.
About half an hour in, the skies just opened up. It poured for what felt like an hour. You could see sheets of rain pounding the patio and, in a few spots, water started sneaking into the room. The Cedar Ridge staff hustled with squeegees and towels, pushing water back out the doors and toward the drains while we kept playing.
Tom’s parents made it to the show, along with his mom’s cousin and cousin’s husband from Cedar Rapids. It had been a long time since Tom had seen them, so having them in the crowd added another layer to the day. After the set, we caught up, and that’s when the full “red pickup / side-of-the-road pee / mystery honk” story came out. That spiraled into Greg telling the story about making his wife, Noriko, stop at every floor in a Japanese elevator years ago when she really needed a bathroom. “She did not think it was funny then,” Greg said, “but 20 years later it’s… kind of funny. Maybe.”
Paul and the crew had us dialed in before we even opened a case. They’d set up a big canopy over the patio “stage” area, plus the camera feed that sends our set inside the bar. From a musician’s point of view, that setup is gold — you feel like you’re playing to two rooms at once.
One of our favorite parts of the afternoon was a couple who drifted over to this little corner lounge area just off to our side and a bit behind us. From the stage, that spot almost feels like backstage seating. They were grooving, hanging out, and applauding between songs.
Edison’s was packed on the patio from the first song, and it looked just as busy through the windows inside. A lot of folks stayed with us the whole three hours, which we don’t take for granted. Between sets and song changes we had a steady stream of conversations, requests, and people just coming up to say hi.
We’d been talking about this one for a while. The Kewanee Farmers Market decided to gamble on an evening version of their Wednesday market, and we got to help kick off the season. No fee, just us under a big shade tree, some lights, food trucks, and a whole lot of “let’s see if this actually works.”
Earlier in the week, we’d asked on social media if anyone had song requests. You all delivered. We had people specifically come up and ask, “Did you play ‘Garden Party’ yet?” Ricky Nelson’s “Garden Party” and Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” both landed right where we hoped they would—recognizable from halfway across the street, but still quiet enough that you could hear someone next to you talk about which tomatoes looked best.
One of the best parts of nights like this is who you bump into. We got to talk with friends we’ve known for years and meet new folks who just happened to be walking through the market. Greg met Steve for the first time—a committee member for Hog Days—who had already hired us to play later this year. It was good to finally put a face to the emails and meet his wife as well.
Tuggers has snuck up on us and turned into one of our favorite places to play. Kicking off their Pon-Tunes series on the patio, with the Mississippi right there and that late-May weather in the sweet spot (warm, but not swampy) felt like exactly where a piano-guitar duo should be on a Saturday night.
Some shows feel like gigs, and some feel like you just plugged in the PA at a family reunion. Tom’s parents’ 52nd anniversary at Cerno’s definitely landed in that second category.
We’re playing the Kewanee Farmers Market on Wednesday, June 3 from 6–8 p.m. in downtown Kewanee, right at W 3rd St & N Tremont St.
We were really glad to be going back to Doug’s for another Derby party. We’d played there a few years ago, but this time his “garage” had fully evolved into what can only be called a party house. Epoxied floor, finished drywall, an actual bathroom – if a car ever goes in there, it’s definitely the guest, not the main act.
In the days leading up to the show, we’d actually spent time working up some horse-themed tunes for Derby night – “Run for the Roses” and “Wildfire.” We’ve played “Wildfire” a bunch, but “Run for the Roses” was new for us. The first run-through in practice went better than expected, and I remember thinking, “OK, this might actually work in front of people.”
All in all, Doug’s Derby party once again proved to be a great night. Golden Tempo’s wild Derby win, the dancing during “Old Time Rock and Roll,” catching up with friends like Donnie, and the mix of students, longtime buddies, and neighbors made it feel like we were dropped into a tight-knit little world for the night.
We’ve eaten at Fernando’s Place in Kewanee plenty of times with our families, but playing there for their 11th anniversary was a whole different thing. Fernando has never had live music in the restaurant before, so when he asked us to come in as the first live acoustic duo performance, we both felt a mix of “honored” and “please-don’t-let-us-be-too-loud-for-the-taco crowd.”
We always say it’s not about the number of people in the room, it’s about the connection you make with the ones who are there. This night was a good reminder of that.
