Elsinore has been busy as of late, performing a few times around town, and today they released a new song, "In & Out", as well as a video to go along with it. Clearly this is a politically charged song — check out the video and the album art for the single below that. I'd imagine there will be more news about their upcoming album in the coming weeks, so for now, here's their new song:

Interested in watching former President Barack Obama's speaking appearance on campus at Foellinger Auditorium today? Head here — the stream is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST.

Stay tuned for more from us on this front.

Krannert Center officially kicks off it's 50th anniversary season Friday night with food, activities, and lots of music. It's an event you need to attend. Here's a brief look at the artists you can expect to hear from:

Ranky Tanky

South Carolina-based Ranky Tanky—whose name is loosely translated as "get funky"—performs timeless music of Gullah culture born in the southeastern Sea Island region of the United States. Combining influences from West Africa and American jazz into arrangements all its own, Ranky Tanky "is a joyous listen" (Elmore Magazine)

Baracutanga

Baracutanga, with members representing four countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, US), prides itself on arranging traditional South American rhythms in new ways. This blending of ancestral traditions with a modern sensibility results in an exciting Latin flavor all its own that leaves dancers always wanting more.

AJ Ghent

Steel guitarist AJ Ghent returns by popular demand after setting the stage ablaze at ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival 2015. Ghent, who calls James Brown and Prince big influences and whose family helped to create the “sacred steel” tradition, plays his steel stand-up style, constructing a musical sound that can be heard howling from the church to the streets to the clubs. Fusing blues, funk, rock, and pop, Ghent creates an unforgettable experience for audiences, an energized and soulful musical paradise!

The evening will also feature performances by local performers New Orleans Jazz Machine and clarinet/sax player Carl Johnson. Mucca Pazza, a group from Chicago described as "combining marching band traditions and street theater experience with rock 'n' roll sensibilities" will be doing pop up performances throughout the evening.

While the weather forecast might make things interesting, the event will go on rain or shine, and it's free to attend; though plan to bring some cash for food and drink. You can begin imbibing at 6 p.m., and here's the schedule of performances:

Ranky Tanky, 6:30 p.m. — Lobby, Stage 6
Baracutanga, 7:45 p.m. — Lobby, Stage 5
AJ Ghent, 9 p.m. — Lobby, Stage 6
New Orleans Jazz Machine, 6:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. — Amphitheatre (rain location: Studio Theatre)
Mucca Pazza — wait and see

Photo of Baracutanga from their Facebook page

I posted about Ja'Naea Modest a little while back — she's the one who was caught on camera by WCIA at a job fair during her lunch break from her other job. Now she's landed herself a spot on Steve Harvey's show, which you can watch below:

Last year, the Champaign Park District and Human Kinetics announced they were partnering to build a community center on the north side at Human Kinetics park. The park district website has some renderings of what the center will look like:

Sometimes Chicago's Best, a show which seeks out and highlights favorite Chicago-area eating establishments, goes on the road to find places beyond the Chicagoland area. A couple of weeks ago, they were here in C-U after a viewer raved about our own Papa Del's. Here's the clip that aired last week — it's kind of a cool thing to see the pizza making in action, and they are making my favorite, sicilian pan with sausage and mushroom. 

Drake's new album Scorpion came out a few weeks ago, and honestly, I'm kind of surprised that I'm able to reference Drake in a post here on SP. That feels good in and of itself. 

Anyway, I saw this video posted in Spotted in Chambana, and it put a smile on my face, so perhaps it'll bring one to yours, too. If you're unfamiliar with the song, or the "In My Feelings" Challenge, read up on it here.

Enjoy your Friday.

The Champaign Urbana Theatre Company is putting on its final show of the summer season, the iconic Annie, this weekend at the Virginia Theatre. Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. or Sunday at 2 p.m. and tickets are available here. 

The best part? There's a REAL dog playing Sandy. I'm sure there are lots of wonderfully talented actors too, but look at this super good doggo that's going to be in the show:

Millage, a Centennial grad and environmental sustainability specialist for the City of Champaign, helped the USA Women's National Sitting Volleyball Team make it to the gold medal match against Russia at the championships in the Netherlands. Unfortunately they came up short, but still a pretty amazing accomplishment. They also qualified for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

This was her 4th appearance at the world championships, and she's also competed in the past three paralympics. 

If you've never watched sitting volleyball, check out this video of their match from their FB page. These are amazing athletes.

Former Uni High and U of I grad Sindha Agha is on a tear. Her work as a videographer, writer, and generally amazing artist has been featured in New York Times, and she's been making waves.

Her latest video is her first episode of her Body Language series for BBC Three discussed painful sex. You can watch the beautiful video below, and see what she had to say about it below from her Facebook post:

The first episode of Body Language, my series for BBC Three, is out!

Up to 18% of women worldwide suffer from dyspareunia (painful sex). As women, we’ve been led to believe that many of our experiences are indescribable, incommunicable; that even when we can figure out how to talk about what happens inside our bodies and our minds, that we’d better not — that others don’t want to hear it because it’s too gross, too sad, too strange. On a personal level, this aspect of our culture has cost me tremendously. These films are my attempt to create a visual language that can externalize our innermost experiences — to dismantle taboo and let other women know they are understood. /// thank you to Rhonda Hierons for sharing your story so honestly, Navi Lamba for commissioning the series at BBC Three, and PRETTYBIRD's Juliette Larthe & Paulette Caletti for producing this with such heart.

Top photo is a screenshot from the video.

Trouble Chasin' is the duo of rappers Truth AKA Trouble and Chase Baby, who have been at it in the scene for a few years now. They've released a new video for "No Favors", which is one of the lead tracks on their self-titled record from last year. Watch them take a stroll below:

And the orange and blue lighting is for real an Illini tribute. Illinois alum Mark Thomas is retiring from his position as the Western New York regional director of New York State Parks, and was involved in the installation of the LED lights that light up the falls each night. 

From the U of I Facebook page:

Among his many accomplishments, Mark led a $70 million improvement project at Niagara Falls—which included installing the new LED lights that adorned the falls in Illini colors this week. Congratulations to Mark on a wonderful career!