A draft for review. We aren’t incorporated yet and aren’t taking donations.

Peoria Sound Archive

The music of Peoria and the people who make it

We record it as it really sounds, preserve it for the public, and share it freely.

Get word when applications open How sessions work

A bare tree leans over the moonlit Illinois River, the city low and dark beyond.
The Illinois River at Peoria, by moonlight, 1908. Library of Congress.

How a session becomes part of the collection

  1. 01

    Apply

    Free for musicians who live in Peoria, Tazewell or Woodford county. A community panel picks the sessions.

  2. 02

    Record

    Live, in our studio at the Mill. You approve the result and keep your songs, masters and stems.

  3. 03

    Tell the story

    An interview, photographs and notes.

  4. 04

    Keep it public

    Anyone can hear it, free.

Peoria’s musicians, through the decades

  1. 1898

    About sixteen students, two of them women, with mandolins, guitars and a violin.
    Mandolin Club, Eureka College. Eureka College Souvenir.

  2. 1905

    Young men in suits with mandolins and guitars.
    Mandolin Club, Bradley Polytechnic. The Polyscope.

  3. 1910

    A student band on stone steps, a bass drum lettered BRADLEY in front.
    Horological Band, Bradley Polytechnic. The Polyscope.

  4. 1922

    Seven men in tuxedos on stage with horns, saxophones, a banjo, a violin and drums.
    Hoffman and His “Record Style” Orchestra. The Polyscope.

  5. 1933

    A full orchestra on a curving stage, many women among the strings.
    Peoria Symphony Orchestra. From its 1959 history.

  6. 1947

    A uniformed band of men and women, sousaphones raised, a drum lettered BRADLEY PEORIA.
    Bradley University Band. The Polyscope.

  7. 1956

    Young men crowd around a piano with a bass, a clarinet and a saxophone.
    Bradley’s music fraternity: “From rock and roll to Tchaikovsky, they can keep the beat.” Anaga yearbook.

  8. 1964

    A guitarist sings at a microphone in a dim, crowded room.
    Folk singing at Bradley. Anaga yearbook.

  9. 1973

    A high school stage band in rows, young women on saxophone and bass.
    Stage Band, Morton High School. The Cauldron yearbook.

  10. 1981

    About thirty-five choir members in matching sweaters, standing in rows.
    Gospel Choir, Bradley University. Anaga yearbook.

  11. 2015

    Under a festival tent, a young guitarist plays beside a bearded bass player.
    The Bret Bunton Project, Illinois Blues Festival. Photo: Roberta, CC BY 2.0; toned.

Where things stand

  1. NowOrganizing and preparing the studio.
  2. [Month] 2027Applications open.
  3. Spring 2027First sessions at the Mill.
  4. [Late 2027]The first compilation.

Get word when applications open

An occasional email. Never shared.

[Email sign-up form, hosted by the email service]