Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Saturday December 13, 2025 - Springfield, IL

Road Blog
December 13, 2025
Springfield. Illinois

I left the motel south of Chicago at 10:30am on Saturday morning, just as it started snowing. There were reports of a massive blizzard and polar vortex coming through central Illinois basically across my whole route to Springfield. Just as I was about to pull out of the parking lot I got an email from the bar in Springfield, and my heart sunk when I saw the notification, thinking they were cancelling. Well, they were gonna be open, but the weather was horrible, was I still coming? “Yep – leaving Chicago now. I’ll be there.” I almost never cancel a show, and it takes more than inclement weather for that to happen.

It was smooth sailing for about 20 minutes, but the further south I got, the worse the snow and ice got. About an hour in and I was at a standstill on the freeway, going nowhere for nearly an hour as a multi-vehicle accident ahead was being cleared. Without going into TMI, I was thanking the heavens that I still had the empty Taco Bell drink cup from Michigan on Friday on the count of the coffee that had worked its way south. Phew! Disaster averted! Finally, traffic started moving and I was on my way again.

As I approached Springfield, Waze took me off the highway and into some seriously remote farm country, down snow-buried and un-plowed roads that were so nasty you couldn’t see the ditches or the lines. I dealt with that terrifying landscape for the last hour of my 6-hour, soulda-been-3, drive. Come to find out there was a massive pileup on the southeast side of the city with a couple fatalities, including a 14-year old kid, and I was fortunate to bypass it. Based on those reports and all the cars and trucks I saw in ditches, a lot of people had a worse day than me.

My first stop was the traditional pre-holiday stock-up at Binny's, with the liquor cabinet back home looking bare. I set a new record and made sure to highlight the massive savings and not the grand total to TrooperGirl22 back home. After Binny’s I checked into my motel, which was nearby, and had about an hour to come down from that stressful drive. I had no time or opportunity for food so I ate one of the two leftover pieces of fried chicken from Honey Butter Fried Chicken in Chicago the night before and headed into the city for the show.

Downtown Springfield was buried in snow and there was barely a car in sight. The plows were out as well as the sidewalk sweepers, but I knew I was going to be in for a slow night, as I questioned my logic when I defiantly said I was braving the weather 7 hours earlier. Buzz Bomb Brewing Company is in the city center, a couple blocks from the mocktail bar I played last spring and the old state-house, where Abraham Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech in 1858. It’s a small brewpub with a bar and a couple high-tops, and a spot for a solo artist near the front door. By now it was a frigid 3F, and I had to shovel a path from the sidewalk to the back of my truck to load in.

The bartenders were friendly and welcoming, but pessimistic about the outlook for the night. I understood, I’ve been to this dance many times. I ordered a brown ale, set up my gear and merch, and tried to catch my breath for a minute, still fried from the drive. Daryl and Erica showed up just before I went on, braving the drive and the weather from a couple hours east for the second night in a row, and I was very grateful to have them there.

I went on at 7pm as planned and played for 2 ½ hours straight. Attendance wasn’t stellar by any means, but it was better than expected, with some people coming and going, staying for a pint or two and a few songs. It could have been way worse, so I wasn’t complaining. The set morphed into me taking requests of deep cuts from my catalog from Daryl and Erica (some of which I haven’t played in a couple years) and eventually wrapping up at 9:30PM. BuzzBomb is closing at the end of the year, and that is a bummer, as it always is when a cool music venue closes. They are good people and it’s a good spot.

Daryl, Erica and I said out goodbyes and took a couple pics, I thanked the staff, loaded out, and headed back to the motel, keeping an eye open for a Taco Bell or a White Castle, but alas, it was not meant to be and I don’t F with McDonalds (except for breakfast…more about that in a minute). Back at the room the shitty little window heater did it’s best to reach a habitable level and I crashed out pretty hard around midnight.

I woke up and checked my phone at 5:59am, my alarm went off a moment later at 6am, and I was out of the room, guitars and luggage loaded, and pulling out of the parking lot at 6:17am, -5F, freezing-frigging-cold. The free breakfast buffet wasn’t up at the motel so I hit McDonalds on my way to the freeway and was ¾ into my Egg McMuffin when I remembered that I was allergic to eggs and what the hell was I thinking? This was going to be an interesting trip home.

The first hour of the drive was rough, with the expressway down to mostly a single plowed lane, but after an hour, just as the sun started to crack to the east, it opened up and I was able to fly for the next few hours. Getting through South Chicagoland was a breeze, except for my wheezing from the eggs and my frozen, non-working wiper fluid, leaving my windshield an opaque, dirty grey, unless I happened upon a semi in the right spot with some slush splash for a few minutes of vision. One stop at Love's for a coffee refill and a tank of gas (and an actual restroom pee) and I was back at it, home in about 6 ½ hours, which is great time under those conditions.

And that’s a wrap… of a number of things. This run was a great way to cap off the busiest year I’ve ever had playing music; nearly 60 shows across over half of the states, not to mention endless hours in the studio mixing the Tucos’ record, and other related activities.

Huge thanks to ALL for the support, especially with the solo-acoustic stuff, as I know most people would prefer the band, as would I, to be honest. But things are shaping up for an exciting 2026, the return of The Tucos, and who even knows what else. Have a great holiday, watch this space for a new Christmas song coming soon, RESIST, and we’ll see ya next year. Xo