Tim Placher's YuleTube Christmas Songbook: Watch It Saturday
JOLIET, IL — In February, Joliet musician Tim Placher drew more than 30 Joliet area musicians and a crowd of 1,000 people to the Rialto Square Theatre to watch the "Tim Placher's Rock 'n' Roll." Since March, the Rialto has been off-limits to live audiences because of the pandemic, but that is not stopping Placher from pulling off a different type of concert as 2020 comes to a close.
At 7 p.m. this Saturday, people in the Joliet area and beyond can tune into YouTube at this link for the Tim Placher's YuleTube Christmas Songbook. Placher works as the choir director at Drauden Point Middle School in the Plainfield School District. He has been referred to in past Joliet Patch articles as Joliet's Renaissance man. At one time, he was a professional journalist and later became a municipal lawyer for the city of Joliet.
Saturday's 7 p.m. YouTube show features new versions of Christmas songs recorded specifically for this project with Placher as host. The show will last just under two hours.
There is no cost to watch the YouTube concert. However, there will be online links featured throughout the show in the live chat so people can have the opportunity to make a financial donation to several Joliet organizations serving the homeless, including Daybreak Center and Morningstar Mission.
(Article continues below this John Ferak photo.)
"All these talented people who work so hard at their craft and give so much pleasure to music fans around our area wound up with nearly all their performance opportunities cancelled throughout the rest of 2020," Placher told Joliet Patch. "While the hope for everyone is obviously for a return to some normalcy for performers and venues in 2021, I decided to try to create a sort of 'gig' now. If people can't congregate together in one place to see music, I figured I could assemble the music remotely and bring it to the local music fans instead."
After his February show at the Rialto was deemed a rousing success, Placher said that talks got underway with the Rialto Foundation about partnering for a music show this holiday season.
"With the arrival of COVID, that potential show fell by the wayside, as did virtually all of the gigs and shows for our local musician community," Placher said. "I reached out to a bunch of my local music friends, musicians who frequently play in Joliet, and some area friends who've advanced to success in other music communities, and asked them to each submit a video to me that I compiled into a virtual show. With the help of some generous patrons, we were able to pay the musicians for their participation, a gesture of appreciation for what they do-- especially in this tough year for performers."
This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch
