I admit that sometimes all it takes to get me to listen to a new song by an artist that I have never heard before is a personal connection to the song title. In the case of today’s exclusive first listen, it’s because the song is called, “Illinois.” To know me is to know that I call “The Land of Lincoln” home and no, it does not mean I am from Chicago. I am from Illinois — a proud downstater, who will eventually inherit a portion of my homesteading family’s centennial farm, and a graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield.

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