The Sweet Potatoes in concert

This isn’t going to be your typical musical concert at a small town church.

It is rare that a small town church hosts entertainers whose work has been seen nationwide.  However, that is exactly what is happening at the Avon Federated Church (206 S. Main Street, Avon, Illinois) on Sunday, July 14th at 7:00 p.m. The Sweet Potatoes, a trio out of Southern California, will be in Avon to present a concert of country and folk music and a little bit of homespun Americana.   The group is only several years old.  Thus, you might not have heard of them—yet.  However, you have probably encountered the band members’ individual work on other collaborations and projects.

Laura Hall is probably best known as the improvisational pianist on television’s Whose Line is it Anyway (performing with comedians such as Drew Carey, Wayne Brady, Ryan Stiles, and Colin Mochrie,)  Laura has toured the country doing live performances with Drew Carey and the Improv Allstars.   She came up in the acoustic music scene in Chicago, teaching at The Old Town School and playing in bands with local favorites Michael Smith, Buddy Mondlock and Tim Grimm.   She also performed at Second City.  Laura is a singer and songwriter.  As a member of the Sweet Potatoes, Laura sings vocals on most songs and plays guitar, ukulele, accordion and piano.

Kelly Macleod was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and has spent the last 20 years in L.A.   After moving to the west coast, she recorded two albums with Warner Brothers, which were produced by Eddie Van Halen. She was the lead singer for the band Private Life, which opened for Van Halen’s OU812 Tour, as well as the Eddie Money Tour.  Kelly’s songs have been featured in the films Wayne’s World and Gremlins 2.  Kelly is a singer and songwriter.  As a member of the Sweet Potatoes, Kelly provides vocals on most songs and plays the guitar.

Rick Hall has been seen as an actor on countless television shows, films and commercials. He loves to write and tell stories about growing up on a farm in Central Illinois. Rick turned one of his stories into a short film, Slice of Pie, which he shot in his hometown. He cast Kelly in her debut acting role, and Laura created the score. Out of that collaborative process, The Sweet Potatoes was born.  Rick is the husband of band member Laura Hall.   Rick plays bass and harmonica and provides vocals for the Sweet Potatoes.