EGO PARTY by Penny Peach Have you ever been invited to an Ego Party? Me neither, but I bet they get real loud and standoffish and are filled with folks who are never unsure behind the wheel even when given […]
Outer Space, Iowa by Dean Gorman If we are truly living through the Great Resignation, I’m expecting that the coming months will hold a heavy release of “Future Endeavors” albums and straight-up “I Quit” albums. Early to the party is […]
Adaptasia by Zap Tura With every surge of the pandemic, a soundtrack emerges. Cyclical soundtracks, in fact. First, warm, optimistic fear foists celebrity covers of “Imagine” onto us all. Then, months of winter mark dour observations as people spend time […]
In both life and in music, Jason Bolinger has always sort of seen himself as a drummer. “I’ve always been the organizational guy, the guy that books all the tours,” he says. “That’s always been me, holding it all together […]
Mona Lucy by ENGLISH The Des Moines-based band ENGLISH began a few years ago when guitarist and vocalist Chris English assembled a group to record some songs he’d written to commemorate 25 years of remission from childhood cancer. English enlisted […]
Star Demon & The Sky Goddess by Jimmie's in the Basement Let’s just accept it. Not one of us is going up to space this summer on some billionaire’s untaxed vanity spaceship. That’s why last month Jimmie’s in the Basement […]
There haven’t been too many summers over the last 50 years when Mike Reilly, Pure Prairie League’s longtime bassist and bandleader, hasn’t been onstage somewhere, harmonizing on the chorus to “Amie.” After 18 months of waiting, he’ll finally be able […]
If you want to accidentally start a performance venue amidst a pandemic, it’s best to start with a barn. Put it outside of the city a few miles where it’s quiet, on four acres of Iowa prairie, most of it […]
Not Great by Mt. Umbra You can find the umbra of anything by searching for the innermost, and darkest, part of its shadow. There’s secrets to be found there, but only if you can bring them back out into the […]
Coyotes tend to howl to locate each other and establish their territory, not only for the sake of those around, but also for themselves. It seems prudent then that Iowa alt-country singer-songwriter Logan Springer titled his full-length debut, Coyote- “kī-yōte”. […]
It’s a simple, but profound question: Why do we grieve in the way that we do? Photographer Rachel Cox has been contemplating our process of grief for a few years now as she’s worked composing a series of photographs focused […]
The Mountain Goats (erstwhile Iowan John Darnielle with Peter Hughes, Matt Douglas and Jon Wurster) are indie folk legends of their own design, led largely by Darnielle’s singular and incessant creative churnings. Getting Into Knives, the Mountain Goats’ 19th studio […]
