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 […]
Avery Gregurich
Album Review: Dean Gorman — ‘Outer Space, Iowa’
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 […]
Album Review: Zap Tura — ‘Adaptasia’
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, […]
Iowa Label Spotlight: Speak Up Records in Ottumwa
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,” […]
Album Review and Q&A: ENGLISH — ‘Mona Lucy’
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 […]
Album Review: Jimmie’s in the Basement — ‘Star Demon & The Sky Goddess’
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 […]
Pure Prairie League ‘basically chomping at the bit’ to play
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 […]
Bored during lockdown, a Williamsburg couple built an outdoor stage on their property, offering artists 100% of ticket sales
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 […]
Album Review: Mt. Umbra — ‘Not Great’
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 […]
Album Review: Logan Springer — ‘Coyote- “kī-yōte”’
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 […]
How to grieve in America: Iowa City photographer Rachel Cox turns her focus to our shared spaces of grief
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 […]
Album Review: The Mountain Goats — ‘Getting Into Knives’
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 […]

