Rapid Creek Cidery will be presenting their second annual Wassail event on Saturday, Feb. 1, with doors opening for VIP ticket holders at 6:30 p.m. and the downstairs opening for everyone at 7:30 p.m. Standard tickets are $25, and include a pint of cider, light appetizers and the sounds of Flash in a Pan, Iowa City’s notably excellent bluegrass band.
Daniel Boscaljon
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Cleanness’ by Garth Greenwell
Cleanness, the second book by Garth Greenwell (released Jan. 14, 2020), is exemplary. It provides rare rewards to its readers beyond the scope dared by many authors of contemporary literature. It demands much of the reader — not due to its difficulty, but in the unrelenting rigor of the narrator who patiently preserves the paradoxes of everyday
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Body Punishment — ‘Body Punishment Presents: Oyster World’
Body Punishment surfaced on Oct. 27 with an EP — Body Punishment Presents: Oyster World — released on Bandcamp, which features Siren Song I-IV. The “about” section says, “Millennia old sea sirens surface with a vengeance and a taste for human blood.” Shortly thereafter, the group performed at Yacht Club — a costumed duo
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘If a tree falls…’ invites audiences into a deep collaboration
One of the University of Iowa’s annual traditions gathers students from the various schools and departments devoted to the performing arts (Dance, Music, Art and Art History, Theatre Arts) and invites them to collaborate.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with: Comedian Dave Maher
Generally, life is a laughing matter — and death (while not off the table for the talented) remains more of a punchline than a set up. Dave Maher dodged a bullet in 2014, surviving a month-long coma by pulling out of it before they pulled the plug — but that experience provides the set up to his show rather than the punchline. Rather than killing his career, his coma rekindled his comedic interests.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Local publisher spotlight: PromptPress
PromptPress ignores traditional boundaries with a quiet defiance. It began in 2014 with founding editor Jennifer Colville; her brother, Christopher Colville (photography editor); and Susan Goslee (poetry editor), creating an outlet for artists who wished to play at the boundaries. Jennifer did the bulk of the work until Kalmia Strong (book arts
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Exploring Witching Hour’s can’t-miss events: Music
As a fan of jazz — and especially of Nina Simone’s hauntingly beautiful songs — I am interested in seeing reputable artists do justice to her music. Putting that together with Counterfeit Madison becomes a dream come true.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Exploring Witching Hour’s can’t-miss events: Readings
Crucet’s work promises to illuminate the struggle of belonging, the power of paying attention and the necessity of beauty and art in portraying problems. I want to hear how a narrative about something I wrestle with is understood by someone from a very different life experience.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
November’s First Friday welcomes Cedar Rapids artist Jason Everett
Jason Everett will exhibit an incredibly timely photography series that originated in a project entitled “More Friends Than the Mountains.” He developed the project as a way to gather community members, national art suppliers, international non-profit organizations and Kurdish government entities together to conduct art
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Exploring Witching Hour’s can’t-miss events: Workshops
Creative Tools for the Apocalypse: Workshop Merge — Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. In this series, local arts critic (and Witching Hour participant) Daniel Boscaljon provides a guide to his choices for the most thought-provoking parts of the 2019 Witching Hour Festival. Monday: Talks and resentations; Tuesday: Theater, film and performance. Today: Workshops Narrowly […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Exploring Witching Hour’s can’t-miss events: Theater, film, performance
Composer Rachel Grimes’ folk opera/film amalgam epitomizes the sort of critical and creative engagement that that invites Witching Hour audiences to life-changing, mind-bending beauty.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Exploring Witching Hour’s can’t-miss events: Talks and presentations
Marcelo Mena kicks off Englert activities at Witching Hour with a Friday night lecture titled From Impossible to Inevitable: How Climate Action is Mainstreamed Globally.
