Magic Giant is a Los Angeles-based trio forged on the festival scene (including the 2018 lineup of Coachella) with a distinctly positive alt-pop sound. They’re represented by the label Concord — also the parent label of St. Vincent and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats — and recorded most their debut album, In the Wind, outdoors as they toured the country. Magic Giant released an acoustic version of In the Wind earlier this year.
Emma McClatchey
Posted inCommunity/News
John’s Grocery hosting 70th anniversary party
John’s Grocery is celebrating 70 years as a staple of Iowa City’s northside by focusing on what they do best: beer. John’s is hosting an anniversary party in their parking lot from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, offering beer and wine samples from visiting breweries and wineries, as well as chances to win prizes.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City’s performers for RAGBRAI have been announced
The City of Iowa City has announced the musicians entertaining its visiting RAGBRAI riders on Friday, July 27. The Jayhawks, an alternative country-rock band from the Twin Cities, and Blitzen Trapper, a Portland-based experimental folk-rock group, are topping the bill.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A definitive list of Maddie Poppe’s ‘American Idol’ performances
On Monday night, Maddie Poppe was announced as the winner of American Idol season 16, the first Iowan to win the competition. Relive all her Idol performances, from “Rainbow Connection” to “Going Going Gone.”
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Creator of The Trevor Project brings LGBT teen storytelling workshop to Iowa City
The Future Perfect Project, co-founded by Lacesne and performance artist Ryan Amador, brings LGBTQ high school students together to tell stories and express themselves through original writing, performances and musical compositions. Iowa City will have its own two-day Future Perfect Project workshop from 1-4 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Tully,’ written by UI grad Diablo Cody, is bound to be a classic film on motherhood
With “Tully,” a film still squarely in Diablo Cody’s wheelhouse, the University of Iowa alumna and 39-year-old mother of two drops (most of) the whimsy and tackles a special sense of fatigue and dissatisfaction. Think “Bad Moms” but with a lot more depression, breast pumping and literary references.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Chalk the Walk festival will celebrate Cinco de Mayo by covering Mount Vernon with chalk art
Mount Vernon is embracing street art — at least the kind drawn in chalk. The city’s 13th annual Chalk the Walk festival will see 500-plus artists turn more than half a ton of chalk into temporary sidewalk art, spanning roughly three city blocks.
Posted inDining Recommendations
LV Recommends: Kalona Creamery’s new ice cream
When the beloved Kalona Cheese factory, which closed in 2014, reopened as the Kalona Creamery in 2017, my excitement was focused on the return of cheese curds. The curds are set to be brought back later this year, thank the dairy gods, but the creamery has more to offer. On April 21, Kalona Creamery debuted their line of eight hard ice cream flavors.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ director and UI grad Joe Russo is returning to Iowa City
Over two decades, the Russos have gone from making “credit card movies” to helming three tentpoles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with a collective budget of more than $700 million.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Bassnectar, Future to perform at 515 Alive music festival in Des Moines
Des Moines’ 515 Alive music festival has released its 2018 line-up.
Posted inCommunity/News
A quick guide to cannabis
The debate around marijuana can get messy and confusing, but the smoke starts to lift when you understand the science.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith are bringing ‘Hollywood Babble-On’ to Iowa City
It’s been a stressful year for Ralph Garman, from being let go by KROQ-FM to one of his best friends suffering a near-death heart attack. But in the wake of Kevin Smith’s recovery and the kick-off of Garman’s podcast “The Ralph Report,” the comedian is excited to step back on stage.
