This Modern World, the long-running, award-winning satirical comic that Dan Perkins publishes under the pen name Tom Tomorrow, came to life in Iowa City during the mid-’80s. Perkins first began […]
Kembrew McLeod
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Musician and Moline High grad Diego Raya wrote his way to TV fame in Mexico
Music has been the driving force in Diego Raya’s life for as long as the 35-year-old hip hop emcee can remember. After his family moved from Mexico to Moline when […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An early Velvet Underground ‘protégé,’ Jonathan Richman wrote his way into punk history while trying to troll the hippies
Jonathan Richman can still pinpoint how the Velvet Underground transformed his life with their collar-grabbing sound back in 1967. “It was on record and it was that drone! Oh my […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Lene Lovich is launching her new U.S. tour with an intimate Iowa show
Avant-pop icon Lene Lovich hasn’t mounted a major U.S. tour since 1989, but that will change this September when she opens for the B-52s and Devo on their 11-date run […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘A little bit of chaos is OK’: Pokey’s Fest keeps punk music, ethic alive in Iowa City
Punk isn’t dead. Sure, punk is old enough that it may be dad — or mom — but it’s still by and for the kids. For proof of life, one […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Shall we dance? The Magnetic Fields will perform all ‘69 Love Songs’ (including their accidental wedding standard) over two nights at the Englert
Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs (1999) contains two of Stephin Merritt’s most beloved numbers, “The Book of Love” and “Papa Was a Rodeo.” Both have become standards a quarter century […]
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Behind the ultimate rock-umentary — and its 20th anniversary re-release, ‘Dig! XX’ — is a sister-brother duo with an eye for mad genius
Multi-award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner has amassed a wide-ranging body of work about people she calls “impossible visionaries.” Her documentary subjects tend to stray from social convention and take the path […]
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Rap mafioso Raekwon proves Wu-Tang is still for the children at Mission Creek Festival
Legendary Wu-Tang emcee Raekwon rocked a multigenerational crowd at the Englert during the final night of Mission Creek Festival 2025, where he performed his classic 1995 solo debut Only Built 4 […]
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From basements to grand stages, Mission Creek Festival has nourished Iowa City culture for two decades. This year marks the end of an era.
Mission Creek Festival’s namesake is a ghost river in San Francisco. It once connected the center of the city to Mission Bay, though during the past two centuries it has […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A debut album by 14? Singer-songwriter Bridget Bell is a star on the rise with a little help from Girls Rock! Des Moines
How did a junior high student in rural Iowa come to record one of the best releases I’ve heard this decade? For that matter, how does someone from that background […]
Posted inPrairie Pop
A new graffiti magazine out of Des Moines immortalizes the work of anonymous artists
With a command of the four foundation elements of hip hop, Des Moines artist ASPHATE is harnessing them for a noble pursuit: making a magazine.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Growing up in Normal, USA with Pharrell Williams
After entering my 25th year in Iowa City — longer than anywhere I’ve ever resided, including my hometown — I’ve been thinking about how places can shape our lives. Those […]
