You could say it has risen out of the rubble — a long-awaited, much-needed presence in the neighborhood. Locals Bar & Stage is helping bring Walnut Street in Des Moines […]
Liz Rosa
Posted inArts & Entertainment
As filmmakers compete this festival season, DSMUFF offers a DIY, low-pressure alternative
It is far too cliché to begin this story with the same overdone explanation that cool arts stuff does, in fact, occur in the Midwest. So I won’t start there. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Wake Up Iowa Coffee turns their spare room into Des Moines’ newest art gallery
Odds are that any coffee-bearing establishment you wander into will have art on its walls. There’s an equal chance that those artworks, hung above half-and-half stations and study spaces, are […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Mr. Softheart — ‘Reflections on Primitive Action’
Reflections On Primitive Action by Mr. Softheart In a musical landscape littered with algorithm-choked playlists and brand-safe radio edits, Mr. Softheart comes forward in a defiant whisper. Their latest EP, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: The eyeliner is heavy and the outfits skimpy for Des Moines’ Panic! at the Burlesque Show
Never in my wildest dreams have I imagined someone flashing her pasties at the iconic strike of a G note. Morticia Midwest started the night with a bang (or flash […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Queer history, pop culture and computers helped Iowa artist Ben Millett cover a gallery in quilts
Ben Millett’s quilts are tactile records, coded with color, memory and meaning. They look soft because they are, but their softness doesn’t dull their message. Instead, it amplifies it. On […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: The music was choice at Mr. Softheart’s last xBk show, though one band wouldn’t stop blowing smoke
Is it defiance or stupidity that makes something stand out as a rebellious act? Regardless of what you believe, one thing is for certain: that was the most cigarettes I […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Lady Revel — ‘Slow Burn’
Lady Revel has matured but will never grow old. With their sophomore album Slow Burn, the self-proclaimed Midwestern indie rock band trades the open-hearted urgency of their 2023 debut for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Mainframe’s earth-centric First Friday centered stark realities and real reptiles
From month to month, Mainframe Studios in Des Moines is always changing. With each First Friday event, the sprawling creative hub sheds one artistic skin to reveal another. April’s energetic […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mainframe Studios becomes a free, interactive art museum on First Fridays, drawing thousands of Des Moines art lovers
On the first Friday of every month, something incredible happens at 900 Keosauqua Way. Creativity spills from every floor of Des Moines’ Mainframe Studios, transforming the city’s largest artist hub into a vibrant, open-door celebration of local art, music and community spirit. Inside, over 180 artists open their studios to the public, revealing an ecosystem of expression.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
As xBk expands, Tobi Parks is doubling down on her mission to uplift local talent
When Tobi Parks opened a 250-capacity music venue in Des Moines’ Drake neighborhood in 2019, she was enacting her plan B. “I think it always goes back to this idea: […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: A family flails as a 50-year marriage fizzles in ‘Grand Horizons’ from Iowa Stage Theatre Company
The crowd’s perspective of the play shifts to the unfamiliar when the man coyly bends over to reveal his skimpy thong. Don’t get your hopes up; the near-nudity ends there.
The Iowa Stage Theatre Company recently presented Bess Whol’s Grand Horizons at the Stoner Theater in the Des Moines Civic Center from March 14 to March 23, 2025.
