Taking the stage, he adjusted his saxophone neck strap, walked over to the microphone and in a low, disarming voice said, “Hello, Iowa.” The crowd stood up and welcomed the Branford Marsalis Quartet to a sold-out Englert Theatre on Saturday night. The concert was one of the many events held across Iowa City on April […]
Mauricio Ruiz
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Bob Dylan wasn’t afraid to start a song over to give Hancher a masterful show
Bob Dylan has never been afraid of surprising an audience. On a sunny day in late July at the Newport Folk Festival a young Dylan stood in front of a disconcerted public with a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar backed by a rock band—the very first time the famous folk singer did that.
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Review: Yo-Yo Ma reflects on finding his sound, overcoming doubts and what makes us human at Hancher
Yo-Yo Ma sits in the middle of the stage, one leg draped over the other, as he listens to a question from someone in the audience. “Ask me anything” appears on a large screen above him. One of the questions comes from a young man, a cello player who wants to know how to overcome […]
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‘I need to say something to be seen’: Courtney Marie Andrews unravels her writing process as artist in residence of the first Iowa City Songwriters Festival
A multidisciplinary artist from Phoenix, Arizona, Andrews was the artist in residence of the first edition of the Iowa City Songwriters Festival (ICSF), which took place at the top of September. Andrews uploaded her first songs on the internet and experienced the first reactions from listeners. “That’s not punk music, people wrote, that’s folk.” At that age she had no idea folk music would become so important for her.
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Review: Bards bask in the joys, discuss the challenges of their craft at the first Iowa City Songwriters Festival
On Friday at The Den, legendary star and Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy spoke with Hancher’s Executive Director Andre Perry about the mourning process he goes through after an album does not perform as expected. “After a while, you just have to let go,” Tweedy said.
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‘What better place than Iowa City’ for a songwriting festival? Three days of shows, talks begin Thursday
In it’s first edition, the Festival is meant to “elevate the timeless craft of songwriting by blending world-class live performances with educational opportunities and community engagement,” as announced by the organizing team at the Englert Theatre.
Posted inCommunity/News
This corn fungus, dreaded by most Iowa farmers, is a south-of-the-border delicacy
Father and daughter returned to their field to assess the tumors’ growth. The father stepped forward into the sea of shimmering florets, plucked an ear of corn from its stalk and squatted to face his daughter. Look, he said. It’s ready. The lumps had multiplied, infecting the kernels. Some had taken the shape of a […]
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Review: Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery let Hancher audience inside their cutting-edge collaboration
The plastic hose hangs from his mouth. It is plugged into the drum in front of him, like an oxygen line breathing life into the instrument. He beats the skin of the drum, eyes following the notes on the score in front of him, glimpsing the movements of the other percussionists on stage, the members […]
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Back at Mission Creek as an author, Neko Case discussed going down the rabbit holes of her own origin story
Case, a Grammy-nominated singer, was in conversation about her recent memoir The Harder I Fight The More I Love You with best-selling author Melissa Febos, a Professor at UI’s Creative Nonfiction Program.
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UI grad Torrey Peters reads from new book ‘Stag Dance,’ discusses writing for a trans audience at Prairie Lights
On Saturday, April 5, Peters stood in front of a packed room at Prairie Lights Book Store and read excerpts from her Stag Dance. One of the many literary guests at the Mission Creek Festival, Peters spoke with UI’s Creative Nonfiction grad student Jenny Singer about the genesis of her book, what’s she’s learned about self-publishing and how it has helped her career as a novelist.
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Review: Mission Creek’s Lit Walk is a sensory, choose-your-own adventure experience
While an author reads, she cannot know that three people are filming her: husband, daughter and granddaughter. It’s a moment to remember. That was the level of intimacy felt on Friday, April 4 during Mission Creek Festival’s Lit Walk. As much a part of the mythos of the Festival as the long list of past music headliners, the Lit Walk, as the MCF website states, gives festival-goers an opportunity to “…hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented local and out-of-town writers.”
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Author Rachel Kushner describes writing ‘an ideas novel that’s not boring’ in conversation with Kim Gordon
The American woman watches people standing in line and waiting to pay at the cash register. It’s a highway travel center in France and the woman observes customers walk in and out. She’s at the same time bored and fascinated. People buy dried truffles or lavender oil or glass jars of something resembling cat food. […]
