Editor’s note: After the initial publication of this story, the premiere of ‘This is Not a Game of Baseball’ was postponed due to COVID-19. More details at the end of the article. I spoke with Cavan Hallman, Curtis Jackson and Caleb Rainey — the writer, director and lead performer of the forthcoming play This Is […]
Rob Cline
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Riverside Theatre restores something much missed to the community with ‘The Winter’s Tale’
Adam Knight’s smile was as bright as the sunny evening sky while we chatted for a few moments ahead of the opening night (July 15) performance of Riverside Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale on the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park. Knight, Riverside’s producing director and director of The Winter’s Tale, […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Dan Padley — ‘Bloom’
Bloom by Dan Padley On a first listen, I struggled to find my way into the musical world of Dan Padley’s Bloom. The record by the Iowa City guitarist and composer is mysterious, almost certainly by design. But it is by way of this sense of mystery and wonder, it seems to me, that the […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Wave Cage — ‘The Portrait’ EP
The Portrait EP by Wave Cage Wave Cage — a local band made up of Jarrett Purdy on keys and synths; Ryan Garmoe on flugelhorn and electronics; Nolan Schroeder on saxophone and electronics; and Christopher Jensen on drums — describes itself in a couple of ways. In an email to Little Village, co-leader Purdy calls […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Art “Superman” Pennington, a Negro Leagues legend and longtime Cedar Rapidian, may soon be recognized as a Major League All-Star
There’s a few key facts about Superman that are pretty universally known. He’s more powerful than a locomotive. He’s able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. And Superman is renowned for being faster than a speeding bullet. Cedar Rapids had its own Superman. And Art “Superman” Pennington — who lived there from the […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Steve Grismore Trio — ‘Better Times (Are a Comin’)’
Better Times (Are A Comin') by Steve Grismore If the music collection in your head includes the work of the late Ornette Coleman, there is a reasonable chance you have it filed under “weird” or “difficult” or even “unlistenable.” That may be true even if you consider yourself a jazz fan. Coleman, a multi-instrumentalist best […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘This Is How I Lied’ by Heather Gudenkauf
After Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl became a runaway bestseller in 2012, there was a lengthy period of time during which it seemed as though every thriller written by a woman who was hailed — by the publishers, by those who wrote blurbs, by reviewers — as the next thing to read if you loved Flynn’s […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
With baseball postponed, comedian Spencer Loucks found virtual inspiration
Spencer Loucks is not a sports commentator. But at the moment, he’s playing one on the internet. When the world isn’t shut down, Loucks works at the Yacht Club where he bartends, runs karaoke night and puts on comedy shows. He’s also a freelance writer and has various side projects, including a web comedy series […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Barry Phipps — ‘The Exuberance Phase’
When Iowa City-based multimedia artist Barry Phipps posted to Facebook that he had just released a new album, I headed to my favorite streaming service right away. I am an admirer of Phipps’ book of photography, Between Gravity and What Cheer: Iowa Photographs, and aware of his history as a musician, which included membership in […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Nadalands — ‘The All Souls’ Day EP’
The All Soul’s Day EP, the newest release by Nadalands, is, apparently, firmly in the post-songwriter (po-so?) tradition. This may mean that John Lindenbaum, Nadalands’ heart and soul and only official member, is engaged in employing the trappings of the singer-songwriter tradition to consider topics and ideas that are not generally the stuff
Posted inArts & Entertainment
James Tutson and the Rollback drummer Tyler Carrington offers insight into new album ‘Make You Free’
James Tutson and the Rollback will perform an album release show on Friday, Nov. 15, at 9 p.m. at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City. There is no cover.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with: author Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak was already a successful author before the publication of The Book Thief, the novel that propelled the Australian writer to international stardom, in 2005. But it was another book that he struggled to write for many years. Zusak is returning to Eastern Iowa to read from Bridge of Clay at the Iowa City Public Library on Monday, Oct. 21.
