The Mission Creek Festival will soon be upon us, and Iowa City is holding its collective breath until it finally arrives. While Mission Creek’s main entrée is music (with healthy portions of literature and culinary arts), I won’t spend too much time explaining the festival here. That being said, much of this issue’s noteworthy live music doesn’t hit us until the fest starts on April 1.
Steve Crowley
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: March 14-16
(To be read in a deep radio voice.) Looking for something different to do this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out the work of an accomplished local filmmaker, try some sumptuous scotch and witness world-class comedy. Come on in.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On The Beat: Aesop Rock, White Mystery and more coming to Iowa City
Right now, Mountains may be one of the best in the business when it comes to ambient, experimental music. Longtime friends and bandmates Koen Holtkamp and Brendon Anderegg got together and released two albums in 2005 and 2006 under their own label, Apestaartje.
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A:List – Reading: Ayana Mathis Englert Theatre Feb. 25.
New York Times best selling author Ayana Mathis will be reading from her debut novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Knopf, 2012), at the Englert Theater on Feb. 25. The reading will be presented by Prairie Lights Books. Mathis is currently a visiting professor at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she graduated with an MFA in Fiction. Her novel has received wide recognition, first as the winner of the 2012 Michener Copernicus Fellowship and then as the second book selection by Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. Critic Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times called the novel “astonishingly powerful,” and echoed Oprah’s comparison of Mathis’s work to that of Toni Morrison.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
On The Beat: What shows are in store for the winter migration
Iowa City has been pretty quiet over the past few weeks. That tends to be the case when a big chunk of the population migrates to Chicagoland (or wherever), and another chunk goes into hibernation. We all must accept the fact that less people in town means fewer shows. That is not to say that […]
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A-List: The Seagull Society: SAVED! Open-Mic Storytelling Event Jan. 25
The Seagull Society: SAVED! Open-Mic Storytelling Event Jan. 25 | 8 p.m. Public Space One (129 E. Washington) Iowa City’s iconic Seagull Society presents another night of open mic, pull-no-punches storytelling based around the theme SAVED! “What saved you?” the group asks on its Facebook event page, “The light? The bell? The goalie?” Join this […]
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A-List: The Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists – CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
The Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists January 18 – 19 (cont. in Feb & Mar.) CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids Think you can draw? Want to go pro? This month, Legion Arts in Cedar Rapids will begin hosting a series of workshops for aspiring artists of all disciplines. Whether you are a writer, performer or […]
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A-List: The Mill’s 50th Anniversary
The Mill 50th Anniversary Dec. 14-16 Friday: David Zollo & the Body Electric w. Brooks Strause, Alexis Stevens, Doug Nye 8:00 p.m. | $10/12 Saturday: Greg Brown w. Dave Moore 8:00 p.m. | $30/35 Sunday: Brunch show with The Awful Purdies and Milk & Eggs 12:00 p.m. | $15 In 1962 Keith Dempster opened […]
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A-List: God-Des & She – Gabes Dec. 4
God-Des & She w/ I.C. Kings | Gabe’s | Dec. 4 8 p.m. | $8/$12 God-Des & She (“God-Des” as in “goddess”) combines the spirited rap lyrics of God-Des with the soulful vibrato of She to create a proud-to-be-me vibe of love and happiness. She’s astounding vocals can reach the emotional heights of those of […]
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Interview: Uncommon Feat – The Hood Internet
A few weeks ago I asked The Hood Internet’s STV SLV if he was interested in chatting with me for Little Village. Under the one condition that we refer to it as “Lil Village,” he agreed. Here are the highlights: LV: Let’s talk about FEAT. I’ll let you explain what it is, exactly because it’s […]
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On the Beat: Reunion Rock
Kelly Pardekooper began his musical career right here in Iowa City. Though currently based in Indianapolis, Pardekooper certainly hasn’t abandoned his Iowa roots. His 2011 album, Yonder, was produced by celebrated Iowa City country legend, Bo Ramsey. The album features plenty of Ramsey’s guitar work and consists of mostly live recordings at Minstrel Studios, […]
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On the Beat: Iowa City Song Project
I try to collect as much Iowa City music as I possibly can. When I can’t buy a record at a show, I scour Bandcamp pages for the ones I don’t have yet. I spend hours creating and editing mixes of my favorite songs for my friends and family—people who aren’t familiar with the Iowa City […]
