Sure, the July 19-21 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago is your one-stop shop to see Belle and Sebastian, Robyn, Earl Sweatshirt, Stereolab, Mavis Staple, Haim and Kurt Vile. But it’s the lesser-known (and more out-there) acts that deliver the real excitement.
Todd Kimm
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Let the sounds of Vintage Torque Fest set your summer soundtrack
Vintage Torque Fest, which took place May 4 and 5 this year in Dubuque, doesn’t bill itself primarily as a music festival, but it sure could pass as one, with an excellent lineup of Midwest acts on three stages performing at once.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Highlights from the 30th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference
The 30th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference recently wrapped up in Kansas City, Missouri. The five-day event boasted 180 nightly official showcase performances and over 3,000 private showcase listening room sessions.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City to SXSW and back again: A chat with everyone’s favorite hatman, Curt Oren
Curt Oren & Nora Petran, w/ They Say the Wind Made Them Crazy and the Oren & Hurlin Duo Trumpet Blossom Cafe — Friday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. Musician Curt Oren has made headlines with his hat and recently recorded in a cave. You can find a review of that album in issue 203, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Flyin’ South: Iowa City Bands Prepare for SXSW
The mighty SXSW festival celebrates its 25th year in Austin, Texas, Mar. 13-18. A model for multi-venue festivals like Mission Creek, SXSW runs over 2,000 performers on more than 90 stages…and those are just the “official” ones. Somewhere along the line SXSW went from an industry showcase to a spring break destination, and now, label […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Midwest-by-Midwest
Experiencing this year’s Mission Creek Festival after having just returned from SXSW brought a few things to mind. First, there can be no argument: These are two of the best-run and brilliantly programmed festivals around. Hosting a mind-boggling assortment of shows simultaneously at various venues around a city-center hub is a concept SXSW pioneered 23 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The First Family of Folk
Pieta Brown said she gets so nervous when she opens for her dad that she can “barely talk.” “It never goes away, that dad factor,” she told the Englert crowd, “specially when it’s that dad.” And who can blame her? That Dad’s voice, guitar-playing and presence get more imposing with each passing year. Who other […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Austintatious
South by Southwest (SXSW) is the daddy of all music festivals, four days of musical immersion held each March in Austin, Texas. This year, two Iowa City acts returned for their second dip: The Diplomats of Solid Sound and Caleb Engstrom. With over 1,400 acts packed into 80 venues (including a church and an old […]
