Grammy Award nominees The Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull performed to a buzzing Englert Theatre crowd on Thursday night, co-headlining a show that would please most any folk music fan. The Milk Carton Kids opened up with a stripped down, folksy acoustic set that had incredible harmonies and intricate guitar and banjo work. The […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: it’s a whole lotta love this Valentine’s Day weekend
Established 2001 | Always free! Did you know that Valentine’s Day is big for both proposals and breakups? Whether you want to lean into or tune out the festivities, today’s Weekender has you covered. The Englert sees a night of indie folk courtesy of the Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull. In Cedar Rapids, jazz […]
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‘Gorgeous gangsta’ Soe Heartlesz honed her rap persona after a high school breakup
Quad Cities emcee Soe Heartlesz — “The Gorgeous Gangsta” and “Rap President of Peoria” — is a 36-year-old mother of five who recently won the Iowa Music Awards Female Rapper of the Year. After performing on dozens of stages around the Midwest over the past two decades, she’s maintaining her momentum with Cardiac Arrest, a […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Dreams of Fields: Memory Traces of Iowa’s Past’ by Roy R. Behrens
As a born-again-Iowan, I delight in Iowa trivia and the relaying of impressive and surprising Iowa facts that challenge perceptions of a so-called flyover state. To me, these bits of information aren’t just trivia, but snapshots of a larger concept of Iowa, outside of whatever cornfields and caucuses that people imagine when they think of […]
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‘Art is my escape’: Paintings, drawings, a Popsicle stick sculpture and other intricate work make up the 2026 Art from the Inside Out exhibition, debuting Friday
“My biggest inspiration for my artwork is God, injustice and purpose,” said Ivan Flores, an incarcerated artist with work featured in the fourth annual “Art From the Inside Out” exhibition. Coordinated by Inside Out Reentry Community, the exhibition is currently on display in Iowa City through Feb. 14 at the Public Space One Close House. […]
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This weekend in Iowa: Care Over CowardICE in Iowa City, EMBODIED at Mainframe in Des Moines and more
Established 2001 | Always free! It seems we’re in for an unseasonably warm weekend, so you should have no reason to stay home and every reason to get out for the events in today’s Weekender. Tom Arnold’s 2026 stand-up comedy tour, “My Crazy X-Wife,” will stop at the Englert in Iowa City on Friday night. […]
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Sundance 2026 features documentaries on Iowa teacher Jane Elliott, the Chicano Movement and public access TV
The last Sundance Film Festival based in Park City, Utah, has drawn to a close. The future sees the fest relocating to Boulder, Colorado, but for now, Little Village brings dispatches from Sundance to you in Iowa — starting with three documentaries that premiered at the fest. Representing three U.S. regions, these films critique the […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: The DZ Combo — ‘It’s Just Your Turn’
It's Just Your Turn by The DZ Combo Have you ever been served dinner by a friend with a passion for food? Every course is presented with love and a desire to open your mind and heart to new and exciting experiences. The album It’s Just Your Turn by Dubuque-based quartet the DZ Combo is […]
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Tom Arnold on Trump tapes, his favorite Iowa stuff and the time he challenged his father to a fight
Tom Arnold is among the rarest of Iowans, having survived both the Razzie Awards and the kill floor at Hormel. There’s a generation of us who may have first met him via Roseanne, but the man has spent decades showing up in wonderful places: Austin Powers, True Lies, The Simpsons, The Best Damn Sports Show […]
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This weekend in Iowa: things heat up at Val Air Ballroom, a tale of spring in Dubuque and more
Established 2001 | Always free! Today’s Weekender comes at a pivotal moment. Inspired by the recent mobilization in Minneapolis, many around the country are calling for a general strike tomorrow. You’ll notice that we’ve included Friday shows in our list of offerings, as we believe that shopping local and recharging via arts & culture experiences […]
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Review: Cedar Rapids Opera’s ‘Die Fledermaus’ is endearing and perfectly ridiculous
Like a tempting glass of champagne in the middle of Dry January, Cedar Rapids Opera’s production of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus was a perfectly frothy, frivolous escape from the dark and dreary winter.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Kinji — ‘Thunderhead’
In the same way nature’s counterpart forewarns of dreariness and thunderous disruption, indie musician Kinji’s newest EP Thunderhead starts as the calm before the storm, only to break open, laid bare to the elements, oozing out luscious, melancholic aural landscapes.
