You meet a lot of music fans as a professional concert photographer, but over the past couple years, one has stood out to me the most. When culling through my photos from events across the state, I kept seeing the same guy, always up front by the barricade. Show after show, photoset after photoset, there […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: River Glen — ‘Poignant Folk-Pop’
Poignant Folk-Pop by River Glen There’s a certain cyclical nature to the poignancy of folk in popular culture. Turned to most in times of turmoil, folk music is perhaps the most durable music genre as a medium for both protest and comfort. Particularly provocative is folk’s inherent warmth, with full-bodied string instruments and vocals, in […]
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This weekend in Iowa: an evening with Dave Moore, Tropa Magica in Davenport and more
Established 2001 | Always free! Looking for local music and arts events? The Weekender has you covered. Morbid Saint plays Gabe’s with Frontal Assault, Traffic Death and Ill Omen. Roll into Hispanic Heritage Month with Festival Latino in Cedar Rapids or the opening of Aliza Nisenbaum’s “Dia de los Muertos” exhibit at the Des Moines […]
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Lene Lovich is launching her new U.S. tour with an intimate Iowa show
Avant-pop icon Lene Lovich hasn’t mounted a major U.S. tour since 1989, but that will change this September when she opens for the B-52s and Devo on their 11-date run of amphitheaters. Those concerts will be interspersed with several of her own headlining club gigs, and Lovich’s triumphant return to the States will kick off […]
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Peek inside the Ecdysiast Arts Museum, Danielle Colby’s dazzling Davenport destination
It was hard to find time to chat with television personality Danielle Colby, and that’s expected. While most of us know her as an American Pickers cast member, Colby’s added a new role that’s filling her schedule: burlesque archivist. Davenport residents can see the fruits of Colby’s labor at the Ecdysiast Arts Museum, located at […]
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Wake Up Iowa Coffee turns their spare room into Des Moines’ newest art gallery
Odds are that any coffee-bearing establishment you wander into will have art on its walls. There’s an equal chance that those artworks, hung above half-and-half stations and study spaces, are the creations of a local or small artist. So it’s no surprise that Wake Up Iowa Coffee at 3605 Douglas Ave in Des Moines would […]
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Album Review: Bouquet — ‘Feel in Color’
Feel In Color by Bouquet Do you know what it’s like to “feel in color?” That’s the question on the minds of five-piece Des Moines band Bouquet on their latest EP. Across seven tracks, emotions are laid bare, bloody, jagged and raw, while still being hypnotically tender. Across platforms, the band describes itself as “emotional […]
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Beth M. Howard’s ‘Pieowa’ is the taste-good, feel-good film of the year
It is the first weekend of the Iowa State Fair, and Beth M. Howard is still thinking about pie. “I’ve tried to get away from pie a couple of times,” she said, “and I just keep getting pulled back. I’ve surrendered.” Howard has made a career off the pastry, first by writing a memoir about […]
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This weekend in Iowa: Bomb Shelter comedy, Peelander-Z and festivals galore
Established 2001 | Always free! From songwriting and horror lit festivals to comedy showcases, there is a lot to do this first weekend of September. The Stanley Museum of Art kicks off its exhibition of Hayward Oubre with an opening reception Thursday night. The Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids is hosting Awfully Folkin’ […]
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Does your book break the mold? Is it growing mold? Iowa’s new One of Us horror fest accepts you!
Filthy Loot, a small boutique literary press based in Ames, specializes in what founding editor Ira Rat calls “misfit fictions.” The books published by Filthy Loot push boundaries. “I found that a lot of the writers I like were getting ignored because they didn’t fit into a mold,” Rat said in a phone interview. An […]
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Stanley Museum debuts exhibition of work by Hayward Oubre, a trailblazing UI art student and HBCU instructor
This fall, the University of Iowa will welcome home the work of Hayward Oubre, whose career was as disciplined and deliberate as the artist that shaped it. “Hayward Oubre: Structural Integrity,” on display now through Dec. 7, brings together a collection of sculptures, paintings and prints in the first comprehensive solo exhibition of his work. […]
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Des Moines welcomes back a now-classic, Kurosawa arrives in Iowa City (in 4K), PTA’s first action flick drops and more screenings this month
Hey folks, welcome back to Little Big Screen: On the Big, Big Screen, where film columnist Benjamin McElroy recommends five screenings happening at Iowa’s independent movie theaters. Keep scrolling for the full list of this month’s big screenings.
