The Des Moines Art Festival returns this weekend, and with it the Interrobang Film Festival, a free-to-attend, juried show featuring 36 films. One of those films is a new documentary about Muslim chef Kamal Hammouda, based in Grinnell, and his life in food, family and politics. Directed by Nich Perez, Kamal’s blends interviews with Hammouda, […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A Quad Cities writers’ conference dating back to the ’70s returns this week with a who’s-who of eastern Iowa poets, novelists and professors
For 21 years, the Quad Cities’ David R. Collins Writers’ Conference has helped writers turn ideas into stories, first drafts into polished manuscripts and creative goals into achievable next steps. The conference returns to Augustana College in Rock Island June 25–27 with expanded programming, new opportunities for writers and its most diverse lineup of workshops and events to date.
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie’ by Suzanna de Baca
Suzanna de Baca instills a subliminal radiance within her debut poetry collection, You Were Never Lost: Poems from the Tallgrass Prairie. Its contents reflect her accumulated experiences from an artist residency at the White Rock Conservancy in Coon Rapids, Iowa. The 5,500 acres of prairie, woodland, pasture and river valley protected along the Middle Raccoon […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Fidelity’ by Susan Glaspell
Earlier this spring, Belt Publishing — an imprint that focuses on books about Rust Belt cities — put Susan Glaspell’s 1915 novel Fidelity back into print with a new introduction by Sarah Blackwood, professor of English at Pace University. The Iowa-born and -raised Glaspell, as Blackwood argues, is best remembered today for her work as […]
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Photos: Pokey’s Fest 4 had the longhairs and baldies head-banging in Iowa City
The fourth, expanded iteration of hardcore and punk festival Pokey’s Fest commanded three venues over three stormy nights in Iowa City, and saw the debut of a slick new band. There were last-minute revisions to the lineup and day-of venue changes thanks to uncooperative weather, but would it really be Pokey’s Fest if there weren’t […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Teller Bank$ — ‘Hate Island’
Hate Island by Teller Bank$ It’s often said that art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. Des Moines rapper Teller Bank$’ latest album does just that. Hate Island finds a distinct way to express pain and trauma while delivering an unforgettable and endlessly intriguing work of art. I knew I was in for […]
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Review: ‘I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire’ follows a 14-year-old Spider-Man stan with a penchant for kidnapping
You already know if you’ll enjoy I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire. If that title piqued your interest, I’m 90 percent sure this dark comedy from Iowa Stage Theatre Company is worth your time. It’s currently running at Des Moines’ Stoner Theater, with shows through Sunday, June 14. Go see it. In case you’d like […]
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Review: The mental health struggles of Beethoven, Vivaldi and other composers are explored in the first concert of Zenith Chamber Music Festival 2026
Zenith Chamber Music Festival offers audiences five nights of free concerts this week for their 12th annual summer series. Running Tuesday, June 9 through Saturday, June 13, these performances take place in unique venues around the Des Moines area and feature professional musicians and aspiring students. Funded entirely by donations, the festival is dedicated to making high quality chamber music accessible to everyone.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Younger — ‘Y3K’
Y3K by Younger Amid the magic of Day Party, the latest evolution of Iowa City’s Mission Creek Festival held April 25, Iowa City rock band Younger debuted much of their latest album, Y3K. Inside the warm embrace of Trumpet Blossom Cafe, the audience hung on every quivering drumbeat, grizzled guitar shred and endlessly catchy hook […]
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A free festival for punks of all ages, Chroma63 returns to Waterloo with a local lineup, pop-up skate park and 40 years of Iowa show flyers on display
On the website for the Waterloo Center for the Arts, you’ll find a list of perennial outdoor festivals hosted in the museum’s RiverLoop Amphitheatre. You may notice one of the events is not like the others. Nestled amongst the likes of Cedar Valley Stem & Stein and the Holiday Arts Festival is the Chroma63 Arts […]
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Review: Veteran rock trio TsuShiMaMiRe and new Q.C. power group Sheer Image had scene kids reveling at Raccoon Motel
Amidst the growing humidity and heat of early June, a nearly sold-out crowd gathered on 2nd street outside and in of The Raccoon Motel in Davenport. The night’s enthusiasm was twofold. Not only did it see the return of the long-running Japanese girl punk trio TsuShiMaMiRe, but this was also the debut performance of a new Quad City hardcore band, Sheer Image.
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‘What’s more I-O-W-A, Americana, “76 Trombones” than a marching band?’: Iowa Pride Ensembles are making noise all June
“We didn’t know what to expect,” said co-founder Amanda Thomas-Murphy. “We said we would be happy if 10 people performed with us, but the response was huge! So many members of the community from all over the state stepped up, participated and made our first Pride season amazing.”
