It’s that magical time of year again! Festival season is back and that means wristband tan lines, sipping craft beer with buddies and seeing all your favorite bands onstage. Although most festivals took a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are back this year in full force. Alongside national favorites like Coachella, South-By-Southwest, Bonnaroo […]
Central Iowa Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Central Iowa, Central Iowa Arts & Entertainment
Contact Buzz: Who needs a gallery? Art Week Des Moines is back to bring art to the streets
A cultural movement flourishes in Central Iowa. Its symbiotic nature unites creatives, communities and cultures, and it continues to grow. Art Week Des Moines (AWDM) invites the region to engage, interact and otherwise make their shared neighborhoods shimmer with the vibrant proof of the creativity that thrives and drives its residents. This may be a […]
Posted inWeekender
Weekender Central Iowa! Pride Fest, Pieces of my Heart, Art Flea Market
READ THE LATEST | SUPPORT LITTLE VILLAGE | SHOP PERKS THE WEEKENDER Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium It’s a party all weekend in the greater DSM, as Pride Fest kicks off at 10 a.m. on Friday and spreads joy through Sunday at 5 p.m.! Juneteenth events begin, Pro H2O gathers funds for the Iowa Environmental […]
Posted inCentral Iowa Arts & Entertainment
DMPA premieres August Wilson poetry set to dance and jazz with ‘Pieces of My Heart’
Editors’ Pick When playwright August Wilson died in 2005, he left behind more than just a powerful and unparalleled body of work examining the consciousness of Black America. Wilson, who started his writing career as a poet, also gifted the world a selection of unpublished love poems. Pieces of My Heart sets them as a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Ballet Des Moines announces six-show free summer tour for ‘Of Gravity and Light’
Ballet Des Moines has announced a six-stop trip across Iowa for Of Gravity and Light, a deeply immersive, science-packed show that received a standing ovation at its one-night only show on April 22. Gravity on Tour will include a mobile planetarium, Iowa State University’s FLEx Virtual Reality lab and more STEM experiences, as well as […]
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Oh Say, Can You Sing? Competition is open for submissions
Audition slots are open for the Oh Say, Can You Sing? Competition hosted by the Yankee Doodle Pops. Every year, singers from across the state enter to sing the National Anthem with the Des Moines Symphony during the concert. This year’s Pops concert will be on Friday, July 1 at 8:30 p.m. on the West […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon is out to prove ‘the prairie’s got something to say’
“One thing that people maybe don’t know about Canada is that the places above and below the border are similar to each other,” said Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian MC who performs as Cadence Weapon. “I live in Toronto now, and we definitely get kind of Detroit vibes over here, whereas Alberta, where I’m originally from, […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Mr. Softheart (formerly Hex Girls) — “Caravaggio”/“Flower of Tomorrow”
“I suppose the new direction is another pandemic story,” Nick Fisher offers as the impetus for the recent pivot of the band formerly known as Hex Girls. “I had begun writing lyrics to songs that seemed to lend themselves to a new project: The themes were darker, perhaps more complex. Personal grief, as well as […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: MEKTOUB — ‘Elizabeth’
In 2019, frequenters of Goosetown Café mingled with friends of John Rapson to delight in the new band he had assembled: MEKTOUB. It was a trio, initially — Rapson on the keys, Ryan Smith on woodwinds and Nielo Gaglione on vocals and mandole. Together, the three produced a distinct style of improvisational music they describe […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Ingersoll Live will return for an 18th year of bringing neighbors together this summer
Starting in just a parking lot 18 years ago, Ingersoll Live is now an annual block party bringing Des Moines’ Ingersoll Avenue neighbors together to relish in a district of fine dining, businesses, bars and family fun. The Avenues, a nonprofit on Ingersoll and Grand, will present Ingersoll Live again on Aug. 27, and is […]
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Weekender Central Iowa! Kosmic Kingdom, Craft Brew Fest, Pride in the Garden
READ THE LATEST | SUPPORT LITTLE VILLAGE | SHOP PERKS THE WEEKENDER Your weekly editor-curated arts compendium Pride Month is here! Start things off right Friday night with a Pride Pageant at the Garden. You can kick off festival season with Kosmic Kingdom at Sleepy Hollow. There’s also theater openings and the Craft Brew Fest […]
