Iowa City’s premiere music and literature festival, Mission Creek Festival, just announced its 2025 lineup. Mission Creek Festival 2025 is set to run April 3-5 and will mark the 20th anniversary of the festival.
This will also be the last iteration produced by the Englert Theatre, with the event planned to continue in 2026 with Mission Creek Festival co-founders and current Literary Programming Director Nina Lohman at the helm.
Fresh off the TV debut of their new single “Sugar in the Tank” on the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, American country duo Julien Baker & Torres will headline Mission Creek 2025. The two artists, both headliners in their own right, have described their collaboration as years in the making, with a yet-to-be announced album in the works.
Proving once again that Mission Creek cosigns the message “Wu is for the children,” the 2025 festival lineup includes another member of the hip-hop supergroup. (Wu-Tang Clan members to perform at MCF in the past include Ghostface Killah and GZA in 2011 and 2017, respectively.) Founding member Raekwon will perform “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…” on the Mission Creek stage.
Other national acts include: Mannequin Pussy, La Lom, Dawn Richard + Spencer Zahn, Mabe Fratti, Your Smith, Flore Laurentienne, Mark Guiliana, Angry Blackmen, Cabeza de Chivo, The Tanks, Supersonic Piss, Diles No Que Me Maten and Younger.
The Iowa locals featured in this Mission Creek lineup include returning favorites and some fresh faces, among them: William Elliott Whitmore, Sam Locke Ward, Jack Lion, Jordan Sellergren, Ion Alexakis, Good Habits, Sun Centauri, Golden Birds, Nadalands, Alexis Stevens, Ryan Joseph Anderson and Slacker.
It wouldn’t be Mission Creek Festival without a strong literature component, and 2025 will bring the goods. The literary headliner is two-time National Book Award Finalist Rachel Kushner. Kushner’s most recent novel, Creation Lake, has been longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize.
As an independent, alternative publication ourselves, another lit highlight is the inclusion of the micro-distributed literary arts magazine Little Engines. The mag will present its “early-riser” reading series Morning, Fuckers.
Others on the Mission Creek lit lineup include former Sonic Youth member and New York Times bestseller Kim Gordon, Neko Case, Melissa Febos, Torrey Peters and Srikanth Reddy.
Though it’s not clear what future iterations of the festival will look like, Mission Creek Festival 2025 aims to be one for the record books.
For more information and early bird passes check out The Englert’s website or click below.
