North Liberty’s 7th annual Blues & BBQ festival takes place this Saturday at Liberty Centre. The festival starts at noon with a performance by the North Central Junior High Jazz Band, and live shows are set to continue throughout the day. Well-known Iowa blues man Kevin “BF” Burt & Big Medicine, The Funkdaddies, Music4Life, The […]
Art City: The story behind Jeff McNutt

If you really think about it, it takes generations of strong people to recognize, cultivate and promote that thing we call art. What have been cave drawings, daring derivatives, assorted doodles, Dadaist deconstructions and everything thereafter have been pushed forward by the powerful passions of true art bosses answering the calls of the mysterious heart’s […]
The Tube: Neverending stories

For the last few years, Community has been one of my favorite shows on television. Cancellation threats and time slot changes made me anxious and inspired tweets with the hashtag #SixSeasonsAndAMovie (along with tons of other fans) to show support for the awesomely quirky show. However, something changed this season: Community’s creative force and showrunner, […]
An interview with Joey Burns of Calexico
Pro Tips: Children, cover your ears
Prairie Pop: An interview with Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo’s brand of drone-rock is certainly hypnotic—narcotizing even—but their live shows are never boring. That has much to do with this threesome’s restless desire to switch up their act with each tour. I’ve seen them stage a variety show with comedians, perform straight-up rock shows in clubs, use a spinning wheel that lets […]
The return of Tilly and the Wall

When Tilly and the Wall arrived on the national stage, the five-piece had already been plugging away quietly in Omaha for some time. Formed in 2001–due in part to the demise of several other Omaha-based bands around the same time, including Conor Oberst’s Park Ave.–their first show took place at an open mic event, and their first album was recorded in Oberst’s garage. That’s pretty indie rock, right? […]
The Hops: Gears and beers

For Ray Bennett, an avid bicyclist and 27-year RAGBRAI veteran, it is always nice to have a destination at the end of a long, hot bike ride with friends—especially a destination with cold beer. Bennett, who lives in North Liberty, notes that “if you ride 15 or 20 miles, you might want to stop and […]
Hot Tin Roof: Sorrow House
American Reason: The fruits of our (minimum wage) labor
Album Review: The Lonelyhearts – Years in the Great Interior
Chicken Little Reviews: El Banditos

El Banditos is a Northside restaurant that is capturing authentic fiesta flavor in their inventive, fresh cuisine. Holding its own in a growing pool of quality Mexican joints (La Michoacana on Hwy 1, along with new-ish arrivals to downtown Cactus and Mami’s Authentic), El Banditos is affordable, laid back and fun. […]