The Iowa City Jazz Festival kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday as the city’s annual Summer of the Arts continues. Like all Summer of Arts festivals, the jazz fest is free and open to the public. The three-day music event in downtown Iowa City will feature local and international jazz artists and performances covering […]
Iowa City Jazz Festival
Street closures for the Iowa City Jazz Festival start at 6 a.m. on Friday
Street closures for the Iowa City Jazz Festival start at 6 a.m. on Friday morning. Clinton Street from Jefferson to Washington will be closed to traffic, as will Iowa Avenue from Clinton to Dubuque Street. It’s expected that those streets will reopen late Sunday night. Dubuque Street will remain open to traffic — at least […]
Street closures and bus route changes for Iowa City Jazz Fest start on Friday
The music starts at 5 p.m. on Friday for the Summer of the Arts Jazz Festival in Iowa City, as the Mike Conrad Trio takes the Weatherdance Stage on the Ped Mall, but downtown street closures for the festival start even earlier. City crews will close Iowa Avenue from Dubuque Street to S Clinton Street, […]
Bring your own TP, and other tips from Iowa summer music festival regulars
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 […]
Watch: Cory Wong performs at the 2021 Iowa City Jazz Festival
Video by Jason Smith
Jazz, Rubik’s Cubes, pancakes and lumberjacks: Fourth of July weekend in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids
Activities are plentiful for anyone looking to celebrate Fourth of July in the CRANDIC. Enjoy the sunny weekend with the Freedom Festival in Cedar Rapids, Jazz Fest in Iowa City, 4thFest in Coralville — or festival hop and try to make it to all three. Of course, since it’s the Fourth of July, there will […]
The joy of anticipation and aftermath
As someone easily overwhelmed by crowds and sensory overload (and more so as I age), I can find Iowa City’s wonderful summer festivals a challenge. I have many times enjoyed the tunes, charts and riffs flowing from the stages of the Iowa City Jazz Festival. I have often parked my camp chair on the Pedestrian Mall on Friday night
The weird and inspiring story of Hot Tamale Louie will come to musical life for Iowa City Jazz Fest
Iowa City Jazz Festival: Hot Tamale Louie Main Stage, Downtown Iowa City — Friday, June 29 at 9 p.m. “Over and over we forget what being American means,” Kathryn Schulz writes in a 2016 New Yorker essay about Zarif Khan, an immigrant to the U.S. in 1907 from the mountains of Afghanistan who built a […]
27th annual Jazz Fest hits Iowa City this weekend
Jazz Fest takes over downtown Iowa City this weekend with art, activities, food and drink and dozens of musicians. The event features a main stage with national and international performers, and three side stages to showcase a variety of local acts. Performances will rotate between stages throughout the festival.
Jazz Fest features renowned performers in a weekend jam-packed with entertainment
Iowa City Jazz Festival downtown Iowa City — July 1–3, 2016 Fresh off of being named one of the country’s best Jazz Festivals in 2015, the Iowa City Jazz Festival returns this weekend to invade downtown with live music and culture. A key part of Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts, it kicks off this […]
Dave Douglas & High Risk play IC Jazz Fest Main Stage
Dave Douglas and his new quartet, High Risk, represent a step forward for electronic jazz, and a progressive, forward-thinking choice for a Friday night headliner at the Iowa City Jazz Festival…
Off-bass: Ron Miles and Whirlpool to play free late show at the Englert
The Iowa City Jazz Festival brings a horn player with a deep jazz vitae to the Englert stage this Friday. Cornet player Ron Miles will play alongside Whirlpool…

