You can say a lot about 2025. Good, bad, apocalyptic. One thing you can’t say is that it was lacking in music. Our album reviewers can tell you that much. They’ll let you know about the heaps of quality music put out by local artists in the last 12 months. Don’t take our word for it, scroll down below for an alphabetical list of every local album, debut, EP and project we covered in the past year.
Iowa music
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This Iowan attends up to 100 concerts a year. Here’s what he’s learned — and why he’s not slowing down
You meet a lot of music fans as a professional concert photographer, but over the past couple years, one has stood out to me the most. When culling through my photos from events across the state, I kept seeing the same guy, always up front by the barricade. Show after show, photoset after photoset, there […]
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After divorcing her bandmate, Deb Talan channeled heartbreak into a solo album
Little Village spoke with singer-songwriter and visual artist Deb Talan about the inspiration behind her recently-released solo album, I Thought I Saw You, what she loves about creating art in her chosen hometown of Iowa City, and the joy she’s found in collaborating with her fellow Iowa-based artists.
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Ukulele maestro Andrew Hoyt is ‘bringing the fancy wine to the party’ with his new EP, Wooly’s release party
Des Moines singer-songwriter Andrew Hoyt isn’t letting the stress get to him. Not the stress that comes with debuting (and having entirely paid for) his first all-original EP of music, Kind of Paradise. Or the anxiety in planning the upcoming album release show at Wooly’s, the first time he’s headlined said venue. Sure that stress […]
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After 37 years, Bob Dorr will end his IPR rock history show ‘Backtracks’ this month
“Thirty-seven years and four months, but who’s counting?” That’s how long Iowa blues icon Bob Dorr has been hosting his rock and roll history show, Backtracks — a mainstay of Iowa Public Radio’s top-notch music programming. But on New Year’s Eve 2022, that all comes to an end. Dorr isn’t retiring, thankfully: The voice that […]
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Five questions with Luke Pettipoole of the Envy Corps
Des Moines music fans know the Envy Corps as an alt-pop band from Ames that has over time become a festival staple. This summer is no exception. In the recent lineup announcement, 80/35 festival revealed that the Envy Corps will take the stage there for the fifth time. I talked with the founder of the […]
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We Are Here online concert addresses the state of the arts in Iowa
“As difficult as it feels to acknowledge it, I have not fared well through the pandemic,” Iowa musician River Glen Breitbach said in an email. “I have been a hard working musician for over 25 years and in that time I have established annual routes that have me touring throughout Iowa and the neighboring states, […]
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Video Premiere: The Hollowmen, “Need It Most”
The music scene in Iowa in the ’80s was vibrant. Inspired by similar regional scenes nationwide, bands across the state were springing from their garages, basements and practice spaces ready to storm the stages of bars and dorms everywhere. The beacon for this movement locally was the ever-present KUNI studios evening music programming, which regularly […]
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Twenty for 2020: Songs that shaped Iowa’s sonic landscape
This is not a “best of.” For a brief moment, I thought I would try to collect the best songs of 2020 from Iowa artists. But there are too many fantastic releases this year that are on Bandcamp, and the only way I can make a mix is on Spotify. So I’m hamstrung. Once I […]
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Video Premiere: The Hex Girls, “Cats With No Teeth (Catch No Mice)”
While live shows are effectively throttled in-person, it has become more important than ever for bands to come up with ways to maintain visibility on their fans’ radar. One such way? By releasing music videos. Once largely considered a necessary evil (albeit a potentially fun and creative one) to help boost album sales, videos are […]
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Top five 2018: A look back on Iowa music
2018 has been a trial, as we’ve watched the country succumb to the increasingly outlandish and horrible thrashing in the mud of President Tony Clifton. People have said that great music comes out of dire political times, but I hate that idea … Making great music is a personal, inward-focusing task.
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Highlights from the 30th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference
The 30th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference recently wrapped up in Kansas City, Missouri. The five-day event boasted 180 nightly official showcase performances and over 3,000 private showcase listening room sessions.
