Awful Purdies are a group of five women who joined forces like an Americana Voltron. For the past 20 years, they have been rocking the region with their beautiful blend of folk, honky tonk, bluegrass and a little bit of soul. This synthesis is achieved through an amalgamation of instruments that range from cello, mandolin […]
Katie Roche
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Dandelion Stompers — ‘Whirlwind Sessions Vol. 1’
Whirlwind Sessions Vol. 1 by Dandelion Stompers Recently, John Kenyon — executive director of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization and one of our area’s most insightful arts analysts — and I were both in the audience at the Englert for a performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Kenyon wrote about the […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Take a survey, boost local art: The Englert’s Katie Roche on why Johnson County is participating in the Americans for the Arts study for the first time
Roughly every five years, Americans for the Arts, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit founded in 1960, conducts a nationwide impact study on how individual communities are affected economically by the arts programs they foster and support. This year, the sixth of the study, Englert Theatre Development Director Katie Roche made sure that Johnson County would be […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Watch: Katie Roche catches up with William Elliott Whitmore backstage at the Englert
Ahead of his first show back at the Englert since pre-COVID (March 4, 2022), William Elliott Whitmore sat down with Englert Development Director and Awful Purdies accordionist Katie Roche for a wide-ranging conversation about kids, lyrics and Iowa roots. “I love coming [to the Englert],” Whitmore said. “It’s like family, it’s people that we know […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Video premiere and interview: The Awful Purdies, ‘45’
Because “45” has a simple, catchy melody, its easy to overlook the levels of depth that make it great. The melody is accompanied by a complex arrangement of acoustic elements, one of the hallmarks of the Awful Purdies’ sound. It unfolds into Katie Roche’s vocals and includes textured and layered harmonies that echo and support them.
