Rock the Chalk 2018 Downtown Iowa City — Friday, Aug. 10 at 10 a.m. The third annual Rock the Chalk will be bringing art to the streets of downtown Iowa City Friday. Literally. Participating artists will start chalking artworks onto Clinton Street starting at 10 a.m. on Friday morning. Live music starts at noon; this […]
Nonprofit arts organization Summer of the Arts is kicking off one of their five summer programs this weekend. The Free Movie Series will begin with a showing of Wonder Woman on Saturday, June 9 at 9 p.m. […]
Iowa Arts Festival: Joan Osborne Downtown Iowa City — Friday, June 1 at 9 p.m. Among an excellently curated set of local gems and national talent, the Iowa Arts Festival’s featured performer for Friday night, June 1 is Joan Osborne, who claimed notoriety with her 1995 song “One of Us.” The biggest single off her […]
Mainstage performers for the Summer of the Arts’ 2018 Iowa Arts Festival, taking place June 1-3, have been announced, representing both local and national musicians and dancers. […]
Those who contribute the most to local music scenes often make the least amount of noise. This was certainly true of the late Dennis Jones, an unassuming sound engineer who could regularly be seen operating the sound board for Iowa City’s Friday Night Concert Series, as well as at hundreds of club shows, benefits and other local events over the past three decades, until his death at the age of 68 on Feb. 9. […]
It is the best of times, it is the worst of times: the first half of August in Iowa City. For half a month twice a year (also early January), tumbleweeds blow through our deserted streets. Those of us who are left enjoy Iowa City at its best. Those of us who are left suffer Iowa City at its worst.
Our town is at its worst at this time of year because the life has been sucked out of it. The university’s summer session is over, so even that relatively small summer population of intrepid students — the life-force of so much of Iowa City’s energy —
have headed for the beach, for home, for the mountains, wherever. Their professors have packed in their grade books and skipped town for the only two summer vacation weeks available to them. Even the university’s administrative offices are operating on skeleton crews before the onslaught of the fall semester begins. […]
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. […]
Among the exciting national acts brought in for the Iowa Arts Festival this year is Vermont-born, Brooklyn, New York-based songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. Deeply rooted in American folk traditions, Mitchell manages a sound that is contemporary without being retro or revival — an extension of the sound, rather than a tribute to it. She is tomorrow’s folk singer.
Mitchell’s 2010 recording of her folk opera Hadestown featured an array of key voices in the genre, from Ani DiFranco to Iowa’s own Greg Brown. Mitchell continues to work on its transformation into a full stage musical; the 2016 off-Broadway production has been nominated for several awards, including the April Drama Desk Awards announcement of its nomination in the Outstanding Musical category. Her most recent record, 2014’s xoa, was the third released on her own label, Wilderland Records. Mitchell took some time just before hitting the road to answer some questions over email for Little Village. […]
The Iowa City Summer of the Arts Friday Night Concert Series that has captivated audiences on the Ped Mall all season long ended in grand fashion on Friday, Sept. 2 with Des Moines artist Christopher the Conquered. Chris Ford and company played nearly three hours of lively and soulful music with some select covers, and plenty […]
Christopher the Conquered Weatherdance Fountain Stage (Ped Mall) — Friday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Iowa City’s 2016 Summer of the Arts winds to a close this Labor Day weekend with their final installment of the free Friday Night Concert Series (located on the Weatherdance Fountain Stage in the Ped Mall). On Friday, Sept. 2, […]
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 […]
Iowa Arts Festival Downtown Iowa City — June 3–5 You’ve probably kicked the A/C on already at least once, and barbecue grills have been fired up across town with a vengeance … but there’s no surer sign of the start of summer than the Iowa Arts Festival, which explodes into downtown Iowa City this weekend. […]
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