Riot Fest gets through a muddy 21st birthday with an ever eclectic lineup
When Caleb Williams went down with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ 9-3 loss to the Vikings, all else ceased to matter. Alex Izienicki tells the story of a miserable day in Chicago.
Owen Raefield covers the biggest performances and storylines from Iowa’s 55-0 beatdown of Northern Iowa on Saturday.
On a cool night, somewhere in between the last days of summer and first days of fall, the finale to the Hy-Vee Ampitheater’s inaugural season took place. Starring Arizona’s Gin Blossoms, hundreds turned out on their feet for the band in North Liberty’s newest venue.
Week two of college football gave us a pair of early Game of the Year candidates. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, those games came at their expense. This week, we’ll take a look at Iowa’s cathartic win over Iowa State, Oregon’s early-season struggles, and Ohio State’s meltdown against Texas.
The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers set Week 1 scoring records in a wild opening game of the 2026 season. Alex Izienicki details the 59-37 win for Chicago.
In the crowded gallery of rising bands, few make as bold a splash as Iowa’s own prog pop-punks Spin Art, performing live at Lefty’s in Des Moines this weekend.
San Diego’s iconic blackgaze band, Deafheaven will be performing tonight at the Capitol Theater as part of their tour following the release of their most recent album, Lonely People With Power.
On Saturday October 4th, World’s Worst took the stage at Gabe’s. The band took some time after sound check to chat with me, discussing their latest record “American Muscle”, how they got started playing music, and The Real Housewives of SLC.
Jefferson Starship landed in Iowa City’s Englert Theater on Sunday the 21st of September for a spectacular show. As the show began, the projector took us through time, introducing the band’s long history and members that shaped their legacy, with pictures and videos eliciting our minds’ imagination to the past lives of the other 99% of the room. It. Was. AWESOME.
This Saturday, October 4th, Louisville rock group White Reaper will be performing with Lip Critic and World’s Worst at Gabe’s, presented by the Englert Theater’s Track Zero series. This show will be one of the band’s first since the release of their 5th studio album, Only Slightly Empty.
Father John Misty returns to Iowa tonight on October 1st at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines for the first time since performing at 80/35 festival in 2022, a show I was not only at, but also vaguely remember.
Last week, Chicago’s emo sweethearts Your Arms Are My Cocoon returned to Iowa City (again!), this time in the basement of someone’s house.
Iowa punks BOOTCAMP record release show exemplified the huge impact that even small music communities can bring.
Amidst 2025’s exciting alternative rock scene, Irish trio NewDad released their second studio album on September 19, Altar. Expanding on punk and soft rock elements from their first studio album Madra, the band also pulls from shoegaze with the explosive, distorted guitars and airy vocals that build the new record’s atmosphere.
Bluff Street, a new band from Cedar Falls is bringing their heartfelt indie rock and to Iowa City, only at the James this Saturday.
