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.
Iona Zajac made her way across the pond from Glasgow with The Pogues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their record “Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash”. We discussed touring with this historic band, the best music coming out of Ireland, and her debut album “Bang” releasing this November.
Niiice. – internet friends On Niiice.’s sophomore album internet friends, the band combines punk energy with tender introspection to pull together one of the most memorable emo records of the year. By the time last year’s Never Better EP was released, the band had already cemented themselves as Midwest DIY staples. Now, after a Summer of banned Twitter accounts and fake leaks, they prove their staying power. Across the new album’s 12 tracks, distorted chords melt into mathy breakdowns and vocalist Roddie Gadeberg’s soft melodies explode into throat-shredding screams. The drums only relent for moments of poignance before driving into another punk banger. Lyrically, the album focuses primarily on the desire to stay/leave home, friendship turmoil, and weed. On “coachella”, a song that diverges from these themes, Gadesberg focuses his pen towards … Continued
