Marked on folks calendars for the past six months, Luke Combs announced his “My Kinda Saturday Night Tour” in October spreading across North America and Europe over the span of 23 nights. These shows have been selling out quickly, becoming one of the hottest tickets of the year, and for good reason. The country star has showcased his iconic sound across the worlds biggest stages, introducing countless audiences to the genre. Coming off the heels of a busy year with headlining slots at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and more, there’s never been a bigger time for Combs. Three weeks removed from his sixth record’s release, The Way I Am, this wave has been high for the singer/songwriter.

Appearing from the tunnels in the north end zone of Jack Trice Stadium came Luke and his band underneath the deluge of cheers as “Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked” played. Making a pit stop for a quick drink before his entrance to the stage, Luke and his Wild Cards all stepped up to their stations. Shaking the stadium from the start, Combs began with the song sharing the titular honors with the tour “My Kinda Saturday Night” as the crowd jumped to their feet. There was no slowing down in Ames, hitting qiuck with “Lovin’ on You” and “Hurricane” following it up. After, Combs dialed back the speed but not the hits, “She Got the Best of Me” brought all 60,000+ voices into one.

Coming in at #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart this past week is “Sleepless in a Hotel Room.” Combs’ 20th song to reach that milestone proves he still has the secret recipe for a hit after a dozen years in the industry. “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” was one of ten songs performed from his latest record The Way I Am, holding over a third of what was played that evening. Tapping into other tunes from the record like “Back in the Saddle” and “Be By You,” these were some of the most entertaining numbers in the show. For the third night on the tour, the band made these weeks old songs sound like staples in the set.

Although there was a heavy dose on the new album, Combs didn’t forget what songs got him to stadiums. Sweetheart’s favorite jam “Better Together” was a catalyst for fans holding each other close and swaying as the temperature dipped into the 50’s. In the middle of the set, Combs and his band took to some barstools on stage as they sang some more heartfelt ballads. Speaking about the range of emotions it takes to write a song, these introspections were a welcomed addition to the set. Whether tapping into the love in his heart for his wife, or a sadness that sometimes feels paralyzing, this honest chapter in the night was a nice breath. “I Ain’t No Cowboy” and “Wish Upon A Whiskey” were absorbed into the crowd at Iowa State during this breakdown.

The lovey-dovey and sadness eventually scampered off and Luke was back to his rocking chart-toppers like “1,2 Many” and “When It Rains It Pours.” During the former, a Luke Combs tradition is following the lyrics of the song to a ‘T’ and shotgunning a beer. Joining the 2019 Country Artist of the Year was Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball legend Georges Niang to blaring applause. The Indiana Pacers draftee of a decade ago was an eager participant and it was delightful to see him back on home turf. While there was no competition on loudest song throughout the night, closer “Beer Never Broke My Heart” would have taken the gold medal. A killer end to the main set, Combs had the audience in the palm of his hand.

The encore was a trio of arguably Combs biggest songs. Beginning with his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” bringing the crowd back down to earth after that bombastic finale. Chapman’s tune was first covered by Combs in 2023 for his record Gettin’ Old. Tracy came out for her first live performance since 2015 to accompany the North Carolina native on stage at the 2024 Grammy’s, where Chapman has walked away victorious four prior times.

Luke Combs finished the extensive evening with “Where the Wild Things Are” and his song for Twisters, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” The finale was grand and included all the jostling a song about tornados in the home of the Cyclones should cause. Despite the threat of rain, all 5 performers put on a knockdown show at Jack Trice Stadium.

Dierks Bentley

This was very much a country concert. Every musician was country, everyone was dressed country, but if I had to put Dierks Bentley into a genre, it would be ‘Dude Rock’. The definition of ‘Dude Rock’ is very vague, but the main idea is that its just a dude who rocks. And let me tell you, Dierks rocks. Hitting 14 songs spanning his 23-year career, there was everything a super fan, casual fan, and soon-to-be fan could want in the set. Classics like “Drunk On a Plane” and “Free and Easy” got the crowd going by the fourth and final opener of the evening. There was a invigorating and joyful energy put into the air by Dierks and his band as their banter and bits kept the smiles coming in between songs. Dierks Bentley will be on the road this year for his “Off the Map Tour“.

Ty Meyers

The youngest performer on the docket was Texas’ own Ty Meyers. At 18 years of age, there is a long and exciting road ahead of the “Thought It Was Love” singer. With a beat up stratocaster in hand, Meyers pulls on bluesy influence for the lead licks in his songs. His 2026 record Heavy on the Soul made up almost half of his setlist. Other notable plays included two covers, “Valerie” and Tyler Childers’ “Feathered Indians“. A busy year awaits Ty Meyers as he will continue a mix of opening sets and headlining dates across Europe and North America.

Jake Worthington

A little honky tonk never hurt anyone, and Jake Worthington is a prime example. Another Texas native was the second to hit the stage on Saturday, bringing his southern charm to Iowa. We heard four tracks from his 2025 record When I Write The Song including his closer “It Ain’t The Whiskey“. Worthington has already created an extensive collaboration list, including Miranda Lambert and Marty Stuart. This brief look into the the musicians young career was catchy. You can take a much deeper dive into Jake Worthington as his headlining “Intent to Tonk Tour” takes flight later this spring.

Thelma and James

The first band of the busy evening was faced with a slight rain delay, although that didn’t shake Thelma and James. Their hit “Happy Ever After You” spurred them into the spotlight as the two songwriters looked into their own careers on the stage much more seriously. The duo has one album out, Starting Over, released in 2025 and are just over a week removed from their latest single “Alternate Ending” dropping. A fun and sweet sound that welcomed folks as they filed into Jack Trice Stadium. Thelma and James will continue opening for Luke Combs on the rest of his North American dates throughout his “My Kinda Saturday Night Tour”.

Throughout all 5 artists, big and small, there was an energy pulsing in the stadium that was a joy to be apart of. I hope more artists will take advantage of the massive stadiums on college campuses, along with their passionate fan bases. Artists like Luke Combs, Zach Bryan, and Coldplay are paving the way for more collegiate stadium shows in a time when high capacity venues are selling out in minutes. Luke Combs will continue on his “My Kind of Saturday Night Tour” for the remainder of the spring. Jack Trice Stadium will host Post Malone in July.

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People began staking their places on the Pentacrest lawn two hours before the concert’s set start time. Despite it being the first colder day of autumn, the event drew in hundreds to thousands of people filling in every space of grass, making it perhaps the largest attendance turn out for a SCOPE organized event.  

After a tantalizing DJ set from Ahzia, Swae Lee walked out to a massive uproar from the audience. Throughout his set Lee was feeding off the immense, ecstatic radiation from the expansive crowd. Identifying this from launch, after his first song “No Type” Lee exclaimed how they were all already “off to a crazy start.” Lee proceeded to give a spirited performance with zealous eye-catching stunts, plenty of crowd interaction, and performances of major hits, like his collaboration on the track “Sunflower”. 

KRUI had close-up stage access to the event, where we were able to grab photos of the set. Images are included below. All photo credits go to Alice Eberhart. 

Press the escape key on desktop to exit gallery.

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(All photos taken by and copyrighted by Ian Netter)

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Bill Adams was invited to photograph at last year’s Mission Creek Festival with the freedom to shoot where ever and how ever he pleased. This year, the festival was fortunate enough to include a portion of what he captured.

The exhibit was on display Saturday afternoon at Motley Cow Café.

Bill’s photos are probably not what you expect when you initially think of concert photography. He says that “performers onstage are already being photographed, and the resulting images feel flat or empty. So I look elsewhere, both onstage and in the audience.” This concept has developed (no pun intended) into a collection of incredible masterpieces.

This unique approach sets his art apart from most concert photographs you normally see, (mine included). While other’s focus on the main event, he finds his subjects within the obscurity of the masses.

Almost the entire collection includes moments from various performances, however only a few capture the performers themselves. A lot of images detail extremely intimate moments between friends, lovers, and strangers who are experiencing the festival together.

One particularly striking image is of a couple sitting on a bench, inside the venue for Future Rock. Her hands cover her face as her head rests in her friends lap; he comforts her. This split second appears completely unnoticed by the people around them, but Bill is able to place us in this window of time to expose us (pun intended) to such a powerfully emotional experience.

Even when he does capture the bands themselves, it is in atypical fashion. For example at the Grizzly Bear show he archetypes a faded contrast of concert goers who appear to be staring into a blinding white light that is the Englert Theatre stage. While those attending the show are seeing the performance, through his use of light exposure and photo retouching services, Bill is able to show a perspective that one might not get taking an ordinary photo of a band onstage.

Whether you, yourself are a photographer or someone who just enjoys looking at photographs, there is something we can all take away from this exhibit: Sometimes the spotlight shines on those who dwell in the shadows.

You can check out Bill Adam’s full gallery here.

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The night opened with her supporting act and fellow band mate: Ted Leo. Ted opened with simply his electric guitar and his voice. His smooth tenor voice soared throughout the room of the elegant Englert Theater and set the tone for what was going to be a spectacular night. Toward the end of Ted’s act, Aimee joined Ted for a few numbers that they perform together in their band, The Both. After some very fun, light-humored comic relief, that included talking about the irony of Aimee opening for herself, the duo belted out some tunes. The friendship between the two was evident and made for a very enjoyable duet performance of beautiful melodies and stellar harmonies.

After some much anticipated intermission, Aimee Mann took the stage to some much-appreciated applause, proving the audience was ready for her arrival. She opened her set, with just her and her guitar, then later added a bass played by Paul Bryan and  piano played by pianist Jamie Edwards. The trio sounded great together, not only in the instrument field, but the players sang tremendously as well as they belted out harmonies unlike any I’ve heard before.

Ted joined the stage again and Aimee shared a story about a time when she played one of her more famous tunes. Aimee was asked to play for Hillary Clinton when she was awarded the Liberty Award. After some banter back and forth between Aimee and Ted, Aimee shared that she recalled “Hillary Clinton swaying ‘sensually’ back and forth to her song.” After much laughter from the crowd, and some applause at the beginning of the song, she played her hit “Save Me.”

I would like to point out the musicianship of the artists that played. Personally, my outstanding musicianship award would be given away to the pianist Jamie Edwards who cultivated much applause throughout the night during his many piano solos. He blew me away as well as much of the audience away with his abilities, but I don’t want to stop there because every player on that stage was an artist and deserves just as big of a round of applause.

After a much-deserved standing ovation, Aimee came out for three more songs, even asking for an audience suggestion. Aimee Mann could not have given me a better event to attend for a Saturday night in Iowa City. With some well-written, heartfelt music, and a wonderfully light humored performance,  Aimee proved herself at the Englert Theater.

Check out a photo gallery from the show below, and to read Aimee Mann’s bio, find out tour dates, or get more information on her music, check out her website!

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