Friday at Hancher Auditorium

Donika Kelly, 6:30pm

A fitting opener for a festival about exploration and discovery, poet and University of Iowa English professor Donika Kelly will kick off the Stop/Time festival with a short, fifteen-minute reading at Hancher. Kelly’s poetry is reflective and expansive, covering themes from consuming love to blinding pain and everything in between. Her first book of poetry, Bestiary, won the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and her most current book, The Natural Order of Things, was released in October 2025 to positive reviews. Many of her individual poems have been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review.

–Bailey Vergara

Ambrose Akinmusire, 6:45pm

Hey, you. Do you like jazz? Let’s hope so, because renowned trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is coming to Hancher Up Close to bless your ears with musings that combine avant-garde jazz, post-bop, hip-hop, and more. With music, Akinmusire hopes to break down the educational barriers surrounding classical jazz and uplift community stories; he borrows from tradition, but is not constrained by it. His newest record, “honey from a winter stone,” is an exploratory journey through a variety of moods, from slow and meandering to restless and lively. And in case you aren’t already sold on his talent, his 2023 album “Owl Song” was nominated for a 2025 Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

–Bailey Vergara

Mei Semones, 8:45pm

24-year-old guitarist and singer Mei Semones will bring her technical talent and playful songwriting personality to Club Hancher in Strauss Hall of Hancher on Friday. Her songs blend indie rock, bossa nova, jazz, and dreamy pop, with lyrics in both English and Japanese. Despite their intricate layering, you’ll still find them easy to hum along to, and you may not be able to stop. Semones’ newest full album, “Animaru,” is dedicated to her trust in her own instincts, built through years of practice and demonstrated by ornate guitar riffs and refined, breathy vocals. Her upcoming EP “Kurage” — which features Liana Flores, John Roseboro, and her own dad — releases April 10th.

–Bailey Vergara

Saturday across Iowa City

Evicshen, 4:30pm at Gabe’s

Tapping into the weirder side of the Iowa City music community, Hancher brought in San Francisco based experimental noise artist Victoria Shen. Performing under the name Evicshen for the past eight years, her music uses powerful walls of sound and intense textures that assault your sonic palette. This often is used with extremely creative ways of bending or playing her records, such as comb filtering and folding records with her nails. 
Within her live shows, she combines this extremely well with creative art installations, and the use of weaponry and other eccentric performance antics to create a vibrant visual experience, and assault on the senses. Watching some of the recorded concerts was a beyond fascinating experience, and something I hope a lot of you guys can enjoy. 
Artists like her aren’t interested in growing a large audience, or mass producing their music. They’re interested in performing for a niche crowd who understand their artistic version, and are open to hearing music on the more experimental and macabre side of the isle. If this intrigues you, she’s playing at Gabe’s at 4:30PM, come with ear plugs.

–Tarik Krob

Sharp Pins, 6:00pm at Gabe’s

Sharp Pins, an exciting new voice in the music underground, is a one man band combining elements of classic rock with more modern indie and alternative stylizations. The side project of Kai Slater, lead singer of fellow Chicago band Lifeguard, has been picking up steam in the last few years with some incredibly unique and high quality albums.
His most recent album Balloon Balloon Balloon is a jangly hallucinatory odyssey connected by three different tracks simply labeled Balloon 1-3. Wearing his influences off his back with zero shame, the album takes the trippy, other worldly sounds of psychedelic bands of the 60s like The Beatles and The Zombies with a more stripped back DIY sound, similar to post punk bands like Joy Division and The Velvet Underground. Their previous release Radio DDR has a similar vibe, but with a more varied song lineup and more pop-centered approach to songwriting. If Balloon Balloon Balloon felt like listening to your grandparents old low fidelity radio, then Radio DDR feels like sifting through random singles in their vinyl collection. 
If any of this at all sounds interesting to you, check them out at 6PM at Gabe’s. Start listening before it’s cool to say you’re a fan.

–Tarik Krob

Danez Smith, 6:45pm at the Englert Theatre

On April 4th, queer, non-binary poet and performer Danez Smith will return to Iowa City to perform at The Englert Theatre for the Stop/Time festival. Smith previously led a workshop and hosted the Writers of Color Reading series in 2017, which was also produced by The Englert. Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and later earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan. They’re best known for their poetry collections Boy (2014), Don’t Call Us Dead (2017), and Bluff (2024). Their work has won multiple awards, such as the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, just to name a few. Smith has also performed with rapper Macklemore, back in 2016 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, along with Chicago-based poet Jamila Woods. 
For those interested in attending a poetry reading or specifically in Smith’s poetry, they will also being hosting a reading at Prairie Lights at 3:15 pm that same day. This reading is presented by Stop/Time Festival, but entry at Prairie Lights is free for all.

–Ria Das

The Branford Marsalis Quartet, 7:00pm at the Englert Theatre

The Branford Marsalis Quartet is a jazz band, closer described as a chamber group, headed by American saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Marsalis is a composer and the leader of the band. He has played with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Sting, the Grateful Dead, and Dizzy Gillespie. He has been playing the saxophone in bands and solo since the 1980s. The quartet officially formed in 1986 with members Kenny Kirkland on the piano, Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, and Robert Hurst on bass. Pianist Kenny Kirkland died in the 90’s and was replaced by Joey Calderazzo and Robert Hurst was replaced by Eric Revis on bass. Later Tain left the band and was replaced by Justin Faulkner. On Saturday night they will be featuring their newly released album Belonging, which came out last March. Expect an experimental yet classic jazz sound from this quartet. As Marsalis notes, “it doesn’t really matter where our journey goes, as long as we keep the dance going.”

–Moira Grant

Golomb, 8:00pm at Gabe’s

Golomb is a alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio and are made up of three members, two of which are married (members Mickey and Xenia Shuman). The third member is Xenia’s brother, Hawken Holm who plays drums while Xenia and Mickey sing and play bass and guitar. They have a dream-like/indie sound, leaning into noise and experimental rock. They write their own songs and were formed in 2018. Expect a lively show with folksy-sounding guitar riffs and country elements such as a pedal-steel guitar, especially in the song “Sweet Release (Ain’t No Devil)” but also a loud, lively, and heavy sound from the song “The Beat Goes On.” This band is experimental as well. The lead singer Mickey sounds just like Stephen Malkmus, the lead singer of Pavement. Xenia often does the background vocals and harmonizes excellently with Mickey. Perhaps being unified in marriage also transfers to being unified in sound and music? Find out this Saturday.

–Moira Grant

Tortoise, 9:15pm at The Englert Theatre

The post-rock Chicago legends Tortoise join us in Iowa City to close out The Englert Theatre’s share of events this weekend. This is one of those bands that people on the internet debate about at such a mighty length that this discourse can only be achieved through the means of doctorate dissertations or through Reddit. But at their core, they’re a rock band built from atmosphere. Influenced by electronica, krautrock, and jazz, their music is this kind of eclectic and wondrous mish-mash. It feels a stretch to call it “rock,” the sound is so minimal yet so captivating in how it pulls a listener directly into this world they’re creating. They’re current tour follows the release of Torch, their newest album from last year released after nearly a decade record hiatus, yet still ringing out the same quality as their 1998 landmark TNT album. I’d truly recommend seeing this band, they’ve played such a major part of the post-rock foundation and seeing them at this festival really encapsulates the exact artistry that Stop/Time Festival is creating space for.

–Pauly

Frankie and the Witch Fingers, 10:30pm at Gabe’s

Punk-rock band Frankie and The Witch Fingers performs at Gabe’s for Stop/Time Festival and as part of their tour for their newest album, Trash Classic. The band was originally formed in Indiana by founding member Dylan Sizemore, the band’s vocalist and rhythm guitarist, and later relocated to Los Angeles. Currently, the band consists of Josh Menashe (vocalist, lead guitarist, and synthesizer), Nikki Pickle (bassist), Nick Aguilar (drummer), and Jon Modaff (synths). Frankie and the Witch Fingers evolved from Sizemore’s original solo act into a band, signing to record labels such as Permanent Records, and released their self-titled first album in 2015 with their psych-pop/acid-rock second album Heavy Roller out a year later. The band has since released more albums, with their most recent Trash Classic in 2025, described as plunging, “into a sewer-slick fusion of proto-punk venom, fractured new wave, and industrial grime. Brimming with wiry synths, angular melodies, and grooves that squirm and bite.” If any of that sounds interesting to you, consider attending their show for the chance to rock out with them live!

–Ria Das

There’s plenty more to see at Iowa City’s first Stop/Time Festival this weekend, with a huge spread of incredible local and touring artists, authors, and poets presented by Hancher Auditorium. For more information on further events and to purchase tickets, check the Stop/Time website here.

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Collaborating with University of Iowa’s Scope Productions, The Englert Theater brought Lip Critic back to Iowa City as a part of their Track Zero series. With the band’s unique and unconventional blend of various music styles and this being their second visit to the world city, it’s no surprise that they’ve quickly gained the cult following of punks, raver’s, alt kids, hip hop heads and music lovers alike all across Iowa. Joined by local powerviolence act Recess and punk rockers Ascended Master, it was bound to be a great show.  

Recess was the first opener and started the night off with some incredible energy. Lead singer Sir Anne Wrappe has dipped their toes in several forms of performance art including drag and burlesque acts which makes them a very unique but exciting hardcore front-man. This juxtaposes perfectly with Powerviolence’s usual style of fast paced, aggressive guitar solos and murky, sludgy bass riffs to make Recess really stand out amongst a sea of copy-cat metal bands. Another highlight of their performances for me was their undeniable chemistry as a group, from the consistent swap of vocalists to the way the drum fills compliment the guitarists, you can tell this is a group of highly skilled and experienced musicians. Excellent set and I can’t wait to see more from Recess, they don’t have any released music so make sure to check out a show from these rising stars in the Iowa City music scene!

Next up was Ascended Master, the “unc band” of the lineup. Due to how strong their performance was, I was surprised to find out that they’ve only been playing shows for the past few months, but it made more sense knowing how stacked the group was with music scene veterans. Namely their lead singer Oliver Weilein of City Council and BOOTCAMP fame. At one point in between songs he went around the crowd asking people what they would want to change about Iowa City and actually listening to their responses. It’s really great to see a local musician who’s so dedicated to uplifting their own community and just goes on to show why Oliver is such a local legend.

Even speaking exclusively about music, the set was such a blast, just punk bangers back to back with such a keen understanding of performance and crowd control. I think my favorite was a cover of Descendents iconic song Hope, with some really fun mic grabs and crowd pile ons throughout the track. Unfortunately they have no social media, so make sure to continue looking out for them popping up on some local flyers!

The simplest and most accurate way to describe Lip Critic’s music is experimental. The eccentric four man multi instrumentalist group combines elements of rock, hip hop, punk, electronic, and industrial music to make these incredibly produced tracks that are equally aggressive as they are danceable. This was reflected perfectly within this show’s moshpit which ebb and flowed between rave style dances and more traditional push pit moshing. 

You can’t help but shake ass to the grooveable rhythms of Toxin Dodger, thrash your head to The Heart and sing your lungs out to the choruses of Milky Max and In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God). And none of this would be possible without the band’s incredible stage presence. Their lead singer Bret Kaser is an absolute maniac who will do anything to bring up the crowd’s energy whether that’s running into the pit, bringing people on stage or screaming random things between sets. With such high energy performers it’s hard to not reciprocate that energy and want to move with them, which I believe everyone in the audience (me included) felt for the whole set. If you want to hear more about specific tracks, check out my review of their latest album Hex Dealer. If you love what you hear, definitely anticipate the group’s upcoming album Theft World, out on April 30th. But for now, thank you Lip Critic, for an amazing performance.

While not available for a full interview after the show, I did get the really great opportunity to have a conversation with the lead singer at the merch booth and here’s some of what he had to say.

Tarik: Hey thanks for a great set, really loved it.

Bret: Thank you man, thanks for the energy.

Tarik: Did you actually meet your wife in Iowa? (Referring to earlier in the show when he shouted between songs that he met his wife at Gabe’s)

Bret: Nah I don’t even have a wife.

Tarik: Wait what, why’d you say that then?

Bret: I don’t know, I just thought it’d make people excited.

Tarik: Do you always make up stuff like that during shows?

Bret: Yeah, just something funny that gets people going.

Tarik: I was gonna say, cause I think last time you were here you said you were going through a divorce.

Bret: Haha yeah, did you come to our show here with White Reaper?

Tarik: Yeah no it was so fun. I didn’t know who y’all were before the concert, and I came and you guys put on such a great show I had to come see you guys again.

Bret: Do a lot of people around here just kinda like coming to shows, even if they don’t know the artists?

Tarik: Yeah, a good amount of people, we got a pretty solid music scene.

Bret: Yeah that’s sick man, we really didn’t know Iowa City was like that before our first show here, but we were really sleeping on it, you guys go crazy.

Tarik: Thanks, y’all should come back.

Bret: Yeah, we definitely will next tour.

Tarik: When’s that gonna be?

Bret: Probably around fall after we release our new album. This was kind of just a mini tour to test out new songs live and create some hype around the album.

Tarik: Well I’ll definitely show up man, see y’all next time.

Bret: Yeah thank you!

And this conversation is where I found my story. I thought back on October 4th my first time seeing Lip Critic, and what I initially thought was gonna be an average night out with some fun music, but what turned into one of my favorite live music experiences and a newfound love for an extremely talented emerging group. All resulting from me just choosing to take a chance on seeing a lineup of bands I knew next to nothing of. Like Bret stated “People here just kind of like coming to shows, even if they don’t know the artists.” Similar to how Lip Critic took a chance on playing in Iowa City for the first time and now it’s becoming a tour staple for them.

I talk to music fans on a daily basis, many of which you would almost never catch at a local show. Usually saying something along the lines of “Well how do I know if I’ll like it if I don’t know the artists?” Well my question is what if you DO love it? It’s a common trend to see online music lovers post performances from their favorite artists at the dawn of their career. Playing to small crowds at local restaurants, venues and basements. A far cry from their later critical acclaim and global success. You’ll see these comments flooded with people talking about how much they wish they could’ve been there to see these amazing acts for cheap in such an intimate environment. Well what’s stopping you from doing that now? Every city is flooded with performances from talented, hungry young artists looking to make something special and one of them might just be a new favorite of yours. I found that with Lip Critic, and you can too.

The post Concert Review: Lip Critic, Ascended Master, Recess, and why you should go to local shows. February 19th at Gabe’s. appeared first on KRUI Radio.

MONDAY 

On Monday, the Iowa City Public Library and the UI Main Library Gallery are volleying events back and forth. Starting at 10:30am, the ICPL will host a Chinese Bilingual Storytime with children’s librarian Fang, before becoming a home for youth events later in the evening with a LEGO League Challenger. It is an opportunity to practice the overlapping world of robotics and LEGO in a competitive format. LEGO League Challenger runs from 4:00pm-5:30pm. 

For a graduate crowd, at 4:00pm the UI Library will be hosting a Curated Guiding Tour of Orchestrating Community: The Public Service of Iowa Coordinator James Dixon. This is a tour hosted by co-curators Sarah Suhadolnik and Kate Buehner to celebrate the man behind the podium who helped create orchestras here in Iowa City and all over the world. 

TUESDAY 

Tuesday has worldly opportunities such as another bilingual reading at the Iowa City Public Library!. This time in Spanish, librarian Miriam brings together singing, dancing, and reading into Iowa City every Tuesday from 10:30am-11:00am. Later on at the library, from 4:00pm-5:00pm, the West High Trojan Lions Dance Group from the Asian Students Union for a Chinese New Year celebration. 

Film Scene will also continue to host their Free Tuesdays and Alley Cat will host its karaoke night (21+) 

WEDNESDAY 

At noon, The Englert will host its building tour, where you can explore the historic venue and enjoy some quieter time in this lively building.  

Public Space One and the IC Press Co-Op will be showcasing the wonders of letterpress and screen printing at Iowa’s only community print shop! This event, where you can print your own design, will take place from 1:00pm-4:30pm. 

Prairie Lights will be hosting their first event of Free Week with a conversation and reading from Jake Fournier and his new collection of poems Punishment Bag. From 7:00pm-8:00pm, the Albuquerque based firefighter will be speaking with Alicia Wright, managing editor of The Iowa Review. 

THURSDAY 

The University of Iowa’s Theatre Building will be putting on a Festival of Ten-Minute Plays starting at 2:00pm. This is the 29^th edition of this celebration of undergraduate students and their work, artistically directed by Tony Meneses. 

On the other side of campus at the Voxman Music Building, Lowell Lieberman and Gabriel Kahane for a conversation with Director of Orchestral Studies Kenny Lee. The two composers will continue their weeklong residencies as a concert showcasing some of their work that will be conducted by Dr Lee will follow the conversation. The event will begin at 6:00pm. 

All skill levels are welcome at The Artifactory for a Life Drawing Class from 6:30pm-8:30pm. An opportunity to focus in on some artistic skills with your non toxic medium of choice. This event is dedicated to University of Iowa graduate Phil Dorothy, who loved art and was a big supporter of the Iowa City scene. 

FRIDAY 

Public Space One Northside will be hosting a wild and exciting immersive experience. Using Isadora technology, Dead or Amazing is unlike anything you’ve experienced before. This interactive visual display, that responds to audience movement and sound to alter its exhibit in a 180 degree immersive field. This optical experience was created with mixed media drawings by Ethan Edvenson and video by Charles Borowicz. 

You can take in the sights from one of the tallest buildings in Iowa City, The Vue Rooftop will be hosting Nebraska based singer-songwriter Dage Lee starting at 8:00pm.This busy musical night continues with Jacoozy playing at Gabe’s, John D Neal at Elrays, and another performance by the symphony orchestra at Voxman. If music is not your entertainment of choice, Studio 13 is hosting a drag performance (10:30pm) and AlleyCat’s Comic Cabin Comedy Show (9:30pm). Both events are 19+. 

SATURDAY  

Saturday will be off to a early start in Iowa City. The Artifactory will be hosting a Basics of Drawing Class at 10:00am while Chauncey and Merge will be putting on One Book Two Book Festival. This celebration of children’s literature aims to connect children to books trhough readings, discussions, and even chracter meet and greets with Clifford and everyone’s favorite amphibious duo, Frog and Toad.  

The UI Museum of Natural History will be anchoring the afternoon silent disco scene from 2:00pm-6:00pm. An unorthodox place to bust a move, the museum strives to make it a place to contemplate, ruminate, and gyrate.  

University of Iowa alumni Elizabeth Moen will be making her grand return to Iowa City headlining The Englert Theatre at 8:00pm. She is no stranger to The Englert as she opened for Bernie Sanders almost a year ago to date on February 22^nd, 2026. Moen blends a lively show with strong and weaving lyrics that feel are ripped straight from a bestselling book of poetry. Influenced by the greats such as Bruce Springsteen and Wilco, she will be opening up for recent Englert players, The Wood Brothers, in March. 

SUNDAY 

The Englert will be hosting the Iowa City Flea Market from 11:00am-5:00pm as Free Week enters its final day. A great place to find new pieces form a variety of local vendors. This flea market spreads across all levels of The Englert, filling up the stage and aisles with countless items.  

Voxman will be busy once again, presenting two events, The Iowa Honor Band Showcase at 1:00pm and the Center For New Music Ensemble Concert III at 7:30. Sandwiched in between those two events is the continuation of the Ten-Minute Play Festival at the UI Theatre Building and One Book Two Book Festival. 

Iowa City Free Week is offering broad and welcoming lineup of events to hop into. Whether it is music, crafting, expanding your love of film, or anything else, there is no shortage of things to do. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to experience what makes Iowa City so special! More information about each event can be found from Think Iowa City.

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Or — and this is equally likely, especially if you’re a college student like me — you don’t.

The divide between older and younger patrons of comedy has never been more apparent to me than on Friday, February 6th at the Englert Theatre, while I watched Tom Arnold’s newest stand-up performance on his 50-city North American “My Crazy X-Wife Tour”. While most of the (primarily older) audience seemed to enjoy themselves during Arnold’s set, I came away from the performance with a different feeling entirely: not quite dislike, but not enjoyment either.

Before I get into my mixed feelings about Arnold’s comedy, I’d be remiss not to mention the positives of the night. Arnold has clearly been in the industry a very long time, and it shows in the quickness and wit of his comedic storytelling. His set is delightfully unpolished, delivered in a slightly rushed conversational style that keeps the jokes coming at a frenetic pace. And even when he’s not focused strictly on jokes, the stories he tells of his time in Hollywood are entertaining enough to keep the audience engaged.

In fact, one of the strongest points of the night was the instant rapport that Arnold had with his audience. He did, of course, attend the University of Iowa, which earned him automatic points. (He was also able to pull former Hawkeye women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder up on stage to introduce him, which, of course, won our immediate respect.) It seemed like many of the attendees even knew Arnold personally, with a few shouting out to him during the show; he even pointed out his nephew sitting in the front. Arnold was not afraid to engage with the audience members who talked to him during the show, which greatly relaxed the room and made the stand-up special feel more like a family gathering.

In a way, though, I think the “family gathering” aspect of Arnold’s performance also speaks to what I found unpleasant about the show. Arnold opened his set with a joke about going to the Playboy mansion with Donald Trump, which made some of the older members of the audience laugh, but, in the wake of recent news, left me a bit shocked. He then proceeded to “wish [Trump] the best” on his current presidency. The show never got that political again, but I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. That remark colored how I interpreted the rest of Arnold’s jokes, especially those where he describes his encounters with famous men Hugh Grant and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were both later exposed in sex scandals of their own. Listening to Arnold perform felt like having a conversation with my male Republican relatives: you want to like them because they feel like family, but you can’t ignore the opinions you know they hold, even if they’re not the center of the story.

I can honestly say that I don’t think Tom Arnold meant to make anyone in the audience feel uncomfortable that night. Most of his jokes were woven into lighthearted, silly celebrity stories, many of which did make me chuckle. But during the show, I found myself returning again to that moment at the beginning.

I may not recognize Arnold from his impressive list of achievements, but I did sincerely want to like him. I wanted to be part of the Iowa family he was speaking to that night.

And I guess, in a way, I was. But not in a way I fully enjoyed.

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Speaking of dancing, on November 12, Nuovo Testamento graced Iowa City with their music live at The James Theater as a part of The Englert Theatre‘s Track Zero concert series, which highlights local and touring alternative artists. I attended the concert that night, fully ready to boost a move myself.

Before they went on, the show kicked off with three openers. First was Jeff In Leather, a dance/electronic artist based in Omaha, Nebraska. He had provided a strong start to the night with a hardcore but enthralling set. He was then followed by The Mall, a synth-punk artist who had an equally flashy set. It also inspired much headbanging from me and the audience. Lastly, there was Nuovo Testamento’s tour opener and electronic music artist Nuxx, who had flair I couldn’t help but admire when performing.

Any opener I’ve witnessed in my limited concert experience, has never let me down, which remains the case here. Each set from the openers contained amazing light shows and their performances got mine and the crowd’s blood pumping. They certainly were a fantastic build-up to the central act of the night and were quite the acts themselves. Admittedly, there’s a bit of a humorous transition from the hardcore electronic music to the flowy disco-pop but this didn’t cause the night to slow down.

Thankfully, once it was time for Nuovo Testamento, I managed to find an amazing spot on the floor right in front of the stage and very middle of the floor. I was very grateful for this amazing view, and it made the whole experience more immersive for me. The James Theater is a smaller venue, so many of the performers throughout the night came down from the stage and to the dancefloor where the audience and I were. It gave the show an overall more intimate feel, which I immensely cherished. 

Once Crowley and band members Giacomo Zatti (drums) and Andrea Mantione, entered the stage, the audience’s adrenaline rush kicked in once again. Crowley, upon approaching the mic, cheerfully encouraged the audience to dance, remarking that she knew we could after seeing us watch the openers, which was something I was happy to oblige. 

The band mostly performed tracks from Trouble, including “2 Hearts”, “Soldier for Love”, “On the Edge”, and “Dream On”. It was an absolute dream to hear my favorites from the EP performed live and be able to dance along to them.

Crowley certainly helped in sparking the dancing. She was a compelling performer in her own right, dancing onstage and clearly enjoying it so much that it was hard not to follow in her footsteps. She clearly wanted all of us moving on the dance floor, and she certainly delivered in convincing me to do so, much to my surprise.

Since this was my first time going to a concert alone and I prefer dancing in groups, I was nervous about dancing around a bunch of strangers. However, this night ended up being different. Shockingly I found myself disregarding all that and moving to the beat without a care in the world. Getting to dance to this upbeat music with these strangers became a new experience that I welcomed with open arms. 

Nuovo Testamento also played some older tracks from their 2021 album New Earth, like “The Searcher” and “Vanity”. Although I’m not familiar with much of their older work, hearing these two tracks live made me want to check out this album in full, and  the audience and I were still happily dancing. 

Much like their openers, the group was illuminated by various colored lights. Once again, the audience and I were treated to light show with a lot of variety. For a group that produces such colorful music, it’s appropriate that they have an equally colorful stage to perform on. 

After the show concluded, I was left with this post-concert high that I had missed. Seeing Nuovo Testamento illicited pure joy that can only be brought on by hearing a band so energetic live. But if you want to feel even fraction of that feeling, I’d recommend their new EP. In the meantime, that will certainly do the trick. 

More information on upcoming Track Zero shows presented by The Englert Theatre can be found here.

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We were wrong. But that doesn’t mean the description isn’t apt in a different way. Dan Soder, much like a golden retriever, is affably stupid.

This isn’t a dig at Soder; in fact, he said this himself multiple times during his routine. Several of his jokes hinged on his supposed stupidity, from him sheepishly admitting to the audience that he thought “the city” would clean out his grandmother’s house after she passed to mistaking Iowa for Wisconsin in terms of the latter’s considerable population of serial killers. He approached a wide variety of topics in this signature style, finding humor in everything from hair transplants to true crime podcasts to misadventures with his friend’s dogs. This approach to comedy — something along the lines of “confused, but happy to be here” — seems to work very well for Soder, and when he’s on stage, it’s patently clear that he is in his element. He had a very relaxed stage presence, often laughing at his own jokes with the audience. When one section or person in the crowd seemed to respond more to a joke than the rest, he often turned to them as if acknowledging them directly, a personal touch that definitely contributed to his “golden retriever” energy.

But what is to be gained from the comedy of a golden retriever?

As co-writer Bodhi noted upon walking into the theater that night, comedy is uniquely hard to write about. The only thing it really needs to do is make you laugh, so finding any nuance in a joke can be sisyphean, a futile attempt to be sincere in an ironic medium. The jokes were funny, sure, but what does it mean? Why does Dan Soder sell out shows? Why do people find what he has to say funny?

In 2016, one of the most popular comedians was Dave Chappelle. He’s since lost his goodwill with many, but it’s still possible to learn from his style of comedy. Back then, what he said was not only funny, but it also provided nuanced commentary on society. It felt like it was actually informing people, not only making them laugh. This is what makes a comedian stand out from their peers: the ability to speak their mind and tell an impactful story. In a way, a comedian’s punchlines are secondary to the messages they tell between their jokes.

Following this framework, Dan Soder, between the lines, is a reflection of his audience. Most of the people in attendance at the Englert that night were rural, working-class white Americans, and his comedy seemed to speak to them on a deep level. He talked to the audience as if we were sitting around a bonfire together, sharing a beer, telling funny stories. The plainness of his speech and his often crass delivery invited us to see him as a friend, not a performer. In the later parts of his routine, he touched on topics like animal abuse and alcoholism, living in a single-parent household, and growing up poor. He talks about his traumatic childhood so cavalierly that it’s almost as if he assumes you understand where he’s coming from— and a large part of his audience does.

Dan Soder may not have any great revelations hidden within his comedy, but he clearly still works as a comedian. He delivers his material in a way that makes him immediately relatable and likeable. You laugh with him because he’s your friend. 

Much like a golden retriever, his attitude is overwhelmingly positive, and we find him a net positive for comedy. He speaks to his audience in a way that fosters genuine connection, and he made every person in the crowd that night just a little happier— including us.

Co-written by Bodhi Brent and Bailey Vergara

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From the beginning, Wang made it clear that age has given him a new perspective on comedy. He began with jokes about eating more antioxidants and losing his skill on the monkey bars, material that clearly resonated with the mostly older audience. Although he touched briefly on more juvenile topics like edible bras, most of his set relied on what I call “adulting” humor: jokes that lean heavily on the shared understanding that sometimes, being an adult can be a bit absurd. As a nineteen-year-old (and I suspect the youngest person at the Englert that night), I understand that I am probably not Sheng Wang’s intended audience. I did find a few of his deliveries to be a bit cringeworthy, but for the most part, his oddball humor struck a chord with me, even if I couldn’t relate to much of his material; I found myself keeled over in laughter more than a few times that night.

The rest of the theater enjoyed the performance as much, if not more, than I did; nearly every joke was met with uproarious laughter. Occasionally during the set, I would hear one woman sitting behind me whisper to her friend through giggles, “That’s so real!” Towards the end of the night, Wang remarked on the demographic of people that tend to come to his shows. He complimented the audience on being such laid-back, friendly people, and thanked them genuinely for their love and support. As someone who’d gotten to the show early that night, I was able to observe a little bit of that audience dynamic, and I think Wang is right on the money. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine anyone getting rowdy or irate at one of his performances; he exudes a cool energy that you just can’t help but be calmed by.

However, to me, Wang’s biggest asset is his creativity: he frames mundane events like jury duty as wacky adventures that the whole audience can enjoy. In one particularly well-received bit, he described his experience backpacking through a forest with one of his friends. As he relayed his journey to the campsite, he told us how, as a part of the backpacking experience, he had to abandon his car on the side of the highway and walk the remaining twenty-six miles to the campsite. Wang trotted across the stage, commenting on how absurd it felt to him to hike when he had a perfectly good car: “I’m a Subaru!”

Overall, Sheng Wang’s time at the Englert was well-spent. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance— as well that of his opener, Kevin Camia, who did a delightfully self-deprecating fifteen-minute set to get the audience warmed up. Both comedians delivered big laughs, but Wang’s inventiveness and whimsy were the highlight of the night for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Like he suggests, I think he’ll only be getting better from here.

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Originally a breakthrough from the burgeoning world of Soundcloud, Bollinger started off her career through uploading her music on the platform from the vernal age of sixteen. She grew up in a household where her mother was a music therapist, and her two brothers both played in bands. Around this juncture of time, she had already established her serene tendency for embodying the now euphoniously dulcet symphony evident in all of her songs. Springy, blithesome, and affectionately maudlin, Bollinger’s musicality withholds an aptitude for a laid-back, subdued sentimentality that extends itself lyrically and instrumentally. In another single “Running“ released in 2022, aspects of her musicality provide the feel for epiphanic reflections, as if accessed through the breach of her secret garden of a diary, and all met in the bridge that ties indie pop to folk rock. With the adjunct compliments of chimerical synth lines and delicate ringings of the saxophone, Bollinger blurs the line between what is intimate and grandiose.

Image via Kate Bollinger

On the 3rd, Bollinger will be accompanied in the roster by special acts, courtesy of Sam Burton and 24thankyou. Touring with Bollinger, Burton possesses the similar kinship to folk rock, at which his tracks reminisce upon longing and discovery. This is all illustrated within the backdrop of rural, country scenery within context of a road trip or a search for truth. 24thankyou brings a more vogue edge to the program in their music. With its occasional glitch and distortion for tonality, it expresses a nostalgia for circuit-bending break-core intonations that descend upon a path of forgotten memories. Close to remembrance, but not quite.  

Kate Bollinger, alongside Sam Burton and 24thankyou will make their Track Zero debuts on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7:30 PM, at Gabe’s. Other upcoming acts within the catalog of Track Zero include Tennis, Madison McFerrin, Sen Morimoto, and ZORA.

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Matsson is the lone member of his band The Tallest Man on Earth. He takes the stage in a way that can only be described as thrasher-rockabilly swagger. Between songs Matsson gave a crackly throated “thank you” or told a charismatic story about his music, where he caught himself half way through saying “These people paid to hear me sing, not tell stories.”

With tunes that Matsson claimed as “crazy sad break up music,” its energy was anything but that. With a fast-paced tempo, echoing guitar riffs, and the flicking of banjo strings, the immediate feeling of isolation and sadness could be lost. That is until the listeners hear the lyrics of loneliness, and love lost. The Tallest Man on Earth’s music requires appreciation and time to fully enjoy the depths of the intricate nature of its musicality.

Matsson’s performance is one that finds a striking exchange with the crowd. He is almost child-like on stage, playing, frolicking, jumping, and making faces to the crowd. A single musician took the Englert stage and owned it, keeping the whole crowd in tune with his energy.

Matsson began his set with the same amount of energy and love he ended it with. The night went through emotional ups and downs, but Matsson never faltered in stamina during a performance for a small but mighty audience.

Matsson would occasional pause all music and singing between verses and hold the crowd in the air, letting each passing second condense and burn. Then he would strike his guitar and suddenly a halo of lights around him would flare. Then he would hit the audience with his voice.

Matsson’s voice needs to be admired. The range and depth he can give from song to song is something that will leave a tonal impact on listeners. With comparisons of Springsteen, Waits, and Dylan being the first to come to mind, there is something different that complements Matsson’s voice. A smoothness usually only heard in an operatic setting.

Matsson’s charm cannot be overstated. The subtle looks at the crowd, the quick smile to the front row, and running down the side stage theater steps to interact with the audience. Earlier in the show, Matsson called out asking how many have saw him before, getting back a moderate outpour of cheering. He then called out asking who was seeing him for the first time, recieving a large scream back.

Audience members called out to Matsson in his native language, Swedish. It was noticeable that a large population of the audience were avid fans of The Tallest Man on Earth.

Tallest Man on Earth: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The Tallest Man on Earth – “Love Is All” (Official Music Video)

The Tallest Man on Earth: “Somewhere In The Mountains, Somewhere In New York” 

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Writers of Color Reading

Fatimah Asghar, a Pakistani-Kashmiri-American poet and Fulbright fellow, leads with Writers of Color Reading Series for this year’s Witching Hour. Asghar co-created and wrote an Emmy-nominated web series called “Brown Girls”. Other readers include Natalia Reyes, Siyanda Mohutsiwa, Bruna Dantas Lobato, Aimee Fredericksen, Leon Pan, and Joe Emanuel.

This reading series will take place at The Englert Theatre on Saturday night starting at 8pm.

Julie Byrne

Julie Byrne, performing a concert co-presented with UI student organization SCOPE, is an atmospheric guitarist and vocalist. She has released two albums and two EPs in her career, the most recent titled “Not Even Happiness”. This recent album is inspired by Byrne’s first time witnessing the Pacific Northwest, and it is clear that nature drives her as soon as the album starts playing. Along with being a musician, Byrne is a seasonal park ranger at Central Park in New York.

Byrne will begin her set on The Mill’s stage Friday at 9:30pm after Squirrel Flower plays at 8:30pm.

Puddles Pity Party

Puddles Pity Party is described as “the sad clown with a golden voice.” He remains completely silent when he isn’t singing in a deep, melancholy voice, which caught public attention after his cover of Lorde’s “Royals” went viral. Puddles has performed his acts around the world and was a runner-up on America’s Got Talent. Puddles is an entirely emotive artist, and his work can reach everybody’s heart in some striking way.

The event will begin at The Englert Theatre at 8:30pm on Friday night.

Jack Lion and Jaimie Branch

Electronic, jazz-infused trio Jack Lion will be opening for Jaimie Branch, an experimental jazz trumpeter. Jack Lion, based in Iowa City, draws from each member’s formal jazz training for musical inspiration. Jaimie Branch, also a recording engineer and presenter will be performing with a band full of long-time collaborates for Witching Hour.

The concert begins with Jack Lion at Gabe’s on Saturday at 10pm.

Janelle James and Liza Treyger

Janelle James is a comedian, providing hilarious commentary on aging and family life along with her raunchy storytelling. Liza Treyger recently released her first half-hour Netflix comedy special, used to work on Chelsea Lately, and was a cast member on MTV’s “Joking Off”. The two female comedians’ sets will meld together to create a perfect, humorous evening.

James and Treyger will perform at The Englert Theatre starting with James at 9:30pm on Saturday night.

Parts Unknown Dinner

In the wake of chef Anthony Bourdain‘s death earlier in 2018, the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and the Chef de Cuisine of St. Burch Tavern, Gabe Branch, collaborate to present the Parts Unknown Dinner. Bourdain was not only the host of a food-based television show, but made an extreme effort to fully appreciate and understand the people who showed him cuisine from across the word. He wanted to know the people, not commodify their food.

The dinner will take place at St. Burch Tavern on Saturday at 5pm, but has sold out in advance.

Passes are still available, and some events have individually priced tickets. For the first time this year, Witching Hour Festival is also selling student passes at a discounted and very affordable price. If you’re interested in attending the festival, check out passes here!

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