Saxophonist and UI jazz department head Damani Phillips was entranced with the music of Spyro Gyra from the first moment he heard their pop hit “Morning Dance.” And in the 40+ years since, he has continued to appreciate the depth and texture behind the band’s deceptively approachable music. Damani has teamed up with fellow UI … Continue reading

The Linn County Blues Society presents “Bourbon & Blues” on Saturday, August 19 at McGrath Amphitheatre. Downbeat Blues Artist of the Year Shemekia Copeland jumped at the chance to headline, after she had to cancel her 2022 appearance due to a family emergency. Also performing are Sugary Rayford and Mr. Sipp, with some special appearances … Continue reading

Lynne Rothrock and Blake Shaw team up for a show Aug. 11 & 12 at the Opus Concert Cafe. The two first met when Lynne was a teacher at Kirkwood when Blake a student, and they’ve worked together occasionally over the years, but this is their firs full-length collaboration. You’ll hear some old favorites from … Continue reading

Diplomats of Solid Sound have been bringing their unique mix of of old school funk, soul, and Americana has appeared in dozens of hit TV shows and movies throughout their 20+ year career. Their music has been streamed more than 50 million times all over the world.  They are KCCK’s featured performers for Jazz Under … Continue reading

Is the answer to the question “Are there a lot of arrangements for concert band featuring bagpipe? So for the final Cedar Rapids Municipal Band concert of the year, director Steve Shanley wrote one that features bagpipist Stuart Barr. Steve promises you’ll recognize a few traditional Scottish melodies in the tunes. Also on the program … Continue reading

Mike Conrad was first inspired to become a jazz composer during his undergrad years at UNI, working under well-known composers (and performers) Bob Washut and Chris Merz. Today, as a UNI jazz faculty member himself, he continues that tradition, working with a third “generation” of jazz composing students at the University, as well as winning … Continue reading

For hundreds of Eastern Iowans, Drum Corps was a foundational teenage experience. Cedar Rapids fielded a top-notch ensemble called the Emerald Knights for decades. Emerald Knights alums and other drum corps supporters team up each year to bring some of the world’s top drum corps to Cedar Rapids for the Tournament of Drums. This year, … Continue reading

Riverside Theatre presents “Everybody,” a play where the actors don’t know who is playing which part until after they cast lots right before the show begins! This is a new work by acclaimed playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, which riffs off a 15th Century work. In addition to the conceit of assigning roles literally at the last … Continue reading

Steve Shanley has stuffed just about as many soloists into this week’s Cedar Rapids Municipal Band concert as he can, including Chris Haas on trumpet, Young Artist finalist Christian Maakestad on guitar, and even Steve’s sister Sara on piccolo. Selections include music from the musical “Wicked” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” July 19 at … Continue reading

Culture Crawl 836 “Drawn to Iowa in the Middle of July” Ryan Jeter is the founding sax player of Euforquestra, who moved back to Iowa a few years ago. He has recently formed a new group, Mind@Large, with Jay Foote, a bassist who also recently moved back to Des Moines. The mission of Mind@Large is … Continue reading