2023 Schedule

Hanif Abdurraqib

  6:00 PM
  Hancher
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His poetry has been published in Muzzle, Vinyl, PEN American, and various other journals. His essays and music criticism have been published in The FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His first full length poetry collection, The Crown Ain’t […]

Tisa Bryant in Conversation with Hanif Abdurraqib

  6:00 PM
  Hancher
Tisa Bryant is the author of hybrid essay collection Unexplained Presence. She is co-editor of the cross-referenced literary journal, The Encyclopedia Project, and collaborates with Ernest Hardy on The Black Book series of visual mixtape love letters to black people and black culture, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in […]

L’Rain

  7:30 PM
  Hancher
L’Rain’s artistic evolution eschews overarching narratives. Multi-layered in subject and form, L’Rain’s sonic explorations interrogate instead how multiplicities of emotion and experience intersect with identity. The experimental and the hyper-commercial; the expectation and the reality; the hope and the despair. L’Rain is searching for balance in the obliteration of binary logic. L’Rain is the musical […]

Neko Case

  8:45 p.m.
  Hancher
Neko Case steps out, cutting the sky and singing the stars, spinning fury and mercy as she goes. She loves the world and wears her heart on her sleeve, but she might eat it before you get to thinking it belongs to you. Wild Creatures pulls together some high points of feral joy from twenty-one […]

L’Rain

  7:30 PM
  Hancher
L’Rain’s artistic evolution eschews overarching narratives. Multi-layered in subject and form, L’Rain’s sonic explorations interrogate instead how multiplicities of emotion and experience intersect with identity. The experimental and the hyper-commercial; the expectation and the reality; the hope and the despair. L’Rain is searching for balance in the obliteration of binary logic. L’Rain is the musical […]

Neko Case

  8:45 p.m.
  Hancher
Neko Case steps out, cutting the sky and singing the stars, spinning fury and mercy as she goes. She loves the world and wears her heart on her sleeve, but she might eat it before you get to thinking it belongs to you. Wild Creatures pulls together some high points of feral joy from twenty-one […]

Hanif Abdurraqib

  6:00 PM
  Hancher
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His poetry has been published in Muzzle, Vinyl, PEN American, and various other journals. His essays and music criticism have been published in The FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His first full length poetry collection, The Crown Ain’t […]

Tisa Bryant in Conversation with Hanif Abdurraqib

  6:00 PM
  Hancher
Tisa Bryant is the author of hybrid essay collection Unexplained Presence. She is co-editor of the cross-referenced literary journal, The Encyclopedia Project, and collaborates with Ernest Hardy on The Black Book series of visual mixtape love letters to black people and black culture, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in […]

Lit Walk Round 1

  5:00 PM
  Willow & Stock + Revival
The annual MCF Lit Walk returns in 2024 with several rounds of speakers at your favorite local hotspots. Bringing Iowa City to life in new ways, hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented local and out-of-town writers.   Revival: Event Host: Christine Byrne Readers: Devanshi Khetarpal / Dabin Jeong  / Vivien […]

Lit Walk Round 2

  6:00 PM
  Willow & Stock + Revival
The annual MCF Lit Walk returns in 2024 with several rounds of speakers at your favorite local hotspots. Bringing Iowa City to life in new ways, hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented and local out-of-town writers.   Revival:  Event Host: Mofiyinfoluwa O.  Readers: Sunny Ahmed / James Zhenghui Zhu / […]

Single File

  7:15 PM
  Riverside Theatre
Single File is two best friends using music to explore social, spiritual and emotional territories, conjuring both dancing and trance-like states, with vocals likened to Bjork and Imogen Heap. 

Strangers of Necessity

  7:30 PM
  Gabe's
Strangers Of Necessity are an American hip-hop duo, based in the Midwest, consisting of prolific producer, CoryaYo and veteran lyricist, Fooch the MC. They linked via twitter and quickly became friends, sparking an immediate chemistry and need to make quality music together; hence the name Strangers Of Necessity. They instantly began recording music and doing […]

Lit Walk Round 3: Critical Hits Anthology

  7:30 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
This special conversation on 2023’s Critical Hits Anthology: Writers Playing Video Games features Carmen Maria Machado, J. Robert Lennon, and Larissa Pham.   Carmen Maria Machado is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House, the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods, and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties. […]

George Clanton

  8:00 PM
  The Englert
George Clanton doesn’t just produce gleaming electronic pop, he produces nostalgia too. The Los Angeles artist’s process involves tweaking synthesizer presets, but beyond searching for the right melodies and textures, he’s hoping to come upon a sound that strikes a spiritual chord. “I’m looking for something that triggers a memory or an emotion,” he says. […]

Hatis Noit

  8:30 PM
  Riverside Theatre
Hatis Noit is a Japanese vocal performer hailing from distant Shiretoko in Hokkaido who now resides in London. Her accomplished range is astonishingly self-taught, inspired by everything she could find from Gagaku — Japanese classical music — and operatic styles, Bulgarian and Gregorian chanting, to avant-garde and pop vocalists. It was at the age of […]

Lit Walk After Party

  8:30 PM
  The Green House
Walk yourself down the hill and into the Green House to celebrate the conclusion of the Lit Walk. Grab a kombucha or a cocktail and chat about which reading most piqued your curiosity.

Anthony Worden

  9:00 PM
  Gabe's
Anthony Worden is an Iowa City based singer-songwriter who has made four full length albums since 2017 both solo and with his band, The Illiterati. Little Village says: “Anthony Worden is, in a word, ambitious. He wants to use every color on the palette in his songs — and even in the moments when it’s […]

Indigo De Souza

  9:45 PM
  The Englert
“I was finally able to trust myself fully,” says Indigo De Souza of making her masterful third album All of This Will End. When the North Carolina-based artist released her compelling and explosive second LP Any Shape You Take in 2021, it led to a successful year of sold out tours and rave reviews from […]

Sunny War

  10:00 PM
  Riverside Theatre
“I feel like there are two sides of me,” says the Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso known as Sunny War. “One of them is very self-destructive, and the other is trying to work with that other half to keep things balanced.” That’s the central conflict on her fourth album, the eclectic and innovative Anarchist Gospel, […]

Armand Hammer

  10:45 PM
  Gabe's
ARMAND HAMMER, the New York based hip-hop duo consisting of ELUCID and billy woods, return with We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, their first album in two years and first for Fat Possum. In the 2 years since the Alchemist produced Haram, ELUCID and billy woods have both released critically acclaimed solo albums. Back with their […]

Single File

  7:15 PM
  Riverside Theatre
Single File is two best friends using music to explore social, spiritual and emotional territories, conjuring both dancing and trance-like states, with vocals likened to Bjork and Imogen Heap. 

Strangers of Necessity

  7:30 PM
  Gabe's
Strangers Of Necessity are an American hip-hop duo, based in the Midwest, consisting of prolific producer, CoryaYo and veteran lyricist, Fooch the MC. They linked via twitter and quickly became friends, sparking an immediate chemistry and need to make quality music together; hence the name Strangers Of Necessity. They instantly began recording music and doing […]

George Clanton

  8:00 PM
  The Englert
George Clanton doesn’t just produce gleaming electronic pop, he produces nostalgia too. The Los Angeles artist’s process involves tweaking synthesizer presets, but beyond searching for the right melodies and textures, he’s hoping to come upon a sound that strikes a spiritual chord. “I’m looking for something that triggers a memory or an emotion,” he says. […]

Hatis Noit

  8:30 PM
  Riverside Theatre
Hatis Noit is a Japanese vocal performer hailing from distant Shiretoko in Hokkaido who now resides in London. Her accomplished range is astonishingly self-taught, inspired by everything she could find from Gagaku — Japanese classical music — and operatic styles, Bulgarian and Gregorian chanting, to avant-garde and pop vocalists. It was at the age of […]

Anthony Worden

  9:00 PM
  Gabe's
Anthony Worden is an Iowa City based singer-songwriter who has made four full length albums since 2017 both solo and with his band, The Illiterati. Little Village says: “Anthony Worden is, in a word, ambitious. He wants to use every color on the palette in his songs — and even in the moments when it’s […]

Indigo De Souza

  9:45 PM
  The Englert
“I was finally able to trust myself fully,” says Indigo De Souza of making her masterful third album All of This Will End. When the North Carolina-based artist released her compelling and explosive second LP Any Shape You Take in 2021, it led to a successful year of sold out tours and rave reviews from […]

Sunny War

  10:00 PM
  Riverside Theatre
“I feel like there are two sides of me,” says the Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso known as Sunny War. “One of them is very self-destructive, and the other is trying to work with that other half to keep things balanced.” That’s the central conflict on her fourth album, the eclectic and innovative Anarchist Gospel, […]

Armand Hammer

  10:45 PM
  Gabe's
ARMAND HAMMER, the New York based hip-hop duo consisting of ELUCID and billy woods, return with We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, their first album in two years and first for Fat Possum. In the 2 years since the Alchemist produced Haram, ELUCID and billy woods have both released critically acclaimed solo albums. Back with their […]

Lit Walk Round 1

  5:00 PM
  Willow & Stock + Revival
The annual MCF Lit Walk returns in 2024 with several rounds of speakers at your favorite local hotspots. Bringing Iowa City to life in new ways, hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented local and out-of-town writers.   Revival: Event Host: Christine Byrne Readers: Devanshi Khetarpal / Dabin Jeong  / Vivien […]

Lit Walk Round 2

  6:00 PM
  Willow & Stock + Revival
The annual MCF Lit Walk returns in 2024 with several rounds of speakers at your favorite local hotspots. Bringing Iowa City to life in new ways, hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented and local out-of-town writers.   Revival:  Event Host: Mofiyinfoluwa O.  Readers: Sunny Ahmed / James Zhenghui Zhu / […]

Lit Walk Round 3: Critical Hits Anthology

  7:30 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
This special conversation on 2023’s Critical Hits Anthology: Writers Playing Video Games features Carmen Maria Machado, J. Robert Lennon, and Larissa Pham.   Carmen Maria Machado is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House, the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods, and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties. […]

Lit Walk After Party

  8:30 PM
  The Green House
Walk yourself down the hill and into the Green House to celebrate the conclusion of the Lit Walk. Grab a kombucha or a cocktail and chat about which reading most piqued your curiosity.

Lit Walk Round 1

  5:00 PM
  Willow & Stock + Revival
The annual MCF Lit Walk returns in 2024 with several rounds of speakers at your favorite local hotspots. Bringing Iowa City to life in new ways, hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented local and out-of-town writers.   Revival: Event Host: Christine Byrne Readers: Devanshi Khetarpal / Dabin Jeong  / Vivien […]

Lit Walk Round 2

  6:00 PM
  Willow & Stock + Revival
The annual MCF Lit Walk returns in 2024 with several rounds of speakers at your favorite local hotspots. Bringing Iowa City to life in new ways, hear an unexpected variety of work from a mix of talented and local out-of-town writers.   Revival:  Event Host: Mofiyinfoluwa O.  Readers: Sunny Ahmed / James Zhenghui Zhu / […]

Lit Walk Round 3: Critical Hits Anthology

  7:30 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
This special conversation on 2023’s Critical Hits Anthology: Writers Playing Video Games features Carmen Maria Machado, J. Robert Lennon, and Larissa Pham.   Carmen Maria Machado is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House, the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods, and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties. […]

Lit Walk After Party

  8:30 PM
  The Green House
Walk yourself down the hill and into the Green House to celebrate the conclusion of the Lit Walk. Grab a kombucha or a cocktail and chat about which reading most piqued your curiosity.

7th Annual I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M Zine Fair

  11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  PS1 Close House
Join us for the 7th annual Iowa City Expo for Comics and Real Eclectic Media (I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M.) Zine Fair, presenting the work of local cartoonists, zinesters, and art books/handmade book artists. ICE CREAM is collaboratively presented by Public Space One and the Mission Creek Festival, with support from Think Iowa City. Find vendors HERE

Small Press & Literary Magazine Book Fair

  12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  Spare Me! Bowling Alley
Not to be missed this year is the Small Press and Literary Magazine Book Fair, being hosted inside Spare Me Bowling Alley. This singular event highlights the best of local and national presses, as well as the work of award-winning authors and publishers such as Sarabande Books, Dorothy, a publishing project, Two Dollar Radio, Container, […]

Frictions Media & UI Nonfiction Writing Program Panel Discussion

  1:00 PM
  FilmScene Theater 3
Featuring Walid Rachedi, writer and Managing Editor of Paris-based Frictions Media, Lionel Ruffel, Professor of Comparative Literature at Université Paris 8, Lynne Nugent, writer and editor-in-chief of the Iowa Review, as well as students from Frictions + UI. The panel moderator will be Sarah Minor. A showcase of transnational nonfiction podcasts and audio literature. This […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Zachary Pace & Fulla Adbul-Jabbar

  1:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Zachary Pace  is a writer and editor who lives in New York City, whose writing has been published in the Baffler, BOMB, Bookforum, Boston Review, Frieze magazine, Interview magazine, Literary Hub, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the PEN Poetry Series, the Yale Review, and elsewhere. I Sing to Use the Waiting is their first […]

Midst Literary Installation

  2:00 PM
  FilmScene Theater 3
Installation + discussion featuring Midst creator Annelyse Gelman.   Annelyse Gelman’s most recent book, Vexations (University of Chicago Press, 2023), won the 2022 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Gelman is also the author of the poetry collection Everyone I Love Is a Stranger to Someone […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Cindy Juyoung Ok & Thea Brown

  2:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Cindy Juyoung Ok is the author of Yale Younger Poets Prize-winning Ward Toward. A MacDowell Fellow, Kenyon Review Fellow, and poetry editor at Guernica magazine, she is a former high school science teacher and now teaches creative writing at Kenyon College. Her poems are out now or soon in New England Review, Sewanee Review, and […]

MCF Vinyl Popup

  2:00 PM - 6:30 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
While music hits The ReUnion Brewery stage, flip through record crates from local vendors to find your next prized music possession! Vendors include: Bog’s Vinyl, Banana Boy Records, & Rochester Records  

YXNG RASKAL

  2:30 PM
  Trumpet Blossom Cafe
YXNG RASKAL is an avant-garde punk rap project. noisy, post-apocalyptic music for women that are hot, marginalized, and a little bit evil.

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Katie Berta & Hadara Bar-Nadav

  3:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Katie Berta’s debut poetry collection, retribution forthcoming, won the Hollis Summers Prize and was published by Ohio University Press in March. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, The Cincinnati Review, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Denver Quarterly, The Yale Review, The Massachusetts Review, and West Branch, among other magazines. She has received […]

The Blake Shaw Big(ISH) Band

  3:00 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
The Blake Shaw BIG(ish) Band is an action packed, fun ensuing, dream band lead by bassist/vocalist/educator Blake Shaw of Iowa City. Shaw writes and arranges all the music using the Duke Ellington model of exploiting all his friends’ talents and strengths on their instruments. The show contains many burning solos, grooves for days, and plenty […]

New Standards Men

  3:30 PM
  Trumpet Blossom Cafe
Committed to experiencing music as it occurs, New Standards Men (NSM for true heads) work through cycles of improvisation and experimentation for long stretches at a time, often building on the bedrock laid by what dirtier minds call  ‘jamming’ and is also referred to as ‘stretching’ out.  Previous excursions into the motorik mode have given […]

Subatlantic

  4:15 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
Subatlantic, an indie rock band based in the Quad Cities, where Iowa and Illinois meet, features Becca Rice–lead vocals, guitar, and keyboards; Adam Kaul–guitar; Phil Pracht–drums; and Sean Chapman–bass and cello. Subatlantic formed in 2008 and released their first EP, Not Louder But Closer in May of 2015 on Bandcamp. Their first album, Villains, came […]

Bootcamp

  4:45 PM
  Trumpet Blossom Café
Iowa City hardcore punk from the prairie. Bootcamp is a Hardcore Punk band from Iowa City, IA featuring members of Dryad, Piss Exorcist and Death Kill Overdrive. They formed in May, 2023. They released their Demo on August 15th, 2023. Their Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/bootcamphotties

KRUI’s 40th Birthday Bash with OHYUNG & Blist Her

  5:00 PM
  Hawkeye Room - IMU
KRUI 89.7 FM TURNS 40!! Celebrate four decades of UIOWA college radio at our 40th Birthday Bash! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 6th for our celebration in collaboration with Mission Creek featuring live music from OHYUNG and Blist Her Main KRUI anniversary begins at 3:00 pm (w/ cake!) Doors open for concert at 4:30 […]

Dave Helmer Band

  5:30 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
Dave Helmer is a songwriter’s songwriter from eastern Iowa. Helmer has toured across the country for over ten years with his rock pop group Crystal City, and adds the Dave Helmer Band as his newest project. In addition to his music career, Helmer’s love of guitar is reflected through his work as a professional luthier […]

Live Wire Radio

  6:30 PM
  The James Theater
In partnership with Sarabande Books, co-hosted by NPR’s Luke Burbank +  UI Nonfiction Writing Program Alum Elena Passarello, featuring Morgan Parker, Carmen Maria Machado, Simon Sheih, + S.G. Goodman. Live Wire Radio is a dynamically entertaining live radio show that artfully blends conversation and live music. Hosted by NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me’s Luke […]

24thankyou

  7:30 PM
  Riverside Theatre
24thankyou is an unstable collection of distortion and intimacy from Iowa City.  FFO: Beach House, Dijon, The Microphones, 100 Gecs, JPEG Mafia  Members:  Emma Parker (She/Her) Scott Griffin (He/Him) Michael Muhlena (He/Him) Nick Wilkins (He/Him) Ethan Traugh (He/Him)  

M Denney

  7:45 PM
  Gabe's
m denney is a sound artist, electronic musician, guitarist, writer, and occasionally lies about being a composer. Her practice focuses on the use of ritualized repetitive action, engaging technology and destructive, uncontrollable recording processes as ways of exploring memory, self, and the construction of our pasts and histories. Called “haunting,” “violently joyful,” and “fever dream […]

SG Goodman

  8:00 PM
  The Englert
“No one escapes the marks left behind when it comes to love or the absence of it,” says singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman, describing the inspiration behind her sophomore album Teeth Marks. “Not only are we the ones who bear its indentations, but we’re also the ones responsible for placing them on ourselves and others.”   When the […]

Nadah El Shazly

  8:45 PM
  Riverside Theatre
Nadah el Shazly is a producer, vocalist and sound artist from Cairo, Egypt. Her debut album “Ahwar” radically reinvents the popular music of her homeland from the early 19th century and explores new sonic and harmonic frontiers. Using voice, field recordings and instruments, she creates haunting sound pieces and songforms that hijack the perception of […]

Sqvce

  9:00 PM
  Gabe's
Shawn Jarrett also known as Sqvce (Space) is a Des Moines-based hip hop artist who has made a name for himself in the music industry. He is known for his exceptional ability to adapt to any flow or beat, making him a versatile artist. With years of experience in the game, Space has honed his […]

Osees

  9:45 PM
  The Englert
Headlining Saturday is San Francisco psych rock band, Osees (formerly known as OCS, The Oh Sees, and Thee Oh Sees). They have released 28 studio albums alongside countless EPs, singles, and even a split with Iowa City songwriter, Paul Carey. The band’s leader, John Dwyer, is regarded as an institution of 21st century garage rock. […]

Pelada

  11:00 PM
  Gabe's
Pelada, the duo of singer Chris Vargas and producer Tobias Rochman, broke out of Montreal’s underground warehouse rave scene in 2014 after uploading tracks to Soundcloud which caught the attention of the global dance music scene. They spent the next five years touring the globe extensively before signing with Berlin experimental label PAN in 2019 […]

YXNG RASKAL

  2:30 PM
  Trumpet Blossom Cafe
YXNG RASKAL is an avant-garde punk rap project. noisy, post-apocalyptic music for women that are hot, marginalized, and a little bit evil.

The Blake Shaw Big(ISH) Band

  3:00 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
The Blake Shaw BIG(ish) Band is an action packed, fun ensuing, dream band lead by bassist/vocalist/educator Blake Shaw of Iowa City. Shaw writes and arranges all the music using the Duke Ellington model of exploiting all his friends’ talents and strengths on their instruments. The show contains many burning solos, grooves for days, and plenty […]

New Standards Men

  3:30 PM
  Trumpet Blossom Cafe
Committed to experiencing music as it occurs, New Standards Men (NSM for true heads) work through cycles of improvisation and experimentation for long stretches at a time, often building on the bedrock laid by what dirtier minds call  ‘jamming’ and is also referred to as ‘stretching’ out.  Previous excursions into the motorik mode have given […]

Subatlantic

  4:15 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
Subatlantic, an indie rock band based in the Quad Cities, where Iowa and Illinois meet, features Becca Rice–lead vocals, guitar, and keyboards; Adam Kaul–guitar; Phil Pracht–drums; and Sean Chapman–bass and cello. Subatlantic formed in 2008 and released their first EP, Not Louder But Closer in May of 2015 on Bandcamp. Their first album, Villains, came […]

Bootcamp

  4:45 PM
  Trumpet Blossom Café
Iowa City hardcore punk from the prairie. Bootcamp is a Hardcore Punk band from Iowa City, IA featuring members of Dryad, Piss Exorcist and Death Kill Overdrive. They formed in May, 2023. They released their Demo on August 15th, 2023. Their Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/bootcamphotties

Dave Helmer Band

  5:30 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
Dave Helmer is a songwriter’s songwriter from eastern Iowa. Helmer has toured across the country for over ten years with his rock pop group Crystal City, and adds the Dave Helmer Band as his newest project. In addition to his music career, Helmer’s love of guitar is reflected through his work as a professional luthier […]

24thankyou

  7:30 PM
  Riverside Theatre
24thankyou is an unstable collection of distortion and intimacy from Iowa City.  FFO: Beach House, Dijon, The Microphones, 100 Gecs, JPEG Mafia  Members:  Emma Parker (She/Her) Scott Griffin (He/Him) Michael Muhlena (He/Him) Nick Wilkins (He/Him) Ethan Traugh (He/Him)  

M Denney

  7:45 PM
  Gabe's
m denney is a sound artist, electronic musician, guitarist, writer, and occasionally lies about being a composer. Her practice focuses on the use of ritualized repetitive action, engaging technology and destructive, uncontrollable recording processes as ways of exploring memory, self, and the construction of our pasts and histories. Called “haunting,” “violently joyful,” and “fever dream […]

SG Goodman

  8:00 PM
  The Englert
“No one escapes the marks left behind when it comes to love or the absence of it,” says singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman, describing the inspiration behind her sophomore album Teeth Marks. “Not only are we the ones who bear its indentations, but we’re also the ones responsible for placing them on ourselves and others.”   When the […]

Nadah El Shazly

  8:45 PM
  Riverside Theatre
Nadah el Shazly is a producer, vocalist and sound artist from Cairo, Egypt. Her debut album “Ahwar” radically reinvents the popular music of her homeland from the early 19th century and explores new sonic and harmonic frontiers. Using voice, field recordings and instruments, she creates haunting sound pieces and songforms that hijack the perception of […]

Sqvce

  9:00 PM
  Gabe's
Shawn Jarrett also known as Sqvce (Space) is a Des Moines-based hip hop artist who has made a name for himself in the music industry. He is known for his exceptional ability to adapt to any flow or beat, making him a versatile artist. With years of experience in the game, Space has honed his […]

Osees

  9:45 PM
  The Englert
Headlining Saturday is San Francisco psych rock band, Osees (formerly known as OCS, The Oh Sees, and Thee Oh Sees). They have released 28 studio albums alongside countless EPs, singles, and even a split with Iowa City songwriter, Paul Carey. The band’s leader, John Dwyer, is regarded as an institution of 21st century garage rock. […]

Pelada

  11:00 PM
  Gabe's
Pelada, the duo of singer Chris Vargas and producer Tobias Rochman, broke out of Montreal’s underground warehouse rave scene in 2014 after uploading tracks to Soundcloud which caught the attention of the global dance music scene. They spent the next five years touring the globe extensively before signing with Berlin experimental label PAN in 2019 […]

7th Annual I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M Zine Fair

  11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  PS1 Close House
Join us for the 7th annual Iowa City Expo for Comics and Real Eclectic Media (I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M.) Zine Fair, presenting the work of local cartoonists, zinesters, and art books/handmade book artists. ICE CREAM is collaboratively presented by Public Space One and the Mission Creek Festival, with support from Think Iowa City. Find vendors HERE

Small Press & Literary Magazine Book Fair

  12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  Spare Me! Bowling Alley
Not to be missed this year is the Small Press and Literary Magazine Book Fair, being hosted inside Spare Me Bowling Alley. This singular event highlights the best of local and national presses, as well as the work of award-winning authors and publishers such as Sarabande Books, Dorothy, a publishing project, Two Dollar Radio, Container, […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Zachary Pace & Fulla Adbul-Jabbar

  1:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Zachary Pace  is a writer and editor who lives in New York City, whose writing has been published in the Baffler, BOMB, Bookforum, Boston Review, Frieze magazine, Interview magazine, Literary Hub, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the PEN Poetry Series, the Yale Review, and elsewhere. I Sing to Use the Waiting is their first […]

Frictions Media & UI Nonfiction Writing Program Panel Discussion

  1:00 PM
  FilmScene Theater 3
Featuring Walid Rachedi, writer and Managing Editor of Paris-based Frictions Media, Lionel Ruffel, Professor of Comparative Literature at Université Paris 8, Lynne Nugent, writer and editor-in-chief of the Iowa Review, as well as students from Frictions + UI. The panel moderator will be Sarah Minor. A showcase of transnational nonfiction podcasts and audio literature. This […]

MCF Vinyl Popup

  2:00 PM - 6:30 PM
  ReUnion Brewery
While music hits The ReUnion Brewery stage, flip through record crates from local vendors to find your next prized music possession! Vendors include: Bog’s Vinyl, Banana Boy Records, & Rochester Records  

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Cindy Juyoung Ok & Thea Brown

  2:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Cindy Juyoung Ok is the author of Yale Younger Poets Prize-winning Ward Toward. A MacDowell Fellow, Kenyon Review Fellow, and poetry editor at Guernica magazine, she is a former high school science teacher and now teaches creative writing at Kenyon College. Her poems are out now or soon in New England Review, Sewanee Review, and […]

Midst Literary Installation

  2:00 PM
  FilmScene Theater 3
Installation + discussion featuring Midst creator Annelyse Gelman.   Annelyse Gelman’s most recent book, Vexations (University of Chicago Press, 2023), won the 2022 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Gelman is also the author of the poetry collection Everyone I Love Is a Stranger to Someone […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Katie Berta & Hadara Bar-Nadav

  3:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Katie Berta’s debut poetry collection, retribution forthcoming, won the Hollis Summers Prize and was published by Ohio University Press in March. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, The Cincinnati Review, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Denver Quarterly, The Yale Review, The Massachusetts Review, and West Branch, among other magazines. She has received […]

KRUI’s 40th Birthday Bash with OHYUNG & Blist Her

  5:00 PM
  Hawkeye Room - IMU
KRUI 89.7 FM TURNS 40!! Celebrate four decades of UIOWA college radio at our 40th Birthday Bash! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 6th for our celebration in collaboration with Mission Creek featuring live music from OHYUNG and Blist Her Main KRUI anniversary begins at 3:00 pm (w/ cake!) Doors open for concert at 4:30 […]

7th Annual I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M Zine Fair

  11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  PS1 Close House
Join us for the 7th annual Iowa City Expo for Comics and Real Eclectic Media (I.C.E. C.R.E.A.M.) Zine Fair, presenting the work of local cartoonists, zinesters, and art books/handmade book artists. ICE CREAM is collaboratively presented by Public Space One and the Mission Creek Festival, with support from Think Iowa City. Find vendors HERE

Small Press & Literary Magazine Book Fair

  12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  Spare Me! Bowling Alley
Not to be missed this year is the Small Press and Literary Magazine Book Fair, being hosted inside Spare Me Bowling Alley. This singular event highlights the best of local and national presses, as well as the work of award-winning authors and publishers such as Sarabande Books, Dorothy, a publishing project, Two Dollar Radio, Container, […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Zachary Pace & Fulla Adbul-Jabbar

  1:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Zachary Pace  is a writer and editor who lives in New York City, whose writing has been published in the Baffler, BOMB, Bookforum, Boston Review, Frieze magazine, Interview magazine, Literary Hub, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the PEN Poetry Series, the Yale Review, and elsewhere. I Sing to Use the Waiting is their first […]

Frictions Media & UI Nonfiction Writing Program Panel Discussion

  1:00 PM
  FilmScene Theater 3
Featuring Walid Rachedi, writer and Managing Editor of Paris-based Frictions Media, Lionel Ruffel, Professor of Comparative Literature at Université Paris 8, Lynne Nugent, writer and editor-in-chief of the Iowa Review, as well as students from Frictions + UI. The panel moderator will be Sarah Minor. A showcase of transnational nonfiction podcasts and audio literature. This […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Cindy Juyoung Ok & Thea Brown

  2:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Cindy Juyoung Ok is the author of Yale Younger Poets Prize-winning Ward Toward. A MacDowell Fellow, Kenyon Review Fellow, and poetry editor at Guernica magazine, she is a former high school science teacher and now teaches creative writing at Kenyon College. Her poems are out now or soon in New England Review, Sewanee Review, and […]

Midst Literary Installation

  2:00 PM
  FilmScene Theater 3
Installation + discussion featuring Midst creator Annelyse Gelman.   Annelyse Gelman’s most recent book, Vexations (University of Chicago Press, 2023), won the 2022 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Gelman is also the author of the poetry collection Everyone I Love Is a Stranger to Someone […]

Prairie Lights Reading Series: Katie Berta & Hadara Bar-Nadav

  3:00 PM
  Prairie Lights Bookstore
Katie Berta’s debut poetry collection, retribution forthcoming, won the Hollis Summers Prize and was published by Ohio University Press in March. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, The Cincinnati Review, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Denver Quarterly, The Yale Review, The Massachusetts Review, and West Branch, among other magazines. She has received […]

Live Wire Radio

  6:30 PM
  The James Theater
In partnership with Sarabande Books, co-hosted by NPR’s Luke Burbank +  UI Nonfiction Writing Program Alum Elena Passarello, featuring Morgan Parker, Carmen Maria Machado, Simon Sheih, + S.G. Goodman. Live Wire Radio is a dynamically entertaining live radio show that artfully blends conversation and live music. Hosted by NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me’s Luke […]

BUY TICKETS

Presented by

Copyright Mission Creek Festival 2025