The Metro Marching Band Classic returns Oct. 11 after a 2020 pandemic hiatus. Carol Vester says that the event, in its 24th year, is the only opportunity to see all of the Cedar Rapids and Marion high school marching bands in one place. Special guest band will be the Iowa State University Cyclone Football Varsity …
After more than 18 months without a concert, Orchestra Iowa returns with a roar with Brucemorchestra, Sept. 18. It’s a Rodgers & Hammerstein evening featuring chorus, dancers, and Broadway performers with local ties, in conjunction with Revival Theatre. Tim Hankewich says that even though the spotlight may be on the singers, there is plenty for …
Sept. 17-19 will be a big weekend for the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids. The fun kicks off on Friday with the return of Brewnost, back in person after a virtual 2020, and moved outside to accommodate distancing. Taste beers from around the world matched to tasty food, enjoy music, …
Stepping is a percussive dance and music style that originated in fraternities and sororities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. “Drumfolk” is an original commission by Hancher Auditorium that uses this form to tell the story of Africans in America and the triumph of human spirit during enslavement. StepAfrika! founder C. Brian Williams talks about …
Fred Easker has been paining full time since 1994, and his landscapes are currently being featured at Gilded Pear Gallery. Fred talks about the very first landscapes he painted, and what locations other than his native Eastern Iowa environs that have inspired him. “Meditations on Moments in the Landscape” will be up through Oct. 2 …
KCCK’s Jazz Under The Stars 2021 wraps up on August 26 with the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra. This all-female big band is the only one in the state. Directors Toni Lefebvre and Kelli Swehla say the band was formed to give women opportunities to perform and arrange, and also to spotlight female jazz composers, who …
Vocalist Lynne Rothrock hosts the first public event since March 2020 in the Opus Concert Cafe, when she debuts a brand new show, “American Songbook” Aug. 20 and 21. The program will run the gamut, with standards from Gershwin and Cole Porter, but also more recent classics from Carole King, Jimmy Webb, and Iowa native …
Dennis McPartland has played at Jazz Under the Stars more than just about any musician, in addition to his education work as a part of KCCK’s Schoolhouse Jazz. He reminisces about some of his favorite Noelridge Park memories and also gives a preview of what his latest band, Soul Sacrifice, inspired by Carlos Santana, will …
