WEEDGHOST WITH ION ALEXAKIS
Dec
12
8:30 PM20:30

WEEDGHOST WITH ION ALEXAKIS

8:30pm doors // 9pm music

$10 all ages

For two decades now, the duo of Weedghost has combined acoustic instrumentation with layers of electronic noise to channel the droning gospel from the depths of the hills themselves. Lush beds of drone loops intermingle with glacial shards to create a blissed out ambient wash as old as time itself.

Ion Alexakis focuses on the resilience of the working class through the Guthrie lens and performs with gutteral rawness reflective of the overwhelming burdens we have to endure through the unpredictables in life.

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Mission Creek Presents: Brìghde Chaimbeul w. Special Guests (TBD)
Nov
21
8:00 PM20:00

Mission Creek Presents: Brìghde Chaimbeul w. Special Guests (TBD)

8pm doors $20 GA / $10 student

tickets: https://littlevillagetickets.com/events/169823356/mission-creek-presents-brghde-chaimbeul-w-special-guests-tbd

Haunting, entrancing, breathtaking, beautiful – this open-eared, understatedly virtuosic performer is transforming and creating new definitions for Scottish folk in the 21st century.

Brìghde Chaimbeul is a leading purveyor of celtic experimentalism and a master of the Scottish smallpipes – the bellows-blown, mellower and more emotive cousin to the famous Highland bagpipes – and she’s taken them to the global stage.

A native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye, Brìghde roots her music in her language and culture. She rose to prominence as a prodigy of traditional music, but has since begun a journey to take the smallpipes into uncharted territory. She has devised a completely unique way of arranging for pipe music that emphasises the rich textural drones of the instrument; the constancy of
sound that creates a trance-like atmosphere, played with enticing virtuosic liquidity.

She draws inspiration from the world of interconnected piping traditions, and her most recent album brings in influence from ambient, avant garde and electronic music. One can talk about Brìghde’s awards (BBC Young Folk Award; BBC Horizons Award; SAY Award nominee) and her wide array of collaborators (Caroline Polachek; Colin Stetson; Gruff Rhys; Aidan O'Rourke...) but after it all, her music speaks for itself.

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FEaST presents: Jon Mueller and Tom Lecky -- All Colors Present / Stnic / PGC
Nov
14
8:30 PM20:30

FEaST presents: Jon Mueller and Tom Lecky -- All Colors Present / Stnic / PGC

8:30pm doors, 9pm music

$15 GA / $10 Student, All Ages

Tickets:

https://littlevillagetickets.com/events/174417508/jon-mueller-tom-lecky-all-colors-present-with-stnic-pgc?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAad3VwZN83_nVt640E0aDfCTAHv7dGOf8NbEfatNNP-z_8ce-i6bpk9ajnyPsA_aem_cHt2dqIj8AUZ4-hZy07b-Q

https://www.rhythmplex.com/all-colors-present

In early 2025, All Colors Present was performed in ten cities throughout the midwestern and southeastern US, and will reach more cities throughout the east and west coasts before the year’s end. A collaboration with photographer Tom Lecky, it’s a nearly 60-minute sound and visual meditation.

I am very grateful to have worked with Tom on this and to have his photographs involved. They are an integral part of the performance, offering their own detail and mystery in such a complementary way to the sound.

Table of the Elements plan to release a physical edition of it. Here are some of their words about it…

“Here, recorded in real-time and with no overdubs, two crisp beats repeat and reverberate—one, then two; two, then one—in a confluence of hand and stick, drumhead, and heartbeat. Yet, from this seemingly metronomic exercise blossoms every possible tint and hue of infinite spectral sound.

An apt reference point resides within the broad, decades-spanning catalog of Table of the Elements. Like Tony Conrad’s surging Outside the Dream Syndicate, the aural and conceptual headwinds are real, but the perceived affronts of provocation are not. These works are not endurance challenges, nor are they threadbare minimalist upholstery. They are not obstacles. They are invitations. Within their simplicity and formalism await a sympathetic repose, a comfort. These are gestures of generosity.”

P//G//C Is an ever morphing acronym. A vehicle for exploring experimental soundscapes, ugly and ephemeral, harsh and haunting. Always improvised and unexpected.

Stnic — (pronounced ‘Saint-Nic’, or ‘Satan-ic) — is an experimental music project from Iowa City, IA. Based in a regular practice of free improvisation, they defy categorization by choosing to play without predetermined styles or goals; there is a constant sense of searching shared by the performers and audience. Embracing absurdity, their music carries elements of noise and postmodern collage while maintaining, or attempting to maintain, sincerity of expression. They emphasize the creative documentation of their process, recording all their sessions on tape and experimenting with different forms of media and production.
Sitting in a nest of splitter cables and extension chords, Patrick O’Connor outputs various toy keyboards, drum machines, a sampler, and numerous media players through a 4-track recorder.
Meanwhile, Levi Brown wrestles with a combination of drums, found percussion, and other acoustic instruments in a never-ending rotation of untested sounds.
Stnic’s secret weapon really-cool-rock is the voice of Jordan Decker, projected through an antique microphone. He tells stories, improvises poems, and utters non-sense, or, I should say, stuff that only makes sense to you.
The most recent addition to the group is Charlotte Leung on saxophone and other wind-blown instruments, fed through a pedalboard and creating varied sounds ranging from squawks and wails to melodies and dense soundscapes.
Together they conjure the weird and wonderful from the ether, like radio-movies from, not just the past, but the deep-sleep-dreams of some whack-o from those days.

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Aseethe / Measures of Agony / Sungrave
Nov
8
8:30 PM20:30

Aseethe / Measures of Agony / Sungrave

8:30pm doors 9 pm music

$10 all ages

https://sungrave-denver.bandcamp.com/

https://www.sungrave.com/

Denver-based Post-Metal band.

At times crushingly heavy, at others sinking and ambient, but through it all lies unrelenting darkness. SUNGRAVE's end-times music will drown out all your thoughts and take you on an epic arc of descent.


https://aseethe.bandcamp.com/

Aseethe carve their own path in the world of heavy music. A singular blend of seismic weight, mesmeric drone, and gripping tension is the Midwestern band’s musical signature. Driven by an exploratory ethos, Aseethe warp sounds into emotionally potent songs that are as detailed as they are immense.

https://measuresofagony.bandcamp.com/

Dark noise ambient for the soul you sold long ago.

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Brian Johannesen & Ryan Joseph Anderson
Oct
24
8:30 PM20:30

Brian Johannesen & Ryan Joseph Anderson

Fri Oct 24 8:30pm doors $10, all ages

Together Again! Americana's most notoriously unknown duo this side of John Prine's hot dog - Brian Johannesen and Ryan Joseph Anderson - reunite after years of intolerable industry slog. An evening full of severed hands, insufferable drought, sassy orphans and, well, yes, (vegan) hot dogs awaits. Glory will ensue. And we will celebrate a certain special someone's birthday......

Tickets: https://littlevillagetickets.com/events/173415862/brian-johannesen-ryan-joseph-anderson


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Marques Morel & John Till
Sep
19
8:30 PM20:30

Marques Morel & John Till

Join us to welcome back a couple of our favorite Midwestern singer songwriters Friday Sept 19 $10 all ages 8:30pm doors, 9pm music

Marques Morel is an American songwriter/story-teller, midwestern-twanger/folksinger, guitar-thumper/harmonica wailer, street-performer/wandering troubadour, steadfast woodcutter/migrant worker, a father, a son, and a friend to all.

“Taking his cue from the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, and any number of other tattered troubadours, (Marques Morel) sounds like a cross between Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, and the late John Stewart (solo, The Kingston Trio) reciting ragged tales of the American West and its once-former glories,” writes Lee Zimmerman of The Alternate Root.

Originally from the Illinois corn country, he has performed just about anywhere that anybody would listen: big city street corners around the world, county fairs, folk festivals, hole in the wall taverns/divebars/honky tonks, cabin porches, backyard barbeques, listening rooms, theatres large and small, and beside many campfires and woodstoves amongst the ghosts of his songwriter heroes.

Marques has had the honor of sharing stages with some of the great songsters of our time- Charlie Parr, Arlo McKinley, Joe Pug, Willy Tea Taylor, Riley Downing, Billy Don Burns, Pokey LaFarge, and Chicago Farmer to name a few of his favorites.

John Till is a solo acoustic act out of Bloomington, IL. With slide guitar, banjo, and acoustic guitar come arrangements steeped heavily in the fingerpicking styles of the Delta Blues. Bouncing baselines and dancing melodies driven along with two part foot percussion provide a uniquely dynamic listening experience.

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FEaST presents: Zoh Amba
Sep
10
8:00 PM20:00

FEaST presents: Zoh Amba

We are steeped in excitement to bring this show to you.

Returning to Iowa City live at Trumpet Blossom Cafe on Wednesday, September 10th is Zoh Amba. 8pm doors

Tickets available:
https://littlevillagetickets.com/events/171912927/zoh-amba


Zoh Amba is a songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist from Tennessee residing in New York. She began her musical journey steeped in the musical traditions of the South and has taken it from coast to coast and is mainly known as a saxophonist who blends avant-garde, noise, and devotional hymns, though has not shied from incorporating folk melodies into that world. Over the past several years Amba has been also been focusing on writing songs on guitar with lyrics that come from the heart and her love of nature and experiences. She has been performing her folk songs primarily in NYC both solo and with her band consisting of Adam Brisben (Buck Meek) also on guitar and Jeremy Gustin (Joan is Police Woman) on drums but also performs solo. Throughout the years Zoh has collaborated with a variety of high profile musicians such Glen Hansard, Tyshawn Sorey, Bill Orcutt, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Jim White (Dirty Three), etc. Amba has performed at well respected venues and festivals all over the world and has taught workshops and masterclasses at institutions such as New School (NY), Oberlin (OH), and various European festivals.

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David Lord // Dan Padley
Sep
3
7:30 PM19:30

David Lord // Dan Padley

Wed Sept 3

7:30 doors, 8pm music

$10 GA, $8 student

https://www.foreststandards.com/

https://davidlord.bandcamp.com/

Guitarist and composer David Lord has developed a singular approach to composition and improvisation. His music has been featured in publications such as Downbeat, Dusted Magazine, A Closer Listen, All About Jazz, Under the Radar, Bandcamp Daily, Pop Matters, NPR, Alternative Press, Magnet and Tiny Mix Tapes.

Lord has recorded and performed with Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground, Pharoah Sanders), Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Brian Blade), Devin Hoff (Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson), Billy Mohler (Dolly Parton, Macy Gray), Charles Rumback (Riley Walker, Jim Baker), David Tranchina (Cathlene Pineda), Nathan Hubbard (Mark Dresser, Kris Tiner), Christine Tavolacci (Southland Ensemble), Chris Schlarb (Psychic Temple), Dale Black (Terrance Blanchard), Dave Easley (Brian Blade), James Singleton (Astral Project) and the Los Angeles indie-rock band Timonium.

Lord has released four albums under his own name, Forest Standards Vol. 1 (2018), Forest Standards Vol. 2 (2020), Forest Standards Vol. 3 (2023) and Forest Standards Vol. 4 (2024). All four albums were recorded in Long Beach, CA at Chris Schlarb’s BIG EGO Studios. Volumes 1, 2 & 4 were released via BIG EGO Records and Vol. 3 was a co-release via Astral Spirits and BIG EGO. Vol. 1 features Chad Taylor on drums and Devin Hoff on bass, with guest appearances by Chris Schlarb on guitar and Sam Hake on vibraphone. Vol. 2 again features Taylor and Hake, while adding guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Billy Mohler. Vol. 3 features larger scale composition and instrumentation, with Christine Tavolacci on flutes, Nathan Hubbard on marimba and vibraphone, David Tranchina on double bass, Chad Taylor on percussion and Lord on guitar and glockenspiel. Vol. 4 features Alex Sadnik on alto saxophone, Brian Walsh on bass clarinet, Billy Mohler on bass and Chad Taylor on drums.

Prior to releasing music as a band leader, Lord released 15 albums under the name Francis Moss and with the bands The Wonder Revolution, Miki Moondrops, Elemental Trio and Solagget.

Lord has created his own extended lydian polychordal system which can be heard throughout his music. Grounded in the natural world, Lord’s musical logic involves themes of the forest, fungi and ecosystems.

https://www.danpadley.com/

https://danpadley.bandcamp.com/music

Dan Padley is a guitarist/composer based out of Iowa City, IA. Since studying music at the University of Iowa, Dan has performed with many artists including Deb Talan, Wayne Newton, Elizabeth Moen, River Glen, Dana T, Blake Shaw, comedian Jimmy Pardo, and many more. Dan has released several albums and EPs, including his most recent full length 'The Walking Hills'.


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Jeremy Young / Jesse Perlstein / Grain Bin Operettas
Jul
20
7:30 PM19:30

Jeremy Young / Jesse Perlstein / Grain Bin Operettas

Early show, Sunday July 20 Doors at 7:00pm Show at 7:30pm all ages $10 GA / $8 students / if money is an issue, let us know at the door

Jeremy Young is a maker of analog electronic tape music from Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, Quebec. He is a member of the experimental poetry_sound unit Cloud Circuit, the electroacoustic modern classical trio Sontag Shogun, and the analog library music trio Associated Sine Tone Services. Making use of a sine and square wave oscillator system, 1/4″ magnetic tape loops, filtered radio and EMF signal, and foley-inspired sound treatments from amplified surfaces and objects, Young’s improvisational techniques are influenced by aleatoric chance based principles as well as haptics-based praxis and deep listening. His unique, grid-less approach is anchored by combining the physical treatment of audio signal with complex musical content to create sonic narratives imprinted by the media on which they are recorded, edited, and played back.

Here in Iowa City, Young will perform sketches for tape and oscillators extrapolating the material on his new 2025 records, Cablcar (Halocline Trance) and Masses (We, Here & Now!).


http://cargocollective.com/jeremyyoung
https://jeremyyoung.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jeremy_royalblahblah/

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Dave Moore with Dustin Busch and special guest Pete Balestrieri
Jun
14
8:00 PM20:00

Dave Moore with Dustin Busch and special guest Pete Balestrieri

Join us for a special evening of live music from Iowa City's finest, including Dave Moore, Dustin Busch, and Pete Balestrieri.
Pete will play for a bit during the end of dinner and then Dave & Dustin will take the stage, with Pete joining them for a few.

$18 at the door, all ages.
8pm doors
8:15-9pm Pete Balestrieri, solo
9pm dinner service ends
9:15pm-? Dave & Dustin, joined by Pete somewhere in there

Dave is a singer-songwriter, who plays guitar, button accordion, and harmonica. He was influenced by country blues and conjunto music. Dave lives in Iowa City, records for Red House Records, and was a frequent performer on “A Prairie Home Companion”. He has toured throughout the United States and Canada.

Pete Balestrieri is an Iowa City saxophonist. He toured and recorded with Violent Femmes for twenty years and has a Gold Record for their first album. Most recently, he’s been with Old Scratch Revival Singers, Brooks Strause and The Gory Details, and the Cirque Stupendo Circus Band. He also frequently performs solo.

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Iowa City Video Zine Season Finale
Jun
13
8:30 PM20:30

Iowa City Video Zine Season Finale

★i.c.v.z SEASON 2 FINALE★!!! will be premiering on FRIDAY JUNE 13TH at TRUMPET BLOSSOM CAFE @trumpetblossom ♡♥︎♡

☆8:30-9:30...moody music by @grey_r0ck and visuals by @missvideo4u (ft. their first video chain letter) ☆★☆
★9:30-10:30...epsiode will screen :3
☆10:30-11:30...we celebrate the season finale, mingle, eat cake & plant creative seeds :P

come out and support your local video scene, the amazing trumpet blossom cafe and fellow artists ♡☆♡!!

Free show // all ages

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