the villin mix features music from artists playing shows around Iowa, in addition to the best new music from the state’s local and homegrown talent. Here’s what’s on tap for this edition, covering September 4 – September 10, 2023. (Cover photo: Jason Isbell.)
Listen and subscribe to the villin mix via Spotify.
In Loving Memory “A Gentler Sun”
- In Loving Memory returned this July with the release of the A Gentler Sun EP, marking the first new music from the Des Moines screamo pioneers in roughly 22 years. Speaking with DIY Conspiracy, co-vocalist Brian Dingeman dissected his approach to the group’s new material, “Lyrical inspiration is drawn from poetry by a friend of Spencer’s and a truly talented writer, Thomas Cooney, among other snippets self written or found. Emotionally, I think it has a sense of anger and urgency likely fueled by the world we’ve all been enduring since the band broke up, but I think it also conveys a sense of happiness and positivity.” For more, co-vocalist Jen Wiley was interviewed recently by the (((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))) Podcast. The band will be playing a pair of reunion dates this week:
Friday, September 8 at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens with Antacid Trip, Black Market Fetus, and Dose.
Saturday, September 9 in Des Moines at the Franklin Jr. High Gymnasium with Black Market Fetus, Druids, Closet Witch, Plack Blague & Dryad.
Druids “YeYin”
SOUL GLO “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)(by the future)”
- Philadelphia’s SOUL GLO will be performing with Closet Witch Monday, September 4 at Gabe’s in Iowa City. “The band are masters of dynamics,” wrote Michael Hann in a recent show review for the Guardian, “and even within the constraints of a two-minute song, they can cycle through different sections and textures and paces, all anchored by foundation-shuddering riffs and [TJ] Stevenson’s hugely inventive drumming.”
Tunic “Disappointment”
- Winnipeg’s Tunic will be performing Thursday, September 7 at Lefty’s in Des Moines. In discussing their latest album, Wrong Dream, for Trebel, Tom Morgan commented how the album, “serves up a compellingly nasty blend of airless post-punk that’s infused with noise rock ugliness and angular post-hardcore.”
Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops “NOTHING”
- Iowa Public Radio’s Artists of the Month for August, Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops will be joining Tunic for the September 7 show at Lefty’s (as will Acid Legs). For more from the band, be sure to also check out this Q&A frontman Greg Wheeler did here back in June.
Third Eye Blind “Jumper”
- Third Eye Blind will be playing the Back Waters Stage in Dubuque Saturday, September 9, along with 10 Years.
Ryan Radig “Don’t Worry (about me now)”
Salt Fox “Slow Down on Gamblin’”
- A diverse night of music will hit Octopus in Cedar Falls on Saturday, September 9 with Salt Fox, Dead Silent, and Shikimo all set to perform.
Salt Fox is also behind a new one-day festival in Cedar Falls, which is set to go down in October, and in advance of the event the band’s manager Neal commented on what’s to be expected. “The inaugural Lost Woods Music Festival is a free will donation event on Saturday, October 7, organized and headlined by the band Salt Fox in Cedar Falls, IA. The LaCalle Food Truck will have food for purchase, and we’ll have beer & other beverages available, too. Salt Fox has always dreamed of playing an intimate evening concert in the woods while surrounded by our closest friends, so that is exactly what we are producing. Our current plan is to announce artist lineups soon. As the event location is on a private acreage in Cedar Falls, we will be notifying attendees of the exact location at minimum one week prior to the event. We encourage anyone interested in attending the Lost Woods Music Festival to RSVP and follow along at @LostWoodsFestival. Attendees can expect bicycle & vehicle access, featuring on-site overnight parking & taxi services.”
Jim Swim & Avery Moss “Dessert”
Sight Lives & Rome Oliver “Jealousy”
- Connecting with Sight Lives about “the song”Jealousy,” he relayed how the song came together: “Me and Rome had been talking about collaborating for some time. To be honest, my older brother actually knew Rome and told me about him and said we should make some music together, so we were really just were trying to find the time that worked for both of us.” Continuing, he added, “kashii was actually the person who mastered the song and Dran Fresh produced the beat. I found him through Beatstars and I sent Rome the beat we instantly knew it was going to be a banger.”
Dead Silent “2032”
LOVESBLIND “all i need”
Herbie Hancock “Fat Mama”
- The legend Herbie Hancock will be performing Friday, September 8 at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines and Saturday, September 9 at the Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City.
Ahzia & FVNTVNV “Protect the Child”
- “Protect the Child” is from Ahzia’s new five song Loading… Please Wait EP. FVNTVNV supplied production for the track, which had been percolating for a long period of time before landing on the release. As he explained, “The instrumental was something I wrote a couple years back that I got to Ahzia a little over a year ago. He has been carefully crafting his verses for this album over the last year. Ahzia really puts a lot into his lyricism and flows so it was an honor to get a placement on the EP for sure.”
Jammin’ Alone “Old Town”
T.K.O. “Let it be”
Shikimo “Stardust”
Jason Isbell “Songs That She Sang in the Shower”
- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will be playing a (long since sold out) Friday, September 8 show at the Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City, with Wednesday in support.
- “Hive Mind” is the title track from Lily DeTaeye’s new album, and catching up with the Des Moines native, she explained, “Ultimately, I hope ‘Hive Mind’ lands in the hands of folks who recognize the scary state of the world and decide to seek magic anyway.” Read more about “Hive Mind” here.
- “Jeanette” is from Lady Revel’s forthcoming album, Mood Music, and comes as a result of the group “finally making the kind of music we want to.” Read more about “Jeanette” here, or hear it live at the band’s release show for Mood Music, which is being held Friday, September 15 at xBk in Des Moines.
Elsewhere, here are some links from the past week featuring articles, reviews, shows, and other music coverage from around the state:
- Iowa Public Radio’s Cece Mitchell previewed the forthcoming Track Zero series at The Englert Theatre in Iowa City, which is being established as a showcase for “younger artists, indie artists and hip-hop.”
- IPR’s Lucius Pham recapped GZA’s recent performance at The Englert.
- The Des Moines Register shared photos of Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie’s show at Wells Fargo Arena, shot by Reese Strickland, and a recap of the show from Paris Barraza.
- In the new edition of Little Village, Tom Brazelton reviewed Early Girl’s Lovers Out to Pasture. And in case you missed them last month, Michael Roeder reviewed Subatlantic’s Say It Again, and Benjamin Jeffery reviewed the debut album from 24thankyou, Everything I Was, Burning Slow.
- This past week’s Iowa Basement Tapes featured music from Movable Feast, Dick Hubert, Animals on LSD, Nebuleth, and more. Listen and subscribe via Apple and Spotify.
- And for more of what’s going on in central and eastern Iowa, visit Little Village’s events calendar.
For more updates, follow villin on: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon & Bluesky
