The Englert Theatre in Iowa City is set to host a series of unforgettable performances, featuring a diverse array of artists across various genres. From the eclectic sounds of Lip Critic to the soulful voice of Elizabeth Moen, and the harmonic mastery of The Lone Bellow, these events promise to capture the essence of musical creativity. This article dives into the unique contributions and captivating performances that these artists bring to the stage, each adding a distinct flavor to Iowa City's vibrant music scene.

Iowa City's Musical Tapestry: A Showcase of Eclectic Talents

Margaret Cho

The Englert Theatre

Blues icon. Soul man. Rock and roller. Robert Cray is all these things – and more. The Georgia-born, Washington-raised musician first picked up a guitar after seeing The Beatles on TV. Then, having witnessed Jimi Hendrix perform in Seattle, he determined that his destiny would follow a similar path. And so it has: across the past half-century, Robert Cray has developed into one of American music’s most singular artists.

The Robert Cray Band

Trampled by Turtles are from Duluth, Minnesota, where frontman Dave Simonett initially formed the group as a side project in 2003. At the time, Simonett had lost most of his music gear after a group of enterprising car thieves ransacked his vehicle while he was playing a show with his previous band. Left with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, he began piecing together a new band—this time taking inspiration from bluegrass, folk, and other genres that didn’t rely on amplification.

Trampled By Turtles

Comedian. Actor. Musician. Advocate. Entrepreneur. Artist. Margaret Cho is smart, she’s funny, she’s courageous, she’s outrageous, she’s charming, she’s provocative, she’s fearless, she’s raw, she’s honest, she roots for the underdog. She is the underdog.

Margaret was born and raised in San Francisco, an experience that helped to shape her worldview. She knew she was funny enough to try stand-up at age 14. Soon after, Margaret won a contest to open for Jerry Seinfeld, prompting a move to Los Angeles and work on the college comedy circuit. She performed over 300 concerts within two years. Arsenio Hall introduced her to late night audiences, Bob Hope put her on a prime time special and justlikethat, Margaret Cho became a household name.

Margaret Cho: Choligarchy

In a career spanning over 50 years, dozens of albums, and too many shows to count, Marty Stuart still charts a course through new territory at every chance possible. Joined by his longtime band The Fabulous Superlatives, the five-time GRAMMY® Award winner, Country Music Hall of Famer, Congress of Country Music founder, and AMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient cruises into another stratosphere with his first-ever full-length instrumental LP, Space Junk. The inimitable interplay between Marty, Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson, and Chris Scruggs fuels this cosmic cowboy trip with sun-kissed surf guitar, breezy California rhythms, soul-stirring steel guitar, and fluid fretwork all around.

“We thought the world needed a fresh instrumental album by a pretty good band,” Stuart laughs. “So we composed twenty instrumentals and took them to the microphones.” Space Junk sounds like country music’s preeminent band crash-landing on a Malibu beach and performing the most epic jam you’ve ever witnessed by starlight.

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives

Clarion is a three-piece that places their own spin on shoegaze, rock, and post punk. Mixing powerful dance beats with loud amplifiers to make live shows energetic, this trio will leave you wanting more after every performance.

Clarion

Gabe's

Here’s a rare chance to see two venerable musicians.
It was the late 1960’s on Charles Street in Boston, outside one of the legendary clubs during the folk revival era, these two new-to-the-scene young musicians first met. They’ve stayed friends ever since with their paths crossing at folk festivals and concert halls and folk clubs.  Over the years, the two have guest-appeared on each other’s record, Chris sang on “Somebody Else” for Loudon’s Older Than My Old Man Now record. Then Loudon lent a hand on Chris’ 50-year career retrospective recording Still on the Levee (singing on “What They Say”).  Throughout the decades, they each have made their own individual and indelible mark on the contemporary singer-songwriter scene with Wainwright, known for his “Dead Skunk” song and Smither, known for “Love You Like A Man”. They have both recorded numerous albums and continue to tour as journeymen. Acting is also a common thread they share with Wainwright having been in many plays, TV shows, and movies including the hit TV show M.A.S.H and on Broadway Pump Boys and Dinettes. Smither recently made his acting debut in the short film The Singers. Their most recent recordings are Wainwright’s Live In London (2025) and Smither’s  All About the Bones (2024). 

Loudon Wainwright III & Chris Smither

NMA started by brother Luther and Cody Dickinson in 1996 as a loose collective of musicians from their North Mississippi home inspired by their father Jim Dickinson as well as neighbors and musical elders of their community; RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner and Fred McDowell.

Luther’s first national tour was the RL Burnside Ass Pocket of Whiskey tour in 1997, selling out shows in the US and Canada. “Kenny Brown hired me to tour with RL and Cedric and showed me the ropes. That experience blew my mind. Cody and I have been on the road ever since.”

NMA began touring in 1998 and over the years the touring lineup has included, Cedric, Duwayne and Garry Burnside, Chris Chew, Berry Oakley Jr, Oteil Burbruidgem  and currently Joey Williams of the Blind Boys of Alabama and Ray Ray Hollowman, guitar player for Eminem and Nee-O. 

North Mississippi Allstars

Iron & Wine is the musical project of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Born and raised in South Carolina, Beam is a former film professor who got his start making home recordings before landing on Sub Pop Records. Iron & Wine’s 2002 debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle, garnered both critical and popular acclaim, vaulting Beam into the spotlight of the burgeoning indie-folk/Americana scene as one of its new and leading voices.

Iron & Wine

Playing is the joy and satisfaction of touring, but it comes with the hard part — travel, the endless miles on a bus. There’s no dodging the wear and tear, and Little Feat has been playing for quite a while. With tongue stuck somewhat in cheek, Little Feat announces “The Last Farewell Tour,” which will begin in April 2026. It’s definitely not an absolute, never-gonna-play-again statement. This wind-down will take several years to accomplish, and during this time, Feat will continue to perform and record as long as they are able. It’s a retirement from touring.

Little Feat began in 1969 when Frank Zappa told Lowell George he should start his own band. As Lowell happened to have a pretty small shoe size, the name became obvious. He found a partner/keyboard player in Bill Payne and a drummer in Richie Hayward. After a few transitions, they added Kenny Gradney (bass), Sam Clayton (percussion), Paul Barrere (guitar) and eventually Fred Tackett (guitar), and began a now 56-year journey that has produced dozens of songs – “Dixie Chicken,” “Oh, Atlanta,” “Willin’,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub” – and a thousand memories. One result was one of the best live albums in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, Waiting for Columbus.

Little Feat: The Last Farewell Tour

Heralded as one of “Austin’s rising stars” by Rolling Stone and “an Austin legend in the making” by Forbes, Jackie Venson has established herself as one of the most commanding performers to come out of Texas. An Austin native, Venson has shared the stage with icons like Gary Clark Jr and Melissa Etheridge and even performed with Alanis Morissette and Lainey Wilson at the 2023 CMT Awards and in 2024 Venson was selected to perform as part of Rolling Stone’s Future of Music showcase.. Venson’s breakthrough album Joy received critical acclaim upon its release in 2019, and while the pandemic stood in the way of touring plans for the next year, Venson nonetheless found new levels of fame with her livestreaming presence throughout 2020, which led to her landing the #9 position on Pollstar’s Top 50 Livestreamers list for the year and a booking on the legendary Austin City Limits Television Season 46. Acclaimed by greats as diverse as Vernon Reid and Michael McKean, Venson continues to evolve as an artist, whether it’s on Texas blues focused albums like Love Transcends, the eclectic electro-funk and rock of Ghost in The Machine or the mesmerizing soul and R&B of The Love Anthology. With her passionate commitment to exploring diverse sounds and styles, Venson’s artistry is only going to continue to grow.

Margaret Cho: Choligarchy

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