Music

Deke Sharon—called the “father of contemporary a cappella”—brings together a cast of vocal powerhouses for a musical adventure spanning the ages. The singers of Vocalosity won’t need a single instrument to delight your entire family.

Ellis Marsalis is the patriarch of one of the most famous families in music, and he’s bringing the holiday cheer from New Orleans to Iowa City. This night of holiday music will bring his considerable talents to the fore.

For nearly two decades, Taylor Mac has created internationally award-winning performance events. A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is his most ambitious project to date. His look at 1846-1856 is a showdown between Walt Whitman and Stephen Foster.

Three tremendous musicians pay homage to three legends. Lynne Arriale (piano), Carla Cook (vocals), and Grace Kelly (saxes) bring passion, sensitivity, and soul to their reinterpretations of classic songs by Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Joni Mitchell.

Chris Thile has been charting new territory for the mandolin since he was eight years old. The Grammy Award-winner and MacArthur Fellow will perform solo violin works by J.S. Bach on the mandolin, as well as his own compositions.

Critic Alex Ross calls the Brentano String Quartet “one of America’s finest, brainiest young quartets.” The program will include fugues by J.S. Bach, Benjamin Britten’s Quartet No. 3, and Johannes Brahms's Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 67.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are likely to set the stage on fire with funk, R&B, and soul music. With Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen at 6:45 pm and the Iowa City Carnival Parade and Pandelirium at 5:30 pm.

Las Cafeteras brings together traditional Son Jarocho sounds, Afro-Mexican rhythms, the traditional dance zapateado, and inspiring lyrics—in English, Spanish, and Spanglish—to serve up a music both unique to East LA and universal in its appeal.

Once banned from their homeland of Chile and now beloved at home and around the world, the members of Inti-Illimani write and perform songs that are both of a specific place and universally resonant.