The University of Iowa

Rhiannon Giddens

Giddens’ lifelong mission is to lift up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins. Pitchfork has said of her work, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration.”

Herbie Hancock

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has been an integral part of every popular music movement since the 1960s—making his music and career exceptionally influential across many genres.

Dos Santos and Ratboys

Performing everything from jazz-tinged psychedelia to dissonant cumbia, Dos Santos is at the forefront of a new era of Latinx alternative music. Ratboys is an American indie rock band from Chicago formed by Julia Steiner and Dave Sagan.

Orchestra Iowa presents Cultural Crossroads

Grammy-nominated violinist Cho-Liang Lin amazes audiences around the world with his “musical charisma” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and “dazzling” playing (The New York Times). Lin takes the stage to open our 100th Anniversary Masterworks season with Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Violin Concerto, along a world-premiere performance of Towering Oaks, an Orchestra Iowa Centennial commission by Cedar Rapids composer Jerry Owen.

Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience

Hancher Auditorium is proud to help bring Terrance Simien to the Iowa City Jazz Festival! Grammy-winner Simien takes his audiences on a multicultural tour of the world inspired the many countries he’s visited on tour which have informed his musical language. He creates a hypnotic blend of New Orleans funk-reggae-flavored-world-blues-American zydeco roots music that beckons you to your feet and into the groove.