Leaving the second of two sets by the Julian Lage Trio on Sunday night, I was followed out by what I assumed were students in the University of Iowa jazz program. All were marveling at what they had just heard, one saying, "I need a drink, because I'll probably never play like that."
With all due respect, I'm going to suggest upgrading that qualifier right now. Practice all you want, son, but you are definitely not ever going to play like that. I have a Telecaster just like Lage, but even if I practiced from now until the end of my days and somehow was able to stand on that same stage with the exact same setup, it wouldn't happen.
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All About Jazz - Sunday, September 15, 2024
The gorgeous new Hancher Auditorium, rebuilt in 2016 following severe flood damage to the original building in 2008, is situated on the campus of The University of Iowa. While the large Hadley Stage auditorium seats 1,800 and is home to Broadway shows, multimedia events, and orchestra concerts, the smaller Strauss Hall magically converts into Club Hancher, a hip jazz and comedy venue, over a dozen times a year. This year's season began with a bang with master guitarist Julian Lage.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a61817259/chaka-khan-icons-interview-2024/ - Wednesday, August 14, 2024
A little-known fact: The name Chaka was given to a young Yvette Marie Stevens at the age of 13 by a Yoruba priest, and translated it means woman of fire. The moniker seems to eerily predate one of the singer’s biggest hits, 1984’s “Through the Fire,” and perfectly encapsulates the life and voice of Chaka Khan, one of the world’s most enduring musical icons. Ferocious, wild, and free, she’s come back from the depths of addiction and lived in Germany, Switzerland, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London—all while recording 22 studio albums and winning 10 Grammys. Khan can lay claim to forays into theater and collaborations with Prince, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, and Quincy Jones. “I can do anything,” she says defiantly. “I could sing Chinese folk music if I got the pronunciation right.”
The New York Times - Thursday, August 1, 2024
A good musician’s relationship with the past is tricky. You want to move forward without entirely forsaking what you’ve already done. You don’t want it defining you when so much future defining lies ahead. It’s a dilemma Meshell Ndegeocello was thinking through at her dining room table in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, on a recent afternoon.
Ndegeocello happens to be much more than merely a good musician. She’s been playing professionally since the early 1990s and, at 55, is about to release her 14th album, a collection of songs that excites her. The past — the repertoire, the old stuff, the hits — can start to feel like “karaoke of myself,” she said, even if that’s never what it’s been like for us folks in the audience. Take her performances earlier this year at the Blue Note, the essential Greenwich Village jazz club.
Hancher and University of Iowa performing arts academic units announce 2024-2025 events
The Gazette - Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Hancher’s 52nd season brings a mix of Broadway and world-class stars shining on various stages, including soprano Renee Fleming on Oct. 24, pianist extraordinaire Emmanuel Ax on Feb. 8 and Riverdance from May 9 to 11, all on the Hancher Auditorium stage. Other season highlights: a free outdoor Fall Welcome Concert featuring Cory Wong, Dawes and Reyna Tropical on Aug. 29 on the Hancher Green; Chaka Kahn in concert Sept. 13 at Hancher; a new collaboration by Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham on Sept. 27 at the Englert Theatre; Patti Smith as the keynote performer at the second Infinite Dream festival Sept. 28 at Hancher.
Pollstar - Tuesday, June 4, 2024
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) unfurled the indie flag in the Big Easy this week during NIVA ’24, the third annual gathering of the independent live concert, comedy, promoter and festival industry held Monday through Wednesday in New Orleans.
KCRG - Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Iowa Radio Reading Information Service, or IRIS, is a free radio reading service that reads local print newspapers aloud to thousands of print-disabled listeners in the state. It’s run largely by volunteers, and also offers a unique service that aims to provide equal access to the arts.
On Thursday, IRIS Executive Director Maryfrances Evans provided live Audio Description to several blind audience members at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City.
The Gazette - Thursday, April 25, 2024
The razzle-dazzle of Riverdance on Iowa City’s former Hancher stage tapped into Paul Amrani’s heart and soul at age 3. Now he’s 24, and returning home to share the razzle-dazzle of “Chicago” on the new Hancher stage, during four performances May 3-5.
He definitely remembers seeing Riverdance at that young age, although he’s not sure if his memories of the dance numbers are from seeing it live or from watching the VHS tape his folks bought that night.
University of Iowa Department of Dance - Thursday, April 25, 2024
As a kid growing up in artsy Iowa City with musician parents, Paul Amrani was steeped in the music and performing arts scene in Iowa City from a very young age. In fact, it was a performance of Riverdance at (pre-flood) Hancher Auditorium that convinced 3-year-old Paul that he wanted to be a professional dancer.
His parents worried that he might fidget or get bored, that he might not make it through the whole show. “But I was on the edge of my little seat the entire show,” Paul remembers.
“On the way home I asked my parents to help me become a dancer.”
His parents agreed, signing him up for dance classes in the UI Youth Ballet Program, and later through Nolte Academy. He went on to study at summer intensives with the Kansas City Ballet and Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL, and spent two years in the professional program at the Houston Ballet Academy.