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Giving the gift of new music

Find an Iowa music video advent calendar and meet 24 Iowa acts in 24 days! Also take a look around for our year end music magazine, All Access + a list of must-read music books out in 2023.
IPR Iowa Artists of the Month 2023
River Glen, a blonde man with his hair in a french braid, wears a white collared button up shirt in front of a khaki backdrop.
Meet River Glen
His newest project 'As Above, So Below,' is an album of original music featuring more than 150 singers/musicians.
The Awful Purdies
Meet Awful Purdies
They are so named as a cheeky jab at the men with drawls dripping vacant compliments.
Salt Fox, a Cedar Falls based three piece band, appear on stage at 80/35. They played in the pocket park, surrounded by brick walls. The lead singer is wearing a black hat and floral shirt in the foreground as the keys player stands in the background.
Meet Salt Fox
A Cedar Falls band following unlikely inspiration -- a letter found after an apartment fire.
Miss Christine: Christine Moad on bass and vocals, Dustin Duwa on lead guitar, Jon Wilson on drums and Andrew Teutsch on keys. The band poses for a photo after a recording session in IPR's Studio One. Moad is wearing a pastel purple suit.
Meet Miss Christine
And enter her 'Bittersweet' purple dream world.
The Uniphonics, IPR's Artists of the Month for April, perform in IPR's studios.
Meet Uniphonics
They spoke to IPR about the challenges of having a seven-piece band spread across half the state.
Des Moines-based singer-songwriter Dan Tedesco has released all of his music exclusively on his own website, the Dan Tedesco Music Channel, since July of 2020.
Meet Dan Tedesco
He's been releasing his new album on his own terms.
A three piece punk band stand on stage outside in an urban park surrounding by tall brick buildings in the sunshine. The bass player has a broken foot and it wearing a boot.
Meet The Poly Mall Cops
Greg Wheeler and The Poly Mall Cops spent three years getting their record just right.
Annie Kemble, IPR's Artist of the Month for March, released her debut last fall.
Meet Annie Kemble
She combines soul, jazz, and funk in her music and is inspired by classic films.
Marissa Kephart and Scott Yoshimura of Elison are preparing to release their first EP in 2023. They're IPR's Artist of the Month for January.
Meet Elison
The Des Moines duo is a pandemic success story, a band that formed in the process of independent pursuits.
Holidaze tunes, trivia and music gift ideas.
We've been keeping track of books and musical stocking stuffers all year from artists we play and have worked with in 2023.
Gift Guide for Music Lovers
We've been keeping track of new books and musical stocking stuffers all year from artists we play and have worked with in 2023.
Frank Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his then wife, Lynn Garland, for a party at their home in New York City.
"Baby, It's Cold Outside"
Frank Loesser wrote the song to sing with his wife.
2023 Music Book Guide
There are so many music memoirs new in 2023 that we want to read! Here's a list.
Cher's once again trying something new: a Christmas album.
Cher on her first holiday album
A first in a career spanning six decades: Cher has a Christmas album called 'Christmas.'
Billie Eilish is nominated for six Grammys at the 2024 awards ceremony. Five of those nominations are for her song "What Was I Made For," from the soundtrack to the film <em>Barbie.</em>
2024 Grammys: a guide
The major categories are dominated by women and seemingly up for grabs; elsewhere, progress is not always so clear.
Tracy Chapman became the first Black person to win Song of the Year at the 57th annual Country Music Awards in Nashville on Wednesday. Above, Chapman performs on NBC's "Today" show in 2005.
Tracy Chapman wins a CMA
Chapman won the award for her 1988 hit "Fast Car."
Cirque du Soleil is unveiling a plan to join its famous acrobatic shows with Nashville's country music. Here, a cast member performs during the The Beatles LOVE show by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
Grand Ole ... Cirque du Soleil?
Cirque du Soleil is trading in its trademark worldbeat vibes for banjos and country two-step.
Barbra Streisand in her dressing room in October 1965.
Barbra Streisand's new memoir
'My Name Is Barbra' is the ultimate exercise in directorial control, and a celebration of women's authorship.
Left to right: Norm Sundholm, Lynn Easton, Dick Peterson, Mike Mitchell, and Barry Curtis of the touring version of the rock and roll band "The Kingsmen" perform onstage in 1964.
The story behind 'Louie Louie'
The Kingsmen's enduring recording of the song turns 60 this year.
Britney Spears, left, joins Madonna for a guest appearance during one of Madonna's Los Angeles tour dates in 2008.
Madonna + Britney Spears
Two new best-selling books chronicle the lives of the pop idols.
Having mounted outsized tours for decades, U2 is particularly suited to the technological wizardry of the Sphere in Las Vegas. But is the Sphere suited for more?
A band and a Sphere
At its Las Vegas residency, the band harnesses its superpower: relentless earnestness.