Al Schares

The new album from long-time Iowa favorites The Nadas is just out. "One Louder" is the 11th studio album for a band now marking their 25th year in the business. The Nadas will help IPR kick off the 2018 Studio One Underground series from the Basement venue of the Des Moines Social Club January 4th at 7 PM. Tony Dehner will host the show which is free and open to the public. The band will be playing some of their older favorites and plenty of new material from "One Louder." 

Wow! Everything anyone has said about siblings singing together is true! Check out the amazing harmony of Jack Torrey and Page Burkum of The Cactus Blossoms. They dropped by IPR’s Studio One for a short performance and some conversation with IPR’s Mark Simmet. The harmonies are really striking and are, of course, reminiscent of a couple of Iowa’s favorite sons The Everly Brothers, but these Minneapolis brothers are top-notch writers and arrangers too! All four of these tunes are from their album “You’re Dreaming” and the final tune you may recognize from the TV series Twin Peaks.

If you haven't tuned in to our 24-hour Studio One music stream ... today is the day!

Iowa Public Radio Studio One is listener supported radio playing a carefully curated mix of new progressive music alongside nostalgic iconic tunes. Expect to hear great music by artists like Wilco, Mumford and Sons, Paul Simon, The Head and The Heart, as well as many Iowa musicians.

Today on Gas Monday at Noon and 6:00 p.m., you'll hear TWINS, Annaliberra, House of Large Sizes, Courtney Krause, The Host Country, and Wooden Nickel Lottery and more.

We were joined early on Friday night at our free stage by Anna Gebhardt and Ryan Stier from the Des Moines band Annalibera, ahead of their amazing Saturday performance. The intimate setting was a terrific showcase for Anna's powerful vocals. We think you'll agree!

Iowa-based singer-songwriter Damon Dotson opened our stage weekend on Friday night, playing a great set before the festival technically began! How cool is that?

Having had Mighty Shady in both our Cedar Falls studios and on IPR's Java Blend, it felt right for them to perform on our 80/35 stage. They turned out to be a perfect choice to close out the stage on the first night of the festival, as they definitely got the crowd ready to party!

We have to admit, the Ames band Fuzzy Logic hadn't been on our radar before the festival. After this set, though, we're definitely wanting to hear more of those funky acoustic sounds!

We're still not sure how, but we managed to get all eight(!) members of the Minneapolis-based bluegrass band The Kind Country onto our stage AND stay on schedule! For many of the audience members who stopped by our stage over the weekend, this was a definite highlight of the festival.

The Studio One team has crossed paths with Minneapolis' Jon Wayne and the Pain before at 80/35, so this was a treat for us. The band had already played the Hy-Vee main stage earlier in the day, and played the official after party just a few hours later with the Jaden Carlson band!

Here's another example of how our stripped-down setting can bring new dimensions to music you may have already heard. As much as we LOVE the 12-piece (or more!) band Canby, lead vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Scott Yoshimura does pretty well by himself!

While some musicians had to make some adjustments to our stage, others were already perfectly suited to the intimate, stripped-down atmosphere. The Iowa-based husband and wife duo The High Crest definitely fell into the second category, and played a great set following their appearance at the Kum & Go stage.

Another band from Boulder, and veterans of IPR's Java Blend, Head For The Hills turned out to be the perfect band to wrap up our weekend. Even though the day was winding down, we still had a great crowd for this great bluegrass band!

Along with Jon Wayne and the Pain, Boulder, Colorado's Jaden Carlson Band also managed to fit us in between their main performance and the after party later that evening. This band definitely brought the funk, and more than anyone else at the festival, 15-year-old Jaden made it look easy with her incredible guitar playing.

"Stripped down" and "intimate" don't necessarily mean "laid-back" and "relaxing", as the Chicago band The Kickback showed us on Friday.

Less than 20 minutes after his amazing performance at the Nationwide free stage, Des Moines artist Christopher The Conquered rushed over to our stage and treated us to a couple of covers, along with the full, true story behind one of his newer songs.

Now based in Los Angeles, Boh Doran returned to her home state to play at 80/35 and gave a terrific performance. As you'd expect from the setting, her amazing voice was on full display.

From Iowa City, The Olympics played 80/35 for the first time, and by all accounts they played a great set at the Nationwide free stage. It was fun working with them again after their IPR appearance at the Des Moines Social Club in May!

One of the most talked-about bands from any of the stages at 80/35 was Brazilian 2wins, from Cedar Falls. Between both of their electrifying sets at the festival, they've acquired many new fans!

When it comes to compiling a Halloween playlist, there are the staples like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and “The Monster Mash” sung by the theatrical Bobby Boris Pickett. Oddly enough the 60s and 80s created a lot of the music that has ended up being played at nearly every Halloween event, but then every decade has produced some uncanny tracks. And for inspiration we’ve brewed up a short list of some of our favorites to spice up your Halloween festivities.

Scarlett Cerna, host of Studio One:

IPR's Studio One team is at 80/35 this weekend, July 4 & 5. We're chatting with local and national bands who are rocking the music festival in Des Moines, and we're recording some live unplugged sessions from the Meet & Greet area. 

Stop by and see us, or click here to watch the videos as we post them! 

Winter keeps dragging on, and here at Studio One we've got Cabin Fever! While we wait out these last few weeks of cold and snow, here are the top songs and bands keeping us warm and thinking about summer!