Eleven Moons
The Ames band Eleven Moons held their album release party in Ames back in November 2023, and we couldn't be more excited to hear it. They played at the IPR stage at 80/35 in 2022, and we were in electric guitar heaven thanks to the playing of V Ellsbury, one of Iowa's best guitarists. The band's stated goal is to "keep that echo going" of '60s psychedelic culture and music. Eleven Moons has built a strong following in Ames, which has an awesome music community that proudly supports their local artists.
Geneviève Gros-Louis
Geneviève Gros-Louis (formerly Salamone) is moving up and moving out… to Los Angeles, Calif. After her decade-long stay as a violinist with the Des Moines Symphony, Gros-Louis is pursuing a career in film scoring. Last year she performed an original composition at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of the premiere of Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, and she received her first composing credit for season three of National Geographic’s Life Below Zero: First Alaskans.
Mr. Softheart
Listeners and readers might be familiar with Mr. Softheart as the band founded by the members of the Cedar Falls band Hex Girls. The members of Mr. Softheart decided Hex Girls had run its course, so they started a new project centered around guitars and backing tracks. The main draw of the band, though, is the stage presence and vocals of Nick Fisher, who becomes a whole new person on stage. In late December, Mr. Softheart released their first full-length record, Magdalene In Crisis, with a digital and tape release.
Noah Kahan
Noah Kahan caught our attention at Hinterland 2023 when nearly everyone in the crowd was singing along with his songs. Since then, he'd dueting with nearly everyone, including Hozier, Mt. Joy and Lizzy McAlpine. His music is very relatable, and he's been touring in support of his newest record Stick Season.
PettyAssPunkin
Thanks to DJ Hollygrove and The Chopstars, the people can now finally enjoy PettyAssPunkin’s filthy flow and lurid lyrics in x.75 time! Petty’s December 2023 release Trench B-tch Vol. 1 (ChopNotSlop Remix) is a downright dirty, chopped-up-not-slopped-up version of her deliciously explicit Trench B-tch Vol. 1 tape from earlier that year.
Sharane Calister
Sharane Calister reached a huge audience during her run on NBC's The Voice, where she received coaching from both Adam Levine and Alicia Keys. Since then, she's performed regularly with the Des Moines-based cover band The Feel Right, but she's got an album of originals ready to go: the question is whether the world is ready for it. Calister's single "It's OK Not To Be OK" has been played on Studio One, and her performance with The Feel Right at the IPR stage at the 2023 80/35 was a joyful, life-affirming moment for everyone.
Sqvce
By the end of 2023, Us Vs. Them’s laid-back loverboy Space was sitting on a pile of new releases. With his first solo tape in five years (bad news), a trilogy-topping third album with frequent collaborator FlyLife (FlySpace III) and many appearances throughout U.V.T.’s long-awaited group tape UVT4EVER, Space’s stock is all the way up. Catch Space’s solo set at Mission Creek Festival 2024 at Gabe’s in Iowa City, the same stage where his FlySpace compadre FlyLife performed earlier last year.
Sten Joddi
Now that FX’s Reservation Dogs has ridden off into the sunset, we're excited to see where this indigenous Mason City-area hip-hop artist takes his newfound starpower. Sten Joddi, known to TV fans now and possibly forever as the deadbeat, rapper-slash-absent father “Punkin Lusty,” recently joined Lakota artist Stella Standingbear on the song “SKODEN.” The track is an awesome remix of Sexyy Red’s “SkeeYee” and also (somehow) “Teach Me How To Dougie,” with a native flair. The Muscogee Creek Nation Tribe of Oklahoma member and northern Iowa tattoo artist dropped his fourth Tattoo Muzik album in March of 2023, with features from Da Liest One, Muk Boy, D Hog, SP1R1T and DJ Big Rez. Tattoo Muzik 4 also features Joddi’s hit “Greasy FryBread,” plus its remix with Joey Stylez. Joddi is set to release a new album on Jan. 30, 2024.
Susto
Susto is an Eastern Iowa favorite, hailing from South Carolina and playing a two-day show what seems like annually for the last several years at Codfish Hollow in Maquoketa. 2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of their debut self-titled album. It will be interesting to watch if they announce a show or tour around that anniversary.
Trap Garage Mafia
Big Teo (Hunter Intorf) and Shade (Mo Gray) makeup the gritty Iowa-nois rap duo that has impressed with their singles alone in 2023. “Black Tinted Windows,” “Feds Knocking” and “These Boys Just Act” showcased the pair’s horrorcore sensibilities and reverence for mixtapes. Teo still lives in Cedar Rapids, where the pair grew up, while Shade operates out of Casey, Ill. Once a month, Shade makes the 300+ mile drive back home to link up and record with his musical partner.
TGM dropped a new single "WACO!!" on January 3, 2024. When asked about a full-length debut date, both had high hopes for May.
"Oh yeah, it's happening" says Shade. "It's been too long, man, for us not to have dropped an album. All these singles for no album, it's ridiculous."
Orville Peck
Orville Peck released his debut album Pony in 2019, followed by the EP Show Pony the next year. His second studio album Bronco was released in April 2022. In 2023, as he was touring Bronco, he cancelled the second half of his dates to take care of his mental health saying he'd try to return when he was feeling better. His return to at Hinterland 2023 was highly anticipated before he went off tour. We're watching to see if he comes through Iowa in 2024. We've been spinning his music in heavy rotation on IPR since his debut album was released.
Weary Ramblers
Newly formed Iowa folk duo, Weary Ramblers bring years of experience to the stage with award-winning songwriting and chemistry. Chad Elliott (Woody Guthrie Song Contest & Kerrville Finalist) and Kathryn Fox (DownBeat winner & international touring artist) showcase multi-instrumental performances with tight harmonies and great storytelling. They played to packed houses in 2023 at the Temple for the Performing Arts and xBk. The duo have an album planned for Spring 2024.
