The annual Mission Creek festival has announced the dates for its upcoming season. The 20th year of the festival will take place April 3 — 5. The full artist lineup will be announced Friday, Dec. 13. Though organizers are tight-lipped about the next festival lineup, festival director Brian Johannesen shared a little tease:
“For the twentieth Creek, we knew we had to go big… Mission Creek has been so instrumental for so many of us in Iowa City, both as a music discovery tool and an opportunity to see our favorite artists up close. In that spirit, we are not only bringing new and exciting artists to the lineup, but also going deep and welcoming back some longtime friends of Mission Creek — artists that played legendary sets or did amazing readings — who have helped define this experience over the past two decades and hold a special place in our hearts.”
The 20th year also marks a change for the festival, as The Englert is stepping down from producing Mission Creek. “It’s a bittersweet moment for us and our whole team,” said The Englert’s executive director, John Schickedanz. “Mission Creek has been part of our identity for over a decade. The relationship has been so beneficial, and it’s really gone both ways. Producing the festival has allowed us to bring so many brilliant artists to our community. Neither the festival nor The Englert would be where we are today without this partnership.”
The Englert has been the official producer of the festival since 2014 – managing all programming, production and marketing duties.
Planning is already underway for a new chapter of Mission Creek. A new version of the event will emerge in 2026 in the hands of the festival’s co-founders and current literary programming director, Nina Lohman. Festival co-founder and Artistic Director Andre Perry offers some hints at what's to come.
“We are going back to our roots, to our fundamentals. So much has changed in the music industry and the literary world since we started twenty years ago. We want to build something that’s an essential space for emerging and underground musicians, writers, and publishers, especially from Iowa and the Midwest. What Nina [Literary Programming Director] is doing with Brink reflects a highly innovative and unshakably independent ethos. That’s where Mission Creek started and then it kind of grew into something else and that’s cool. Now it’s time to come home.”
Mission Creek has been an integral part of the Iowa City music and arts scene, and has been crucial to bringing artists on the cusp of major success to the state. It’s been a favorite festival of ours here at Studio One as well. We've seen some truly memorable shows at the Englert Theatre, including Osees, Indigo De Souza, and S.G. Goodman — and that was just last year! Mission Creek's dedication to the local scene can't be denied either, with free shows happening at various locations and great bands from around the state performing. We look forward to Mission Creek's 20th season, and are enthusiastic about its future.
Take a look at past Mission Creeks at the gallery below.
