Capital City PrideFest,

Historic East Village, Des Moines, Friday-Sunday, June 9-11, Free

Des Moines’ 44th annual PrideFest arrives the second weekend of June in the city’s East Village with parades and performances galore for those in attendance. Over the course of the weekend expect to see performances from drag queens like Trixie Mattel, who’ll be putting on a DJ set, Shangela as well as musicians like Sheila E., Leslie and the LYs and Haiku Hands. This year’s entertainment is in partnership with 80/35. Among the myriad activities expect to see dozens of vendors and the Capital City Pride Stride 5k presented by DLL on June 10.

Community Connections

Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Speak Easy: A Spoken Word and Open Mic Nite, xBk Live, Des Moines, $5

Wednesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. AVid

Presents: Emily St. John Mandel, Central Library, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, May 11 at 6 p.m. Capital City Pride Speaker Series: Rutger Goethart, Temple Theater, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. Art Noir GLOWGA, Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, $15-20

Thursday-Saturday, May 11-13 Spring Garden Festival, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Free-$30

Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. William Bortz, Storyhouse Bookpub, Des Moines, Free

Wednesday, May 17 at 5:30 p.m. Let Trans Kids Thrive: Ad Screening and Fundraiser, RAYGUN, Des Moines, Free

Sunday, May 21 at 12 p.m. Vinyl Market, Big Grove Brewery, Des Moines, Free

Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. AVid

Presents: Jack Carr, Central Library, Free

Thursday, May 25 at 6 p.m. Whiterock Conservancy Dinner, Big Grove Brewery, Des Moines, $125

Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27 20th CelebrAsian, Western Gateway Park, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, June 1 at 7 p.m. Film

Screening & Q/A: Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale, Varsity Cinema, Des Moines, $9-12

Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m. Momentum’s Take Up Space Exhibition, Mainframe Studios, Des Moines, Free

Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m.

Hyperfocused: Immersive Art Exhibit, Mainframe Studios, Des Moines, Free

Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m. Exhibition

Opening: Underneath Everything: Humility and Grandeur in Contemporary Ceramics, Des Moines Art Center, Free

Tuesday, June 6 at 7 p.m. AVid

Presents: Paul Kix, Central Library, Free

Tuesday, June 7 at 7 p.m. DSM

Ballet: Of Gravity and Light

Advance Screening, Maytag Auditorium, Johnston, Free

Thursday, June 15 at 7 p.m.

AVid Presents: Taylor Harris, Central Library, Free

Friday-Sunday, June 23-25 Des Moines Arts Festival, Western Gateway Park, Free

Pride Punk Show w/ Odd Pets, xBk Live, Des Moines, Friday, June 16 at 8 p.m., $10-15 Ready

to shift your pride celebration into overdrive? Don’t miss the high-energy QueerCore Pride Punk Show, featuring Des Moines “power duo” Odd Pets. The event will also include a drag show and dancing. It’s a 21+ show, and tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Reach out to info@xbklive.com if you require ADA accommodations. Celebrate the radical diversity of the Des Moines queer community!

Musical Marvels

Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. Josh Meloy, Wooly’s, Des Moines, $21

Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. Daniel Rodriguez, xBk Live, Des Moines, $15-20

Thursdays, May 11, 18, 25 and June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Summer Concert Series, Jasper Winery, Des Moines, Free

Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Yoke Lore, Wooly’s, $60

Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Adrian Ruiz & His Band, Noce, Des Moines, $18-45

Saturday, May 13 at 8 p.m. Mungion, Gas Lamp, Des Moines, $10-15

Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. All Access Live: Abbie Sawyer & the Flood, xBk Live, $10

Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Giovannie & the Hired Guns, Wooly’s, $20

Friday and Saturday, May 19-20 Greenbelt Music Festival, Horizon Events Center, Clive, $35-139

Friday and Saturday, May 19-20 Karrin Allyson, Noce, $25-65

Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. Wille Watson, xBk Live, $20

Tuesday-Saturday, June 6-10 Zenith Chamber Music Festival, Various Venues, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, June 8 at 8 p.m. Radkey, xBk Live, $12

Thursday-Saturday, June 8-10

DMGMC: Cages or Wings: Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Temple Theater, $31.50-51.50

Friday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. Charles Wesley Godwin, Lauridsen Amphitheater, Des Moines, $25-40

Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. Andrea von Kampen, xBk Live, $17

Thursday, June 15 at 8 p.m. CupcakKe, xBk Live, $45-45

Monday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Stones, Wooly’s, $20

Tuesday, June 20 at 8 p.m. Chris Puerka, xBk Live, $20

Friday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. Charley Crockett w/Myron Elkins, Lauridsen Amphitheater, $30

Wednesday, June 28 at 6 p.m. Young the Giant w/Milky Chance, Lauridsen Amphitheater, $40.50

Thursday, June 29 at 8 p.m. T3R Elemento, Wooly’s, $39.50

Saturday, July 1 at 1 p.m. Soundcheck Fest, Captain Roy’s, Des Moines, Free

Astrology

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I’ve selected a passage to serve as one of your prime themes during the rest of 2023. It comes from poet Jane Shore. She writes, “Now I feel I am learning how to grow into the space I was always meant to occupy, into a self I can know.” Dear Taurus, you will have the opportunity to grow evermore assured and self-possessed as you embody Shore’s description in the coming months. Congratulations in advance on the progress you will make to more fully activate your soul’s code.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Georges Rouault (1871-1958) was a Gemini painter who bequeathed the world over 3,000 works of art. There might have been even more. But years before he died, he burned 315 of his unfinished paintings. He felt they were imperfect, and he would never have time or be motivated to finish them. I think the coming weeks would be a good time for you to enjoy a comparable purge, Gemini. Are there things in your world that don’t mean much to you anymore and are simply taking up space? Consider the possibility of freeing yourself from their stale energy.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Britain occupied India for almost 200 years. It was a ruthless and undemocratic exploitation that steadily drained India’s wealth and resources. Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t the only leader who fought British oppression, but he was among the most effective. In 1930, he led a 24-day, 240-mile march to protest the empire’s tyrannical salt tax. This action was instrumental in energizing the Indian independence movement that ultimately culminated in India’s freedom. I vote to make Gandhi one of your inspirational role models in the coming months. Are you ready to launch a liberation project? Stage a constructive rebellion? Martial the collaborative energies of your people in a holy cause?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): As crucial as it is to take responsibility, it is also essential to recognize where our responsibilities end and what should be left for others to do. For example, we usually shouldn’t do work for other people that they can just as easily do for themselves. We shouldn’t sacrifice doing the work that only we can do and get sidetracked doing work that many people can do. To be effective and to find fulfillment in life, it’s vital for us to discover what truly needs to be within our care and what should be outside of our care. I see the coming weeks as a favorable time for you to clarify the boundary between these two.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Marie Laveau (1801-1881) was a powerful Voodoo priestess, herbalist, activist and midwife in New Orleans. According to legend, she could walk on water, summon clairvoyant visions, safely suck the poison out of a snake’s jowls and cast spells to help her clients achieve their heart’s desires. There is also a wealth of more tangible evidence that she was a community activist who healed the sick, volunteered as an advocate for prisoners, provided free teachings and did rituals for needy people who couldn’t pay her. I hereby assign her to be your inspirational role model for the coming weeks. I suspect you will have extra power to help people in both mysterious and practical ways.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What are the best methods to exorcize our personal demons, ghosts and goblins? Or at least subdue them and neutralize their ill effects? We all have such phantoms at work in our psyches, corroding our confidence and undermining our intentions. One approach I don’t recommend is to get mad at yourself for having these interlopers. Never do that. The demons’ strategy, you see, is to manipulate you into being mean and cruel to yourself. To drive them away, I suggest you shower yourself with love and kindness. That seriously reduces their ability to trick you and hurt you—and may even put them into a deep sleep. Now is an excellent time to try this approach.

By Rob Brezsny

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): As she matured, Scorpio poet Sylvia Plath wrote, “I am learning how to compromise the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities without such screaming pain.” I believe you’re ready to go even further than Plath was able to, dear Scorpio. In the coming weeks, you could do more than merely “compromise” the wild dream ideals and the necessary realities. You could synergize them and get them to collaborate in satisfying ways. Bonus: I bet you will accomplish this feat without screaming pain. In fact, you may generate surprising pleasures that delight you with their revelations.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Some primates use herbal and clay medicines to self-medicate. Great apes, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas ingest a variety of ingredients that fight against parasitic infection and help relieve various gastrointestinal disturbances. (More info: https://tinyurl.com/ PrimatesSelfMedicate.) Our ancestors learned the same healing arts, though far more extensively. With these thoughts in mind, Sagittarius, I urge you to spend quality time in the coming weeks deepening your understanding of how to heal and nurture yourself. The kinds of “medicines” you might draw on could be herbs, and may also be music, stories, colors, scents, books, relationships and adventures.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The mythic traditions of all cultures are replete with tales of clashes and combats. If we draw on these tales to deduce what activity humans enjoy more than any other, we might conclude that it’s fighting with each other. But I hope you will avoid this normal habit as much as possible during the next three weeks, Capricorn. I am encouraging you to actively repress all inclinations to tangle. Just for now, I believe you will cast a wildly benevolent magic spell on your mental and physical health if you avoid arguments and skirmishes. Here’s a helpful tip: In each situation you’re involved in, focus on sustaining a vision of the most graceful, positive outcome.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is there a person who could serve as your Über Mother for a while? This would be a wise and tender maternal ally who gives you the extra nurturing you need, along with steady doses of warm, crisp advice on how to weave your way through your labyrinthine decisions. Your temporary Über Mother could be any gender, really. They would love and accept you for exactly who you are, even as they stoke your confidence to pursue your sweet dreams about the future. Supportive and inspirational. Reassuring and invigorating. Championing you and consecrating you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Congratulations on acquiring the Big New Riddle! I trust it will inspire you to grow wiser and kinder and wilder over the coming months. I’ve compiled some clues to help you unravel and ultimately solve this challenging and fascinating mystery. 1. Refrain from calling on any strength that’s stingy or pinched. Ally yourself solely with generous power. 2. Avoid putting your faith in trivial and irrelevant “benefits.” Hold out for the most soulful assistance. 3. The answer to key questions may often be, “Make new connections and enhance existing connections.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Before forming the band called The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney performed under various other names: the Quarrymen, Japage 3 and Johnny and the Moondogs. I suspect you are currently at your own equivalent of the Johnny and the Moondogs phase. You’re building momentum. You’re gathering the tools and resources you need. But you have not yet found the exact title, descriptor or definition for your enterprise. I suggest you be extra alert for its arrival in the coming weeks.

Dear Kiki, I recently had to live with some family members due to being between jobs and finally got a place of my own two months ago. The problem? I left a few things that I got mailed to me in a box yesterday. Some clothes, a couple books—and a largeish vibrating strapon. No words were spoken about the strapon, though they obviously know about it, and I’m a couple states away so I haven’t seen them since I got the box. I’m planning on visiting them within the next couple of months but I’m afraid of it being weird. They aren’t like, super conservative or anything but they’re fairly repressed. Is there a way to soften the awkwardness before I arrive? Help me, Kiki!

—Did a Dil-don’t

Dear Did a Dil-don’t, The answer to this dilemma will differ from family to family, of course. If I had done something like this, I guarantee the next visit would be filled with memories of the device (don’t, for example, ask if they have a massager you can borrow) and treat them with the same respect and kindness that I presume you did while you lived with them. endless ribbing (pun intended), because my family is, well, not repressed. But if your relatives are on the tamer side, it’s probably best to let the situation be.

Remember, however repressed they are, they likely have aspects of their life that are private as well. Like every human being, they understand what it means to be exposed in the way you were. They’re probably having the same concerns you’re having right now, and will be trying to act in ways that ease your anxiety and awkwardness. The best thing to do is just be genuine with each other, enjoy the same activities and conversations that you always did and just value the time you get to spend in each other’s company.

If for some reason they decide that this has changed the way they see you? That’s a them problem. You can’t control their inner narrative. But you didn’t give any indication in your letter that you fear that particular outcome or think they’re that kind of people.

These are family members who took you in when you were in a difficult situation. They obviously care about you, and the fact that you’re heading back to visit means you clearly also care about them. Just bear the little bit of discomfort that you feel. It will fade, and family is worth it.

Any attempt you make to address it will most likely exacerbate things. Keep in mind, for example, that any member of the household could have packed that box. All you know for sure is that one person knows about it—bringing it up, even just to clear the air, could make things far more uncomfortable, maybe even raising “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”-esque questions that could make family dynamics awkward even after you leave.

From the way you describe them, I’m guessing they’re happy to have sent it along without needing to talk about it. When you see them, express your gratitude again for their hospitality and for returning your things, but don’t mention specifics unless they do. Stay nonchalant, avoid subjects that could trigger

Of course, you should also be prepared for the possibility that one of them may ask you where you bought it or if you have any recommendations! If that happens, especially if you feel your anxiety peaking just imagining it, just tell them to pull up littlevillagemag.com and search “vibrators.” We gotchu.

xoxo, Kiki

get much attention, because the bill included so many other sweeping changes, such as forbidding K-6 teachers from acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people in classroom lessons or other school programs; prohibiting teachers and schools from offering any recognition of a transgender or nonbinary student’s gender identity without first getting written permission from a parent; and making it easier to ban books conservative groups find inappropriate (typically books with LGBTQ characters).

It’s also not the most consequential example of putting politics over people’s health this year.

In March, Reynolds signed into law a bill banning any transgender person—student, faculty and staff, or visitor—from using a school bathroom or locker room that corresponds to their gender identity, and a bill banning gender-affirming medical care for any transgender Iowan under 18, which also requires any ongoing care cease 180 days after the governor approved it.

Every medical expert, education expert and mental health professional who testified about those bills strongly opposed them. It didn’t matter to the governor or most Republicans in the legislature. Every major organization representing medical professionals in America agrees that gender-affirming care is safe and often essential for transgender youths. It didn’t matter.

Last year, Gov. Reynolds signed into law a ban on transgender girls and women participating in girls’ and women’s sports at schools and colleges. It faced the same unified opposition from experts and professionals. It didn’t matter.

The governor and her Republican colleagues were warned that all of these bans will lead to a greater incidence of depression and suicidal ideation among young transgender Iowans, and likely result in more suicide attempts. It didn’t matter.

It seems that Reynolds and other Republican leaders in the state didn’t learn from Reagan’s failure on AIDS that put politics above people’s health-–and relying on personal prejudices, misinformation and imaginary fears of what might happen, rather than following sound medical advice—produces disastrous results. But perhaps they learned something else from the ’80s.

“These people caused immense preventable suffering and death—and it is likely that no one in the Reagan Administration will ever be held accountable,” Dr. Francis wrote at the end of his 2012 article.

Whether voters will hold Gov. Reynolds and other Republicans accountable for putting politics ahead of the health of Iowans remains to be seen.

Not many teenagers can say they’ve already made a dent in their career bucket list. But since performing at a music festival for thousands of people and releasing her five-song EP, 16-year-old and wounded, James digs deep to infuse her choruses with soulful crescendos that send the track soaring. On “Love Me Not or Love Me So,” she taps into a heartbroken blues groove with convincing sincerity.

If Songs About Daisies stumbles anywhere, it’s on the lyrics, which can at times feel circular or contrived. But occasionally, James hits at a wisdom beyond her years.

On “Settle with Me,” she croons, “I don’t care what the gossips have to say / I don’t care if the small town casts me away / Give up my whole life to live with you in the mundane.” Here, the lyrics are evocative and resonant, reflecting an ability to step into someone else’s shoes and tell an engaging story.

Ask HomeBrewed to play instead.

HomeBrewed describes themselves as a “fun filled, mixed generational group, playing bluesy rock and roll and rockabilly.” The band performs primarily at benefit shows for nonprofits around the area. Recent benefactors include CommUnity Food Bank, most of the members either work repairing instruments at local music stores or in the dental field. But make no mistake: Devil In My Soul is an exciting record by serious musicians unafraid of taking chances.

Opening with the title track, backed by ominous boogie piano lines and several searching saxophone parts, lead vocalist and harmonica player Pete Damiano sets the tone early. “Spirit of Hope” is a rockabilly tribute penned to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that finishes off with a ripping guitar solo, while “Loss in My Life” features a full-out jazz clarinet breakdown with a distinct Dixieland-bent.

Urbandale musician Kelsie James has bagged two of her goals.

James played Des Moines’ 80/35 last summer, and released Songs About Daisies earlier this year—an engaging exploration of both the passion and confidence of youth. The EP features a warm, lush orchestration that blends elements of alt-country and gospel.

The organ that introduces and weaves through both “Things That We Don’t Talk About” and “One Hundred” envelop the listener like the glow of a sunrise cresting over a hilltop. The steady strumming and mellow strings of “Settle with Me” are cozy and inviting.

Through it all, the confidence in James’ vocals belies her age. “Lost in You” is an excellent example of her range. Starting out whispering

There is an emotional maturity that James is connected to on this EP that lends her songwriting unique authenticity. More than simply mimicking her influences, she’s building on them.

“Songs About Daisies” is a promising debut. As James’ experiences continue to shape her worldview, there is reason to be encouraged by what comes next.

—Tom Brazelton

HOMEBREWED Devil In My Soul

If you are planning a fundraiser in the CRANDIC area and are thinking about just putting on a Spotify playlist and calling it a day, please don’t.

Penfield Children’s Center and Shelter House. Back in December, HomeBrewed’s debut album release party at Wildwood Saloon raised over $3,500 to support Elizabeth Tate High School families during the costly holiday weeks, according to the band’s blog.

That album was Devil In My Soul, an ambitious first record consisting of four original tunes and three covers. Recorded by the incomparable Luke Tweedy out at Flat Black Studios, the album is an eclectic assortment of horn-and-harmonica-driven rock and electric blues tunes. As far as audition tapes go, this is an impressive sampling of what the band brings to their live performances.

The band’s bio says that by day,

Along with original tunes, the band proves it is equally adept at taking on more modern fare by covering “No Good” from Icelandic blues rockers Kaleo. They swing for the fences here, pouring several straight-gas guitar solos into the mix. As fearless as this one is, the band continues the streak by taking on two tunes from a pair of iconic and unique vocalists: Roy Orbison and Nathaniel Rateliff. “Pretty Woman” stays as true to Orbison’s as it can. It also gets as damn close to Billy Sanford’s original guitar tone as humanly possible. And with the horn section that HomeBrewed has assembled, it feels inevitable that they might try a Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats number. HomeBrewed get’s the jubilant horns and driving drum beat of “I Need Never Get Old” right.

It’s as simple as this: the band is making good music in support of good causes in the area. So check out HomeBrewed if you see them in a lineup somewhere this summer. And in the meantime, be sure and check out Devil In My Soul —Avery Gregurich includes everything from 3D printing to programming a robot to paint,” said Curt Simmons, SCI’s president and CEO. “Arts and sciences intersect nicely in our Innovation Lab. The lines are really blurred.”

From nationally acclaimed touring exhibits, like the recent months-long exhibition of “The World’s Largest Dinosaurs,” to a daily schedule of activities, everything lives up to the claim from Amy Hock (the SCI director of marketing and public relations) that SCI is where “creativity and intelligence are having fun.”

“Art plays a factor in the development of our exhibits, where SCI staff use the design process from planning to fabrication to installation,” added Simmons.

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED, PEOPLE.

IF YOU SEE DES BEST AROUND DES MOINES, YOU’RE AT THE RIGHT PLACE. THIS EMBLEM MEANS SOMEWHERE OR SOMETHING HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY LOCALS AS THE BEST AROUND.

DISCOVER DES BEST OF DES MOINES.

a Cowboy

ELEANOR-GRACE.COM

On her debut album Dream

About a Cowboy, there’s a quiet strength to EleanorGrace’s voice, like Reba McEntire and Billie Eilish had a baby that’s singing through Taylor Swift’s Fearless entire history of country music and somehow coalesces into a collection of songs that pushes the modern genre’s boundaries.

EleanorGrace’s biggest talent lies in the poetry of her lyrics. “Daydreams” enters with a vividly turbulent image: “My hair’s a mess / And my favorite dress is ripping at the seams.” “Outlaw,” track five, gives “Wide Open Spaces” vibes with lines like “hightail it out of here and move out west,” but it’s the first line that creates the sweet intimacy of the song: “Carry my boots / Down the steps / Trying to avoid makin’ a bigger mess.”

“Moon Phases” captures a feeling of long nights sitting and staring out the window: “And I say it all to the moon / She

ELEaNORGRaCE’S BIGGEST TaLENT LIES IN THE POETRy OF HER LyRICS. “DayDREaMS” ENTERS WITH a VIVIDLy TURBULENT IMaGE: “My HaIR’S a MESS / aND My FaVORITE DRESS IS RIPPING aT THE SEaMS.”

At only 19 years old, EleanorGrace (EG) has created a work of art with influences spanning decades and genres. The album opener, “Daydreams,” is an airy, modern-country-pop tune that begs to be cranked up while driving down an open highway, arm hanging out the window and undulating to the beat. It could easily be imagined as a Kelsea Ballerini song.

But on track four, “Did Yourself in,” EG’s slight yodel harkens back to country’s true roots in Appalachia. The fiddle makes me picture her sitting on a beat-up front porch, picking at a washboard while she laments, “It’s the end/The end of wanting revenge/I became a free woman tonight.”

The production, done by Bryan Vanderpool at Golden Bear Records, masterfully ties all of these elements together into an album that takes its cues from the moves the way that I do / I’m going through phases.” The third track “Nothing’s Real” brings the plight of Gen Z to the forefront: “Nothing’s real … except reality TV and pollution.”

Ultimately, on Dream About a Cowboy, you can hear that EG is only 19. She doesn’t always start lines strong. The last track, “Season Finale,” ruins the symmetry of starting the album on “Daydreams” and ending on title track “Dream About a Cowboy.” But it’s these imperfections that make the album so alluring—it’s raw, easy and dang catchy.

Her voice flits across notes so effortlessly you don’t even know they passed you by, and the album went just the same. I found myself wanting to listen over and over, wondering if this may just be Iowa’s own homegrown Fearless (EG’s Version).

—Dan Ray

JEFF STaGG Basement

Views

Within 10 seconds of hitting play on Jeff Stagg’s Basement Views I had to double check that I hadn’t hit play on a Todd Snider album.

While Stagg is more lyrically agnostic than Snider, thematic overlaps make it clear they have at least some of the same thoughts in their minds. That sentiment should help gauge your level of interest in the 10-track sophomore album from Stagg, a Des Moines-based folk-country artist.

While I don’t know if songs from Snider like “Talking Reality Television Blues” or “Conservative, Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males” influenced Stagg (more likely, he and Snider simply share similar influences), both songs came to mind early in this album.

Market or Iowa State Fair have likely encountered his music at least in passing.

In the opening track, “Quiet Day,” Stagg lyrically introduces us to reflective and simple lyrics that exist alongside instrumentation that is generally limited to a simple guitar and harmonica—though Jon Locker appears on bass for this first. The other exceptions to this are “Need a Honky Tonk Tonight,” which brings in pianist Justin Appel, and “She Ain’t Ever Had the Blues,” which features both Appel and Locker.

While the talent of everyone involved is apparent on “She Ain’t Ever Had the Blues,” the song itself feels a touch out of place, a bit too upbeat for this particular album. Besides that, it isn’t sonically distinct to leave much of an impression.

When Appel returns for “Need a Honkey Ton Tonight,” Appel’s graceful work on the keys marries an optimistic tone with Stagg’s sorrowful, longing lyrics. The song not only blends with the rest of the album but, like “Quiet Day,” is one of the highlights.

The influence of artists like Bob Dylan is more strongly felt in the back half, particularly in songs like “Is it Cold in Chicago.” A composition that waxes about a bygone

LyRICaL THEMING THROUGHOUT TOUCHES ON a DISCONNECT BETWEEN GENERaTIONS, SOCIaL aLIENaTION aND SOME GENTLE EXISTENTIaLISM.

Lyrical theming throughout touches on a disconnect between generations, social alienation and some gentle existentialism in an album that’s primarily concerned with the melancholic recollection of bygone days.

Despite this only being Stagg’s second album, he’s been writing and performing on the regular in central Iowa, though has dipped into the east side of the state on occasion. In particular, those who’ve frequented the Des Moines Farmers relationship, wishing a former love well while also pondering what could have been and inviting what might still be.

The final song “Great Day (FlexOnCancer)” is optimistic while maintaining a sense of belonging on the album. It’s a song for appreciation of the little things— walking around the block, holding hands, seeing a sunrise—and is a heartwarming send-off to a formidable folk/country album.

—Isaac Hamlet

May 4 The

May 11 Molly Nova & the Hawks

May 18 Black Diamond Loons

May 25 Dick Danger Band

June 1 Suede

June 8 Gut Feeling

June 15 Cover That

June 22 Steam Boars

June 29 Standing Hampton

July 6 Simply Seger

July 13 Toast3r

July 20 Get Off My Lawn

July 27 Fahrenheit

Aug. 3 Brother Trucker

Aug. 10 The Sons of Gladys Kravitz

Aug. 17 Raquel & the Wildflowers

Aug. 24 Boomerang

Aug. 31 Gimikk

Sept. 7 Rhythmatics

Sept. 14 Drive Thirty 5

Sept. 21 The Uniphonics

Sept. 28 The Crust

DILMaN DILa

Where Rivers Go to Die ROSARIUM PUBLISHING

Whatever else you take away from this review, it should be noted that Where Rivers Go to Die is primarily a collection of horror stories. Deftly created horror, sure, but unsettling—along the lines of the more mild episodes of The Twilight Zone, at its lightest. At its most frightful, expect tales akin to The Ring or Alien

Author Dilman Dila is a Ugandan writer and filmmaker who participated in the University of Iowa’s 2017 fall residency in the International Writing Program. Throughout the eight stories collected in Where Rivers Go to Die (Rosarium Publishing), Dila draws from Ugandan folklore and history.

Most take place in modernity, but one dips into the 19th century, cataloging colonizers who encounter “flying green men.” Others reach into the future, in one case telling of a world where machine-made narratives flood the entertainment industry.

The first three tales exist in urban-fantasy settings where spiritual and supernatural mysteries are afoot. These stories somewhat resemble The Dresden Files, though in tone and texture they are more reminiscent of early The Witcher books.

After these initial stories, the book bends more towards science fiction, starting with “The Last Storyteller.” Don’t be mistaken though, there are still supernatural elements at play, like the titular “last storyteller” finding that one of her protagonists has miraculously become a flesh and blood entity.

The strongest and longest story of the bunch, “The Flying Man of Stone,” occupies the middle of the book. Here Dila has the space to develop a setting that realizes the marriage of spirituality and science fiction he’s clearly occupied with. The narrative follows Kera, a boy fleeing with his father up a mountain after his town is attacked by soldiers – within that mountain he finds strange creatures capable of bestowing strange characteristics and powerful knowledge.

In stories before “The Flying Man of Stone,” the weakest point was often abrupt endings. In more than one instance, I found myself getting excited for a story only to turn the page and find its conclusion. While there is a somewhat

aUDRa KERR BROWN hush hush hush SMALL HARBOR PUBLISHING

In hush hush hush, Audra Kerr

Brown’s writing turns the mundane to horror.

This chapbook is a collection of Brown’s flash fiction, some of which has previously been published across journals and literary

Royce. This theme of loss and the starkly beautiful quality that Brown’s writing possesses both achieve their greatest heights in the final story, titled “When the Pregnant Girls First Arrive at St. Eulalia’s Home for the Lost and Wayward.” sudden ending to “The Flying Man of Stone,” it felt more appropriate—there had been a build to that ending and the world had been given time to breathe before the finale.

Each paragraph of this final story begins by echoing that title, which creates a haunting repetition within the piece. The implications of the snow that the girls arrive in, paired with the shared naivety of the group, seems to bode poorly for the children they are expecting. The nuns at St. Eulalia’s introduce the girls to a Frozen Child, meant to remind them of their sins and encourage them to repent. In this final story, the nuns insist that “[the] grave is never satisfied . . .

THERE IS a NEaRLy IMPERCEPTIBLE LayER OF GROTESQUENESS SHaRED By aLL THE NaRRaTIVES, aS THEy EXPLORE THEMES OF FaMILIaL RELaTIONSHIPS. THE UNDERSTaTED DyNaMICS BETWEEN THE CHaRaCTERS—aS WELL aS THE PROSE THaT BORDER ON THE LyRICaL—BOTH LEND a SPOOKy QUaLITy TO THE STORyTELLING.

Another note on these stories’ endings: all hold some measure of tragedy. The exception is the final story, “The Terminal Move,” which arguably still contains the collection’s most horrifying moments. (Think Attack on Titan or some of the more grusome imagery of Princess Mononoke.)

These are primarily horror stories, but as bloody as they may become, they are just as often breathtaking. The very best of them stuck with me and kept me thinking for days after just as great science fiction stories should.

Where Rivers Go to Die is scheduled to release on June 6.

—Isaac Hamlet

magazines over the years. Many of the stories contained within have won awards and been included in the editions of the Best Small Fictions anthology from 2018 and 2021.

The collection features stories that, while perfectly plausible, have an almost supernatural feeling to them. There is a nearly imperceptible layer of grotesqueness shared by all the narratives, as they explore themes of familial relationships. The understated dynamics between the characters—as well as the prose that border on the lyrical—both lend a spooky quality to the storytelling. Characters experience abandonment, abuse and displacement, often inflicted by those closest to them.

Each story explores a different kind of loss, whether that be loss of life, innocence, relationships or an ill-fated prosthetic leg named neither is the barren womb, nor the eyes of man.” Instead, it’s easy to feel that the girls are the ones who will never be satisfied, even as it is heavily implied that their babies are taken away from them, and their rosy views of the world collectively dimmed.

Reading this final story and its predecessors, it comes as no surprise that Brown’s work has won awards. The chapbook takes the form of the short story to an entirely new level. Brown’s stories range from one paragraph to five pages, though never surpassing just a few hundred words. Even with the limited space that the form provides, her writing feels effortless—she deftly crafts stories that will follow the reader for days and weeks after the book has been closed.

—Kelsey Conrad

LaUREL SNyDER

The Witch of Woodland

If I were Zipporah Chava McConnell, writing an essay about The Witch of Woodland (the newest middle grade novel from Laurel Snyder) for class, I’d probably talk a lot about the themes of Silence and Space. Any theme that recurs is worth mentioning, right? And isn’t it strange? A book about a 7th grader, centered on the last two things you’d ever think to associate with the cusp of the teenage years?

Silence and Space don’t have much resonance when you’re looking at 7th graders from the outside. But when you’re in that headspace, when you revert to a junior high mindset, that’s all there is: echoing emptiness in your mind, a vacuum that you don’t know whether to fill or flee from. And all you can feel is the space between yourself and others, a widening chasm of disconnection in relationships that were once so easy.

But there’s more to Snyder’s expertly voiced narrative than those straightforward themes. I want instead to talk about the tension between being and becoming. Because that’s the kind of thing I thought about all the time in 7th grade, and honestly haven’t stopped thinking about since. The onset of puberty is the epitome of becoming. The influx of hormones into the body literally changes who we are, in ways both sudden and subtle, and for smart kids who pride themselves on having answers—like Snyder’s hero, Zippy— the shift from being to becoming can feel like a 9.5 magnitude shake up.

In The Witch of Woodland, Snyder weaves that tension into Zippy’s bat mitzvah preparation. She adroitly lets the character of Rabbi Dan do the heavy lifting of introducing Zippy (and the reader) to the foundational philosophy of questioning that underpins the Jewish faith. As the story unfolds, Zippy’s notions of being—the things that ground her in her identity (being a witch, excelling in school)—are placed in direct conflict with the ways in which she is becoming. And it’s that curiosity, that questioning, that allows her to tie the two together.

I wish I had a deeper knowledge of Jewish culture and history, because I suspect there are beautiful layers to this book that I’m incapable of accessing. But I recall very similar conversations with my Episcopal priest during Confirmation classes as those Zippy has with her Rabbi. It’s exactly what a kid at that age needs: permission to not know things. Encouragement to question.

There’s more, still, than that. The delightful asides about The Truth and writing style and Ms. Marty the language and literature teacher allow the book itself (framed as Zippy capturing her own story so as not to forget) to be simultaneously being and becoming. And then there’s magic and mythology and erratic access to power, all drawn together in ways best understood by those who are at an age when it’s hard to think of anything as real. Synder’s mastery of that 13-year-old perspective is an immersive delight, evoking memories and evincing empathy.

Which, actually, all circles back to silence and space. Zippy (and, for that matter, Snyder) chooses to fill the silence and space around her with the most powerful magic: words. In doing so, she forms connections and community. Casually, in the midst of some narration about three-quarters of the way through the book, this line slipped in: “... do you know how sometimes, the world is just too much?”

Yes, Zippy. I do know. But together, we can get through it. If we ask the right questions.

—Genevieve Trainor

EFE DUyaN

TRaNSL. aRON aJI

The Behavior of Words

In the translator’s note, Aron Aji gives some insights on his methodology and experience as both a reader and translator of Efe Duyan’s The Behavior of Words (White Pine Press, 2023). “Given the infamous incommensurability of English and Turkish grammars, cracks you didn’t realize he left in the narrative and making the poems stronger for it.

Ordinarily, I read poetry collections quickly. I let each poem sit on its own while consuming the collection as a single unit. I wasn’t able to do that with The Behavior of Words

Each poem required focus. The words within this book are in stronger and more complex relationships with one another than I think I’ve ever seen, each one leaning on another, reaching across a stanza, across a poem to link with a partner. It is a lacework of language that makes it difficult to excerpt.

Because the poems are hard to excerpt, I’ve taken some favorite lines out of context: From “To Each Other”: “The lactic acid collecting in our patience.” From “Morning Mythology”: “the gods / have planted their jaws at road ends / they drink our sweat at breakfast.” From “Away From The World”: “if asked as a child you would’ve said / all the decisions you’ll make / are the mouthfuls of bites / you take out of an apple.” the process often required forcing the natural Turkish syntax … on the English in order to foreground the physical direction of the verse and the gradual accretion of meaning.”

I thought it would be cute, as an Armenian, to read and review the work of a Turkish poet who I know to be a gentleman in every respectable sense. Reading the introduction, learning about (and later delighting in) formal structures I’d never seen before, I felt my background come to foreground. If you are like me, do not despair: these poems delight in your existence.

Aji’s assessment of Duyan’s work makes me thirsty to see the originals—Duyan’s poems are rife with wordplay and nuance. He employs anaphora with precision within his stanzas, causing them to come together like kintsugi—gold, filling in

Duyan’s poems of falling in love twist with longing and delight and are documented so precisely, with unexpected sensory metaphor that his sadder love poems, his poems of the human condition and his poems of observation stand in relief against them. Here’s a moment from one of his love poems, “Maybe Except For Other Women,” “our proud silence / is a wild animal // holding its breath / as if pouncing upon a bird / it will pounce upon / everything crossing my mind / that is not you.”

Throughout this book there is repeated imagery of waves and seas, space and stars, and sand. Natural elements play heavily with an exploration of domesticity. Then, keeping the natural world in the imagery, the narrative shifts for the final quarter to more political tones which include jail, human rights activists and the military.

I can’t explain how it works, but the final poems add a weight to the collection that makes it close nicely and still stick in your head.

—Sarah Elgatian

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Across

1.Name in Miami’s county

5. Word after gay or hamburger

9. Piece of an informational puzzle

14. Red or blue treat sometimes served at a movie theater

15. Pi, vis-à-vis tau

16. Erotic features

17. Agree formally, in a way

19. Showing extreme enthusiasm for a film

20. Played sardines, as “it”

21. Riding

22. Put forth

23. Squat unit

24. Kylo ___ (Leia’s son)

25. Shui jiao or banh bot loc

28. The Mists of (Marion Zimmer Bradley book about Morgan le Fay)

30. Noted droid, casually

31. ___ Mutual Friend (last completed Dickens novel)

32. Actress Rowlands whose credits span 1954–2014

33. “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” band

35. Starr who was better than Best

37. Be direct ... or a hint to this puzzle’s theme

40. Joe of Conversations With Friends (and Taylor Swift’s ex)

43. Colorful type of tape

44. Declare

48. SpongeBob SquarePants milieu

49. Wear

51. “Sorry, Charlie”

53. Cut from the loin

55. Dept. with a Rural Development program

56. Menially employed sort

57. Despotic king of Judea

58. NAACP and SNCC stalwart Baker

59. Stout alternative

60. Online forum before social media

62. Cleaning material that shouldn’t be used on plastic

64. “And the other thing ...”

65. Red dessert wine from the Iberian peninsula

66. Not just treat

67. Instruments to which orchestras often tune

68. Raisins on a “log”

69. Tax form IDs

Down

1. Thing to use instead of crying over spilled milk

2. Type A verb

3. Like a Janeane Garofalo delivery

4. “Ahh! That spider is huge!”

5. “That better be false!”

6. What Star Wars Holiday Special is not, but The Mandalorian is

7. Lena of Chocolat

8. “Morons (White)” by Banksy, e.g.: Abbr.

9. Scattered community

10. One of many things that has flattened Wile E. Coyote

11. What LeBron James covers for some University of Akron students

12. Buffy the Vampire Slayer airer, once

13. Certain umami source

16. It’s #sponcon

18. Mark’s replacement

22. Overthrow attempt

25. Most cottonmouthed

26. Unit of cannabis flower, as it were

27. Miracle-___

29. Like some wedding dresses

30. C-double-flat equivalent

34. The Testaments novelist

36. Cocomelon viewing device, for many kids

38. Opens, as a cheap bottle of wine

39. Curled hair spirals

40. Cerastes vipera, more commonly

41. “I’d be just like ___ in San Tropez” (Taylor Swift diss)

42. Bronze Star recipient

45. Cold-blooded

46. Greenwashing, by another term

47. Entertains

50. Shot

52. Like most dental work

54. Ghanaian textile worn by royalty

55. Phone notification

58. British school attended by many prime ministers

60. One might be depicted full of little green men

61. Respond appropriately to a tearjerker film

62. Place for “me time”

63. Loos

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