Mission Creek Festival - March 27, 2025

One week left until MCF!🫣🫣

Mission Creek Festival returns April 3-5 for the 20th year!

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MCF 2025 IS ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY!

As you may have heard, Julien Baker & TORRES sadly had to cancel their appearance at the festival due to a medical incident, but our team is hard at work to bring you another headlining act. We’ll have more news on that very soon, but for now, you can hear from our Festival Director, Brian Johannesen, on all that we have in store for our 20th anniversary year!
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Good Afternoon Creekers!

We are just ONE WEEK away from Mission Creek Festival 2025, and what a special Creek it shall be! This year marks 20 years of Mission Creek Festival, and to celebrate we are leaning into the incredible history and impact of this festival. 

The lineup features some of our favorites from over the past two decades - artists who have shaped MCF into what it is today. Artists like William Elliott Whitmore, Your Smith, Supersonic Piss, The Tanks, Mark Guiliana, and Nat Baldwin have all had iconic Mission Creek performances over the years, and we are so excited for the energy and community they are bringing back to year 20!
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We are also unreasonably hyped to continue the tradition of hosting members of the fundamental hip hop group Wu Tang Clan in welcoming Raekwon performing his seminal solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Those of you who were at the performances from GZA and Ghostface Killah know there is no better cocktail than Mission Creek + Wu Tang.

One of my favorite MCF traditions is seeing that artist you have never heard of and having your mind absolutely blown by their performance, whether it was The Tallest Man On Earth performing in the basement of the Jefferson Building in the old Public Space One, or Hatis Noit enrapturing the crowd at Riverside Theater. As always, we are continuing to bring young, new, up-and-coming, and obscure artists to Iowa City that will surely be your new favorite band. From international artists like Flore Laurentienne (first US headline tour!), Mabe Fratti, and Diles Que No Me Maten, to innovators and master musicians stateside like LA LOM, Dawn Richard + Spencer Zahn, Angry Blackmen, and Cabeza de Chivo. Get into discovery mode and check out something you’ve never seen before!
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The literary lineup is likewise bringing a blend of returning legends - Rachel Kushner, Neko Case, Kim Gordon - and exciting new voices - Srikanth Reddy, Torrey Peters. As usual, a huge amount of the literary programming is free, so bring your friends who need a taste of MCF to the Lit Walk or the Book Fair. I am personally very excited about Little Engines Presents: Morning, Fuckers, which is a killer reading series from Nashville that will be at 10AM at The Tuesday Agency on Saturday. There will be coffee and donuts! Be there!
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Last and certainly not least, MCF celebrates its local music scene, and this year we are honoring local musicians who have put in the work over the years as well as new voices on the scene. There will be two album release party sets at Reunion Brewery on Saturday from Ion Alexakis and Jordan Sellergren, which is always very exciting. Also, in case you missed it, we added TWO SHOWS at The Black Angel on Friday and Saturday nights with Dave Helmer, Groundwater, and Cedar County Cobras (both free!). We love how prolific and sonically diverse the Iowa City scene is, and we tried our best to give just a small sampling of what our town has to offer.

There is a lot to do, so take the time this week to check out the schedule at the Mission Creek website, or tear out the insert in the latest Little Village Magazine to carry with you, and let us prepare to Creek!

See you out there,

Brian Johannesen
Festival Director
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