Hancher announces new Stop/Time Festival

IOWA CITY — The first edition of Stop/Time Festival launches Friday, April 3 through Saturday, April 4 in Iowa City. Produced by Hancher Auditorium, Stop/Time Festival is a two-day, multi-venue, multi-artist spring festival devoted to innovation and independence in contemporary music and the arts.

“This is a festival of discovery,” said Hancher executive director Andre Perry. “It’s about opening our ears and minds to new sounds, ideas and possibilities. We do a lot of shows with well-known artists, which is great, but this festival seeks the magic of walking into a venue and hearing or seeing a new kind of art for the first time, something that opens the doors and brings us closer to our own creativity, our community, and the world.”

Presented in spaces throughout downtown Iowa City and across the University of Iowa campus, Stop/Time highlights the University of Iowa and Iowa City’s long tradition of creative experimentation. Musicians will present work across many genres. Alongside them, writers and interdisciplinary artists will offer readings, activations and collaborations that extend the conversation across art forms.

The initial list of performers includes a range of musicians like the Branford Marsalis Quartet presenting their Grammy-nominated album “Belonging” and the post-rock band Tortoise in support of their new record “Touch.” The lineup also features contemporary classical brass ensemble The Westerlies, jazz pianist Jason Moran with a program honoring Duke Ellington, experimental sound artist Evicshen, avant-garde jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson, anti-folk singer-songwriter Jeffrey Lewis, multi-genre bassist Mali Obomsawin, and psych-punk band Frankie and the Witch Fingers.

The program also celebrates Iowa-based musicians, including Lex Leto x The Christine Burke Ensemble, Miracles of God, and Pieta Brown with the string trio Open Field Ensemble.

“The artists traverse a big spectrum of sound and style; the variety is part of the allure, part of how you make sense of what’s unfolding. What stays steady is the clarity of their work. From new arrivals to established anchors, these artists form a wide-angle picture of the performing arts at its most alert and alive,” said Hancher programming and engagement director Aaron Greenwald, who co-curated the festival with Perry.

The festival begins Friday, April 3, with an opening night event at Hancher featuring trumpet player Ambrose Akinmusire and jazz-leaning indie-pop singer Mei Semones. Akimusire presents his new work “honey from a winter stone” in the Up Close configuration at Hancher with the performers and audience seated on the Hadley Stage. A jazz combo, spoken word artist and string ensemble, PUBLIQuartet will support Akinmusire. Mei Semones plays the later evening set in Club Hancher with her band.

On Saturday, April 4, the festival moves to the UI’s central campus and downtown Iowa City for a full day of programming featuring performances from early afternoon through the evening. Audiences will flow to and from venues, all within close proximity of each other, sometimes making choices between which artist to see.

Featured venues on Friday and Saturday include Hancher Auditorium, Voxman Music Building, Riverside Theatre, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City Masonic Lodge, Gabe’s and the UI Pentacrest.

“From luminaries like Grant Wood and Elizabeth Catlett to the creation of the MFA at the UI to the building of an exemplary arts campus, creative practice has been part of the UI and the surrounding communities for over 100 years,” Perry said. “These traditions are part of who we are. We are celebrating that lineage and embracing the future of the arts.”

Hancher will announce the second wave of programming in the new year, including information about featured authors and free community events at the festival.