Every Friday at 2 p.m., enjoy the experience of radio in the making! Guests at our downtown location, 211½ Washington St., can be a part of the live audience for the free shows, which are recorded to be broadcast on the Java Blend program that originates on the University of Iowa radio station, WSUI, AM 910.
Serving up fresh-brewed performances and conversation with musicians from around the state and the U.S., Java Blend offers an eclectic mix of live tunes from the vibrant independent music scene. The programs are broadcast on Iowa Public Radio stations across the state. For more information about broadcast times and stations, go to http://iowapublicradio.org/javaBlend.php or iowapublicradio.org.
If you stop by a bit early, you can take part in one of our complimentary coffee tastings, which take place every Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Ray Bonneville
Ray Bonneville is a roaming blues poet, inspired by the road and the many other places he has called home—New Orleans, Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, Boston, Seattle, Paris, France, Montreal and Austin Texas. Like the great American writers of the south and his favorite authors Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O’Connor, Bonneville is inspired by the places he has been and the unusual people he has met throughout his travels. Honing his craft for the last 30 years, Bonneville’s gritty storytelling and deep-grooving blues style has won him much critical attention. He has toured all over the world, sharing the bill with such blues legends as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, J.J. Cale and Robert Cray. His latest CD is titled Goin’ By Feel.
More information at www.raybonneville.com.
Sarah Cram and the Derelicts
Sarah Cram and the Derelicts are a fun & original rock band from Cedar Rapids. They take their inspiration from music of the 50’s and 60’s, including the sounds of old country, Honky Tonk, and Rockabilly. Sarah Cram is the vocalist, songwriter and rhythm guitarist. Kyle Oyloe plays lead guitar, Brook Hoover is the bass player, and Mike Martinez works the drums. Their debut album Little Secrets will be released August 2010. More info at myspace.com/cramband.
More information at
www.myspace.com/cramband.
Tom Feldmann
Minneapolis-based artist Tom Feldmann of The Get-Rites returns to The Java House stage, this time for a solo performance. In a time when negativity bombards us continually and hymns of despair are praised as lyrical masterpieces, Feldmann stands poised as a positive voice spreading the Good News in song with his unique mixture of back-woods blues and sloe-eyed country ballads. Feldmann’s probing lyrics and yearning growl will echo in your soul and lift you up.
More information at www.tomfeldmann.com.
Danika Holmes
Quad Cities-based singer-songwriter Danika Holmes takes the Java House stage for the first time with her band to introduce her debut album Second Chances, which she describes as a collection of her life experiences. Danika’s been in front of piano since that age of five. By the age of 13, she was recording her songs in a studio and had been selected as finalist in a song writing competition. However, it wasn’t until Danika was in her 20’s that she picked up a guitar. After an attempt at a “normal career” and nearly finishing her PhD, Danika’s heart pulled her back to music.
More information at www.danikaholmes.com.
Miles Nielsen
With a father like power-pop mastermind Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick at the helm of his music education, Miles Nielsen is poised to carry his family’s rich songwriting tradition well into the 21st century. As Miles explains it, “most of my childhood was spent on a tour bus traveling across the country with Cheap Trick” where the idea that songwriting was “…a way for me to meld the world of dreams and real life together”. Nielsen’s new self-titled release “Miles” is an album full of blooming melodies, jumping rhythms, and moving stories.
More information at www.myspace.com/milesnielsen.
