The Iowa City Songwriters Festival (ICSF), an intimate three-day music festival centered around the craft of songwriting, premieres September 4–6 at the Englert Theatre and other small venues in downtown Iowa City. Showcasing world-class songwriters through cozy performances, the festival has a stellar lineup that includes Jeff Tweedy, Courtney Marie Andrews, Loudon Wainwright III, and Joy Oladokun.
Programming Director Brian Johannesen says the festival was inspired by Iowa City’s reputation as a literary town. Home to the internationally renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop and named the the first UNESCO City of Literature in the U.S., Iowa City has a great tradition of celebrating writers and poets.
“We thought it’d be fun to do a songwriters’ festival that combines the elements of performance typically involved in a music festival—the opportunity to see a bunch of great performers together—with artist talks discussing their process, their craft, and their inspirations.” Johannesen adds that it will be a great opportunity to “peek behind the curtain and see how artists work.”
Johannesen hopes that the ICSF will bring recognition to songwriting as a legitimate literary form. “We figured since Bob Dylan has a Nobel Prize in Literature, we can pull this off.”
The ICFS provided 20 scholarships to musicians from Iowa and across the globe to attend the festival at no cost. “We’re really trying to make it an eye-opening and revelatory experience for aspiring writers,” says Johannesen. “We want to ensure that we are giving all songwriters the chance to develop, including those who may not have the means to access this kind of programming.”
Johannesen says the Saturday, September 6, conference, held from noon to five at the Iowa Conservatory, “is all about writing.” There will be five different discussions about songwriting, including one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. There will also be free 30-minute mentorship sessions with professional songwriters that attendees can sign up for in advance, via the website. “You can either play them a song and get feedback or ask for career advice.”
The conference also features an exhibit hall showcasing Iowa arts organizations, some of which provide services for musicians or songwriters.
While Johannesen is excited about the festival’s entire roster of performers, he is particularly excited about Joy Oladokun and Courtney Marie Andrews. “Joy’s sound is very pop-like, mainstream Americana, but her lyrical content and the way that she writes is pretty radical. It’s a combination that you don’t get to see very often.” He adds, “I’m really excited to hear her talk about how she approaches a commercial kind of style of songwriting with a very noncommercial subject matter.”
As Artist in Residence, the acclaimed singer-songwriter, painter, and poet Courtney Marie Andrews will be in Iowa City for the whole week. “She’s teaching a free songwriting workshop Wednesday night, and she is performing at our kickoff—a dinner and a show for our All Access Pass holders and our scholars. She’ll be performing in a song-swap format with Deb Talen.” Andrews will also give a poetry reading at Prairie Lights on Friday night, perform at the Englert on Saturday night, and speak at the Saturday conference.
All shows at the Englert and the James require a ticket. Performances at the Black Angel are free and open to the public. While three-day passes have sold out, individual tickets are available for Jeff Tweedy and Margo Cilker Friday night, and for Joy Oladokun and Courtney Marie Andrews Saturday night. Tickets are also still available for the conference on Saturday. Additionally, there will be free events every night to make the festival accessible to everyone.
The Black Angel is hosting a Happy Hour and a Late Night Show on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There will also be a free outdoor show Saturday night with Mars Hojilla as part of the Englert’s Northside Series programming.
Johannesen is excited to promote Iowa City’s reputation for cutting-edge culture. “Iowa City is a great place for the arts,” he says. “That’s a big part of what we want to get across. It’s a great place if you are looking for a place to move. If you’re a songwriter, there’s a writing tradition here, and there’s infrastructure that can support that.”