Greg Brown

One of the leading American contemporary folk artists, Greg Brown earned a passionate following for his heartfelt and uncompromising music. A poetic lyricist, and masterful guitarist, Brown is best known for his deep, earthy voice, which is instantly recognizable and inviting. Through steady touring, he amassed a devoted following around the country, and through the Red House Records label built an impressive catalog of over 30 albums.

Born in Fairfield in 1949, Brown was influenced at a very early age by travels with his musical family. His songwriting and performances encompass gospel, blues, county, bluegrass, classical, and rock & roll.

Brown’s performing career began at the University of Iowa where he won a campus talent competition and attracted the attention of Eric Andersen, a noted singer-songwriter who encouraged Brown to pursue a career in music. In 1980 he self-released his first solo effort, “44 & 66.” His second album in 1981, “The Iowa Waltz”, became a regional favorite. His 1983 release, “One Night,” captured the intimate feel of Brown's increasingly popular live performances, which included regular billing on the nationally broadcast “A Prairie Home Companion.” In 1993, he cut a duet album with Bill Morrissey, “Friend of Mine, which earned them a Grammy nomination. He produced two other especially successful albums in the 1990s, “Further” In (1996) and “Slant Six Mind” (1997).

Acoustic Guitar magazine said “The Evening Call,” his 2006 album, was “among Brown's finest work.” The album was featured on an episode of NPR's “On Point.” In 2007, Brown was nominated for a Folk Alliance Award “to honor merit and achievement within the folk music field.”

Dave Moore

A singer of great warmth, resonance and passion, a songwriter of startling clarity, and a masterful musician on guitar, harmonica and button accordion, Dave Moore is another of Iowa’s surpassing folk artists. Born in Cedar Rapids, Moore dropped out of college in 1970 to travel in Latin America. Returning at Christmas in 1971, he discovered a harmonica in his stocking. While holding all manner of labor jobs over the next several years he learned to play the harmonica and master other instruments. Moore made his recording debut in 1985 with “Jukejoints & Cantinas” on the Twin Cities folk label Red House Records. In 1998, Moore recorded “Breaking Down to 3,” an album that is considered his best. It reflected Moore’s scattered interests, original material, and skill on guitar, accordion, and harmonica.

A contemporary of Greg Brown, the two toured together in the 1980s and regularly performed on “A Prairie Home Companion.” In the 1990s Moore served as touring band leader for the nationally renowned live music radio show. In 2019, Moore and Brown appeared together at Spring Thaw, the benefit concert in Iowa City for SILT, the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust. Their resonant and memorable performance was a treat for devoted fans of Iowa’s folk masters.

Pieta Brown

Following her famous father into the world of music and performance Pieta Brown, Greg Brown’s oldest daughter, is stirring the folk world with edgy, bohemian, stylistic music. SF Gate, a West Coast publication, called her music “an experimental collection of bittersweet endings and hopeful beginnings, of painful loss and traces of liberation in the aftermath, all captured here with a raw spontaneity and fierce self-assurance.”

Her first eight recording were critically lauded. NPR praised her "moody, ethereal" songwriting, and the New York Times called attention to her “sweet, smoky voice.” Born in Iowa City in 1973, and a skilled pianist, Brown spent the early part of her career as a poet, writing and traveling around North and South America. In 2000 Brown picked up a guitar for the first time and found her calling -- blending poetry with song writing and musicianship. The BBC called Brown a "self-styled poetess, folk goddess and country waif."

Jeffrey Foucault

In two decades on the road Jeffrey Foucault became one of the most distinctive voices in American music, refining a sound instantly recognizable for its simplicity and emotional power. Born in 1976 and a native of Whitewater, Wisconsin, Foucault has produced a string of critically acclaimed studio albums. He’s also built a brick-and-mortar international touring career and a devoted following, one that includes hard to please luminaries like Van Dyke Parks, Greil Marcus, and Don Henley.

The New Yorker praised Foucault for his “stark, literate songs that are as wide open as the landscape of his native Midwest.” Uncut called him a “beat-up troubadour folk whittled to dolorous perfection.” And Irish Times commended his “songwriting brilliance.”

In September 2024 Jeffrey Foucault released “The Universal Fire,” his first album of entirely new material since 2018. A series of high-voltage performances cut live in one room, the album is both a working wake – Foucault lost his best friend and drummer Billy Conway, to cancer in 2021 – and a meditation on the nature of beauty, artifact, and loss.

Eric Heywood

For more than 30 years Eric Heywood has been on the Americana front lines, playing pedal steel and guitar with bands and artists like Son Volt, The Jayhawks, John Doe and Joe Henry. Heywood grew up in Mount Vernon where his parents taught at Cornell College. His older brother, Phil Heywood, provided the main early musical influence by way of his obsession with the country blues— John Hurt and Leadbelly, Willie McTell and Gary Davis. After attempting to play ragtime piano he finally gave in to the guitar while a senior in high school. Educated at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, he graduated with honors in studio art. Heywood toured extensively and recorded with Richard Buckner, helping to flesh out Buckner's stripped-down moody landscapes. Other gigs have included touring with Alejandro Escovedo and playing on albums by Peter Bruntnell and Freakwater as lead and pedal steel guitar.

The Weary Ramblers

The Iowa folk duo, Weary Ramblers bring years of experience to the stage with award-winning songwriting and chemistry. Chad Elliott and Kathryn Fox showcase multi-instrumental performances with tight harmonies and great storytelling.