Presented in collaboration with the City of Iowa City, The Chuck Swanson Executive Directorship of Hancher Auditorium Fund, Peter & Anne Matthes, and Think Iowa City

Part of Engaged Hawkeyes Week

Part of Hancher’s 52nd season

Hancher welcomes everyone back with a free music festival-style event on our front lawn!  

Students, locals, and visitors from far and wide can enjoy music, fellowship, food trucks, and plenty of opportunities to dance. Bring your friends and family—and your own chairs or blankets for a wonderful kickoff to the fall semester.

At the end of a fiery, funky set at the 2021 Iowa City Jazz Festival, guitarist Cory Wong promised the ecstatic crowd, “We’ll see you next time!” Well, next time is now as Wong and his blisteringly hot band return to Iowa City to headline the University of Iowa’s Fall Welcome Concert. Wong’s career includes wild jams sessions with Prince’s rhythm section, membership in the vitally volatile band Vulfpeck, a headlining set at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the ongoing creation of groove after groove.

“Cory has revealed himself as not only a new breed of guitar hero, but a true entertainer.” – Premier Guitar 

Having arrived on the scene steeped in the Laurel Canyon sound, Dawes topped the Billboard Americana/Folk Albums chart with 2015’s All Your Favorite Bands and 2016’s We’re All Gonna Die. The band opened up its vintage aesthetic to make space for experimentation on more recent releases, whether the band is settling into a 1980s adult contemporary vibe, leaning into a jazzy sound reminiscent of Steely Dan, or mixing it up with bands and musicians like Lucius or Bahamas.

“A Dawes concert always has the vibe of a large college reunion with friends getting back together at a great house party.” – San Francisco Bay Area Concerts 

Renya Tropical is led by guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and She Shreds editor Fabi Reyna. Congolese, Peruvian, and Colombian rhythms are mixed and remixed with themes and narratives that shine a spotlight on the often marginalized and give them a sonic home—a home that includes the new album Malegria on Svlan Esso’s Psychic Hotline label.

“Reyna Tropical crafts the kind of spacious, tropical soundscapes that one would come to expect from their moniker. But that doesn’t make their songs any less exciting—with an improvisational approach…Reyna Tropical aims for a candid authenticity that is hard to resist.” – Grimy Goods 

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES 
Reyna Tropical: 6:00 p.m.
Dawes: 7:15 p.m.
Cory Wong: 9:00 p.m.
Hawkeye Drumline will be on hand and performing between Dawes and Cory Wong.

Gathering begins at 5:00 p.m. with music starting at 6:00 p.m.