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Actor Josh who was
With 56-Across, what each of the starred clues is?
“I can’t think with all this racket!”
50 Losing tic-tac-toe line 51 Braves, on a scoreboard 52 The Acropolis, now
Horrify
56 See 46-Across
Ruthless ruler 61 Green-eyed monster
62 Nail polish brand
63 Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot
64 Hard knocks?
65 Catch in the act
4 Olympic gymnast with five moves named for her
5 “I’ll take care of that!”
6 Anxiety condition, in brief
7 Currency debut of 2002
8 Photo galler y on one’s phone
9 Apricot or peach
10 In the manner of
11 Believer in the principle of “I and I,” for the physical and spiritual selves
12 Italy’s fashion capital
13 Broadway composer Jule
18 Explorers and others, in brief
22 Droll
24 “Ungula” is Latin for this word, hence “ungulate”
25 Lessens, as pain
26 Chill
27 Taken as a whole
28 Market-focused channel
30 Magazine with cover exclamations like “Bigger Biceps!”
32 Beamed
34 A birdie flies in this
35 Absurd
37 Noon, in France
38 Turn off course
39 Leave out
41 Do a slow burn
44 At the back of the boat
45 Avignon affirmatives
46 Ways to go
47 Kick out
48 Small group of trees
49 Places to dock
52 Invitation request
54 Satyajit Ray’s “The ___ Trilogy”
55 Developer’s purchase
57 ___ trance
58 Org. that enforces the Toxic Substances Control Act
59 Component of a certain cage
PUZZLE
SOLUTIONS ON 14
1 “Let me think about that …”
2 Debtor’s note
3 In the thick of things, so to speak
IOWA CITY BLOCK PARTY HEATS UP
The seventh annual Downtown Block Party was held in Iowa City on June 22. The event included food vendors, a variety of music, and different forms of entertainment.
Shaely Odean | The Daily Iowan
(Above) Iowa City residents pose for a photo while participating in the silent disco on Iowa Avenue. The Block Party closed two hours earlier than expected due to poor weather conditions. (Right) An attendee bungee jumps during the Downtown Iowa City Block Party on June 22. The party faced temperatures as high as 92 degrees.
Ingrid Jensen brings the world of jazz to IC
Acclaimed jazz trumpeter Ingrid Jensen will perform alongside the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra at the Iowa City Jazz Festival.
Contributed by Ingrid Jensen | Mariana Meraz
Both Jensen’s parents were teachers and were insistent on both Jensen and her sister learning an instrument. Although she is now an award-winning trumpet player, trombone was her initial interest. However, when her sister chose to learn trombone first, Jensen was saddled with a
out everything she’s done is conversation. Whether that conversation comes in the form of building connections to pursue career goals or the natural conversation between musicians on stage while performing, communication is key for Jensen.
“It’s an insult to say all jazz music is from
“It’s an insult to say all jazz music is from New Orleans, is just in this time signature, and it swings — it’s
not. It’s a whole potpourri of spirits. ”
Charlie Hickman Arts Editor charles-hickman@uiowa.edu
Music festivals offer a chance for audi-
Women’s Jazz Orchestra will kick off the festival. This collaboration has been years in the making and listeners have reason to be as excited for the concert as Jensen is.
“When I’m playing, I’m always playing attention to the sounds around me, and that includes the audience,” Jensen said.
Jazz music in particular is so reliant on atmosphere, and the audience plays a major role in that.
“I’m very in tune with vibe, and music is all vibrations. When the audience opens up to that atmosphere, it can be very rewarding,” she continued.
A week before the festival kicks off, Jensen — who is now dean of jazz arts at the Manhattan School of Music — led a camp for high school-aged jazz musicians. During her instruction she found herself astounded by the talent of the young musicians.
“I was watching these kids play like they were 60 years old,” she said.
Teaching music has seemed inevitable in the trajectory of Jensen’s career — a career in which little else felt inevitable.
trumpet instead.
“I don’t think they expected me to follow through, I just think they thought it was cool for me and my sister to play different instruments,” Jensen said.
Her mother played a lot of Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson in the house when Jensen was growing up on Vancouver Island, a very early jazz-centric taste that Jensen carries with her to this day.
As Jensen continued playing the trumpet, she attended summer camps at nearby community colleges. One such camp happened to be taught by a lot of New York jazz musicians who recommended she seek out the music scene in Boston. So she did.
After graduating from Berklee in three years — bouncing around programs as a performance major, then a composition and arranging major, and finally a business of music major — she spent a year in Denmark to devote to her practice. She attended jam sessions and played for sixto-eight hours every day while abroad until she returned to New York to study under Laurie Frink.
These eight years of constant learning and practice are what made Jensen such a revolutionary artist, and her career wouldn’t be the same without the bouncing between both country and study.
“Not being a planner is what really helped, I was never a big planner,” Jensen said. “It was just being in the right place at the right time.”
While it’s impossible to summarize everything in Jensen’s storied career, the major theme she admits is constant through-
New Orleans, is just in this time signature, and it swings — it’s not. It’s a whole potpourri of spirits,” Jensen said. “There’s a common language we speak, but with the directions of conversation that’s where the differences of culture come into play.”
Throughout her career playing and teaching music, Jensen has worked with people from around the world. In her interactions with pianists from Estonia, singers from Budapest, or instructors on the west coast of Canada, she learned how music is a constant.
Differences in culture shape music, even if that means certain people will never hear it simply because of geography. But that’s why Jensen continues to teach and perform at festivals. At the Iowa City Jazz Festival, Jensen and the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra will play an assortment of music spanning from Radiohead to Joni Mitchell, an original piece from Jensen, and music written by members of the orchestra.
“[The music] should be challenging, and it should be an active experience,” Jensen said. “If people let themselves experience it, it’s exciting.”
WHERE TO WATCH:
Ingrid Jensen kicks off the Iowa City Jazz Festival on the Main Stage. She will perform alongside the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra on July 5 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Ingrid Jensen Jazz artist
Blake Shaw returns to IC jazz festival
Ahead of the festival, the modern jazz artist discussed his plans for his performances.
Taj Young News Reporter taj-young@uiowa.edu
WHERE TO WATCH:
Blake Shaw will perform with:
• The Blake Shaw Quartet at 10 p.m. at Wilder on July 5
• The Blake Shaw Big(ish) band at 2 p.m. on the Main Stage on July 6
• The Blake Shaw Quartet at 9:30 p.m. at Wilder on July 6
Cornell College and Mount Mercy College jazz professor
Blake Shaw has taken the stage at the Iowa City Jazz Festival for several years — and will again this year as the 2024 event that runs from July 5-7.
All of Shaw’s stage performanc es will include reworkings of jazz classics created by Duke Elling ton to include more pop-minded notes like the work of the Beatles.
Blake, who is also a Univer sity of Iowa alumnus, is seen on the weekends jamming and orchestrating music with many big bands for the past three years. Along with his work at Mount Mercy and Cornell College, Shaw conducts private classes.
Shaw preformed with Alyx Rush, a featured artists at the latest Daily Iowan Headliners event in April.
To see their performance along with several other Iowa City artists, visit dailyiowan.com.
popular music genre, does not hold Shaw back from trying to pioneer new songs.
“Jazz can be a little bit too much, a little overwhelming for some,” he said.
His constant movement with all of his instruments and equipment still gives him satisfaction after being in the music business for so long.
Shaw, after working in the industry for the majority of his life, consistently finds the genre unique and said the music opens up emotions for those listening.
“What is so special about jazz is the musicians that are specifically playing specific sounds to make you feel a certain way, which is somewhat a weird feeling,” Shaw said.
Jay LeaVesseur, the general manager of the Graduate Hotel — a venue Shaw plays every other week — is thrilled to have Shaw in his musical rotation.
“Shaw is an outstanding ambassador for the musical scene in Iowa City,” LeaVesseur said.
He is excited to see the Iowa
City jazz scene grow and flourish with the talented community of jazz lovers in the city. Shaw is creating new opportunities for new artists and adding them to be a part of the expanding scene.
“I am hoping everyone will find something to love in this performance,” Shaw said, anticipating
something special coming for this week. “[I’m] bringing a little taste of everything.”
Shaw wants to pull from his extensive catalog of songs, bringing back oldies and some new ensembles he has made specifically for this stage.
Jazz, while not being the most
“What is so special about jazz is the musicians that are specifically playing specific sounds to make you feel a certain way, which is somewhat a weird feeling.”
Blake Shaw Jazz artist
He makes the music that he wants to create and gathers listeners that may have thought that originally.
“I have learned to appreciate jazz more with my relationship with Blake,” LeaVesseur said. “He is such a wonderful musician.”
Whether coming to the Iowa City Jazz Festival as a new fan or as someone ingrained in the scene, Shaw is trying to lift the experience.
Shaw wants everyone to feel the passion and respect he has for this music and at the end of the day to share that love.
“I wouldn’t call myself a jazz expert, but I am hearing something new,” LeaVesseur said. “There is a feeling of discovery and exploration.”
Contributed by Blake Shaw | Alyssa Leicht
IOWA CITY
f e st ival
JULY 5-JULY 7
Downtown Iowa City
FRIDAY, JULY 5
5:00 pm • The MJ Group @ Side Stage
SCHEDULE
5:00 pm • Artist Booths and Fun Stops @ Clinton St.
The annual July Fourth celebration will return with plenty of free events.
With a free concert, carnival, and fireworks show, Coralville’s Fourth of July celebration — 4thFest — is back with more timeless fun this year.
The two-day celebration will kick off in S.T. Morrison Park on Wednesday, July 3, and end on Thursday, July 4, with a fireworks show after dark.
The festival began in the 1980s as a small parade among friends and families in a Coralville neighborhood, 4thFest Organizer Paula Bakey said. Now, the festival has grown to boast the largest Fourth of July parade in the area with roughly 120 floats in this year’s parade.
“The number of families that have moved away, they come back, and they purposely
Sharon Sauer, the owner of Sno Biz of Iowa City that serves “Real Shaved Ice Made Right” has sold shaved ice at the 4thFest for about 16 years of her 20 years in business.
Sauer said she goes back because of the number of people who attend the mostly free event. Sauer said the event is family-oriented and allows her to connect with a much different market than those in downtown Iowa City.
“With this economy, anytime I can get in front of that sheer number of people at a free event, I’m going to be there,” Sauer said.
The Kid’s Pedal Tractor Pull will be on July 4 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registration and weigh-in are required. Registration is located in S.T. Morrison Park from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on July 4. Kids must weigh 80 pounds or less. There will be awards in
“With this economy, anytime I can get in front of that sheer number of people at a free event, I’m going to be there.”
Sharon Sauer Owner of Sno Biz of Iowa City
plan their family reunions over the Fourth, and they take [the festival] all in,” Bakey said. “It’s just so enjoyable.”
Lynn Snyder, who co-chairs the 4thFest planning committee with Bakey, said she’s glad to see so many people enjoy the festivities year after year in a great community.
The festival has a variety of activities for families and other attendees to enjoy. A free petting zoo and a Kids’ Pedal Tractor Pull are the most recent additions to the lineup, Bakey said.
4thFest also hosts the biggest Fourth of July parade around Iowa City. This year Herky the Hawk will be the Parade Marshal along with Coralville City Attorney, Don Diehl, as the festival’s Grand Marshal.
The festival includes a free concert on Wednesday with Solon rock band Trophy Dads opening for Yacht Rock Revue. The Trophy Dads set begins at 6:30 p.m. and Yacht Rock Revue will start at 8:30 p.m.
Attendees can find a variety of food and non-food vendors around S.T. Morrison Park during the festival. Food vendors will be open from noon to 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the festival’s schedule. Non-food vendors are open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
eight weight classes.
Also on July 4 at the Showcase Stage, enjoy performances by the Young Footliters and City Circle Theatre at 7 p.m. and the Iowa City Community Band at 8:30 p.m.
The Corridor Kiwanis Club will host a pancake breakfast at the Coralville Recreation Center from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on July 4. Tickets are $8 at the door, $5 for children 5 through 10, and children under 5 eat free.
The American Legion is hosting Bingo at the Hilltop Shelter in S.T. Morrision park from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on July 4.
The Festival will finish with a fireworks show at 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 4, well after dark to ensure maximum visibility, Bakey said.
FESTIVAL DETAILS
The event kicks off on Wednesday on July 3 at S. T. Morrison Park. To see more about the festival and its events check dailyiowan.com.
Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan
The 4thFest parade starts with the waving of an American flag during the annual 4thFest in Coralville on July 4, 2023.
Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan
A young girl waves her flag as she watches the parade during the annual 4thFest in Coralville on July 4, 2023.
Yacht Rock Revue to bring nostalgic ‘70s groove to 4thFest
The tribute band has been entertaining audiences with smooth rock throwbacks for decades, but it’s just getting started.
Charlie Hickman Arts Editor charles-hickman@uiowa.edu
Providing entertainment and relaxation for their audience is always top of mind for the members of Yacht Rock Revue. The smooth rock tribute band has been jamming in front of live audiences for nearly two decades, and it shows no signs of chilling out — unlike its music.
These purveyors of pure relaxation will bring their nostalgic sound to Coralville’s 4thFest on July 3. Ahead of its concert, Yacht Rock Revue frontman and singer Nicholas Niespodziani expressed how exciting it is to play for large crowds. When the band formed in Atlanta in 2007, it was mostly restricted to clubs and small venues.
“We were playing in places that are sweaty and drunk; it was a debaucherous
time,” Niespodziani said. “Now we’re older and distinguished and playing big venues with massive audiences, and people treat us like artists.”
The band wasn’t always strictly a yacht rock group. Several band members, including another founding member and frontman Peter Olson, formed an indie rock band first. It wasn’t until a gig that was initially intended to be a one-off show that Yacht Rock Revue was formed.
To fit the style of the club it was performing at, the band played a few soft rock classics and immediately noticed a reaction from the crowd. Choosing the genre the band would adhere to wasn’t a long deliberation process, it happened then and there.
“It was pretty much an accident,” Niespodziani said. “People loved it so much that the club owner told us we needed to come back, and so we did.”
The band was made up entirely of Atlanta musicians at the time, many of whom were in school. Although iy had experienced minor success with its indie rock venture, with songs in local commercials and going on small tours, the band shifted to yacht rock completely and renamed itself “‘70’s AM Gold”, a name which would not last long as it quickly learned the term “yacht rock” drew much more attention.
Niespodziani dropped out of law school, and the band became real. Now bolstering a roster of 10 band members, Yacht Rock Revue has only grown since its humble beginnings in 2007.
Throughout their career, they’ve played alongside various artists whose music they tribute every night. When being joined on stage by the very legends who inspire them, they find they’re met with skepticism at first.
“We’re on stage with old-timers who say, ‘What is this? Who is this tribute band?’ But as as they realize how serious we are about the music, we win them over,” Niespodziani explained. Their dedication to revitalizing the music has landed them an opening act spot on tour with Train and REO Speedwagon this summer.
“It’s going to be nuts; we’re playing in giant amphitheaters on a level we’ve never experienced before,” Niespodziani said excitedly. As soon as the band leaves 4thFest, it’ll be hopping in tour buses to play to larger crowds than it’s ever seen. “We’re hopeful we can win over REO Speedwagon too,” he joked.
Both their 4thFest appearance and nationwide tour are stops in their usually 80100 show year. Despite the high number of performances, Niespodziani never finds himself growing tired of it. In a time when yacht rock seems to be growing in popularity once again, the band is experiencing more and more success.
“We’re trying to bring that yacht vibe back to 2024,” Niespodziani explained. “It’s music of escape; it’s made to get away from the troubles of the world.”
At a time when people need an escape
from the world more than ever, Yacht Rock Revue will bring its nostalgic sound and calming atmosphere to Coralville’s 4thFest. Niespodziani is as excited as the audience is to experience the concert.
“I love what I do, singing songs that make people happy,” said Niespodziani. “It’s a great way to unplug, sing silly songs, and have fun. That’s why the music is so timeless.”
Yacht Rock Revue’s
Opener: Trophy Dads
Trophy Dads is an Iowa-based band that has become a staple of 4thFest since its formation in 2018. The band’s four members started by attending jam sessions together in a high school music room, but now it brings a ‘90s rock throwback sound to stages around Iowa. Being dads, the group only performs around once a month. But in the years since it formed, Trophy Dads has garnered a reputation around the Iowa City area. Elray’s is a frequent and favorite stage for the band, as all the members love the Nashville music vibe. With 4thFest on the horizon, Trophy Dads won’t stop rocking anytime soon.
Contributed by Yacht Rock Revue | Perry Julien Photography
Former
Colin Votzmeyer Managing Summer Editor colin-votzmeyer@uiowa.edu
Although Paris sits a sea away from Iowa City, a handful of Hawkeyes will represent the Black and Gold in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11.
HEADED TO PARIS
Hawkeyes will represent the UI in the various events in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
NCAA final of his senior season. Gable went on to win gold at the 1972 Munich Games, in which he did not surrender a single point. Lee looks to take a similar path.
Leading the pack is one of the most decorated Iowa athletes of all time — Spencer Lee. Lee is a current favorite to win a gold medal in the 57-kilogram weight class in men’s freestyle wrestling. The event runs from Aug. 8-9.
The three-time NCAA Champion qualified for the Summer Games with four-straight wins at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey — his devastating end to his collegiate career motivating him in the quest for gold one year later.
In search of his fourth national championship at the 2023 NCAA Championships, Lee was again the favorite to win it all but was shockingly pinned by Purdue’s Matt Ramos in the semifinals. The match is one of the biggest upsets in collegiate wres tling history and marks his final match for the Hawkeyes.
That fate is sim ilar to that of leg endary Iowa wres tling coach Dan Gable — one of the greatest collegiate wrestlers of all time — whose sole loss in college came in a massive upset in the
“I’m finally an Olympian now, so that’s great,” Lee told FloWrestling. “But to me, [being an] Olympian doesn’t mean a whole lot unless you come back with that prized gold medal.”
On the track, former Hawkeye sprinter Brittany Brown will represent the red, white, and blue this month with her second-place finish in the women’s 200-meter final at the USATF Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, this past week.
The Adidas athlete of Claremont, California, and 11-time All American at Iowa ran a personal record of 21.90 seconds, beating the likes of Sha’Carri Richardson to make the cut and advance to Paris.
“We are all so proud of Brittany and everything she has overcome to make her first Olympic team,” Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody told HawkeyeSports. “She had her PR performance at the perfect time to punch her ticket to Paris, and we are so excited for her.”
Although not a part of the star-studded U.S. men’s basketball national team that holds the likes of NBA champion Jayson Tatum, all-time great LeBron James, and former Iowa State Cyclone Tyrese Haliburton, Keegan Murray will instead go against them in their quest for gold.
That’s because the current Sacramento Kings shooter was one of 15 hoopers named to the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team to train with the national team in preparation for the Summer Games.
Murray returns after being a member of the team last year, this time joining
the likes of Cooper Flagg of Duke University and Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets.
Hailing from Cedar Rapids, he is averaging 13.7 points per game on 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep thus far in his career, and he has proven to be one of the most valuable young players in the NBA.
While counterpart Caitlin Clark will be missing from the U.S. women’s basketball team, still on the court will be 2019 Naismith College Player of the Year and current Las Vegas Aces backup Megan Gustafson — this time representing Spain upon receiving Spanish citizenship this year.
“It’s definitely been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to play at the highest level,” Gustafson told Northern News Now. “Every four years, I would watch the Olympics with my family and the people in it that I’ve always looked up to and wanted to be like them, so just to see that happening and realize a dream like that is really awesome.”
Likewise, four-year Hawkeye veteran Tomi Taiwo will represent Nigeria on the basketball court, having served in a reserve role as an off-thebench shooter for Iowa before transferring to TCU in 2022 for her final year of eligibility. She currently plays
Former Hawkeye hooper Peter Jok, a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2017 by way of Rumbek, South Sudan, is vying for a spot on the South Sudan men’s basketball team as the team competes in the event for the first time in its country’s history. The final roster is to be determined on July 18. Jok currently plays for the Ottawa
BlackJacks in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Two of Team Canada’s five women’s artistic gymnasts are incoming freshmen at the University of Iowa: Cassie Lee of Toronto and Aurélie Tran of Repentigny.
The two were on Team Canada’s team that won bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, while Tran competed in the 2021 Junior Pan American Games and won bronze in the all-around and silver on the uneven bars.
More uniquely, Eve Stewart will represent Iowa’s rowing team on behalf of Great Britain, having qualified three times for the NCAA Rowing Championships in her career with the Hawkeyes. Stewart, of the Netherlands, will mark the first Hawkeye to ever compete in the rowing event at the Summer Olympics.
“It doesn’t feel real yet,” Stewart told the Iowa Center for Advancement. “It’s an actual dream come true. [That’s] the best way to describe it.”
WHERE TO WATCH:
The 2024 Summer Olympics are being streamed primarly on Peacock and broadcast live on NBC. However, other networks like the USA TODAY network will provide some coverage.
SEE MORE ONLINE
The Daily Iowan will cover the 2024 Paris Olympics through the lens of the Hawkeyes. Keep up with our coverage at dailyiowan.com.
Lee Brown
Murray
Gustafson
Taiwo
Jok
Tran
Stewart
SUMMER SO FAR
PRIDE SHINES IN IOWA CITY
The annual Iowa City Pride Parade & Festival was held downtown on June 15. The event kicked off with a parade and continued with performances on the main stage.
Isabella Tisdale and Shaely Odean | The Daily Iowan
(Top) Pride attendees walk past vendor booths during the 53rd annual pride festival in downtown Iowa City on June 15. The event included a parade, performances, and local vendor stations around downtown. (Bottom left) A UAY Dragling performer dances to “Applause” by Lady Gaga during the Mainstage performances. Other performers included groups IC Kings and Bawdy Bawdy HaHa. (Bottom middle) Drag performer Sonny Noble lip-syncs during a Mainstage performance. Noble won Mister Iowa City Pride 2024 and made multiple appearances around Iowa City in the month of June. (Bottom right) Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague and his husband, Colton Alexander-Teague, wave to the crowd of the Pride Parade as his float goes down Clinton Street.
