The Goldfinch Room is announcing its 9-show outdoor concert series this summer featuring a variety of Midwest singer/songwriters who will perform outdoors on the Stephens Auditorium front lawn. Admission will be $10 per person at the door. Click here to buy a summer pass.
This summer’s lineup brings in artists from around Iowa and the Midwest who have performed their music all over the world:
June 1 at 6:30pm: Patresa Hartman and Sara Routh
Des Moines-based singer/songwriter Patresa Hartman calls her style soul-folk. A rich, blues voice serves as the vehicle for thoughtful, poetic lyrics. Sara Routh is a Des Moines native who has traveled around the world bringing her music to audiences around the globe. She is a musical force of nature who embraces community and life, bringing each reality to song.
June 15 at 6:30pm: Kellie Lin Knott
Kellie Lin is an award-winning singer/songwriter, songstress, and educator in Minneapolis, MN. Known for quirky commentary, guitar grooves, and an eclectic catalog of original tunes in divergent styles, Kellie Lin is entertaining, endearing, and irreverent.
June 29 at 6:30pm: Chad Elliott and Kathryn Severing Fox
Midwest singer/songwriter Chad Elliott blends folk roots, swampy blues, and soulful writing to deliver an original Americana sound. His live performances have been honed over a decade of being on the road performing more than 200 shows each year. Kathryn Severing Fox is an active gigging musician in Des Moines, predominantly performing with Iowa Blues and Rock Hall of Famer, Bob Pace, as The String Prophets, as well as other local bands. She is Adjunct Faculty at the School for Music Vocations at Southwestern Community College, where she teaches aural skills, strings, and piano.
July 13 at 6:30pm: Central Standard Time
Central Standard Time is an acoustic duo from Iowa City. Matt Hibbard and Charlie Rod met at camp, where their friendship grew strong. From that friendship sprouted a musical collaboration, born of many summer nights singing and playing around a campfire, winter days singing and playing by a fireplace, and countless days and nights in a college dorm room, making music with friends. That collaboration has continued for more than 20 years, spawning five albums of original music and performances throughout the Midwest.
July 27 at 6:30pm: Eli Gardiner
Eli Gardiner’s music is steeped in the singer/songwriter tradition. Growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on a healthy dose of Bruce Springsteen, Jim Croce, James Taylor, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan, Eli learned about the art of songwriting early on. His songs are empathetic and full of soul.
August 10 at 6:30pm: Reggie Greenlaw and Guest (Ames Community Arts Council – Gathering of Artists)
Reggie Greenlaw is a Folk/Americana/Alt-Country/ Bluegrass/Original singer/songwriter/musician living in Ames, Iowa. Reggie plays guitar, hammered dulcimer, and mandolin at performances at eclectic venues throughout the Midwest, including wineries, bars, celebrations, and Renaissance festivals.
August 24 at 6:30pm: Marques Morel
Marques Morel is a Midwestern American songwriter/folksinger, guitar-strummer/harmonica wailer, street performer/wandering troubadour, itinerant woodcutter/migrant worker, and a friend to all. He has performed everywhere from big city street corners around the world, to county fairs and festivals, to dingy bars, to listening rooms and theaters.
September 7 at 5:30pm: Society of Broken Souls
Society of Broken Souls is the Folk Noir duo of songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Dennis James and Lauryn Shapter. From stripped down, bare-bones acoustic arrangements to a denser and edgier electric sound, their songs confront our shared, raw humanity all while celebrating the beautiful mosaic of the human experience.
September 21 at 5:30pm: David G. Smith and Robert Deitch
Internationally-acclaimed David G. Smith is an acoustic solo performer with a lyric intensive style featuring music and a voice that range from dirt-funk to intimate. His last three albums have been accepted for Grammy consideration. Robert Deitch is a singer/songwriter born in Iowa and honed in Nashville who writes meaningful, image-filled songs that provide the listener a vivid story experience. Robert has shared the stage with artists like Thomas Rhett, Trent Tomlinson, and Kendell Marvel.
