First Avenue Club
First Avenue Club Description
Iowa City's premier event and concert venue
Upcoming Events at First Avenue Club
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Comedian Sam Tallent Live at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City
Comedian Sam Tallent makes his First Avenue Club debut on Friday, April 25th. General Admission Tickets are just $25. Reserved tables of 4, 6, and 8 are also available. Doors open at 7:00pm and the show starts at 8:00pm. Full bar and appetizer menu will be available. ALL TICKETS WILL BE HELD AT THE DOOR THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. Tickets: https://first-avenue-club.square.site/product/sam-tallent/391?cs=true&cst=custom About Sam Tallent: Sam Tallent (“the absurd voice of a surreal generation”- The Denver Post) is a comedian, novelist and host of the Chubby Behemoth Podcast. For the last decade he has performed more than 45 weekends per year in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe. His writing has appeared in Birdy Magazine and on VICE.com and he’s told jokes on Comedy Central, TruTV and VICELAND. His acclaimed debut novel, Running the Light (Doug Stanhope: “the best fictional representation of comedy in any medium ever”, Marc Maron: “a beautiful rendering of a dark reality”), heralded as the definitive book on standup comedy, is soon to be a major motion picture, and his novella ATTABOY was published as an Audible Original. Waiting For Death to Claim Us, his comedy special, is available on Amazon Prime. He lives in Colorado and cooks dinner for his wife every night. 2025-04-15 23:00:00 -0500
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Ray Scott (accoustic show) Live at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City
Country music artist Ray Scott with a special guest TBA will perform an intimate, acoustic show at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City in celebration of the club’s 31st Anniversary on April 26, 2025. Ray’s songs include “My Kind of Music” and “Those Jeans.” Only 200 tickets will be available. General Admission Tickets: $10. Reserved Tables with BBQ Dinner also available. BBQ dinner includes choice of Pulled Pork or Grilled Chicken sandwich with Potato Chips and Coleslaw. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. This is a 21 and over show. Tickets: https://first-avenue-club.square.site/product/ray-scott/386?cs=true&cst=custom The term ‘country music’ may have changed over time, but Ray Scott’s definition of it has not. Whenever you press play on a Ray Scott song, you know exactly what you are going to get: tried-and-true, dyed-in-the-wool, salt of the earth, country music. That’s how the country music traditionalist built his first ten albums and that’s how he’ll build the next ten - which conveniently starts right here. Billboards and Brake Lights, Ray Scott’s 11th release, is a collection of twelve songs by the North Carolina native that remind real country music fans what it’s like to go on a journey through song. Rooted in his signature traditional sound, Scott straddles the line of growing as an artist and standing on that firm foundation of being exactly the same guy his fans have come to love. Self-effacing, self-aware, and vulnerable and with a humble confidence that stops shy of arrogance, Ray’s methods of storytelling shine brighter than ever before. “I just write songs and then see where they fall. With this album, just like some of my older projects, it’s got a lot of songs that were written fairly recently and then it's got a couple that are 10 or 15 years old. I don't really know what the rhyme or reason is. I just always have songs in my back pocket, and they seem to resurface and want to be recorded at certain times. For the new songs, I see an evolution in me for sure, but then again, I've been this same person for a long time. “I wrote the first single ‘Ripples’ with Tony Mullins five years ago but now was the time to record it. It’s got kind of an almost bluegrassy feel about it which is not something folks are used to hearing, but it was exciting to me. ‘Long Black Cadillac,’ that's an old one people have always liked, and I thought it fit in well with this group.” This group consists of songs like the album’s title track which paints the stark reality (or is it Ray-ality) of what life on tour is really like while ‘Keeper’ highlights a different kind of peril of the road. It takes a real man to stand strong in the eye of temptation and while most everyone has faltered in that moment at one time or another, Scott’s lyrical masterclass on the art of polite decline is one for the ages. No stranger to delving into dark and/or intensely personal times and misdoings for song material, the new batch on Billboards and Brake Lights is no different. Even when he didn’t mean to, different life events, such as the recent passing of his parents, make songs like ‘Old Roads and Old Friends’ hit harder and in ways that now cut to the core. Rather than omit those songs from the album, he once again chose to include them knowing full well that for the rest of his life, he’ll have to pour a refresher on the pain when he plays them in concert. Also born from the depths of his pain and serving as the album’s final offering is “I’ll See You Again.” Written on the morning of his dad’s funeral and sung later that afternoon at the actual event, this deeply personal song simply stuns you silent. As intimate as the song itself is, the recording was just as personal as Ray’s three young nieces came in from North Carolina specifically to sing background vocals on the track. “Honesty in songwriting is what it's all about. People respond to that, and you realize there are a lot of kindred spirits in the room. It's just necessary. As for performing them, I think it's gotten easier for me over the years to be able to go onstage and rip the scab off.” Honesty in music is a calling card Ray Scott has held firmly throughout his career and has defined him in more ways than one. Back in the 00’s when Ray was a staff songwriter on Music Row pulling in a salary to write songs for other artists, the radio ‘Bro-Country’ tide was on the rise. It didn’t sit well with Ray’s stomach as it wasn’t authentic to him, and he’d be damned if he was going to sell himself out to discredit the music that he loved so much. Not only did he walk away from that staff writer life, that walk-off was also the catalyst that drove him back to writing for himself and striking out on his own. Lucky for Ray, he packed his bags when he left that life because inside that sack of songs was ‘I Fall in Love with You Again.’ Written in 2001 and promptly discarded by his publisher as ‘too dated for radio,’ the song was forgotten by Ray until the summer of 2023. That’s when a buddy asked what happened to that song he played for him a couple decades ago. After blowing the dust off the DAT tape demo, Ray fell in love with it all over again and twenty plus years later it has taken its rightful place in the lineup and is ready for world to hear. One benefit Scott has with Billboards and Brake Lights is the ability to release and promote it however he likes. His last two albums, 2020’s Nowhere Near Done and 2021’s Cover the Earth, both fought Covid in one way or another. Ironically, that same pandemic gave Ray his new research tool, the award-winning Ray-ve In the Cave, Scott’s then weekly livestream show where he and guitarist Joe Cook would hang out in Ray’s basement with their guitars, a beverage or two, and perform. Named one of Pollstar’s Top 50 Livestreams, that outlet gave him more of a one-on-one, interactional relationship with his audience than he ever had before. “I’m really excited about the album because there's some new sounds on it. The instrumentation production is a little different and I was able to get some more country sounds on it. We’ve got some fiddle and mandolin and they’re played by some truly incredible players.” Incredible players is quite the understatement. A quick look up and down the roster of musicians on this album and you’ll see names like 3x / current CMA Musician of the Year Jenee Fleenor on fiddle and mandolin, Musicians HOF Member / 14x ACM Drummer of the Year recipient Eddie Bayers along with a litany of other musical giants. Those players, paired up with producer Jim “Moose” Brown helped shape Billboards and Brake Lights. “Jim is a really good songwriter himself and an extremely talented musician. He just knows how to bring it together and that’s what a good producer does. I mean, I do write these songs, but you start with that shell and it grows from there. Moose is a great one to lead the musicians and these players, well they’re all just killer and that comes through in the finished product.” As Scott’s musical career has now eclipsed the twenty-year mark, something few artists get to experience, the whiskey-tinged baritone expresses a gratitude, even if he doesn’t completely understand it all. “It’s all been a blessing, not just here but all over the world, which blows my mind. I recently went to Switzerland, Austria, Norway, and Spain and we’ve been playing overseas for years. This might sound cliché, but it really is a blessing to be able to do that and to expand out into the world that way. When I first got to town, I never would've thought that I'd be going to Europe on a regular basis playing my music for people. Not to mention being able to run up and down the highways here at home in the States, but here I am. “I'm still doing what I love for a living. I'm doing what I feel is my calling. Of course, there's some rough days and the traveling can beat you up, especially as you get older. But anything this life or this business has thrown at me in all these years, nothing has made me think anything other than this is still a dream job.” 2025-04-15 23:30:00 -0500First Avenue ClubIowa City -
Sister Hazel live and up close at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City!
<p>Sister Hazel live at the First Avenue Club on Friday, May 9th, 2025. This is a great chance to see them in a small intimate venue. General Admission Standing Room Only tickets are $35. There will be a few Pub tables that will be elevated on the exterior side walls available. The Pub table includes 4 tickets, 4 barstools, pub table and 4 beverage coupons good for Beer, Seltzers or Soda. Doors are 7 and the show starts at 8:00.<br /> <br /> Tickets<br /> https://first-avenue-club.square.site/product/sister-hazel/383?cs=true&cst=custom&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1_Q5rDCaF5WW85RiEjA8HI672A1qox99LXtgDbQQYRpabtDvfIhIl7568_aem_-SoCy9LTeMM74N5RYSyMbw<br /> <br /> Originating from Gainesville, FL, Sister Hazel is comprised of five gifted, seasoned musicians whose well-spring of natural talent has been called "one of the Top 100 Most Influential Independent Performers of the last 15 years" by Performing Songwriter Magazine. Song "All for You," topped the adult alternative charts during the summer of 1997 and the success propelled their album to platinum status.<br /> <br /> Since then, the band has become firmly established not only in rock and alternative music, but now in country with four back-to-back Billboard Top Country Albums Chart entries along with making their debut on the most revered stage in country music, the Grand Ole Opry. They have most recently co-produced a cleverly themed EP compilation series entitled “Elements,” that includes a bonus seventh track that continued throughout the series.<br /> <br /> Living up to their fan-centered reputation, the band was a pioneer in the themed cruise industry by co-founding "The Rock Boat" and annually hosts events like the “Hazelnut Hang,” and "Camp Hazelnut" that focuses on creating unique experiences and interacting with the fans. Sister Hazel has been equally attentive to connecting with their audience through social media having amassed over a million social followers. In addition to the events and touring, the band also gives back with “Lyrics For Life.” Founded by singer Ken Block, the charity unites musicians and celebrities for concerts and auctions to benefit cancer research and patient-care charities.</p> 2025-01-08 23:30:00 -0600First Avenue ClubIowa City -
MicroMania Midget Wrestling Live at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City
MicroMania Midget Wrestling returns to the First Avenue Club in Iowa City on Saturday, May 17th 2025. Doors Open at 6:30pm and show time is 8:00pm. Presale tickets are $20-General Admission and $40-Ringside. Tickets are $5 more day of show. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/micromania-midget-wrestling-iowa-city-ia-at-first-avenue-club-tickets-1307875453689?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawJi5ZBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHklXwbLRcnT6QbSKVbrETsf8G7H2grAIoJJXMnf5RofcFWm518Mg-WCSfxPZ_aem__QCnAE-uyNJA2vNMUvdZzw MicroMania Midget Wrestling returns to the First Avenue Club in Iowa City on Saturday, May 17th 2025. Doors Open at 6:30pm and show time is 8:00pm. Presale tickets are $20-General Admission and $40-Ringside. This is a 21-and-over show. MicroMania Midget Wrestling is a high powered, explosive, athletic pro wrestling show with just the right touch of comedy thrown in to make for an unforgettable BIG event, not necessarily BIG people!! These 5 foot & under micro athletes may be short in stature but are giants in the world of entertainment where they will keep you on your feet screaming from the opening bell through the main event! MicroMania Midget Wrestling Promo Video: https://youtu.be/iV-Z5XgSdE0 Age Restrictions: 21+ Doors Open: 6:30pm Show Time: 8:00pm Presale tickets $20-General Admission*, $40-Ringside ** Tickets are $5 more day of show $180-Guest Referee Package *** $300 -Sponsorship Package **** *General admission varies per venue, it is sometimes standing or seated. **Ringside Seating consists of a guaranteed seat surrounding the Ring. Depending on the venue capacity, there can be any number of Ringside seated rows, sometimes as many as 10. Seats are not numbered or reserved. In rare occasions Ringside doesn’t consist of a seat depending on Venue. *** Guest Referee Package: Here’s your chance to be a part of our MicroMania show as a guest referee for one of our matches. The Package also includes exclusive training to turn an ordinary fan into a MicroMania Referee for the evening. So don’t miss your chance of a lifetime and climb into our MicroMania ring and become the talk of the town with the experience of a lifetime. Only 2 Spots available per show. Must be present no later than 30 mins before Belltime or you forfeit your Referee Package. **** Sponsorship Package: Here’s your chance to advertise your business and enjoy MicroMania Midget Wrestling at the same time with this rare opportunity to showcase your business with the Biggest Little Show in the USA. This Package includes 5 Free General Admission tickets. Call Billy Blade (805)260–5586 for details NOTE: Tickets are nonrefundable unless the show gets canceled. Follow all things MicroMania Tour: Facebook: MicroMania Tour Tik Tok: TheMicroManiaTour Instagram: MicroMania Tour Website & Booking info: www.MicroManiaTour.com 2025-04-09 23:00:00 -0500
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The Bellamy Brothers Live in Concert at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City
The First Avenue Club in Iowa City welcomes back the Bellamy Brothers on Friday, May 30, 2025. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 8:00pm. TABLE OPTIONS: Reserved Table for 4 with tickets $200. Reserved Table for 6: $300, Table for 8: $400. General Admission Ticket with Chair (seated with other patrons) $40. This is an 18 and over show. Tickets: https://first-avenue-club.square.site/product/the-bellamy-brothers/378?cs=true&cst=custom THE BELLAMY BROTHERS: THE LOVE STILL FLOWS… Howard and David continue to prove that the trail they’ve ridden to fame has been as unique as their music itself—music that is now celebrating over 40 years of success. The road that started on the pop music charts in the ‘70’s, took a winding turn into country music in the ‘80’s, paving the way for duos to come, such as Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Big & Rich and previously—The Judds. But before the road forked into country, the musical odyssey of brothers Bellamy started creatively smoldering in their home state of Florida, before exploding nationally amidst the ’70’s pop music culture of L.A. The brothers first official gig was in 1968, playing a free show with their father at the Rattlesnake Roundup in San Antonio, Florida. They honed their early skills playing Black clubs throughout the south, and singing backup for artists such as Percy Sledge, Eddie Floyd and Little Anthony & The Imperials. Within a few months, the brothers moved north, immersing themselves and their rock/country sound in the Atlanta market, where the Allman Brothers were the emerging kings of the music world. With the dawning of the Age of Aquarius on the horizon, and America embroiled in a smoke haze of drugs, civil unrest and an unpopular war, The Bellamy’s music picked-up the hard driving edge that bespoke the times. Songwriting had become David Bellamy’s drug of choice during the long road gigs he and Howard were regularly pulling bodies and equipment to and from. It was his songwriting that was posed to soon provide the duo a national breakout. The break came in the form of the hit, “Spiders & Snakes,” written by David and recorded by Jim Stafford. The song became a smash, eventually selling more than three million units worldwide. It became the catapult that rocketed the brothers onto the L.A. music scene. Young and impressionable, Howard and David fell into the musical circle of the greats of the day: Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Van Morrison, as well as West Coast based country rockers like Poco and the Byrds. It was a creative shoe that fit. Now known by their music and the company they were keeping, The Bellamys officially lifted off the launch pad in 1976 when their single, “Let Your Love Flow,” became an instant smash in both the U.S. and Europe. It stayed on the international charts long enough to build a huge international fan base for the hip young brothers that endures to this day. In Germany alone it perched at No. 1 for more than two months. The love was indeed flowing as The Bellamys jammed for audiences on their sold-out concerts and shared stages with the likes of Loggins & Messina, the Doobie Brothers and the Beach Boys with their patented blend of rock/country music. True to their musical roots, their style and their songwriting was moving steadily more towards their raising. By the late ‘70’s The Bellamys were emerging on the country charts with another bona fide smash. “If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me),” originally scrawled on a dinner napkin by David, rocketed them to the top of the country charts the way “Let Your Love Flow,” had done in the pop market just a few years earlier. It proved to be the first of a string of fourteen No. 1 singles in the U.S. alone. Success followed success: “Dancing Cowboys,” “Sugar Daddy,” “You Ain’t Just Whistlin’ Dixie,” “Lovers Live Longer,” “Do You Love As Good As You Look,” “Redneck Girl,” “For All The Wrong Reasons,” “I Love Her Mind,” “I Need More Of You,” “Old Hippie,” “Too Much Is Not Enough,” “Kids Of The Baby Boom,” “Reggae Cowboy” and “Crazy From The Heart,”…all have lined the corridors of the Bellamy’s musical history and their walls with platinum and gold. 2025-04-15 23:30:00 -0500
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Cody Canada & The Departed Live at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City
Cody Canada & The Departed return to the First Avenue Club in Iowa City on Saturday, May 31st. Doors open at 7:00PM and the show starts at 8:00PM. There will be 20 reserved tables (assigned in order of purchase) of 4 with BBQ Dinners. The reserved tables will be located on the right 1/3 of the stage as you face it. General Admission Standing tickets are $23 (price includes fees). Tickets: https://first-avenue-club.square.site/product/cody-canada-the-departed/387?cs=true&cst=custom Cody Canada & The Departed return to the First Avenue Club in Iowa City on Saturday, May 31st. Doors open at 7:00PM and the show starts at 8:00PM. There will be 20 reserved tables (assigned in order of purchase) of 4 with BBQ Dinners. The reserved tables will be located on the right 1/3 of the stage as you face it. General Admission Standing tickets are $23 (price includes fees). After Oklahoma based southern rock band Cross Canadian Ragweed broke up in 2010, Cody Canada decided to start the Departed that was billed by Texas and Oklahoma music scene observers as a "Super Group." Canada remained on lead vocals and lead guitar and former Ragweed bass guitar player Jeremy Plato joined Canada. Canada recruited friend and Texas based blues rock singer and songwriter Seth James to be co-lead on guitar and vocals, well known red dirt keyboardist Steve Littleton, and fellow Yukon, Oklahoma native Dave Bowen on drums. Naming themselves "The Departed" as all had left previous bands to join together, the group at first billed themselves as "Cody Canada and The Departed" namely for fan recognition according to the band members in a 2011 interview. The band released its first album in June 2011 titled This Is Indian Land through its own record label, Underground Sound. The record was a tribute album to Oklahoma music and songwriters. The band's cover version of the Red Dirt Rangers song "Staring Down the Sun" was the only released single from the album. Two other songs, "The Ballad of Rosalie" and "Skyline Radio" both charted on the Texas and Oklahoma music charts. 2012-2015: Adventūs On August 24, 2012, now billed as simply The Departed, the band announced on its website and in social media that it would release its first original album, Adventūs (Latin for "arrival") on November 13, 2012, on Underground Sound. Bowen had left the group and was replaced by Chris Doege on the drums. The band moved to an alternative rock and grunge sound with driving electric guitars and the power vocals of James and Canada. Three singles were released: "Worth The Fight", "Prayer For the Lonely" and "Flagpole". 2015-2018: HippieLovePunk & Line-Up Changes In September 2013, Seth James announced that he intended to leave the band. The parting was amicable; as James said. "After three years of great times and great music, I have decided to take a step down as a band member of the Departed. It has been an unbelievable ride and I am so grateful for the support and love along the way. My last show will be November 23 at Gruene Hall. I look forward to supporting these guys alongside you as they continue down the road."[1] The band continued performing as a four-piece group. In 2014, the band finished a new album, HippieLovePunk.[2] It was released on January 13, 2015, and debuted at No. 9 on the Top Alternative Country Albums chart, with 4,700 copies sold in the US in its first week. The sound was, for the most part, still like the alt-rock sound of Adventūs.[3] Cody Canada and The Departed, as the band was once again known, debuted a new line-up at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on January 8, 2015. East Texas native Ross Smith replaced Littleton on keyboards and took up rhythm guitars, while Eric Hansen became the drummer in place of Doege. In late November 2015, the band produced a music video for the song "All Nighter" on HippieLovePunk at John T. Floore's Country Store in Helotes, Texas. The song and the video were dedicated to the former bass guitar player for Micky and the Motorcars Mark McCoy, who had died in Idaho in 2012 while on vacation. The songs "Inbetweener" and "Easy" were released as singles. In early 2016, the band announced on social media that it would be releasing an album consisting of cover versions of classic country songs. This project was named Jeremy Plato And The Departed: In Retrospect, honoring 1960s era country music with songs by Johnny Paycheck, Stonewall Jackson and Charlie Walker, among others. The bass guitarist, Plato, took the lead vocals and had Canada, Smith and Hansen as his backing on the project. Reckless Kelly's Cody Braun and Cody Angel of Jason Boland and the Stragglers contributed their instrumentation to the project, as well as the folk singer Jamie Lin Wilson, who sang backing vocals and also appeared on a popular duet with Plato. 2018-present: 3, singles, and Cross Canadian Ragweed Reunion In early 2017, Ross Smith left the band and The Departed became a 3 piece set with Canada, Plato, and Hansen. On April 20, 2018 the band released the single "Lipstick" from their new album 3, that was released on June 29, 2018, by the Underground Sound Label. Mike McClure, who had produced several of Cross Canadian Ragweed's albums, came back to produce the album. The name of the album comes from the number of those who were left in the band. It was also their 3rd album of original content as In Retrospect, and Indian Land had both been cover albums. Due to the band's current lineup, several popular Cross Canadian Ragweed songs have made their way back into the Departed's nightly set list in addition to the new material the band has written. Canada said in a 2018 Rolling Stone interview that he was "truly happy with the way the band is now and I feel this is the band I have always wanted, and really deserved." Canada and Plato reunited with the other members of Cross Canadian Ragweed in 2024, but plan to continue touring with The Departed. 2025-04-09 23:30:00 -0500First Avenue ClubIowa City