I have very good days and very hard days. Just like you. On the very hard days, I try a number of things to get back in tune. Different things work on different days. Social media never works. Dogs are a pretty reliable win. Poetry has never let me down. Naomi Shihab Nye wrote this… Read More Buttonhole
The Front Porch Music Festival is coming up again this Saturday, June 8 in the Longfellow neighborhood in Iowa City! Free? √ Accessible? √ Inclusive? √ Family-friendly? √ Dog-friendly? √ FUN?! √ √ √ This year, I am delighted to be joined by several of my fiddle students. We will play from 4-5 pm on… Read More The Front Porch Music Festival is this Saturday, June 8!
Wyoming was an unforgettable adventure. I’m so grateful.
John Rapson is that rare professor whose teaching leaves such an imprint on your mind and heart that you remain indebted forever. For this reason, I agreed to be part of this project well before I fully understood what it was. Then I read Kathryn Schulz’s June 2016 New Yorker article that inspired John and Nielo… Read More Hot Tamale Louie at Coe College 3/23
Hot Tamale Louie hits the road again tomorrow for the first (and second) of nine shows that we’re doing over the next two months in Iowa and Wyoming. See my ‘upcoming’ page for details.
The Family Folk Machine, the intergenerational musical group that has earned numerous accolades in its five-year history and of which I am a proud band member, will perform a benefit concert for Veterans For Peace Chapter #161 at the Unitarian Universalist Society on Sunday, February 17th at 3:00 pm. The concert will feature FFM singers and… Read More Benefit Concert for Veterans for Peace Chapter #161
Introducing Mira, my featured musician for January and February! Websites are great and all but I find that when a student finds me because of a recommendation by another longtime student, we have a much higher chance of clicking and having grand musical adventures. This has never been more true than in the case of… Read More Congratulations to Mira!
2018 was quite the year! Our song named in the Best of 2017 by IPR Two tour dates with Foreigner The Central Standards reunion concert Tionól Main stage at Iowa City Jazz Fest with Hot Tamale Louie The christening of Coppers & Brass The christening of The Soft and Low Many cozy nights at our… Read More Counting My 2018 Blessings
Nothing makes me merrier than celebrating Christmas with Iowa’s finest Irish dancers as fiddler for the Champagne Céilí Band. Join us on Saturday, December 15 at 2 pm at North Liberty South Slope Community Center. Tickets are $16 at the door.
Introducing Althea and Naomi, my featured musicians for November and December! I am delighted to introduce a wonderful family who I have been very lucky to make music with for many, many years now. Althea and Naomi have been with me since I was teaching in our smaller house when my sons were very small,… Read More Congratulations to Althea & Naomi!
Tara McGovern 