This weekend, Mission Creek Festival returned to venues across Iowa City. For 20 years, Mission Creek has welcomed eclectic artists from around the world to share their talents with the city’s music fans.
Across the span of three days, arts reporters from The Daily Iowan attended a variety of shows to provide tastes of the wildly different performances on display. These snippets from extended coverage will catch you up on the most talked-about shows at Mission Creek this weekend.
1. Kim Gordon brings an electric start to Mission Creek’s 20th anniversary
Headlining the festival on Thursday night, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon electrified audiences and set the tone for the weekend. Arts reporter Haya Hussain attended the show and described the music as “incredibly enrapturing. Every piece started with intense movements, like a quick rattle of the drums. Members of the audience were immersed, as not even halfway through the first song, people stood up and began to dance and headbang.”
2. LA LOM kept audience dancing at Mission Creek 2025
Opening for Kim Gordon, LA LOM were the first musicians to take the stage at Mission Creek this year. The Californian band got the Hancher crowd on their feet and moving to kick off the night. Arts reporter Hannah Childers noted, “while the audience danced, the guitarist and bassist danced across the stage with their instruments, embodying their music’s energy.”
3. Mabe Fratti takes the stage for the 2025 Mission Creek Festival
Avant-garde cellist Mabe Fratti brought a different vibe to Riverside Theatre on Friday night. Arts reporter Kate Wolfe experienced the unique show and raved about the eccentricities of the performance. “Her first note fell not as a gentle caress, but a growling thrum, doled with an iron thumb, immediately signaling that this was not your typical cello performance,” Wolfe wrote.
4. Mannequin Pussy lights up crowd at Mission Creek
Perhaps the most anticipated show for many students, Mannequin Pussy tore up The Englert Theatre on Friday night. Digital Editor Riley Dunn was in the crowd and raved about the cathartic music. “The set was complete with an array of colorful flashing lights, punk-rock guitar riffs, and ambitious new and old musical tracks, which invited the audience to release any pent-up emotions they may have been hanging onto,” Dunn wrote.
RELATED: Iowa City band Slacker stuns during Mission Creek 2025
5. The Tuesday Agency hosts an acoustic series of musicians for Mission Creek at the Chauncey
On the fourth floor of the Chauncey building, a series of musicians from near and far serenaded the Mission Creek audience. The lineup featured musicians from Chicago, Colorado, and Brooklyn. “Anderson and Donahue carved silhouettes against the sun-white skylight pouring in through floor-to-ceiling windows behind them as Anderson lulled the audience into a melancholic reverie,” Managing Editor Stella Shipman wrote.
6. One-woman band Your Smith keeps the audience up at Mission Creek
The compact Gabe’s stage was home to one-woman performer Your Smith on Friday night. An entire band’s worth of instruments was contained on her laptop as the energetic show kept audiences attentive. Arts reporter Laurel Preston was a part of the packed audience and praised Your Smith’s ability to create distinct sound as a solo artist. “The infectious sound felt like the audience was witnessing a star in the making. Each song was evocative of a top 40 hit that people could not stop swinging their bodies to, mixed with a lilting indie sound,” Preston wrote.