Iowa - Music and Performing Arts

Every summer, blues and jazz musicians from around the country come to Davenport’s LeClaire Park, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The three-day Mississippi Valley Blues Festival takes place on or around the July 4 weekend, and organizers promise a "down-home, non-commercial atmosphere." A few weeks later, LeClaire Park hosts the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, named for the legendary coronet player and Davenport native. The four-day festival has brought top bands to Davenport since 1972.

The Des Moines Arts Festival brings a juried visual arts exhibition and a variety of performing artists to Iowa’s state capital every summer. Past weekend-long festivals have featured blues concerts, ballet, poetry slams, jazz and street theater, as well as a fireworks show on Saturday night.