X Marks the Arts presents a new admission-free winter festival celebrating Downtown Iowa City’s Cultural & Entertainment District

Spend a genre-blending Friday evening at The Englert featuring The Uniphonics, Alyx Rush, and Ahzia as part of the first annual Free Week!

The Uniphonics

Since forming in Iowa City in 2007, The Uniphonics performed in 15 states, played at notable festivals, and opened for platinum selling artists. They’ve released 3 albums: Truth Be Told (2009), Crawl (2010), and The Uniphonics (2020). “Crawl” and “The Uniphonics” featured collaborations with internationally known artists, including Grammy Award winning jazz legend Robin Eubanks, Twin Cities vocal phenom Heatbox, and Iowa guitar legend Dennis “Daddy-O” McMurrin. 

Their sound combines hip hop, funk, soul, jazz, reggae, and latin. They’ve been described as “taking the jam-band approach to hip hop,” with virtuosic live band instrumentation and improvisation.

The Uniphonics are a who’s who of the Eastern Iowa music scene. The band shares members with other regional and national acts, including Diplomats of Solid Sound, The Channel Cats, Plastic Relations, TheSwampland Jewels, Jumbies, and dozens more. 

Sun Centuari

Sun Centauri is a future pop/r&b collaboration featuring soulful vocals from Alyx Rush and wavy production from Jim Swim. Whether conjuring summer bops or midnight laments, the duo prioritizes emotion through experimental sound design, harmony stacks, and live instrumentation. Their songs are moody, expansive, and memorable, evolving dynamically from section to section with dramatic transitions and pay-off moments that can evoke the ache of a soon-to-be-lost love or the thrill of a new infatuation with equal potency.
The duo released two collaborative EPs already, released under their individual names (Fruit to the Knife and After the Last Time). Their first official Sun Centauri single, “Two Shots,” was released last August ahead of a new EP album expected in early 2025.

Ahzia

Ahzia is an Iowa-based rapper with an impressive record. Debuting in 2018 with an EP entitled “READY.SET.GO,” Ahzia has opened for GZA, Cautious Clay, and Swae Lee. The artist has traveled around the country sharing his witty lyrics with adoring crowds but has a soft spot for the music scene around Davenport and Iowa City where he got his start.

About X Marks the Arts:
X Marks the Arts is a cultural initiative dedicated to celebrating and promoting the Downtown Iowa City Cultural & Entertainment District. Through partnerships, events, and marketing, X Marks the Arts serves as a vital connector between Iowa City’s venues, artists, and audiences, showcasing the city’s dynamic cultural life and artistic vibrancy.

About Natural Talent Music:

Creighton Gaynor is a performer, creator, percussionist, and composer with roots in Lexington,
KY. He has enjoyed a long career performing in various ensembles and session recordings as a
member of the Iowa City, Quad Cities, and Ames/Des Moines music communities. Creighton
can currently be seen on stage with his band Jumbies, playing soca and world music fusions.
He enjoys adding some flavor to We Funk, the Eastern Iowa All-Star tribute to George Clinton &
Parliament Funkadelic, and many other projects and collaborations. He has performed
previously with groups including The Fez: A Tribute to Steely Dan, OSG, and Meteor Cat.

Creighton combined his love of live music and industry experience to form Natural Talent
Music (NTM), an Iowa City-based company focused on promoting artists and creating live
music events. NTM strives to enrich the entertainment landscape by presenting a diverse
palette of performers and promoting unity through shared live music experiences in a positive
setting. The company’s multicultural “One World” live music event series presents multi-genre
lineups highlighting music with strong cultural ties internationally and within the U.S. Creighton
and Natural Talent Music are very proud to help coordinate events for the South of 6 Business
District, where he chairs the Arts and Entertainment committee, and Iowa City Bike Library.
Creighton has also volunteered with Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts for several years and
currently serves as President of the organization’s Board of Directors.