Terri Parrish McGaffin presents "Making the Mousetrap" featuring captured moments of actors preparing for the Lamb Production's 2023 presentation of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap."

Join us for the reception as McGaffin presents these thought provoking moments in time on April 20, 2024 at 7pm at Vangarde Arts (416 Pierce St.).

All proceeds from art sales benefit Lamb Theatre. The reception is FREE and open to the public.

Don’t miss this unforgettable night featuring the wildly eccentric and quirky cork board paintings from Chad Dunning and endless live music from Terry Brooks, Dave Hansen, Damien Garber, Chad & the Traveling Woodburys, Court Jester, ART[SIC], and Brutananadilewskia!

Saturday, April 13 • 7pm

$5 Cover

In just a few years the Terry Quiett Band has become a mainstay across America’s Heartland. From 6th Street in Austin…to the windy city of Chicago…through the mountains of Colorado…across the deserts of Arizona…jamming down on Beale Street in Memphis…wherever they go the TQB has won over young and old with their energetic and soulful sound.

Electric blues and rock fans searching for a new guitar hero need look no further than Terry Quiett, roaring from the heartland like a tornado on his latest, greatest release. Ten albums since 1999 have proven his staying power while allowing him to develop his exceptional talents as a singer, songwriter and virtuoso instrumentalist in preparation for “overnight success” he has earned and deserves.

Tickets only $15 at the door!

“If anybody ever went down to the Crossroads and let the Devil tune his guitar it was probably Eddie Turner. Man, you get chills every time the guy strikes a note! And the expressions he makes while he’s talking out each lick leave one convinced he’s channeling other-worldly ancestral demi-gods.”

Eddie Turner has done just about everything. A guitarist since age 12, he honed his skills alongside San Francisco's legendary Tracy Nelson & Mother Earth in the '70s and Denver's hard-hitting Zephyr in the '80s, before becoming a founding member of the Otis Taylor Band in the '90s and then earning a prestigious Blues Music Award nomination for his own solo career in the mid-2000s.

The Denver-based guitarist, singer and bandleader has toured the world, garnering countless fans and an outpouring of critical acclaim in the process. A diverse blend of rock, voodoo blues, and R&B peppered with African rhythms, Turner’s music moves the feet while simultaneously haunting the soul. Vintage guitar quoted his album Rise as “personal super-modern music with verve and drive.” Guitar Player Magazine praised Eddie – “Turner’s otherworldly, atmospheric guitar style colors the inventive disc, offering a modern take on a classic genre.”

Tickets only $15 at the door!!!

“Nick Moss is at the forefront of contemporary Chicago blues. His muscular, electric energy combines jaw-dropping guitar, gruff, soulful vocals and impassioned songwriting.” — Living Blues

Chicago native, guitarist and vocalist Nick Moss and New Jersey native - together with Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, Taylor Streiff on keyboards and Pierce Downer on drums – deliver a deeply rooted, timeless blue collar blues sound. According to Moss, “We are a rare breed as far as how authentic we like to keep the music." That's not a surprise to longtime fans, as Moss proudly represents the city of Chicago as one of the few bluesmen working today to have learned his craft firsthand directly from many of the genre’s original creators. Today, Moss’ blistering fretwork, impassioned, soul-charged vocals and memorable original songs place him in a league of his own.

Performing at clubs, concert halls and on festival stages across the country and around the world, the band ignites an irresistible, musical firestorm onstage. “When we get together, the music takes over,” says Moss. “We can’t hold back, and the energy just comes pouring out. We get carried away and the audience gets carried away with us.”

Tickets only $15 at the door!!!

John Primer has undisputedly helped build the sound and style of Chicago blues as we know it today. The echos of tradition bellowing from the birthplaces he played such as: Maxwell Street, Theresa's, Checkerboard and Rosa's Lounges, pulse from every chord in his fingers today. John Primer is a Chicago Blues Living Legend.

Growing up on Mississippi sharecropper land in 1945, inspired by his family’s hard work and field songs daily, deep devotion to spirituals on Sundays, and blues on Saturdays! John dreamed of one day playing with the Legendary Muddy Waters! 

Moving to Chicago in 1963, he started on that path of becoming a great bluesman, getting his first steady gig at the legendary Maxwell Street in Chicago on Sunday's and at the famous Theresa’s Lounge seven nights a week for seven years! John was taught by the founding fathers of the blues! Starting out with his own band the Maintainers with Pat Rushing on Maxwell Street, he then moved on to play with the legendary Sammy Lawhorn and Junior Wells at Theresa's Lounge. He worked hard and impressed Willie Dixon enough to go on tour with him and his Chicago Blues All-Stars Band. At this point he was known and John's dream finally came true in 1981 when he got to play with his idol, Muddy Waters! Muddy called for him to lead his band and changed his life forever. After Muddy’s untimely death, he joined up with Magic Slim & The Teardrops for the next 14 years, traveling all over the world. 

Tickets only $20 at the door!!!

Lo-fi Americana/psych outfit King Ropes evoke the striking and expansive landscapes of their native Montana, offering up a homebrew of caustic folk yarns and chunky garage rockers. The band deftly balances thrilling guitar riffs with more nuanced arrangements that crawl under your skin and take up permanent residence. Feedback roars with an unexpected ferocity across these tracks, jolting tempos into the upper atmospheres.

Tickets only $10 at the door!!!

Celebrate the fusion of music and art at Vangarde Art’s MAKER Showcase Saturday, March 9 starting at 7:00pm! Showcasing the artwork of Cathy Sandage, Mark Scott, Peggy Napier, John Bartle, Derek Buckley, Wyatt Hoefer, Goblin Cult, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Brutal Doodles - these creators will show off their dynamic artistry both on the canvas AND on the stage. FREE.

Bending time, space, and genre, Pretend Friend will transport you to another dimension with quick-pickin' bluegrass, spellbinding harmonies, psychedelic jams, and award-winning songwriting.

Pretend Friend is an Americana jam band that defies convention and redefines the bluegrass genre with captivating live performances. Led by Grant Boesen, a mesmerizing lead singer and songwriter channeling the spirit of Shannon Hoon, Pretend Friend features some of the most talented musicians in the business. Kansas champion mandolinist, Evan Ogborn, renown bassist, Brody Wellman, and veteran banjoist, Garrett Briggeman, bring substantial style and depth of character to Pretend Friend.

With compelling songwriting at the core of their music, Pretend Friend weaves together intricate melodies and rich harmonies, creating a tapestry of sound that is both evocative and unforgettable. Improvisational live jamming sets Pretend Friend apart; no two shows are ever the same. Exceptional musicianship, fearless creativity, and boundless energy carry Pretend Friend across musical dimensions.

Tickets: $15 at the door!

Avey Grouws Band blends blues, roots, rock and soul as powerfully as the Mississippi River runs through their home in the Quad Cities of Iowa & Illinois. Led by powerhouse vocalist Jeni Grouws and ace guitar man Chris Avey, the two-time top ten Billboard charting band are known for their gritty sound and engaging shows. Avey Grouws Band toured the US this past year, including Kansas City, two Florida tours, an East Coast tour and a trip to Las Vegas to play the Big Blues Bender along with acts including Keb’ Mo, Beth Hart, Tab Benoit, Samantha Fish and many more.

Tickets are only $15 at the door!

Bywater Call will be among the best new bands of the decade”

Meghan Parnell, considered one of the best voices in Blues today, and smokin’ guitarist Dave Barnes are the driving force behind Bywater Call, a powerhouse 7-piece Southern Soul, Roots Rock band out of Toronto, Canada. Since Bywater Call was formed in 2017, they have been Maple Blues and Independent Blues Award nominated and have made waves in the Canadian Festival Circuit. The band has also had the opportunity to extensively tour the U.S. and Europe! The band’s core values of raw emotion, strong musicianship and the aim to create an exciting, powerful, and moving experience for listeners remains ever present.

Tickets only $20 at the door!!!

This will be a killer night of live music combining the raw Blues of Hill Country Funk with classic Ipso Facto hits and magical sounds of Wain McFarlane! Hill Country Funk duo mashes sizzling guitar of guitarist/vocalist Jeriah “Cactus” St. Cyr with the thumping drums of Stud Ford. The Blues run deep with these young players… Cactus is the nephew of vocalist and harmonica master, Curt St. Cyr and Stud is the grandson of Blues legend T. Model Ford!

Wain McFarlane, founding member of IPSO FACTO,, serves up a unique fusion of his paternal Jamaican roots, reggae legacy and maternal lineage gospel-blues-jazz of his birthplace, Kansas City. His performance features classic Ipso Facto block-buster songs and new material. As always, expect master-class improvisation that breathes in the energy of the moment! He will be joined by a veteran cast of musicians!

Tickets only $15 at the door or online… $20 day of show!!!

Humbletown is a folk/bluegrass duo featuring Morgan Carnes on clawhammer banjo and Dylan Lewis on flatpick guitar and mandolin. The duo primarily writes their own songs in eclectic styles but also plays traditional songs, fiddle tunes, and folk and country covers. The duo prides itself on unique harmonies and vibrant traditional and improvisational instrumentals. They will be joined by Ben Lemay on fiddle for this great night of live music!

They have shared the stage with Trout Steak Revival, Woodbelly, Charlie Parr, Jalan Crossland, and John Craigie. They have performed at Revival Music Festival and at the Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition. They also won the 2018 South Dakota Folk Off contest.

Tickets only $10 at the door or online!

Jonas Lynch, Le Mars based tattoo artist, painter, graphic designer (honestly… we could go on for a while) presents a new Vangarde showcase Friday, February 16 starting at 7:00pm! With a variety of intriguing painted portraits, RESIDENTIAL is a must see.WITH Live performances from Court Jester, The Top Civilian, and DJ Rio!

The reception is FREE & open to the public at 416 Pierce St

The Ditchwater Bullfrogs is a riot! Five bullfrogs who ALL play and sing! They play a variety of music….Originals, Folk, a little Bluegrass, Americana, Southern Rock, Blues…. a different vibe! They do NOT fit in a music BOX! There is over 125 years of musical experience in this band… Bob Larson, guitar/vocals. Walt Peterson, harmonica/mandolin/vocals, Gina Meyers, guitar/vocals, Scott Griffith, banjo/guitar/vocals and Austin Aufrance, bass/guitar/vocals.

Tickets only $10 at the door!

Aptly called PaperMoon, this group of NW Iowa musicians has put together a collection of popular jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, recognizable by all. Genres such as Swing, Blues, Latin, laid back Standards and Straight Ahead Jazz are covered by this group of well-seasoned musicians, with Mike Monnahan on guitar, Tim Schumacher on bass, Jim Schroeder on tenor sax/clarinet and Joan Enockson on vocals.

PaperMoon’s style is influenced by vocal legends such as Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, and many others from the Swing Era along with contemporaries Diana Krall and Pink Martini!

Tickets are only $10 at the door or online!

Bob Merchant has been part of the Midwest music scene for over 4 decades! Beginning in 1964 with the Sha-Dels Merchant has carried the torch for classic rock n’ roll! His unique voice and solid bass play have made him an iconic frontman. He has worked with many performers over the years and the current line up features veteran rockers, Cathy Sandage on keys and vocals, Mark Scott on lead guitar, Mark Renfro on the piano and Billy Engel on drums.

Tickets only $5 at the door!

Siouxland Artists Inc. present their traveling art showcase.. Vangarde style! Check out the variety of work 24 regional artists have put together in one Groovy Little Gallery Wednesday, January 24 at 6:00pm! FREE

Join us for an evening of great Jazz with Five Cent Ride, a Sioux City Jazz combo led by Annika Kolbo, vocals, Drew Paulsen, bass, Nick Anderson, piano and Dylan Root, saxophone. The quartet performs a wide variety of Jazz styles encompassing swing, funk, Latin and soul.  Local Jazz/Rap duo Soul Storm will open the show!!!

We will have a champagne toast, hats and horns to celebrate an outstanding year of live music at Vangarde Arts!!!

Tickets only $10 at the door!!!

A Very Garie Christmas 7… a Wassail Wang-Dang-Doodle is coming to Vangarde! Local comedian and musician leads a variety show that features music, comedy, dancing, skits and Christmas tales! The money raised will benefit the Warming Shelter and the Siouxland Soup Kitchen!!!

There will be a freewill donation at the door!!!

“been a long time since I heard a good blues band like this.” - Buddy Guy

MISSISSIPPI HEAT’s name is a reflection of renowned harmonica master Pierre Lacocque’s reverence for Mississippi’s blues culture and music. They have received world-wide critical acclaim, including from Living Blues Magazine: “MISSISSIPPI HEAT delivers its traditional urban blues with a freshness, energy and competence that makes them a treasure on today’s Chicago scene.” The band has appeared at many world-famous festivals including many in the US (like the Pocono’s and the Chicago Blues Festivals), Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Canada, Tunisia, Finland, Venezuela and in Mexico, among many others.

Tickets only $15 advance, $20 day of show!!!

The band's infectious energy and musical interplay routinely attract listeners that are admittedly more accustomed to lyric-based music. With great melodic sensibilities, rhythmic experimentation and an accessible modern edge, the Dirk Quinn Band is jazz/funk improvisation at its most exciting!

Tickets only $10 at the door!

only one venue… One night… two incredible artists come together for an unforgettable experience!

SUNNY WAR is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso. She has crafted a style that draws on a range of ideas and styles, ecstatic gospel, dusty country blues, thoughtful folk and rip-roaring rock and roll. She’s been honing her sound for most of her life, at least since she took her first guitar lessons and fell in love with music. She was obsessed with AC/DC, and ‘80s guitar bands like Motley Crüe, later she became obsessed with the LA punk scene. Her first punk band, the Anus Kings, made music with whatever they had at hand… acoustic guitars. That made them stand out among other Los Angeles groups at the time. Today Sunny is the rare roots artist, combining acoustic punk with country blues to create a sound that has earned a large fan base around the world!

MIKE ZITO is one of the most lauded artists in the contemporary blues arena today and rightfully so, but for him, the thing that counts the most is maintaining his honesty, authenticity and integrity. Naturally, patience and perseverance have been Zito’s stock and trade since the beginning. He began playing guitar at the age of five, and by the time he reached his late teens, he was already a fixture on the local St. Louis music scene. In 2009 he won Song of the Year at the Blues Music Awards and marked his first collaboration with Cyril Neville, with whom he’d later work in the Royal Southern Brotherhood. Since then he has won the 2018 Rock Blues Artist of the Year, the 2019 Blues Rock Album of the year, the 2019 Blues Rock Artist and the 2022 Blues Rock Album of the year. 

This promises to be one of the top club shows of the year. Tickets will sell fast, so get them early!!!

THE SHOW IS SOLD OUT!

Good Morning Bedlam is a folk-rock duo from Minneapolis, MN. Their shows are known for their wild energy and stunning harmonies. Winners of first-place title at the John Hartford Memorial Festival Band Competition, and finalists at the NWSS Band Competition. GMB has played at festivals alongside artists such as Shakey Graves, Sam Bush, Jason Isbell, The Infamous Stringdusters, Trampled By Turtles and others. GMB has been featured on Bluegrass Today, Relix Magazine, Glide Magazine, and Paste Magazine. Now in 2023 the band is touring their brand new EP Dear Day Dear Darling.

The Wildwoods are an enchanting Folk/Americana trio based in Lincoln, Nebraska, whose flowing songwriting tandem has been praised by Paste Magazine as "focused and charmingly human". The folk/Americana trio work to harmoniously and delicately blend their voices to create a sound so nostalgic that you may find yourself dreaming and longing for those sweet memories from your former days. 

Tickets only $15 at the door or online at www.vangardearts.com!

Dubbed as the "Hemingway of the Highway" by fans, singer-songwriter Mathew deRiso  has written, recorded and performed original music since 2006.  Critics have hailed him as "A Young Steve Earle with a more powerful set of Pipes"… "Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Rob Zombie" and "Gritty, Soulful Hard Luck Americana"   Mat has shared the stage with Chuck Berry, the Neville Brothers, David Alan Coe,  John Hiatt, Stoney LaRue,  Cody Johnson, The Bottle Rockets, Bruce Hornsby, Michael McDermott, Ziggy Marley, The Reverend Horton Heat, Bonnie Raitt and the Avett Brothers. 

Tickets only $15 at the door!

Haymakers takes the concept of the string band and plugs it into a broad swath of acoustic music that stretches from traditional folk to Americana, from Appalachian mountain music to western swing, and even into the realm of the jam band. Haymakers’ sound starts with the classic string band idea of a well-oiled acoustic music machine, piles on traditional folk, Americana, mountain music, and western swing, and, finally, heaps on lush multi-part harmonies.

Tickets only $15 at the door!

Shawn Holt is the son of legendary Blues Legend Magic Slim. The high energy, hard-driving sound of The Teardrops is still alive and well and if you like what Magic Slim and The Teardrops have been doing for the last 35 years, you can continue to enjoy that unique sound and energy with Shawn Holt, a chip off the old block, fronting his dad's band. In 2014 Shawn Holt and The Teardrops won the Blues Blast Music Award for "New Artist Debut Album for Daddy Told Me" on Blind Pig Records.

Tickets only $15… available at the door!

For the past sixteen years, The Hooten Hallers have been crisscrossing the country as inveterate road warriors, bringing their peculiar vision of Americana: a fiery, bluesy, rock and roll fever dream birthed in Missouri’s fertile musical heartland. They’ve put so many miles into the road that they’ve burned through multiple tour vans and left twisted metal and frayed rubber strewn across the road behind them. The Hooten Hallers are known for their incendiary live shows that must be experienced to be believed, taking the listener on a dynamic journey from explosively raucous blues to expressive three-part vocal harmonies to danceable grooves.

Tickets only $15 at the door!!!

Two of Iowa's finest songwriter's are exploring the northwest territory of their home state. Casey Joe Collins and Jordan Messerole are two of Iowa's most preeminent songwriters and independently touring artists. Having toured together, and independently, from coast to coast, and covering the vast majority of this country, the duo has turned their sights inwards to some of the finest rooms western Iowa has to offer. Their travels and life experiences have filled them with a wealth of songs and stories that they will share in a writer's round style performance. The two songwriters will take turns performing original songs and telling the stories behind them.

Tickets only $10 at the door and online at www.vangardarts.com!

Thursday, October 12 at 6:00pm abstract & surrealism collide in “Synergy”- a new gallery showcase by local artists Tom Kleber and Jean-Guy Richard! This show is a unique collaboration between Kleber and Richard; Tom created the abstract medium with acrylic pours which Jean-Guy combined with surrealist oil paintings.

Both Tom and Jean-Guy are inaugural artists with studios in the Art Sux Gallery on Sioux City’s Fourth Street.