Banger Films are responsible for some of the best and most-watchable music docs of the last few decades: Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas, and the series Hip-Hop Evolution, to name but a few of their projects. However, their latest endeavor, This Is Pop, might be their most ambitious, seeking to dive deep…
Blip’s new space at 1301 Woodswether Rd. in the West Bottoms. // Photo by Old Soul Media Selections Blip Roasters owner Ian Davis has always stood up for exceptional—yet accessible—coffee and roasting practices. He’s seen multiple Blip locations through all seasons; most recently, amid a pandemic that closed the doors on so many well-loved bars, coffee shops, and restaurants in…
KC Streetcar. // Photo by Kelcie McKenney Residents outside of designated areas affected by the expansion of the KC Streetcar Project may have received a ‘notice of assessment’ through the mail by mistake. The Transportation Development District (TDD) of Kansas City mailed notices to residents regarding an assessment of properties falling within designated zones. Residents may be alarmed because this…
Inmate. // Courtesy Human Right Defense Center The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat out…
Sarah Gardner (Ty’s wife), Ty Garnder, and Heidi Gardner. // Courtesy Ty Gardner Saturday Night Live may be broadcast live from New York, but it often seems like cast member Heidi Gardner has never left Kansas City. Two of her most popular sketches, “Taco Math” and “Amusement Park”, are set in two Cowtown landmarks (Jalapeño’s and Worlds of Fun), and…
Mayor Quinton Lucas. // Courtesy KC Government Mayor Quinton Lucas is pledging reparations for Black residents of Kansas City as part of a committee including 10 other mayors across the US. Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE), is a coalition of 11 mayors committed to paying reparations to Black residents in their community and modeling how future federal programs…
On June 19th 2021, a small but significant fastpitch softball tournament was held in the Southeastern Kansas town of Chanute. Sitting in the heart of Neosho County, this city of roughly 9,000 people played host to the Don Everly Fastpitch Softball Tournament. This year, in the U14 league, saw a hard-fought battle between the local favorites High Octane (Chanute, Kansas)…
Jamey Johnson Grinders KC Friday, June 18 Jamey Johnson and his band are on the road this summer and they were ready for action and adventure when they arrived at Grinders KC in The Crossroads of Kansas City on Friday night. Jamey has that voice, somewhere between Jennings and Jones, and a band created in the likeness of the E…
In an open 2022 Missouri U.S. Senate seat piling high with candidates both seasoned and bizarre, as is often the case with high-profile offices, a 20,000-member Facebook group “Joe Biden for Missouri” is working to clear the air with open conversations. Veteran, small business owner and nonprofit co-founder Jewel Kelly—now a Democratic candidate for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat, up in…
Mushrooms off a trail at Swope Park. // Photo by Chase Castor For people who think of spring as morel-hunting season, that time of year is filled with excitement, one or two really great meals, muddy shoes, and dashed hopes. Balancing those components takes practice and a philosophical mindset that can prove as elusive as the fungi themselves. That jumble…
Lemonade Park in West Bottoms. // Photo by Zach Bauman If Kansas Citians are looking to partake in a city-wide celebration of music on Monday, June 21, we hear (for now) that the heat is supposed to subside. Go home, Missouri. Make Music began in 1982 in France as Fête de la Musique, but is now being held on the same…
Perpetual Eviction. // Photo by Trevin Bartlee Do you think you have a bad experience with your landlord? Wait until you hear this story. One day Trevin Bartlee decided to ask his landlord if he could do a month-to-month lease. They never did and instead, Trevin got a sign on his door saying that his ability to renew his lease…
Lindsey Stirling. // Photo courtesy of Bari Lieberman Have you been wanting to go to a concert this summer now that COVID restrictions are gone but just aren’t sure who you should see? Well, you’re in luck because we have the answer. Lindsey Stirling will be performing at Starlight Theater on Saturday, July 3 at 7 p.m. Lindsey is a…
Kaylie McLaughlin, editor of The Olathe Reporter. This week on the Streetwise podcast we discuss being awk as all heck, enjoy a reading of Liz Cook’s piece on Da’Bomb, jam to The Fey’s track “Blind to the Signs”, and chat with Kaylie McLaughlin, editor of The Olathe Reporter. Streetwise is hosted by Brock Wilbur, editor in chief of The Pitch. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify. Subscribe to…
Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê. // Photo by Travis Young The women-owned Cafe Cà Phê, Kansas City’s first mobile Vietnamese coffee shop, is teaming up with the Northland’s Big Rip Brewing Company for Pride Month revelry for a cause. On Saturday, June 26, from 10 am to 4 pm, Hella Queer Pop-Up will descend in all its glory on…
It’s the final day of the Give Black KC campaign, but it’s not too late to make a difference. Give Black is a community-driven fundraising campaign to benefit eight local Black-led nonprofits. It’s rooted in data-driven collective impact strategy and racial equity, with the goal of uplifting BIPOC communities as a whole. The following conversation is between The Pitch and…
Mark McCloskey Mark McCloskey, a Republican 2022 US Senate candidate, and his wife Patrica plead guilty today for waving guns at protesters outside their home last year. Mark pled guilty to a Class A misdemeanor of 4th-degree assault. He faces no jail time and was fined $750. His wife pled guilty to a Class A misdemeanor of 2nd-degree harassment. She…
Photo by Bence Boros Go have a brewski at Servaes Brewing Company this Saturday to commemorate Juneteenth, and to celebrate the release of the two barrel-aged versions of the “Black is Beautiful” imperial sweet stout. The original Black is Beautiful beer was brewed in August as a part of a nationwide collaboration started by Weathered Souls Brewing Co. in San…
Artist INC cohorts at work. // Courtesy of Mid America Arts Alliance Artist INC, a regional program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, is accepting new applicants for its fall 2021 seminar. Artist INC is a training seminar that helps address the specific business needs and challenges creatives of all disciplines face. The program has been applauded for providing career opportunities and…
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson delivered his State of the State address on Jan. 27, 2021. // Courtesy of Missouri Governor’s Office Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that…
Courtney Servaes of Servaes Brewing Company. // Photo by Leah Wankum with the Shawnee Mission Post When Courtney Servaes opened Servaes Brewing Company in 2019, hers became the first woman-owned brewery in Kansas. Oftentimes, customers will overlook the women brewers or staff to ask men questions about the beer—or will leave the brewery unreasonably shocked that women are just as…
Graphic by Jack Raybuck Dear Dan: We’re a happily married couple from Europe, longtime readers, both in our thirties, and both interested in having sex sometimes with other people. Before the pandemic, we were invited to a private sex party in a major European capital. It was an age-and-face-controlled swingers night with background checks on every participant. It was our…
King Lear in St. Louis. // Photo by Phillip Hamer Photography On a Friday night in mid-March 2020, my husband and I were having what would turn out to be our last dinner in a restaurant for the rest of the year, watching as our last social plans of 2020 fell apart with an email from Kansas City Repertory Theatre…
A scene from Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. // Courtesy Kansas City Lyric Opera Kansas City’s Lyric Opera announced its 2021-2022 season this week, and the forthcoming drama is palpable. Some performances call back to the golden age of Hollywood, while others interpret the life of Steve Jobs for the stage. The former is called Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood, and kicks off the season…
