Photo by Maddie McBratney A few years ago, I had the unfortunate pleasure of having to call a tow truck driver when my 2009 Acura TSX decided that it was done being a functional car. I knew that it was on the fritz and was likely going to need work done soon, but I wasn’t in a place where I…
Sen. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, presents a resolution on the Senate floor Feb. 12 (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent) Lawmakers trying to ban child marriage in Missouri hope a last-minute push in the legislative session’s final days can overcome opposition from some Republicans that put the bill’s chances in doubt. A bill outlawing 16 and 17 years old from getting married stalled in…
The cast of KCRep’s 2024 production of Little Shop of Horrors. // Photo by Don Ipock It’s hard to serve up a bad production of Little Shop of Horrors. The musical is, even in the plot abstract, a total banger: a horror b-movie where fame and fortune come to a down on his luck orphan via horticulture haute couture… at…
Miami Ice // Photo by Sarah Sipple Just like the balance of getting a sunkissed glow but avoiding a burn, finding the balance between wellness and “little treats” is heightened in the summer. They’re not mutually exclusive in a well-adjusted worldview. But I’d argue that shaved ice on a hot day, with a loved one, maybe enjoyed on a walk,…
Courtesy of All Eyes Media Talk about immersion therapy! To hear him tell the tale, singer Daniel Donato cut his proverbial country chops growing up in Nashville. As a burgeoning teen performer, Donato was surrounded by scores of talented musicians—a proverbial who’s-who of veterans who helped him hone his craft within an inch of its life. A mere decade later,…
Local Natives. // photo credit Elizabeth Miranda Alternative rock band Local Natives are currently on tour in support of their latest projects: Time Will Wait for No One and But I’ll Wait For You. Ahead of their show at The Truman on Wednesday, May 15, we spoke with members Taylor Rice and Ryan Hahn about their early days as a…
Never Say Die // Photo by Mike Dahlor It was a dark, stormy night. While that may sound like a cliché introduction, it is the actual setting for what became one of the most incredible stories behind any whiskey I have ever heard. In 1951, on Pat Madden’s family horse farm in Hamburg Place, Lexington, KY, a foal was born…
Big Slick 2023 // Photo Courtesy of Big Slick Big Slick is beginning to announce their lineup of celebrities who will be joining Kansas and Missouri natives Paul Rudd, Rob Riggle, Jason Sudeikis, David Keochner, Eric Stonestreet, and Heidi Gardner at this year’s 15 annual go-round. Here is the first look at a few favorable celebrities chosen to take part…
Keep Them Coming with Kristen Thomas. // Photo by Nicole Bissey I’m not going to beat around the bush—Well actually I am because May is International Masturbation Month. We have Good Vibrations—A San Francisco-based sex toy retailer to thank for this 31-day solo sex-positive extravaganza. International (FKA National) Masturbation Month was founded in 1995, after the firing of Surgeon General…
Better Than Ezra. // photo credit Robbie Klein Alt-rockers Better Than Ezra had some of the biggest hits of the ’90s, with “Good” and “Desperately Wanting” still finding their way onto radio nearly 30 years later. However, while the band’s been regularly touring ever since, it’s been ten years since their last full-length, All Together Now. That all changed with…
Courtesy The Bridge 90.9 90.9 The Bridge’s Sound Minds Day will return to the airwaves on May 15. The annual special, held every May to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month, features an entire day’s worth of songs requested by community members—specifically, music that has gotten them through difficult periods. Sound Minds Day also features special guests, including local musicians and…
Art by Cassondra Jones Looking for delicious plans? Whether you want to impress a date, show your fam the best of KC, or just get out of the house, we’ve got you covered… all while supporting (mostly) local. Here is your weekly roundup of the best food and drink offerings around Kansas City. Cheers! Something new Goat and Rabbit: The…
I Dip, You Dip, We Rip at Percheron // Photo by Sarah Sipple Whether or not he intended to, Chef Aaron Wells-Morgan knows girl dinner. If you’re not in on internet-speak, girl dinner* is a concept that has reached public vernacular recently. The specifics vary based on personal preference, but a good working definition of girl dinner is any low-effort…
Kansas City’s other professional baseball team, the Monarchs, are set to start the 2024 season tomorrow. The Monarchs have won four championships since moving to Kansas City in 2003. One of those championships was in the now-defunct Northern League in 2008. The rest were in the American Association in 2018, 2021, and most recently, 2023. Now, the team is preparing…
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson prior to the State of the State address on Jan. 24, 2024 (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent) Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has announced he will sign legislation limiting Planned Parenthood’s ability to serve low-income patients at a ceremony in his Capitol office Thursday. The new law, which will go into effect Aug. 28, will end Medicaid reimbursements to any…
T’Montez Hurt went missing on Feb. 1 at a Greyhound bus station on Troost Avenue. The 19-year-old’s disappearance has become a rallying cry for better police cooperation by family members of missing people. (Mili Mansaray/ The Beacon) T’Montez Hurt had just started working at a Price Chopper in Grain Valley to save money after a semester away from Missouri Western…
Photo Courtesy of Prairie Paw Animal Shelter Maggie was found as a stray in Aug., 2023, quickly taken into a home for two short months. The owners surrendered her to Prairie Paws Manhattan in Sept., due to territorial issues in the home with their other dog. Maggie played very well with the other dogs outside, but was nervous inside because…
Photo Courtesy of Swans With Michael Gira’s return to the area approaching this Thursday, we take a look back at all four times that the artist has brought his talents to KC and Lawrence. As I sit here on this rainy day, 12 o’clock on a Sunday, the fresh air sensation from dark clouds and light precipitation on the inclined…
Miss Boating. // photo courtesy the artist Kansas City’s Miss Boating signed to High Dive Records back in November, and now the “5 piece basement pop band based out of a strange old house in the West Plaza neighborhood of Kansas City, just around the corner from the local gas/quick-mart,” is set to release Jewel in the Trash, their debut album…
I Saw the TV Glow. // Courtesy A24 Jane Schoenbrun’s premiere with A24 has been one of our most anticipated feature films, leaving us dangling in wait for several years since the first announcement. The writer-director’s breakthrough flick We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is one of those difficult-to-describe pieces of magic—a horror isolation adventure born of the pandemic,…
After 15 years of making music, Kansas City’s countrified rockers the Grisly Hand will play a farewell jubilee at the Ship this Saturday, May 11. The show will feature over a dozen guests, including all past members of the band, and looks to be a joyous way of celebrating a band we’re sad to see go. Ahead of the band’s…
Photo Courtesy of Clandestino When you think of Westport, you probably aren’t envisioning a speakeasy-style craft cocktail bar with elaborate presentations. Subverting those expectations is exactly what Raul Valencia sets out to do with Clandestino, located inside the Latin-American restaurant Brix. Valencia serves as the Director of Operations and Head Mixologist there, where telling stories through his drinks is the…
Michael Gira of Swans. // Photo Courtesy of Nicole Oike In our series No Skips, we sit down with an artist or band and go track-by-track through their latest release. For some of us, the banter in a concert where a song gets explained is our favorite thing in the world, and we’d just like to keep living in that….
Photo Courtesy of Darryl Woods In the summer of 2014, a video of rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot performing his 1992 hit “Baby Got Back” with the Seattle Symphony went viral online, with over 1.5 million views within a week. Just a few months before Nas performed a 20th-anniversary concert for his 1994 classic Illmatic at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.,…
