Before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, Mahalia Jackson sang. She had traveled an improbable distance to reach the Lincoln Memorial. Born into poverty in New Orleans, motherless at five, Jackson grew up in a three-room house once shared by thirteen people. She never finished elementary school. Moving…
Photo by Don Ipock John Proctor is the Villain runs through Oct. 25 and tickets are available here. Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain, a ‘Me Too’-era response to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is currently the most produced play in the U.S., with productions popping up across the country following the show’s successful run on Broadway last year. It’s…
Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas describes, with signage, the number of vaccines he claims U.S. children typically receive by age 18 during a Sept. 4, 2025, hearing of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from U.S. Senate Finance Committee video) Welcome, newcomer, to the bewildering phantasmagoria of Kansas politics! Perhaps you hail from another state…
Photo by Todd Linebaugh Far off Broadway and many cities over, the underground off-off-Broadway production of Zoomers graced a painter’s loft in the West Bottoms September 11-13. Its premise: Generation Z living as adults—and all the glorious overthinking and interpersonal entanglements that come with it. Directed by Frederick Rivera, the three-night, one-weekend run brought a slice of a Bushwick living…
Photo by Don Ipock TeenTix KC is an organization that helps provide KC youth with access to live stage performances. As part of that work, some up-and-coming ‘Press Corps Members’ are tackling their first reviews—building up a next generation of critical, celebratory voices. Today, we’re thrilled to share Keeley Ferguson’s coverage of KCRep’s John Proctor Is the Villain. Find out more about…
Models and founder of Heartland International Fashion Week pose for past fashion show. // Courtesy HIFW Confidence, style, and perseverance have no age limit. Contrary to what we may see in modern media, our lives do not end when a certain birthday passes. We keep marching forward, maybe with a few more aching joints, but forward nonetheless. Our older generations…
The Kansas baseball team battled the Iowa Hawkeyes in a fall exhibition on Saturday, but one that featured a special twist: It took place at the Field of Dreams, serving as the first Division I college baseball game on the site of the 1989 film of the same name. Iowa won the scrimmage 15-10 across all 16 innings of action…
Jolson & The Fear of Snakes. // photo by Haley Mullenix Anyone who’s ever met Jolson Robert feels the gravitational pull of his charisma. His charm conveys the vibrancy with which he cultivates life. This energy infuses his music. I first saw Robert’s band live at Manor Fest this past Spring. When performing, he’s a roaring ball of energy, honed…
Stacy Lake and Alan Rohlfing at the candidate forum, Oct. 8, 2026. // Photo by River Louraine The recent history of Jackson County executives has been turbulent, to say the least. One of the newer entries in this record was Frank White, Jr., who was recalled in Sept. of last year with a whopping 89% in favor of removing him from…
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall appears at the Sept. 12, 2026, debate at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) As Sen. Roger Marshall fights for his political life in Kansas, a staffer for Democrat Adam Hamilton — Marshall’s opponent — has been needling the Republican senator’s staff with an unusual question: Are any of you getting…
Mass St. Fish House bar / Photo by Olivia Steele I’ve had a bad case of ichthyophobia–the fear of fish–for as long as I can remember. I didn’t swim in a lake until I was 17 years old, and I’ve had to leave the room when a housemate eats a tuna sandwich. Despite this, I had a Betta fish named…
Photo by Maisie VanSlander Summoning all nerdy tattoo fans and rad Magic: The Gathering players: Level One Game Shop and Fountain City Tattoo are bringing a two-day game night and flash event to your doorstep. On October 9th, 1-9 pm, Level One will host a casual Commander night, where players of all skill levels and experience can come meet new…
Photo Courtesy of Pendulum Donated by the Kansas City Automotive Museum, a 1993 red Corvette C4 will enter the hands of Kansas City Public School’s Manuel Career and Technical center students. This extended-term project will push students to assess, design, and execute a full restoration project, outfitting the car with equipment fit for the auction floor in April of 2027….
TeenTix KC is an organization that helps provide KC youth with access to live stage performances. As part of that work, some up-and-coming ‘Press Corps Members’ are tackling their first reviews—building up a next generation of critical, celebratory voices. Today, we’re thrilled to share Hannah Karim’s coverage of Little Women. Find out more about TeenTix here. When I look back…
KC Sipps logo by Teddy Rosen Life in KC is pretty delicious. In fact, there is often so much going on that it can be hard to decide where to go and what to try. That’s where I come in. I’ve curated this weekly list of events, openings, deals, and celebrations to keep you in-the-know. Cheers! Something New News Bites:…
Parcels. // photo by Haley Mullenix Parcels with the booyah! kids The Midland Tuesday, October 6 Touring in support of their most recent album, LOVED, Australian-born, Berlin-based indie-pop group Parcels hit the Midland on Tuesday. Fellow indie poppers the booyah! kids from NYC were there to open, and our photographer Haley Mullenix was there to capture it all. Parcels Parcels…
Courtesy City of KC Three minutes and twenty seconds. That was the duration of the Kansas City vs. Food Not Bombs trial. Or more accurately, the city’s latest attempt to indefinitely side-step the issue. Almost an entire year of stress, legal fees, and jail time hung in the balance… until an admission of incompetence that lasted about the length of…
Courtesy Sony Pictures Abby Olcese: The Social Reckoning opens with a white woman (Portia Doubleday) being approached on the side of a highway by a pair of cops. The cops (Nathan Witte and Crystal Balint) are Black. What starts as a routine interaction (she’s waiting for AAA to tow her overheating car; the officers stop to make sure she’s okay)…
Garth Brooks. // photo credit Nick Spacek Garth Brooks’ latest tour, Blame It All on My Roots, sees the country music superstar playing multi-night stands in “a full-scale return to the venues that made Garth Brooks a legend.” Kansas City can definitely lay claim to part of that legend, with his nine-night stand at what was then the Sprint Center…
Chasing Abbey. // photo by Allison Scavo Chasing Abbey with Kian Byrne Warehouse on Broadway Sunday, October 4 Irish electro-trad trio Chasing Abbey released their debut album Cyber Celt on September 18, and this Sunday, October 4, brought the tour to Warehouse on Broadway. Read our interview with the ‘celtronica’ group here. Kansas City multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Kian Byrne of…
Taking Back Sunday. // photo by Bentley Mahakijkittichai Taking Back Sunday with Thrice and Saves the Day The Midland Theatre Sunday, October 4 Touring ahead of the recently announced 20th anniversary edition of their hit album Louder Now, emo vets Taking Back Sunday took to the Midland stage on Sunday, October 4. They brought their contemporaries Thrice and Saves The…
Bryson Tiller. // photo by Tarik Sykes Bryson Tiller with Ty Dolla $ign, Austin Millz, and Majid Jordan Morton Amphitheater Sunday, October 4 Bryson Tiller brought the aptly-named Neo Trapsoul tour to Morton Amphitheater Sunday, October 4. Along for the ride were fellow genre-defying artists Ty Dolla $ign, Austin Millz, and Majid Jordan, and our photographer Tarik Sykes was there…
Turnstile with Slayyyter. // photo by Nick Spacek Turnstile with Slayyyter and Die Spitz University of Kansas Tuesday, October 6 Baltimore hardcore superstars Turnstile brought their Never Enough Part 2 tour to Campanile Hill at the University of Kansas on Tuesday night for the return of the hallowed outdoor concert series, Day on the Hill. Yes, it started at 6:30…
Latte Life’s storefront // Courtesy Stevie Rose Everybody deserves a seat at the table. Or a position behind the cash register, waiting tables, or working any kind of job that suits them. Life Unlimited, a local nonprofit organization, is opening a new coffee shop, the great equalizer of us all, in North Kansas City on October 12, where they will…
