JOHNSTON, IOWA (May 27, 2021) — Iowa PBS, Iowa Public Radio, and xBk are excited to announce Juneteenth: The Movement, a two-hour live television, radio, and digital event celebrating the Juneteenth holiday. This special live multimedia experience will occur one-time-only on June 19, 7-9PM, on Iowa PBS, Iowa Public Radio News/Studio One signals, and livestreaming on YouTube and the Facebook event.
"xBk is a venue that actively works to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for artists and guests. We feel it is important to lift up Iowa's BIPOC communities every day," said xBk owner Tobi Parks. "It felt imperative to create an event for Juneteenth that highlights and celebrates the phenomenal artistry of Iowa's Black community and culture."
This live event will feature an array of musical performances, including the worldwide premiere of "Bluebird," a new song by The Finesse and an exclusive performance from the Isiserettes. Co-hosted by Madison Ray of The Finesse and IPR's Studio One host Cece Mitchell, the virtual event also features Iowa musical and spoken word performers: Andre Davis, Emmett Phillips, Entre, James Tutson, Rae Fehring, Spayce, Jazalyn Brown, Tina Haase Findlay, and Young Old Soul.
"We are elated to be working with wonderful partners to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday with our statewide audiences," said Molly Phillips, executive director and general manager of Iowa PBS. "With soul, R&B, Motown, gospel and more, plus a spoken word performance, everyone will find something to enjoy while honoring this meaningful historical anniversary."
"We are thrilled to bring the sounds of Juneteenth to our airwaves," said IPR Music Program Director, Al Schares. "The artist lineup is one that we're really proud of, and we think listeners all over the state and beyond will enjoy."
Juneteenth: The Movement — How to watch and listen:
Date: Saturday, June 19
Time: 7-9PM
Iowa PBS: Tune into statewide Iowa PBS's primary channel or livestream on iowapbs.org, pbs.org or the PBS Video App.
Iowa Public Radio: Tune into your local News/Studio One station (90.1 FM in Central Iowa, 90.9 FM in Eastern Iowa) or listen via iowapublicradio.org or the IPR app.
Online: Livestreaming on Iowa PBS, IPR, and xBk YouTube channels and Facebook event.
Learn more at iowapbs.org, iowapublicradio.org and xbklive.com.
For more information about Iowa PBS, contact Susan Ramsey at 515.725.9703 or susan.ramsey@iowapbs.org.
For more information about Iowa Public Radio, contact Gretchen Kasperbauer at 515.725.7611 or gkasperbauer@iowapublicradio.org.
For more information about xBk, contact Tobi Parks at tobi.parks@xbklive.com.
About Iowa PBS
As Iowa's only statewide television network, Iowa PBS's mission to educate, inform, enrich and inspire Iowans guides its quality, noncommercial programming that tells Iowa's stories like no one else can. Four statewide, public channels offer programs of lasting value to Iowans, regardless of where they live or what they can afford: Iowa PBS .1, Iowa PBS KIDS .2, Iowa PBS WORLD .3 and Iowa PBS Create .4 on Channel 11, Des Moines; Channel 12, Iowa City; Channel 21, Fort Dodge; Channel 24, Mason City; Channel 27, Sioux City; Channel 32, Waterloo; Channel 32, Council Bluffs; Channel 36, Davenport; and Channel 36, Red Oak. More information can be found at iowapbs.org.
About Iowa Public Radio
Iowa Public Radio (IPR) was formed by the Iowa Board of Regents in 2004 to manage the day to day operations of the 26 public stations licensed to Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, and University of Iowa. IPR, a member of National Public Radio (NPR), provides news, talk, and music-programming via 26 radio stations and through digital-streaming and on-demand audio downloads. IPR currently serves a weekly audience of 220,000 listeners across three programming streams: News, Studio One, and Classical. More information can be found at iowapublicradio.org.
About xBk
xBk is a 250-capacity performing-arts venue/listening room that opened in September of 2019 in Des Moines' Drake/Dogtown neighborhood dedicated to creating superior live entertainment experiences in a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming environment. More information can be found at xbklive.com.
