Best Iowa Music Venues 2016

It's that time of year again: We release the list of our favorite Iowa music venues.

To keep this concise, we've kept this as a Top 5, but there are plenty of great live music venues across this part of the state.

Let's get to it. Here's our list:

1. The Mill (Iowa City): This spot is my favorite place to watch live music. It's dark, intimate, and has a great overall vibe. The Mill also provides plenty of music variety with the acts they book -- everything from indie rock to blues is represented here. My favorite part of The Mill is the seating and viewing options. You can belly up to the bar, take a seat in a booth toward the side of the stage, or stand and dance on the floor directly in front of the stage. When it comes to watching live music, it doesn't get better than The Mill.
2. CSPS Hall (Cedar Rapids): CSPS is the gem of Cedar Rapids. Located in NewBo, this is my favorite spot in CR for live music. The venue just oozes history. From the wood floors to the rustic stage, it's hard not to love this place. Did I mention the music is also great? CSPS books a lot of folk acts, which I love, but you can also catch shows from international artists with unique cultural genres. CSPS also serves great craft beer, so that's an added bonus.
3. Codfish Hollow Barnstormers (Maquoketa): Live music. In a barn. In the middle of the cornfields of Iowa. Need I say more? Codfish Hollow needs to be on your bucket list of music venues. The atmosphere is beyond unique and the music is great. The barn, built in 1954, has received some national attention -- Nathaniel Rateliff even said it was his favorite venue to play. The barn has hosted several notable acts, including Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Dawes, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
4. Gabe's (Iowa City): If walls could talk, they'd have a lot of stories about this place. Gabe's isn't fancy. Quite honestly, I wouldn't want it to be. You go here to listen to music and get lost in the sounds. If you go in the summer, it'll be a sweat box, but it's always worth it. They feature a variety of acts, but I like that they give smaller acts -- many of them local -- a stage to perform. 
5. Yacht Club (Iowa City): Much like Gabe's, this venue is great because of the grunge. When you walk downstairs to listen to a band, you know you're getting a raw performance. The most unique aspect of the Yacht Club is the proximity of the performers to the audience. There really isn't a stage, at least not in the traditional sense. Bands play basically on the same level as the audience, and only a few feet away. In addition to some notable indie acts, they also showcase local bands.

So there it is -- the list of our favorite music venues in this part of the state. Feel free to share your favorites by commenting below or at the KRNA Facebook page.