RnB Night, originally begun at The Ideal Theater, expands to The Olympic Theater for a dual-venue block party. Not only is there more space, but there is a bigger demographic - RnB Night at The Olympic is age 25+. Meanwhile, age 30+ can pay one cover and jump back and forth between the venues. Welcome to RnB Night in Newbo.

The 319 to 309 Tour, brought to you by the founders of Iowa Music Awards, Iowa Summer Jam, 309 Fest, and the Triple I Tour, is coming to Cedar Rapids.

This traveling movement unites the best Hip Hop and R&B independent artists from Iowa and Illinois, delivering top-tier performances across cities in the 319 and 309 area codes. Featuring hometown heavyweights Tone Da Boss, the Cedar Rapids Dance Dollz, Co-Founder and Performer of the Year recipient CHISongwriter, So You Think You Can Dance star Essence W., rising hip hop star Bad News Junior, and award-winning artists like Tevin Jones, Klazik, Silence, 500 ENT, BabyMexico210, and Yung Bullet—captured by videographer Azonte Roby and photographer Juan G. of Young Creatives—this is more than a show, it’s a cultural moment.

The Bob Marley Birthday Bash returns for the 5th annual celebration at The Olympic in Cedar Rapids.

Join us for a special Valentine's Day celebration honoring the life, music, and messages of Bob Marley.

Look forward to feature performances from The Wontu Trees (Quad Cities), Reggae Rapids (Cedar Rapids), & Iyah Wise and the Intelligence (California) - all paying homage to the legendary catalog of Bob Marley and The Wailers.

- Family Friendly, All Ages -

~Early Bird Tickets Available Now~
*Limited Valentines Couples & V.I.P. Ticket Options Available*

*V.I.P. Experience includes entry to the venue at 6:00pm, an acoustic performance at 6:30pm, specialty desserts prepared by a guest chef, and gifts from event sponsors*

Thanks to our event sponsors:
Neon Dragon Tattoo
Mango Mustache
TalkBack Recording Studios
The Hazy HideAway

COLDPLAY & IMAGINE DRAGONS - 6:30PM

⭐ Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Cedar Rapids. Get your tickets now to discover the music of Coldplay & Imagine Dragons at The Olympic South Side Theater under the gentle glow of candlelight.

General Info
📍 Venue: The Olympic South Side Theater
📅 Dates and times: select your dates/times directly in the ticket selector
⏳ Duration: 60 minutes. Doors open 45 minutes before the show. No entry once it starts.
👤 Age requirement: 8 years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult
♿ Accessibility: this venue is ADA compliant
❓ View the FAQs for this event here
🪑 Seating is assigned on a first come first served basis in each zone
🕯️ If you would like to book a private concert or buy regular tickets for a large group (+30 people), click here
🎻 Check out all the Candlelight concerts in Cedar Rapids
🎁 To treat your friends and family to a Candlelight gift card, click here

Tentative Program

• Coldplay - Clocks

• Imagine Dragons - Radioactive

• Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime

• Coldplay - Fix You

• Imagine Dragons - Eyes Closed

• Imagine Dragons - Nice to Meet You

• Coldplay - The Scientist

• Coldplay - feelslikeimfallinginlove

• Imagine Dragons - Follow You

• Imagine Dragons - Bad Liar

• Imagine Dragons - Believer

• Coldplay - Sky Full of Stars

• Coldplay - Viva la Vida

THE MUSIC OF HANS ZIMMER - 8:45PM

⭐ Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Cedar Rapids. Get your tickets now to discover the music of Hans Zimmer at The Olympic South Side Theater under the gentle glow of candlelight.

General Info
📍 Venue: The Olympic South Side Theater
📅 Dates and times: select your dates/times directly in the ticket selector
⏳ Duration: 60 minutes. Doors open 45 minutes before the show. No entry once it starts.
👤 Age requirement: 8 years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult
♿ Accessibility: this venue is ADA compliant
❓ View the FAQs for this event here
🪑 Seating is assigned on a first come first served basis in each zone
🕯️ If you would like to book a private concert or buy regular tickets for a large group (+30 people), click here
🎻 Check out all the Candlelight concerts in Cedar Rapids
🎁 To treat your friends and family to a Candlelight gift card, click here

Tentative Program

• Time - Inception

• This Land - The Lion King

• Zooster’s Breakout - Madagascar

• Supermarine - Dunkirk

• Honor - The Pacific

• A Dark Knight - The Dark Knight

• Wonder Woman Suite

• Gladiator Suite

• Cornfield Chase - Interstellar

• Dune Suite

• Discombobulate - Sherlock Holmes

• Pirates of the Caribbean Suite

Doors: 6:30pm

Show: 7:30pm

Not afraid to confront any topic and never singling anyone out. Tim’s show is made for the people. After a long week of work Tim will make you laugh combining a sort of hyper attention deficit disorder with a weirdly acute take on the world and its events for one of the highest intensity comedy shows around. Tim uses his upbringing, in a family of twelve, with eight sisters to offer a unique perspective on women. Add to that his strange job experience’s such as working at nuclear power plants during various times in his life. Wanting to grow up and either be a Country Singer due to his love of Glenn Campbell‘s “Rhinestone Cowboy” as a child or dreaming of being a Professional Wrestler like his hero The Macho Man Randy Savage. With inspirations like Johnny Carson and Eddie Murphy his love for comedy and ability to make people laugh at a young age won out. Tim started writing jokes at age 12 before he hit the road at age twenty pursuing a career in comedy that has spanned over twenty some years. Tim has Opened for comedy great such as Dave Chappelle, Theo Von, Bob Saget, Rob Schneider, Bobcat Goldthwait, Louie Anderson, Tom Arnold, Kevin Pollack, Jim Bruer, Harland Williams, Gary Gullman and Joe Torry. Be sure to catch Tim’s show if he is near you.

Get ready to rewind the clock and celebrate community, creativity, and Pride at Halfway to Pride: Flashback!

This high-energy, all-ages drag show brings together beloved returning performers Utica Queen and Auntie Heroine, plus an incredible lineup of local talent for an afternoon full of joy, nostalgia, and fierce performances.

We are so excited to share the incredible local talent joining us at Halfway to Pride, hitting the stage alongside Utica Queen and Auntie Heroine:

• The Queen of Purple and your emcee for the afternoon — Lexi Belle

• The Comedy Queen and host of Star Search at Studio 13 in Iowa City — Beep Beep

• The reigning Miss Basix, serving glamour and excellence — Nevae Love

• Your fave DJ LadyJ, will be in the ring keeping the energy high all afternoon!

Grab your tickets and let’s party in style at Halfway to Pride: Flashback!

Every second Wednesday, The Ideal and The Olympic both throw their doors wide for a double-header of open jams. Two stages. Two vibes. One night built for wandering musicians and the folks who love them.

Buy the $10 cup and you’re suddenly leveled-up at both venues, with drink deals that follow you wherever your guitar case or drumsticks roam:

• First draft beer on the house
• $5 draft beers
• $7 Old Fashioneds
• $7 Espresso Martinis
• $5 Jameson shots

Bring your instrument, your crew, or your craving for a night that feels like musical pinball. Drift between The Ideal and The Olympic, jump into whichever groove is calling, and let the whole block become your stage.

📅 Every Second Wednesday
📍 The Ideal Theater & Bar + The Olympic Southside Theater
🎟 Free entry | $10 cup unlocks all drink discounts

Pay tribute to the gods of grunge.

Grunge wasn’t just music — it was a generation’s rebellion in flannel and feedback. On January 9, Smells Like Nirvana resurrects that raw (teen) spirit at The Olympic, ripping through Bleach, Nevermind, In Utero, and beyond with no click tracks, no backing tracks, and no apologies. With Paul Wandtke at the helm, this Chicago-based tribute act gives us the distortion, the heartbreak, and the tragic beauty of the band that started it all - Nirvana.

Candlelight: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles

Show: 6:30 PM

⭐ Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Cedar Rapids. Get your tickets now to discover the music of Queen and The Beatles at The Olympic South Side Theater under the gentle glow of candlelight.

General Info
📍 Venue: The Olympic South Side Theater
📅 Dates and times: select your dates/times directly in the ticket selector
⏳ Duration: 60 minutes. Doors open 45 minutes before the show and close 5 minutes prior to the start. Late arrivals will not be permitted
👤 Age requirement: 8 years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult
♿ Accessibility: this venue is ADA compliant
❓ View the FAQs for this event here
🪑 Seating is assigned on a first come first served basis in each zone
🕯️ If you would like to book a private concert or buy regular tickets for a large group (+30 people), click here
🎻 Check out all the Candlelight concerts in Cedar Rapids
🎁 To treat your friends and family to a Candlelight gift card, click here

Tentative Program

• Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles

• Blackbird - The Beatles

• Help! - The Beatles

• Come Together - The Beatles

• Yesterday - The Beatles

• All You Need Is Love - The Beatles

• Love of My Life - Queen

• Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

• I Want to Break Free - Queen

• We Are the Champions - Queen

• We Will Rock You - Queen

• Radio Ga-Ga - Queen

• Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Performers

• String Quartet - Listeso - Cedar Rapids

Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings

Show: 8:45 PM

⭐ Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Cedar Rapids. Get your tickets now to discover the music of Christmas Carols on Strings at The Olympic South Side Theater under the gentle glow of candlelight.

General Info
📍 Venue: The Olympic South Side Theater
📅 Dates and times: select your dates/times directly in the ticket selector
⏳ Duration: 60 minutes. Doors open 45 minutes before the show and close 5 minutes prior to the start. Late arrivals will not be permitted
👤 Age requirement: 8 years old or older. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult
♿ Accessibility: this venue is ADA compliant
❓ View the FAQs for this event here
🪑 Seating is assigned on a first come first served basis in each zone
🕯️ If you would like to book a private concert or buy regular tickets for a large group (+30 people), click here
🎻 Check out all the Candlelight concerts in Cedar Rapids
🎁 To treat your friends and family to a Candlelight gift card, click here

Tentative Program

• 12 Days of Christmas

• Angels from the Realms of Glory

• Angels We Have Heard On High

• Away in a Manger

• Carol of the Bells

• Deck the Halls

• Ding Dong! Merrily on High

• Do You Hear What I Hear

• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

• Good King Wenceslas

• Greensleeves (What Child Is This)

• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

• In the Bleak Mid-Winter

• Joy to the World

• O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)

• O Come All Ye Faithful

• O Holy Night

• O Little Town of Bethlehem

• Silent Night

• The First Noël

Performers

• String Quartet - Listeso - Cedar Rapids

Doors: 6:00pm

Show: 7:00pm

Unless you’ve experienced it firsthand, there’s no way to understand just how dramatically instant fame
can mess with your head. In winning American Idol in 2018, Maddie Poppe experienced all types of
emotions — from elation to self-doubt. In these last four years, Maddie has grown tremendously, as both
a person and an artist. The Iowa native has evolved from folksy singer-songwriter into a multi-faceted
powerhouse artist and musician. Maddie, now 25, can still very much bowl over a crowd with only her
honeyed voice and acoustic guitar. But she’s upped her game by tapping into a modern sound that blends
R&B, pop, and Americana, and by committing herself to writing her own songs.
In Spring 2019, following Maddie’s coronation on American Idol, her debut album Whirlwind released.
By summer, the record hit #2 on the charts. Whirlwind featured four radio singles, including two
top-25s – “Made You Miss” and “Not Losing You”. The year saw Maddie win a People’s Choice Award,
guest-star on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Live With Kelly & Ryan and Good Morning
America, and tour in support of Ingrid Michaelson. During the height of the pandemic, Maddie released a
holiday EP titled Christmas From Home. In Fall 2021, Maddie hit the road for her first headline tour
dates. This year, Maddie has been constantly creating, both lyrically and musically. She is joined by an
all-star team, including Nashville’s Adam Sickler, and hit songwriters like Willie Morrison,
Fraser Churchill, and Thomas Finchum.
This Spring, Maddie released her irresistible new single “One That Got Away”. The song focuses on the
dissolution of a friend’s longtime relationship, predicting that the guy who foolishly dumped her will
realize he threw away something great. But the track — a soulful jam with shades of Bruno Mars and
Maroon 5 — can also be seen as a commentary on Maddie’s own experience in the music industry.
Unlike the tracks selected for Maddie on her debut record, each new song on Maddie’s upcoming EP will
be rich in her own voice. “I'm very proud of Whirlwind, but I feel like this new project speaks truer to me
and my story,” she says. “When you’re just starting out like I was then, it can feel like 100 different
people are trying to tell your story. Now, I’m finally telling it in my own voice.”
For 2025, Maddie is gearing up for a national tour featuring her new music and biggest hits. She’s excited
to introduce her fans to the special sound she’s created, shaped by the diversity of her favorite artists (Lily
Allen, Sheryl Crow, and Corinne Bailey Rae are all in rotation on Maddie’s Spotify).
“I'm thrilled to release new music, but even more excited to play these songs live,” Maddie says. “Almost
everything I'm writing is upbeat and will be so much fun to perform with the energy of a live audience.
For a long time, I simply thought of myself as the singer-songwriter, hometown girl from Iowa. Along the
way I learned to spread my wings and branch out. I truly feel I've become the artist I was meant to be.”