Stage fright can come in waves.
It might be a pounding heartbeat, thumping like a bass drum, or sweaty hands that struggle to grip a guitar pick.
Visualizing success can steady the nerves. Bands taking the stage at Gabe’s need not look further than that very stage, where legends like Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan once stood, maybe feeling the exact same way.
Gabe’s in downtown Iowa City has been a fixture in the transient college town and a tour stop for rising bands for 50 years, and is one of the 29 USA TODAY Bars of the Year for 2025, announced on July 30. Food writers across the country nominated bars that excited them, bars they would recommend to friends and family, bars they’d return to again and again.
“Gabe’s is one of the oldest, possibly the oldest, licensed live music venues in Iowa,” general manager and lead booking agent Pete McCarthy said. “In a week, you can see three to four completely different genres of music. That’s impressive for small towns in Iowa. There’s something for everyone. If you want a place just to chill, there’s downstairs and the beer garden. It’s a special place.”
What makes Gabe’s in Iowa City stand out?
The color-blocked gray and black brick building reflects the gritty and vibrant energy of the venue’s inside aesthetic. The artists’ posters and graffiti on the outside continue inside.
“When I was in high school and I was coming to Iowa City with friends, (Gabe’s) was the one place I was not allowed to go,” said Jeff Mannix, lead singer and guitarist of local garage punk band Good Habits. “It’s a dirty music venue…maybe it seems intimidating, but it’s a welcoming space.”
The walls are a scrapbook of the last 50 years. Show posters, now considered vintage, and bathroom graffiti featuring couples’ names in hearts exude the venue’s history of music and memories.
The list of artists and bands that have taken center stage at Gabe’s is vast and star-studded.
Famously, Nirvana took the stage on July 5, 1989, a Wednesday night, to a crowd of no more than 50 people. Modest Mouse came to town before “Float On,” took over alternative radio. Chance the Rapper rolled through in 2012 for the low price of just $5, a year before his breakout album “Acid Rap.” A Facebook event page for the after party still exists, promising, “Come kick it with us after the show.”
Some of these stories live on in grainy YouTube clips and a documentary chronicling the bar’s history is in production. But the memories mostly live on through the tales of regulars, like McCarthy, who used to lug gear for his sister’s boyfriends’ bands as a teenager.
“I wish that I were at the Smashing Pumpkins show. Just the stories that I’ve heard (some people only) made it halfway up the stairs,” McCarthy said of the show on July 30, 1993. “They opened up the stage doors and then the beer garden, and people were just in the alley listening…it would have been an epic moment.”
McCarthy always imagined running a bar while working at The Airliner, but after managing the Yacht Club, now Alley Cat, he shifted to booking venues, such as Wildwood Smokehouse in Iowa City, and managing music venues. He took on Gabe’s in 2012 after being approached by the building’s owner to give it a much “much-needed” facelift while maintaining the Midwest grit and gumption that has defined it for decades.
“(When people call Gabe’s ‘grimy’) I laugh and say, ‘You should have seen it before,’” McCarthy said. “There’ll be people that hadn’t been in here for 20 years and longer, and they are very shocked (when they come back to visit).”
What to order at Gabe’s
Unlike many bars in Iowa City, Gabe’s stays busy even when University of Iowa students leave; the shows are just an added perk.
“We wanted this to be a successful bar that did not rely on the shows. We like to be busy downstairs, just as a bar, and in the beer garden,” McCarthy said. “When we have a huge show, it’s just a bonus.”
Gabe’s attracts a wide audience: college students who make it there go-to during their time at the University of Iowa, musicians, and lifelong Iowa Citians.
“…(Gabe’s) is very honest…it gets a bad rap…(to a lot of people) it’s a dirty rock ‘n’ roll bar with a beer garden, and where all the weird kids go,” said Garret Hinson, guitarist in the band Worst Impressions. “It’s a welcoming place… When you come to Gabe’s, you’re on even level with everyone else.”
While some rock stars are known for their signature cocktails — David Bowie’s Bombay Sapphire martini, Sammy Hagar’s perfected margarita — Gabe’s keeps it simple.
“You’re not going to get a martini here or an Old Fashioned. (Do you really want) an Old Fashioned and a plastic cup because that’s what it’s gonna be? There’s a time and a place for all those drinks. Gabe’s just isn’t the place,” McCarthy said. “Usually, they just change their mind and get a shot of whiskey and a beer.”
Upstairs during shows, a beer or a hard seltzer with a shot of something stiff will do the trick.
Gabe’s does domestics best, from Miller High Life to “throwback” beers like Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) and Old Milwaukee. According to McCarthy, a tallboy of PBR and a shot of Jameson is “by far the most ordered combination at a show.”
“Gabe’s is the best place to get a Modelo or Truly, but really it’s the best place to get a PBR,” Hinson said. “A PBR is a life-changing experience, especially at Gabe’s.”
Downstairs, more commonly, basic mixed well drinks, from tequila sunrises to vodka sodas that pair best with a conversation with a stranger at the bar, or with a cigarette in the beer garden.
Details: 330 E. Washington St., Iowa City; icgabes.com. Instagram: @iowacitygabes
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City’s ‘gritty’ favorite named to best bars in the US list. What makes Gabe’s shine?
Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
