What’s in store at this year’s music and arts festival Mission Creek Midwest (MCM) (April 1-7)? Rest assured, the 3rd annual Iowa City fest will feature plenty of music. But what else? For starters, they’ve teamed up with the Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival and indie music mp3 website Daytrotter.One thing that has organizers excited this year is that MCM will overlap with the Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival. Organizers hope this will bring more attention to both festivals, even though people may have tough choices to make when it comes to specific events.

MCM has also teamed with the Quad Cities indie music mp3 website, Daytrotter.com, for a few shows outside the downtown Iowa City confines. Daytrotter will host several satellite shows in the Quad Cities including MCM’s “Festival Pre-Party,” “Festival Hangover Party” and a triple-bill with Spoon, the Walkmen and White Rabbits at Davenport’s historic Capitol Theatre on April 3.

See the Mission Freak Web site for more bands and MCM events.

Essayist and fiction author Ben Marcus is MCM’s featured keynoter on Saturday afternoon at The Mill. Marcus is the author of “Notable American Women,” “The Father Costume” and “The Age of Wire and String” and will likely draw a local writerly crowd into the classic Iowa City venue.

Mission Creek Midwest is a local version of a west coast music expo that began (and still flourishes yearly) in San Francisco. MCM began when local founders Andre Peery and Tanner Illingworth came to Iowa City and started their east-central Iowa version with the Mission Creek brand name.

The fest has expanded its team of show producers. There are now five MCM producers plus a “street team.” Together, they organize shows, create posters, and deal with venues, booking and bands.

Some people have compared MCM to the legendary (and epic) SXSW fest in Austin, Tex. But SXSW is a music expo put on by the music industry for the music industry, so the comparison falls short.

Illingworth told the Iowa Independent that, “With Mission Creek, we are trying to put on a festival for Iowa City.  It’s a celebration of the arts and culture we have right here at home, not to mention all around the Midwest.  People come to Mission Creek to have fun for four days and experience some music that they aren’t going to see other places, not even SXSW.”

The Mission Freak Web site is the official space for festival news. Those interested can purchase festival passes on the site.

As part of the festival, Iowa City-band Illinois John Fever is playing at The Mill on Saturday night.

A year ago at Public Access Television’s studio in Iowa City, I.J.F. played “Biological Radio”: