Noce's Upcoming Shows

The Des Moines Big Band, a storied ensemble that goes back to the 1950s, has played with some of the greatest names in jazz, from legends like Clark Terry to some of the more local household names such as Scott Smith.

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The band often invites high school & college groups in to play during the set break. The first Tuesday of every month, though, the band plays their own full night highlighting the work of a different iconic jazz artist or composer.

Every Wednesday night, Noce hosts an all night happy hour. Doors at 6, music 7-10pm, no cover all night! $5 green tea shots, $6 well drinks, $7 house wine, $8 specialty cocktails. Some of the top jazz musicians in the region are featured each week.

Pianist, composer/arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Nick Rueckert is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota and has performed throughout the Midwest since completing his undergraduate degree at Drake University in 2011. He holds a graduate degree in music education from Boston University. As a pianist, Nick performs regularly with The Des Moines Big Band, The Thankful Band, the Contrarians, and has performed with numerous ensembles including the Turner Center Jazz Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Parranderos Latin Combo, Orquesta Alto Maiz, the Des Moines Metro Concert Band and Big Band, as well as alongside a wide range of local and visiting artists. As an arranger and composer, he writes for his own project, the Nick Rueckert Quartet, and for the Max Wellman Sextet. He also freelances as a french hornist with local pit orchestras and brass quintets. In 2022, Nick was honored to receive the Special Recognition award by the Des Moines Community Jazz Center.

Leslie Vincent is an award-winning jazz vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader with a warm alto voice and an electric live presentation shaped by years in theater. Blending jazz, swing, blues, pop, and singer-songwriter traditions, Vincent approaches songs as lived stories with sharply defined emotional points of view.

Vincent has performed on iconic stages around the country, including the Dakota in Minneapolis; the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie, Wisconsin; Noce in Des Moines; Café Coda in Madison; the Blue LLama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor; the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania; and Don’t Tell Mama in New York City. She has collaborated with pianist and music director Gregory Toroian, pianist and composer George Maurer, and indie darling jeremy messersmith.

Her evolution has culminated in 2026’s Little Black Book, Vincent’s third album and first full-length collection of original songs, released April 17, 2026 via Jazz Is Cool Records. Written across several years and recorded with her longtime working band — pianist and keyboardist Patrick Adkins, guitarist Blake Foster, bassist Matt McIntyre, drummer Ben Ehrlich, and trumpeter Mitch Van Laar. Guest contributors include jeremy messersmith, Stephanie Wieseler, Zach Marley, and Mary Alice Hutton, with a horn arrangement by Sam Charlton.

“I like to create transformative experiences for my audiences,” she says. “We can start as a group of strangers, but by the end, we’ve gone through something together.”

Over the past several years, Vincent has become one of the most recognizable jazz vocalists to emerge from the Minneapolis music scene while increasingly touring outside the state. DownBeat described her as “as much a storyteller as she is a jazz singer,” while The Big Takeover praised her “controlled and beautiful voice, one that sounds timeless.” Her 2023 album About Last Night mixed standards, vintage blues, and original songs, earning regional and national attention; Jazz88 named the original “Icetown Blues” among its Best Jazz Songs of the Year. At press time, Vincent has nearly 50,000 Instagram followers and 15,000 monthly Spotify listeners. In addition to many best-of lists, Vincent has been awarded an Everwood Farmstead residency for songwriting.

Noce is proud to present a new show from Lauren Vilmain featuring a full 10-piece jazz orchestra playing the arrangements of Brian Martin from some of Lauren's favorites along with some new tunes, ranging from Amy Winehouse to Kander & Ebb & more. This is a fully produced show for one of Iowa's great singers in one of Iowa's most beautiful rooms.

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Vocalist, Lauren Vilmain is a Minneapolis native and graduate of Drake University (Des Moines, Iowa). During her studies, she was trained in both opera and musical theatre. Currently, Lauren performs on stages across the state with both local and regional musicians . She has become best known for her jazz and theatre residencies at Noce (Des Moines, Iowa). Her voice has been described as both powerful yet warm and is known for her stage presence and wide ranging styles.

Noce presents a late night show hosted by a rotation of musicians every Friday night following the conclusion of the prime time show. No cover & happy hour prices at the bar!

Yoga to Live Music

Start your Saturday morning with movement, music, and community at Noce Jazz & Cabaret.

Join Noce Production Manager and longtime yoga instructor Molly Feeney for an all-levels guided yoga class accompanied by a completely improvised live musical performance. Led by multi-instrumentalist and frequent Noce performer Robert Espe, the music will be created entirely in the moment. As the yoga class unfolds, the musicians will compose and evolve the soundscape in real time. Not only will the students not know what music is coming next, but the musicians won't know either. This unique collaboration offers an opportunity to connect with your body through an organic, ever-evolving soundscape created specifically for this moment in time.

Schedule

Doors Open: 9:30 AM

Yoga to Live Music: 10:00–11:00 AM

Tickets: $30

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Molly Feeney is the Production Manager at Noce Jazz & Cabaret and has been teaching yoga since 2019. With a background in dance, theatre production, and live events, she brings a creative, welcoming approach to movement that emphasizes self discovery, playfulness and deep peace.

Her classes are accessible to all experience levels and encourage students to move with intention rather than perfection. Drawing from years of teaching yoga alongside her lifelong passion for music and the performing arts, Molly loves creating experiences where movement, sound, and community come together in meaningful ways.

She is excited to share this unique collaboration with Robert Espe, inviting participants to experience yoga accompanied by music that exists only in the present moment.