Noce's Upcoming Shows

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.

Join Max Wellman & Andrew Walesch for a night full of standards featuring a rotating cast of musicians & other singers. --- Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners. ​Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between. --- Like a good many before him, singer and pianist Andrew Walesch somehow manages to encapsulate the sophistication of a cosmopolite and the self-effacing charm of a country boy. Whether composing and arranging or appearing in settings ranging from solo artist to big band, this Minnesota native, who crisscrosses the country playing dates big and small, is as respectful of his predecessors as he is ready to take a leap into the unknown and chart a new course. In his monthly, sold-out shows with his 10-piece band, Walesch is a traditionalist and an iconoclast rolled into one. His audiences include jazz enthusiasts of a certain age, as well as a younger crowd compelled by his down-home insouciance, and the knowing irreverence of a tried-and-true American nightclub entertainer. “Although they are my idols, I don’t attempt to imitate the great pop and jazz artists of the 50’s and 60’s,” says the singer and pianist, “but I go for broke when we do our shows -- vocally and musically — which is what they all did best and why they were in a class of their own." His vocal and piano chops, along with his keen sensibility to find and interpret a great lyric, have led to some great opportunities for Walesch, including an appearance on the nationally syndicated NPR broadcast Mountain Stage and more recently, an invitation to perform at the 33rd Annual Cabaret Convention at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. In 2023, Andrew accepted the position of artistic director of the MIM Music Theater in Phoenix, Arizona where he now resides.

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. --- Vocalist, Lauren Vilmain is a graduate of Drake University where she majored in vocal performance with a minor in musical theatre. In her studies she fell in love with both the thrill of live performance and the beauty of self-expression. While being classically trained, Lauren also dove into musical theater repertoire. After her studies she found a challenging and deep love for American Jazz music. Her repertoire ranges widely from Nina Simone, Melody Gardot and Madeleine Peyroux to blues artists like Lizz Wright, Tracy Chapman, and Eva Cassidy. She performs locally with NOLA Jazz Band as well as her Quintet and is proud to regular the Noce Jazz Club in Downtown Des Moines. Lauren is privileged to work with some of the best musicians in the state and to collaborate with them for her personal projects.

Napoleon Douglas and his elite funk band, highlight Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, & more. --- Napoleon M Douglas is an International Actor, Teaching Artist, and Entrepreneur whose performance experience includes Stage Theatre, Film, Commercial, Voice Over, Instrumental Music, Dance, and Vocal Music among others. Theatre (selected): International - Simba in The Festival of the Lion King (HKDL); National - Louie in Mr. Holland’s Opus (World Premiere & Dance Captain - Ogunquit Playhouse); Joe Alves & Carl Gottlieb Cover in BRUCE (World Premiere - Seattle Repertory); Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls (2018 Ostrander Winner - Best Supporting Actor in a Musical), Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (Arvada Center), NoMax in Five Guys Named Moe (Westchester Broadway), as well as leading and supporting roles in Hairspray!, Sister Act, Superior Donuts, A Christmas Carol, Miss Saigon, Romeo & Juliet, and White Christmas. TV/Film (Selected): Hulu’s WuTang: An American Saga (Co-Star), and Oscar Micheaux (Cannes Short Selection, Urban Film BET Short Premiere Selection - 2018). Educationally, Napoleon has worked as a Choreographer, Director, Music Director, Studio Voice Instructor, and Teaching Artist for theatres and companies across the U.S. including The Summer Conservatory at Memphis Playhouse on the Square, The Academy at Midtown Arts Center, and The Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Institutionally, He serves as a Board Member and Artist-in-Residence for City Voices - a community-centered nonprofit that provides free, high quality, individualized music instruction to underserved students in the Des Moines Metro area and Board Member of Sing For Your Seniors (www.singforyourseniors.org). Napoleon is a former member of the renowned Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps who performed for both Inauguration Parades for President Barack Obama, and for President Joe Biden. Drake University (B.A. Theatre Arts, ’14). SNHU (M.B.A. Entrepreneurship, ’18). Phi Gamma Delta. Actors Equity Association.