Help us keep this going.

80/35. It was magical. Des Moines made it happen. You proved that Des Moines is a music town. You showed non-believers that our city can support quality progressive acts. Thousands of you came out for something that’s much more than just a weekend of entertainment. 80/35 is bigger than that.

You saw acts that you’ve never heard of before and they blew you away. You saw local bands belt out tracks that were just created in the last year. You saw national musicians feed off a hungry audience. What does this mean?

It’s means that with you getting out there and supporting the shows that come into town and latching on to our local talent, anything is possible. Des Moines’ music scene is getting on the map. More acts are stopping here, local bands are touring and recording, and crowds at shows are increasing. We can’t stop now.

Get out there and support local bands and shows coming through Des Moines. We have a vibrant music scene. Take advantage of it. Just because 80/35 is over, doesn’t mean the music and magic has to stop. It’s happening every night at venues like House of Bricks, People’s Court, Vaudeville Mews, 7 Flags Event Center, Simon Estes Amphitheater, Mars Café, Ritual Café, Des Moines Social Club, Blues on Grand, and numerous other venues around the metro.

Music is the cornerstone of a creative, vibrant culture. Music has the power to bring people together, to revitalize communities, and to make cities famous. Let’s continue our upswing together.

If you believe in our mission, please support us through membership and getting involved in the Greater Des Moines Music Coalition. See details below.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! To our sponsors, volunteers, bands, vendors, neighbors, friends, family, and attendees. We appreciate your support for the vision and making 80/35 possible.

Sincerely,

Greater Des Moines Music Coalition

Get Involved.
The Greater Des Moines Music Coalition is a non-profit, grassroots organization, we rely solely on music fans and community leaders like you for sponsorship donations, volunteer hours and essential words of encouragement. We put on events like 80/35, Gross Domestic Product, Little BIG Fest, and Music University. We are a resource for bands, event organizers, and members of the community. We have a mission to grow the progressive music scene in Des Moines.

Donate to our cause by becoming a member. Memberships start at $25 a year and include first opportunity for VIP passes to 80/35, discounts at local businesses, free tickets to our events, and more. Sign up now.

Get involved with us! Volunteer your time. We have a handful of committees that meet regularly and are always looking for more people to help. Click here to learn about the opportunities and contact a committee chair. The best way to get involved is to come to a meeting. New faces are always welcome!

Give us Feedback.
We always strive to produce a better event. Please take a few minutes to take our 80/35 survey and give us your feedback about your experience. Begin the survey.

There has to be a morning after:)

Well it’s 7:15 am, my band the Poison Control Center finished up the weekend with another free 80/35 after Party at the Vaudeville Mews and it was amazing!  Tons of people, a horn section featuring members of Pennyhawk, the Mumfords, and Christopher the Conquered joined us and what a way to end an absolutely perfect weekend!

You might ask what Im doing up so early… Well my band gets back on the road again for Leg 2 of our Never Ending Tour, and we need to be in Minneapolis by 1pm for an on air radio session.

I want to say a huge Congrats to the City of Des Moines and the people who came out to 80/35 from all over!  You were well behaved and totally awesome!

I also want to say a HUGE THANK YOU AND CONGRATS to everyone involved…. The bands, the fans, the volunteers, the vendors, etc. You all did an amazing job to make this happen..

and Last but not least I want to say a huge thanks to Jill Haverkamp and Amedeo Rossi for working so hard day in and day out and making this festival happen!  YOU AND THE DMMC should be very proud!

ps Thanks for letting me be involved again!  I had one of the best musical weekends of my life!

The Heavy, Modest Mouse round out another great 80/35

The weather couldn’t keep us down and another 80/35 went off without a hitch again this year. It was great to see so many people come out today despite the nasty weather and enjoy all the artists in downtown Des Moines.

Although everything I saw was good, I have to say Spoon, Christopher the Conquered and Yo La Tengo were the highlights for me this year. Thumbs up to the organizers for bringing a lot of great acts to Des Moines for the first time, particularly Spoon and Yo La Tengo.

After three years, I think it’s safe to say 80/35 has become a staple and we can expect to enjoy a new and interesting line-up every year. Cheers to everyone for making the last two days so fun and friendly!

Heavy, Maxilla Blue and Moudest Mouse

Well the fest is coming to a killer close, I have never seen so many people in one spot EVER in Des Moines!  I caught a bit of the Heavy and it was very interesting, tons of people digging on it!

Modest Mouse was playing the hits and it was pretty darn enjoyable seeing how many people were just loving it!  Fantastic, a perfect headliner of an amazing day!  The Jam Crowed Digging it, the Indie Kids, and everyone else was over at…..

The Mediacom Stage checking out the Killer sound of local fave Maxilla Blue drop some killer beats from their new record MBVOLII … So great, My legs feel like they are going to fall off, but I got some food finally and Im ready to rock the Vaudeville Mews for some AFTER PARTIES! Come hang!

ps as I type this I hear “Float On” in the background pretty fitting end to the evening!  JUST KEEP FLOATING ON 80/35!

Cool Kids, Mumfords, Dar Williams!

Man I had a great hour, a while back caught a bit of the BASS pumping Cool Kids and they were so fantastic, great rhymes, and killer stage presence!  Totally awesome! Pitchforkmedia and hometown boy Marc Hogan, was rapping along in the VIP section!  I loved it!

Then onto check out a bit of Dar Williams an amazing singer songwriter who has been around forever!  Her lyrics are so good and felt just right on a rainy afternoon!

Then into the social club to see the Ames band the Mumfords play and oh my they were making the windows sweat!  Such an energetic, amazing show! I loved it.. I came into blogg cause I need to sit for a minute!  The Heavy just started so I need to catch some of them, then see the M Mouse over on the main stage!  Then if I have anything left leave it on the Vaudeville Floor at the After Party! WHAT A WEEKEND!  Des Moines Rules!

OK CITY Represent!

A few nights ago on tour the Poison Control Center played in Lincoln, NE and we met a dad and his too rad kids, at the show, They were from OK CITY, on their way to 80/35 it was so cool that they stopped to see PCC and I just ran into them at the fest..

So far Clayton (dad), Miranda (daughter) and Landon (son) have enjoyed Califone, Avi Buffalo, and the Walkmen today!  They are having a great time and I just wanted to show the world how cool it is that people are traveling so far and wide to come to our Amazing City and this amazing Festival!!!!

Amazing Music Everywhere

Man the rain aint keep us down!  People are really having an amazing time, the rain keeps a coming off and on, and its fun seeing everyone in their coolest clothes drenched!  I LOVE IT!  It’s perfect!  I have been catching some of the FINEST Ames, IA (my hometown) talent at the Des Moines social Club..  I have seen MUMFORDS, Nuclear Rodeo, Pennyhawk, Strong Like Bear, and Peace Love and Stuff all from Ames, and man they all just killed it at the social club!  I joked that Ames was taking this festival over and Joe from PCC said might have to called it 30/35!

the Poison Control Center in the Rain

Well now Im soaked I just did our free little acoustic show for the Yellowbrick Mag booth and there was so many people who came to see us, that we felt so blessed we needed to be out with them so we unplugged the guitars and played to them in the pouring rain and it was pretty magical!  80/35 you seriously are making this weekend one of the best of my life!  THANK YOU!

One of the best shows I have ever SEEN!

WOW, I got over  a hair late to catch Avi Buffalo but Devin told me they were incredible!  I also heard amazing things about the WALKMEN’s set!  So bummed i missed them both but I was there for the entire Christopher the Conquered set which was one of the greatest shows I have ever seen in my Life it was a total religious experience!  He played piano from the sound booth, led a patriotic band horn section while a dude who looked like Billy Bob Holding an American Flag from the stage!  I have seen so many CTC shows, and this was the cream of the crop!  I would put it up there with Radiohead in 97, Wilco in 99, Flaming Lips in 99, Arcade Fire in 07, as one of the greatest shows I have ever seen in my life!

Im so happy people got to witness this local special talent!

80/35 Photography

A special thanks to all our photographers this year: Phil Thomson, Steve Fry, Viken Koundakjian, Karla Conrad, and Eric J Hermann.

Here are some of my favorite photos thus far:

Earl Greyhound bringing it down on the Kum & Go stage. Their performance was amazing, one of my favorites so far this year, and you gotta love her style!

Here’s a cool shot of Spoon. Their set last night was really fun. I loved all the people crowd surfing too!

This guy is having a blast!

I love the 9×16 television screen this year!

This is my favorite picture so far this year. The lighting on the Principal Building coupled with the blast of awesomeness from the stage is perfect. Scenes like this is a big reason why the festival is downtown. Love the urban vibe.

View more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8035.