There has been a lot of activity coming out of the Fairfield scene in the past two weeks, adding to an already thick catalog of fascinating music and videos from a crew of artists largely associated with The Beauty Shop and the St. Mary’s Project. First, there’s the new video from the pop duo Trouble [...]

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Nate Logsdon is the cofounder of the Maximum Ames Music Festival and president of Maximum Ames Records. Ames is blessed with active local booking agents and promoters who regularly put on shows in venues around Ames and Iowa. Maximum Ames Music Festival is bringing together twelve different local promoters who are each hosting their own [...]

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Ames is well-represented at 80/35 this year, a great affirmation of our music scene on the state level. This is the 5th anniversary of 80/35 and, in a way, its also the 5th anniversary of the current Ames music scene. Five years ago, the Boheme closed and The Space opened. (This was recently pointed out [...]

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Crossposted from peacetown, USA, a website celebrating the progressive community in Fairfield, Iowa, where Ames Progressive editor Nate Logsdon is participating in a monthlong residency program at DIY venue The Beauty Shop. ~ I came to this community with a vision of hustling. My first week as a participant in the Beauty Shop Music Residencies [...]

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If you go to rock shows in Iowa then it’s pretty much guaranteed that you have been inspired by the energy, joy, and music of Patrick Tape Fleming. He is the founder and one of the songwriters of the Poison Control Center, one of the greatest and most influential Iowa rock bands of all time. [...]

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The southeast Iowa town of Fairfield is a mysterious and beautiful little community with a dynamic arts scene. I was first exposed to Fairfield in 2009, when Mumford’s traveled there to play at the local DIY space The Beauty Shop. In the intervening years, I have become deeply connected to this town. I’ve played countless [...]

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The Sundogs are one of the longest-running rock bands in Ames. Founded in 1988, they have survived through the decades, spreading their psychedelic style of reggae-inflected rock. This year they will be making their debut at 80/35 in Des Moines. Ames is well-represented at the festival and the inclusion of The Sundogs in the lineup [...]

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This weekend, two of Ames’ finest rock bands are headed to Nashville to play a music industry showcase. The showcase is taking place on May 28 and will feature six different bands playing for a gathering of A&R representatives from a variety of Nashville-based labels. The bands are Ladysoal and Rebel Creek. The bands are [...]

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Philip and Dominic Rabalais are a electronic music team that has no parallel in Iowa. They’ve been playing music together for years, starting with the hard garage rock band Spooky Nights, taking an electronic turn in the wild mash-up DJ project Porno Galactica, and morphing into the life-alteringly joyful synth-punk powerhouse Utopia Park. They are [...]

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Last summer, I attended the wedding reception of my good friends Luke and Sally Hertz Gran. The whole evening was beautiful — I especially loved the traditional barn dance hosted by members of the Porch Stompers and Onion Creek Cloggers — but there was one moment in particular that really stuck with me: the toast [...]

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