Iowa hosting variety of summer concerts

Ah, summertime; the perfect opportunity to see one of your favorite bands play, and not have to worry if it’s on a school night or not. Whether you’re already into these bands or looking for new ones to explore, there are plenty of summer concerts to attend. The following concerts and festivals are just a few of the one’s that I am excited for.

80/35 in Des Moines

The 80/35 music festival in Des Moines is having it’s 10 year anniversary this summer and celebrating by having The Shins and MGMT headline the festival.

80/35 takes place on July 7 and 8 at Western Gateway Park, and MGMT will be playing on the 7th and The Shins the 8th.

Tickets are $42 per day or $65 for two day passes. 80/35 was started by the Des Moines Music Coalition, which is a non profit organization. Their goal was to “spark growth in the city’s live music economy — to think outside the box to further enhance a creative, vibrant culture.”

A perk about this festival is that there are two free stages, featuring both talent from around the globe and high school performances. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, St. Vincent and The Flaming Lips are just a few acts who have headlined in the past.

Hinterland Music Festival in Saint Charles

The Hinterland Music Festival takes place on Aug. 4 and 5 in Saint Charles, Iowa. The lineup this year includes alt-J, The Head and The Heart, Foxygen, as well as Shakey Graves.

Not only does this festival feature music — there’s art, craft vendors and family entertainment. All of the vendors are from this region, which makes Hinterland a great local festival to support.

A two-day pass to Hinterland is $95, a Friday single ticket is $49 and a Saturday single ticket is $59.

Girlpool in Iowa City

Girlpool is coming to The Mill in Iowa City on June 1. The girl duo hails from Los Angeles, and the folk punk band has been compared to singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson by Metacritic. Tickets are $12.

Miike Snow in Des Moines

Miike Snow, a Swedish indie pop band, is coming to Wooly’s in Des Moines on June 25. Miike Snow originally started out as two childhood friends that not only made music, but produced it as well. The band has worked with Madonna, Kylie Minogue, as well as Sky Ferreira. While working with Britney Spears on writing one of her albums, they met the third member of Miike Snow who is American.

Tickets start at $38.

Blind Pilot in Des Moines

Indie folk band Blind Pilot is coming to the Simon Estes Amphitheater in Des Moines. The band is from Portland, Ore., and has written three albums. Their single “Go on, say it,” was the single of the week in 2008 on the iTunes store.

A unique fact about this band is that they performed on a bicycle tour — literally biking from Washington to California carrying their instruments on bicycle trailers that they assembled themselves.

Tickets start at $108.

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