Monthly Archives: October 2011

Bess Rogers and Allison Weiss Hit Des Moines

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Des Moines is increasingly becoming a popular stop for many artists on their tours. For Bess Rogers and Allison Weiss it seemed like a natural fit with the rest of their tour appearances, and luckily, there was an opening at the Vaudeville Mews. As Rogers put it, “The rest was history.”

Rogers and Weiss will perform today, Sunday, October 23 at 10:00 p.m. at the Vaudeville Mews and tickets to the show can be purchased for only $5 through Tikly.

Rogers’ musical accomplishments include touring as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Ingrid Michaelson and her song, “We believe in you,” landed a leading spot in a national Mott’s for Tots TV commercial.

“Touring with Ingrid has and is wonderful,” said Rogers. “We’re all sort of a big family, and so it’s always a great time. I love her music, and I’ve learned a lot about touring and the music industry from my experiences playing with her. It’s definitely made me a more skilled musician.”

Alongside Rogers will be Weiss, a 24-year-old passionate guitarist and singer who is highly influenced by her feelings and past experiences in life. Did I mention that she has thousands and thousands of hits on her music on YouTube and she loves pizza?

While Rogers is most looking forward to playing the show in Des Moines, she’s open to suggestions as to what else she should experience while in Des Moines.

“I don’t know much about Des Moines,” said Rogers. “If any locals out there have suggestions of where to eat or what to see while we’re here, tweet at me – @bessrogers!”

If you can’t make it to the show, make sure you check out their cheeky tour website filled with quirky ways to support these artistic ladies while they’re on tour. Otherwise, as Bess said, “I hope to see all of Des Moines at the show!”

Follow the fun: @bessrogers and @allisonweiss.

Local + Music = Locusic

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Think Pandora, but for local music, and you have Locusic. Locusic is an Ankeny-based local music streaming service focused on local bands and musicians and plans to officially launch this weekend in Des Moines.

“I wanted to do something to help the local music scene and also local businesses,” said Jake Kerber, founder of Locusic. “I’ve seen great local bands and heard people talk about how great they are, but then they just can’t get any traction. Their music’s better than what’s on the radio, but what can you do? Ultimately I came up with a system where the two groups can help each other.”

When a listener opens Locusic they are prompted to select a genre. Based on the genre and the listener’s location, Locusic will select and stream music from local musicians based within 50 miles of the listener’s location.

“I hope Locusic can increase the general public’s awareness of the high quality and vast quantity of music being produced by artists in our area, ” said Kerber. “When someone’s looking at a list of local shows, they’ll have heard of the bands via Locusic and be able to make a more informed decision of which bands to go see – and ultimately go see more local shows.”

Attend the Locusic Launch Party: Locusic will officially launch their service this weekend in Central Iowa. On Saturday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m., Locusic will host a launch party at the Bombay Bicycle Club in Clive, with musical performances by Obsidian’s Dream, The River Monks, Angle, Faded Pearl and Only. The party is free to attend, the local musicians are sure to entertain, and it’s a great way to support Des Moines and the local music scene.

World Food Festival to celebrate Iowa’s diverse culinary traditions

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The World Food Festival will add a dash of flavor and culture to Des Moines this weekend when it rolls into the East Village with live music, cooking demonstrations, local and international wine and beer, Cultural Cafés, a marketplace, interactive non-profit activities, and much more.

For the seventh year, the World Food Festival will “reign as Des Moines’ premier taste and entertainment event” on October 7 – 9, 2011. The Festival will be held on the streets of the East Village between East 4th Street and East 6th Street on East Locust Street and on East 5th Street. The hours for the Festival are: Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Festival is free to attend and many different international foods and beverages will be available for purchase. For only $1 the Cultural Cafés will offer samples of their unique dishes and for only $5 attendees will be able to go for the full-plate option for $5 or less. With over 30 different vendors showcasing their foods from Turkey, Ethiopia, Greece, Morocco, Russia, Mesopotamia, Hawaii and more, attendees will be able to find many different options to enjoy. For a sneak peak at what will be offered, click here to check out the menu items before you attend the Festival.

Free parking will be available in the State of Iowa Parking Ramp (corner of E. Grand and Penn) as well as a free bike valet at the corner of E. 4th and E. Locust Street.

Last year the event had a record number of attendee’s at 75,000, and with the gorgeous fall weather that’s in the forecast for the weekend, I’m sure many curious food enthusiasts will come out to enjoy the food, beverages, live entertainment and diverse culture which is uniquely Des Moines.