Just announced: 2023 GDP fest to feature the Envy Corps, Annalibera, B. Well and more

Since 2006, the Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC) has celebrated the best of what Iowa music has to offer with the Gross Domestic Product festival, an event comprised entirely of Iowa musicians. Last year, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, GDP returned, in partnership with Little Village. This year, the festival is scheduled for April 15, with $30 advance passes , available now. Passes at the door, if available, will be $35. There is also a $20 tier for students and musicians ($25 day of) and a $20 add-on available when purchasing tickets to this summer’s 80/35.

The DMMC announced the 2023 GDP festival lineup today, and leading the charge is Ames success story, the Envy Corps. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Dwell, their major label debut, the band will perform the album in its entirety, supported by a string section.

This set, and the core of the festival, will be held for the first time at historic Hoyt Sherman Place, at the edge of the Sherman Hill neighborhood in Des Moines. Hoyt Sherman Place, built as a private home in 1877, became the first public art museum in Des Moines in the early 1900s and was inducted as a venue into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Association Hall of Fame in 2015.

“Every band was once local somewhere,” said Mickey Davis, DMMC Executive Director, in a press release. “As our local artists continue to excel in their craft, we saw an opportunity to provide a larger stage to showcase what the local scene has to offer.”

B. Well, Annalibera, Geneviève Salamone, James Tutson, EleanorGrace and Lani round out the festival lineup. There will be an after-party featuring MFKS, Annie Kemble and J’Main.

Hoyt Sherman Place and DMMC are continuing a close relationship they developed while working together on the Music Economy Assessment and Strategy Report, released late last year. The GDP festival helps to advance the goals that DMMC champions as a result of that survey, including fair wages for musicians and increased diversity in both genre and demographics on stages across Des Moines.

“It was my pleasure to work with DMMC and Sound Diplomacy for the past three years to finalize the Music Economy Strategy Report,” said Robert Warren, C.E.O. of Hoyt Sherman Place, in a press release. “I look forward to continuing the work to help make Des Moines the next best Music City destination.”