The 80/35 festival is an event that will challenge the conventions of music in Iowa. Starting as an idea in 2004, the event developed from a grassroots effort to feature music not usually considered “safe” for central Iowa.

“The convention is that you can only do something safer. Country and metal work here, maybe pop, but not necessarily indie,” said Amedeo Rossi, project manager.

“We had an idea to start a music festival and do it downtown.”

80/35 blends genres including indie, rock, folk and hip hop into one festival located in Des Moines. The event is scheduled for July 2 and 3 this year. Rossi said that although the festival is pure entertainment, the Des Moines Music Coalition, which hosts 80/35, is also trying to enact change in the Iowa music scene.

Rossi said a lot of acts that are featured prominently at Pitchfork, Lollapalooza or Coachella music festivals completely skip over Iowa. Hosting a festival in the heartland would create opportunities for these artists to perform in Des Moines.

Katie Coffin, senior in graphic design, attended the 80/35 two years in a row. She was drawn back the festival grounds mostly by an appealing lineup, but also because she enjoyed it the year before. Those outside Iowa might not see many cultural opportunities in Des Moines, but Coffin said 80/35 is an excellent event to disprove that notion.

“It’s really good to be able to show that Des Moines has cool things,” Coffin said, adding that each year 80/35 showcases artists from Central Iowa.

Coffin described 80/35 as smaller than other similar Midwest events, but still felt exhilarating like other larger festivals.

“It’s similar to a big festival like Lollapalooza or Coachella but it’s a lot more manageable, a lot friendlier,” Coffin said. “It’s easier to see all the bands you want to see.”

She was able to weave through the crowd to the front for a few of the acts she was excited about.

Coffin said the vibe at 80/35 is pretty chill.

“Everybody’s really polite but it’s still a festival and everybody’s excited about the music.”

For Andrew From, senior in management information systems, being at 80/35 meant getting to experience something memorable. One year, Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips, rolled over From in a giant inflatable ball. From caught a drum head one of The Roots flung like a Frisbee into the audience in 2008.

“Each year I go, I have something incredibly memorable happen,” From said.

From has been to the festival twice and said he thought the lineup appealed to the tastes of Central Iowa since there were a lot of indie, jam, folk and rock bands performing.

Though From said he wants to support the festival, he said it has a lot of growing up to do. In From’s opinion, distributing the bands better and creating a more cohesive lineup would make the festival even better.

Planning for the 2011 event is well under way, and the lineup will be announced in late March or early April. Rossi said the public can expect a similar style lineup to years past targeting jam, folk and indie acts.