Music is a universal language. Artists and sounds frequently reach across the globe to find an audience that shares their vibe. However, when it comes to rounding up talent for a first-rate music festival, sometimes there is no place like home.

The organizers of the Des Moines Music Coalition had just that in mind when they conceived Gross Domestic Product, a 14-band concert featuring only Iowa artists.

Gross Domestic Product is the largest event to date organized by the coalition, a non-profit organization started last year to promote live music in the Des Moines area. A major local music event has been a priority since the organization formed.

Originally, the festival was envisioned as a showcase of local talent to be headlined by a major touring act from outside of Iowa. Scheduling difficulties eventually prompted organizers to drop the national headliner, but the change of plans has not diminished interest in the show.

Several local radio stations have signed on to sponsor the show, as well as Des Moines print outlets and community groups.

“We’ve been able to garner a lot of support for the show,” said Amedeo Rossi, owner of Des Moines music venue Vaudeville Mews. “We hope that we can get a wider variety of people to check out live music.”

Sponsorships and aggressive promotion have given Gross Domestic Product a media presence not often enjoyed by local bands. Coalition executive director Fritz Junker said the show is giving local artists visibility usually reserved for national touring acts and maybe catching some listeners by surprise.

“I think there are a lot of people hearing the promos on the radio and on TV and saying, ‘Woo, I can’t believe this is a local band,'” Junker said.

Event promoters hope the show will help stimulate cooperation within the Iowa music scene, while acting as a catalyst to establish Des Moines among the prominent music cities of the country.

“It’s pretty big what’s going on here,” said Patrick Fleming, guitarist for show participant The Poison Control Center. “We have to keep it going and take it to another level.”

One way Gross Domestic Product hopes to stimulate Iowa music is through integration. Organizers are anticipating an audience of more than 1,000 in for the show, representing a broad range of musical preferences, as well as individuals who don’t regularly attend local concerts.

Rossi said local groups The Lifestyle and the Envy Corps are an example of the benefits of bringing together two established audiences.

“One of them is selling out the Vaudeville Mews on a regular basis and one of them is selling out the House of Bricks,” Rossi said. “We’re hoping that there is going to be more of a blended crowd that is exposed to a variety of music.”

Artists are taking a personal stake in the home-grown emphasis of the show. Participating groups were included in creating the event, from suggesting other local acts to take part to personally beating the pavement to distribute flyers and handbills.

Fleming said although he is excited about playing with many of his friends and helping showcase local music, his band is approaching the show with same attitude they bring to any other performance.

“For us it doesn’t matter,” Fleming said. “If someone asks to play, whether it is for free in somebody’s basement or 500 people at Hotel Fort Des Moines, we just like playing.”

Junker is confident the show will be a success both for itself and in its greater aspirations for the future. He said Gross Domestic Product will likely be the first of many local music showcases to come and be remembered as an important moment for music in Iowa.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years the posters and the handbills are prized as collector’s items,” Junker said. “I think it will be remembered as a real tipping point for the Des Moines music scene.”

Bands performing at the Gross Domestic Product concert

The Envy Corps (indie rock)

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The Lifestyle (pop rock) ÿ

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Sword of Exactly (indie rock)

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The Autumn Project (post-modern rock)

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Poison Control Center (indie rock)

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Aeon Grey w/ Diverse (hip-hop)

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Like Knives (indie pop)

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Vice Grip Throttle (hard rock)

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General Sherman (indie pop)

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Stuck With Arthur (pop punk)

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Wreckage of the Modern City (cinematic)

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Leap Year (indie pop)

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Horseshoe Spatulas (power punk)

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Slaughterhouse 6 (ska rock)