Although many local musicians may dream of escaping from the constraints of Ames, several successful musicians who have already made it still choose to call the Midwest home.

Mountain Goats is the indie rock brainchild of John Darnielle, an Ames transplant whose lo-fi recording techniques and narrative songwriting style have garnered him recognition far beyond the borders of Iowa.

Though The Mountain Goats, whose name is taken from a Screaming Jay Hawkins song, have surfaced in various configurations during the years, Darnielle is the only constant member of the band. The current lineup for the group features multi-instrumentalist Peter Hughes backing up on bass.

When he started recording in the early 1990s, Darnielle became famous for exclusively releasing his work on cassette-only albums recorded on a department store boombox in one complete take, the hiss of the tape player microphone his only accompaniment.

However, “Tallahassee,” his most recent album, found Darnielle signing to a large independent label called 4AD records and recording in one of the most expensive studios in the country.

Darnielle’s songwriting style is highly lyric-focused and character-driven. “Tallahassee” finds its center in the destructive relationship of what Darnielle refers to as the alpha couple. Constantly on the verge of destruction or divorce, the two move to a home in Florida to either try to save their marriage or drink themselves to death.

Electrified local Americana group Why Make Clocks will open Friday’s show. Bass player Boonie says the two groups have crossed paths on multiple occasions before hooking up this time around.

“I approached John about it last semester,” Boonie says. “It was something we wanted to do for a long time. I actually met him a few years ago during the Michael Moore mosh pit thing.”

But after returning from tours overseas and some big festivals on the coasts, Darnielle is not exactly a man with a lot of time on his hands.

“We feel very lucky that he can take the time to play for everyone in Ames with everything he has going on,” Boonie says.

Why Make Clocks will also be keeping themselves busy in the coming months.

“We’re hoping to record this summer and do another album,” Boonie notes. “Rubric [the band’s national label] was bought out by Teepee. So we’re not sure if we’re going to be dropped or carried over to the new label.”

Needless to say, things can be interesting for those making a career of music, even if you do stay in Iowa.

Maintenance Shop director Squire Boone says it makes sense for national acts to stick around the Midwest.

“Ames is a good central location if you’re going to go out and tour,” he says. “From here, you can easily launch a tour to either the East Coast or the West Coast.”

As far as Why Make Clocks’s dedication to the area, Boonie says Why Make Clocks won’t be ditching Ames anytime soon for greener pastures.

“We’re not leaving,” he says. “[Lead singer Dan Hutchison] just got married, I got engaged — we’re not going anywhere.”