Once a year, Main Street becomes the centerpiece for an event which brings fans of music and art from all corners of the country to Ames.

The event is the Maximum Ames Music Festival (MAMF), a celebration put on by Maximum Ames, a local record label in Ames. This small company is a proponent of Iowan talent exclusively. The more people flood in and around Ames to see artists that embody the creative, diverse sound of Iowan music, the more Maximum Ames becomes closer to becoming a staple of independent artistry. The Iowan sound used to be characterized predominantly by grassroots or folk, but recently artists from Des Moines and Iowa City have emerged sharing music of all genres, from rock to hip-hop. Today, Iowa’s musical output is diverse and exciting.

Nate Logsdon is one of the co-founders of the company. He and his associates Chris Lyng and Christopher Ford started Maximum Ames in 2010 and it has steadily grown since. His label is now embedded in the Ames community and is known nationwide because of its touring acts like Christopher The Conquered or Mumford’s, which identify Maximum Ames in front of audiences.

“It started with a few bands who were friends with each other and wanted to release music on vinyl,” Logsdon said. “We were all record collectors, and appreciate the medium, so we just dreamed of having our music in that format, and in the process of achieving that, we wound up with a label, and as an extension, the festival. It is that same vinyl aspect that draws in most of the artists we sign today.”

The festival the label throws every year is perhaps the greatest testament to its impact on the town thus far. Maximum Ames Music Festival has become one of the town’s biggest events of the year. This is the eighth annual festival.

People fill the historic streets of Ames to purchase goods from local vendors, while every venue in town hosts musicians from around the country. As well as welcoming visitors from other states who come to Ames for the music, the festival can be a great experience for the out-of-state or even out-of-country students and offers one of the best peeks into Iowa’s culture. 

The person tasked with taking on the extraordinary ornamentation of the festival is Mara Spooner, who has had a hand in organizing for the Maximum Ames label for some time now and previously has been integral to the organization of last year’s Pridefest. She also produces burlesque productions with Renegade Arts Collective.This is the first music festival Spooner is tackling as the primary planner, and she is anxious to be apart of such an important community tradition.

“To many of us the festival is like a holiday,” Spooner said. “We get to all come together for a few days in our favorite locations and celebrate each other, share some music and bring new friends and musicians into our beloved Downtown Ames.” 

Spooner is looking to continue the Maximum Ames Music Festival (MAMF) traditions people love, while also introducing new events and locations where attendees can enjoy their favorite artists.

“Ames legend and internet icon Leslie Hall will be playing at the Ames Elks Lodge with [Hall]’s Yarn House Live,” Spooner said. “This is our first year collaborating with the Elks and we’re stoked about it. Time Out is also a new venue for MAMF. The downtown arcade bar is hosting an indie/throwback night and a rock night.”

As far as artists go, MAMF is set to include over 60 bands, and Spooner is breaking the precedents to the reaches as far as it will go for its guests.

“This year MAMF is getting back to its local and DIY roots,” Spooner said. “Festival goers can expect many of their Ames and Des Moines favorites – as well as long-time friends of the fest from Colorado, [Los Angelos], Arizona, and as far away as Japan! I am personally really excited to see Electric Jury at the MAMF 8 closing ceremony. The bandmates are all incredibly talented audiophiles. Seeing them live is a special Ames treat! This show has often been some of my favorite MAMF memories.”

Spooner has been quite busy preparing the eighth celebration of Ames culture, although rest assured she wouldn’t have been able to tie everything together – with a bow on top – without her dedicated team. One of these members is Bryon Dudley, whose main involvement with the festival has been booking and organizing the bands into lineups for the individual shows.

“Probably the main challenge of a festival like this is just all the moving parts,” Dudley said. “It’s a lot of people coming together to play shows, from all over the state of Iowa and beyond, and just making sure everyone’s on the same page so that they’re in the right place at the right time amounts to a lot of information to process. The most exciting part has probably been going through the performers’ applications and discovering some great new music being created here in the Midwest,” continued Dudley, “I play in bands, and book a fair number of shows, but, at the root of things, I remain a fan of music, so getting to hear some of these bands’ music for the first time and imagining them playing the festival was pretty fun.”

Maximum Ames Music Festival will take place this weekend, Sept. 27 to 30 all over downtown Ames. Check out the times and locations of artists on Maximum Ames’ official website.