Kickstart the Sun, Vigilante Fighters and Men of Science & Faith will perform as part of Kickstart the Month at 9 p.m. Thursday at DG’s Tap House.

The show is free and for ages 21 and older. 

Kickstart the Sun has been touring locally and around Iowa for more than a year. The group was recently given the opportunity by DG’s Tap House manager Nate Logsdon to perform a show at the venue on the first of every month. This year marks the third time DG’s Tap House has hosted Kickstart the Month.

Lead singer Justin Kunkel explained the history behind the beginning of Kickstart the Month.

“We played a whole bunch of shows but we didn’t really build a fan base,” Kunkel said. “We just kept playing show after show after show. Then we finally got our first DG’s show [and] were in contact with Nate Logsdon.

“We came back for a couple of shows after that, [and] one of the times we ended up headlining. Then Nate was like, ‘Hey, you know, if you guys want, we can get you guys a gig every month.’”

Each show includes other bands that are booked to play with Kickstart the Sun. Men of Science & Faith from Pella, Iowa, will join Kickstart the Sun this time. Local Ames band Vigilante Firefighters will also perform.

Kickstart the Sun recently released its first EP titled “Monsters With Problems,” which was compiled during the past few months, with the recording process engineered by bass player Nolan Adair.

“I’ve always been interested in recording, pretty much ever since I was about 12,” Adair said. “I started out on my computer. It was really awful, but in the last year or so, I’ve gotten much, much better [and] I’ve been able to [get] adequate gear.”

All of the members agreed that the recording process was a special because this was their first time recording together, guitar player Rudy Miller said.

“The recording process with the band is kind of like a bonding moment,” Miller said. “If the band was one person it would only be that one person’s vision; that one person’s face or style. But with four people together it’s all those four combined and it makes it even more special.”

Each track on the album is original, and the band agreed that its song development process is highly collaborative. The songs start with Kunkel but are then expanded upon by each one of the band members.

“Justin [Kunkel] is so willing to take ideas,” Adair said about the development process. “Because of that I think we’re able to make songs that give us the best of each of us as players individually and then because of that we come together and make a good band.”

Besides the aspect of friendship and creating new music together, another goal of the group is to provide a stage presence that will pump up the crowd. Justin Booth, drum player and president of the ISU GENRE (Gathering Everyone Nearby to Raucously Entertain) club, explained the group’s mission statement. 

“The thing about us is we’re fans first and then we’re a band,” Booth said. “We just love the music and we love the scene and so we just try to put out as much energy as possible and give people a good time.”

To find out more about Kickstart the Month, visit the event’s Facebook page and DG’s Tap House’s website.