Des Moines' 80/35 Music Festival, at new location in Water Works Park, gets mixed reviews

The first edition of Des Moines' 80/35 Music Festival to be held in Water Works Park apparently went off without incident, despite an excessive heat advisory from the National Weather Service, according to Des Moines police.

But the two-day event, held Friday and Saturday, got mixed reviews from members of the crowd on its move. It had been held at downtown's Western Gateway Park since 2008 with the exception of cancellations in 2020 and 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was announced last July, with festival director Mickey Davis telling the Des Moines Register the move was needed both because of planned construction and “unsustainable” production costs.

The sun beat down relentlessly on the necks and backs of those who came to the sprawling, 1,500-acre park to see headliners Killer Mike, OK Go and Hiatus Kaiyote, as well as about 40 other national and local acts on five stages.

The park's Lauridsen Amphitheater was the focal point, but some festivalgoers were put off by what tehy felt was the spread-out locations of other stages and amenities.

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Andrew Smith, 61, of Ames, said he had been to every 80/35 festival to date, and wasn't pleased with the change-up.

"I'm not happy that they moved and I think the attendance proved that yesterday," Smith said Saturday of Friday night, when OK GO headlined.

Of his complaints, the biggest was the lack of places to step out of the heat, which were more abundant downtown.

"The intention is to walk into somebody's business, buy something and cool off," he said.

Despite the new location, he said he thinks it's still a great festival, and that it didn't have the traffic issues he had expected. Some prior events at Water Works Park have resulted in long lines of cars trying to exit afterward.

Park neighbor: too loud, too disruptive

Marion Elmquist, a long-time Des Moines resident and regular cyclist through Water Works Park, said she worried about the configuration of the festival being too spread out. She said that had been an issue when participants in the 50th anniversary edition of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa in 2023 camped in the park.

She wasn't a festival attendee, but she said it interrupted her bike ride.

"RAGBRAI was here last year, and there were also complaints about how spread out it was last year," Elmquist said. "For RAGBRAI, the campgrounds, versus the food and the water ... So maybe some tweaking needs to be done in how events are held at Waterworks

"I think it's nice to bring things into the city and into the park ... but it is noisy and it blocks off part of the park for bicyclists," she said. "I live not too far from here, and it's noisy."

First-timers enjoy park experience

But for some first-time 80/35 attendees, it was a hidden gem in the Des Moines music scene.

"This is definitely kind of beginner experience for me," said Anjali Kumar, 19, of Johnston, adding that he "actually had no idea that this was a thing until three weeks ago."

Anjali joined friends and former classmates to support one of their friends, Kashi, at the Silent stage.

Eshaan Chandani, 18, of Johnston, said she liked the greenspace, if not the heat.

"It is kind of hard when it's like 90 degrees," Chandani said. "But I like it in Water Works Park because it's in nature."

"I also think that having somewhere that's not necessarily downtown makes it easier for things like parking," Kumar added. "It's nice to just have a big open space where you could walk around and it feels more like an actual music festival."

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.