DES MOINES, Iowa — The 80/35 music festival in downtown Des Moines has been postponed for the second year in a row due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Des Moines Music Coalition’s board, which runs the event, announced Tuesday that the festival won’t go on this summer out of an “abundance of caution” because of social distancing guidelines and other pandemic-related issues.
The event was set to be held July 9-10. Organizers said they hope the festival will return in 2022.
“A nonprofit festival at 80/35’s scale takes an immense amount of advanced planning, volunteers, corporate sponsors, community grants, ticket sales and much more,” DMMC board chair Kuuku Saah said. “With the level of uncertainty in all of those areas, and the desire to always deliver the maximum 80/35 experience for attendees, we felt postponing was the best choice to ensure we can come back even stronger in 2022.”
In its place, the DMMC is putting together a new, one-day event called "The Riverview Music Festival." It will be put on in Riverside Park on the city’s north side.
No acts have yet to be announced for that festival, which will be Sept. 4.