Live music, as we all know, is good not only for the soul but also the community. It brings folks together in a way not many things do. It’s not like a sporting event, where there’s a chance you’ll leave disappointed with the outcome. If you’re at a live show, you’ve already won!
Of course, live music is also a business. Tickets are getting more expensive, and musicians are making less money on tour. And it’s harder than ever for local musicians to find places to play. If that doesn’t quite hit home for you, think of it this way: every musician was a local musician at one point. But small venues are stepping up, and where possible, small festivals are doing the same.
On June 14, the Waterloo Center for the Arts will host the Chroma 63 Midwest Arts & Sound Festival at the RiverLoop Amphitheatre. It’s the first year for the festival, and they’ve announced a musical lineup that’s heavy on Iowa artists, along with a wide variety of underground artists in other disciplines. Chroma 63 is free and open to all ages, and its name is an homage to the city of Waterloo.
“The name ‘Chroma‘ kind of encapsulates the colorful diversity that Waterloo is supposed to be representative of,” said Amanda Simmons, the marketing & development manager for the center. “You know, the culture, the creatives, the people. All the different facets of Waterloo, and that’s what ‚Chroma‘ is supposed to be.
As for 63? “It’s the highway!” said Simmons, in what is also a nod to the 80/35 festival.
Simmons, a self-described “avid music person,” was primarily responsible for putting the lineup together. “I actually saw Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops last summer, and I was like “I absolutely have to have them,” said Simmons. “And then Radkey, I’ve seen them throughout the years a couple of times, and they’ve just always put on such a fantastic show. And then we had a partnership with some of the metal bands in the area here. They played some shows at the center, and some of the bands that are on the lineup kind of came through that relationship.”
“Ever since Amanda started working at the center, having an art and music festival has kind of been her brainchild,” said Chawne Paige, executive director of the Waterloo Center for the Arts. “And so this is an opportunity to really lean into supporting those songwriters that are right here in the Cedar Valley, and put them front stage and roll out the red carpet for them just as we would with any other kind of larger to mid-size band that would perform at our amphitheater. So this is their day in the sun.”
In addition to giving musicians from the Cedar Valley (and beyond) a place to perform, Chroma 63 is also about being able to expand those musicians’ audiences. “As somebody who frequents a lot of shows, whether it’s punk or metal or like any sort of hard rock, you’re kind of just limited to just going to bars, and it’s 18 plus,” said Simmons. “If I want to take my nephews to anything like that, it’s got to be like a special thing. So it’s nice to be able to provide a stage for these artists to play to where their audience isn’t limited to just bar people of a certain age range.”
Everyone involved with Chroma 63 is excited about being able to show off the amphitheatre as their main stage. “It’s right next door to the Waterloo Center for the Arts, so we’ve embraced it as part of our entire campus … ” said Paige. “Everyone that comes throughout the summer, they’re just like ‘whoa, whoa, wait a minute.’ They were just surprised that this is happening right here in Waterloo, especially with all of the lighting effects that are happening downtown now. And so as the event goes on, there’s still going to be a light show with the canopy, and with the city lights that are happening on the pedestrian bridge downtown.”
In addition to Radkey and Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops, the Chroma 63 lineup features some other artists you should be familiar with: Jim Swim and Lipstick Homicide, as well as The Value Of Human Life, which is a band that’s fairly new to the Cedar Valley scene and released their debut in November. There will also be some up-and-coming new bands, such as Apollo’s Death and Jim Jones, as well as a smaller stage that will feature local DJs. There’s also space for a variety of artists to share and sell their work.
“There’s photography. There’s textile artists, there’s fashion artists, there’s people that are designing skateboards,” said Paige. “I know there’s actually a local tattoo artist that is planning to do live painting directly. I don’t want to call it a mural, but it is going to be a pretty large size, kind of spray paint aerosol kind of painting that he’s going to be working on, and I think people will be able to go in and and talk with him while he’s painting, if not kind of take selfies.”
“You don’t necessarily have to go to an art school and have an art degree and already have had this portfolio of work to be a part of (Chroma 63),” said Paige. “We want to be able to spotlight those creatives that are making whatever it is that they’re making in their basements or in their backroom studio. They have this passion that they’re trying to just roll out, and it should still be celebrated, just as much as any traditional artist or musician.”
For both Simmons and Paige, showing off the underground art scene in the Cedar Valley is a high priority of Chroma 63.
“We have such a unique collection of creatives in the area,” said Simmons. “There are so many awesome people who have just incredible talent, no matter if it’s visual arts, or musical, or any avenue you can think of, there’s somebody here in Waterloo that is just great at it and they deserve to have the spotlight for a moment.”
Paige agrees. “We want to kind of keep bringing this back and then have a system that’s set up where it’s not just about the festival, it’s about feeding the culture itself and really keeping the creatives kind of connected,” he said.
A playlist of musicians who will be performing at Chroma 63 is on Spotify. Artists who want to show their work at the festival can submit materials for consideration until May 11.
Chroma 63 is Iowa's newest music festival, with a focus on locals and growing the scene – Iowa Public Radio
