UPCOMING EVENTS
3rd Annual Piano Smash Fundraiser
Hosted by Madison Ray of The Finesse!
Come celebrate with City Sounds as we close out the 10th season of our Public Piano Project. This event is FREE and open to the public. In-kind donations are encouraged and will be accepted at the door.
PIANO SMASH + OPEN MIC + ART AUCTION
LIVE MUSIC by special guests:
Matt Jesson (Brother Trucker)
Courtney Krause
Erik Jarvis (Pink Neighbor)
Diana Weishaar (The Host Country)
Fred Gaddy (Birdie Pie, MFKS)
Friday, Oct 25th | 5-9pm | xBk Live
Donate to City Sounds
We humbly ask you to consider a gift to City Sounds. Your financial support ensures another season of Music Everywhere through our annual Public Piano Project. We are committed to supporting the power of music, bringing folks together and providing accessible arts in the Greater Des Moines area!
in the studio
Join us at First Friday from 5-8pm at Mainframe Studios. You’ll enjoy touring five floors filled with artists, live entertainment and free programming sponsored by City Sounds.
Our multi-functional space also acts as a music studio and art gallery. Wanna host a private event or sign up for lessons? Inquire anytime.
About Us
In 2014, City Sounds worked with the City of Des Moines, West Music and a bevy of sponsors to place two pianos in downtown Des Moines. 2016 saw the project grow to 10 pianos across the city. With the help an Iowa Arts Council Grant, the 2019 season brought an extensive strategic planning process and a refinement of our project processes.
Despite the perilous position Covid put every arts organization in during 2020, we took this mandated break to pivot, hustle and come back stronger with an renovated, activated and revenue generating studio, 10 pianos back on the streets in 2021 and a larger small-donor base. All of this has positioned City Sounds for growth in the years to come both in our programming and as an organization. Will you join us?
Want to see more? Check out our galleries from previous years!
MISSION: City Sounds strives to transform the Des Moines community culture through music, animating common spaces and making artistic creation accessible to all.
“We want our community to experience music as part of their daily lives not just something they pay to see. Places where music is ubiquitous in the culture are healthier, happier and more harmonious. That is the real power of music. ”
— KATHRYN DICKEL, CO- FOUNDER OF CITY SOUNDS
“The whole purpose is to generate life on the street and generate activity. In other areas where they have done this, it has been a real boon to business because it gets people out on the street.”