August 13-15, 7 & 9 p.m.

The Nadas are an Iowa-based group that consistently fills clubs and venues across America, selling more than 75,000 albums through their own Authentic Records. Their name literally means “nothing,” but their music blends everything great about American music: folk, rock, blues and country. In November 2005, the band won a local contest to open for Bon Jovi’s Des Moines tour stop. The same year saw the release of “Listen through the Static,” which was selected as a finalist for the Indie Acoustic Project’s “Best CD of 2005” award in the rock category. Their latest album “The Ghosts Inside These Halls” builds on an already memorable career and is perhaps the most honest expression of music and lyrics for the band to date.

August 16, begins at noon

This day-long music festival features the best bands from all over the heartland. Music that deserves to be heard and that you deserve to hear. Authentic Records is authentic music by authentic artists.

• Benjamin Wagner, noon
• Mike Himebaugh of Hello Dave, 1:15 p.m.
• She Swings, She Sways, 2:30 p.m.
• Bonne Finken, 3:45 p.m.
• Fat Andy, 5 p.m.
• Todd Pipes, 6:15 p.m.
• Dick Prall, 7:30 p.m.
• The Josh Davis Band, 8:45 p.m.

August 17, 8 p.m.

A Grammy Award winning and multi-platinum selling artist, Coolio is one of the most successful rappers worldwide. His hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” earned a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Rap Performance, Solo, and was included on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. The song, also nominated for a Grammy for Best Song of the Year, has sold over four million copies. Coolio has also won numerous other awards, including an American Music Award, three MTV Awards, two Billboard Music Awards and two MTV Video Awards He released an LP entitled “The Return of the Gangsta” in 2006 and teamed up with long-time friend Snoop Dogg for the hit “Gangsta Walk.” His new album “From the Bottom 2 the Top” is set to be released in 2009.

August 18, 8 p.m.

More than anything, the South is known for its music and its strong family ties. Both are highlighted with Black Stone Cherry, a Kentucky band that redefines southern rock for a modern audience. By any standard, BSC is unconventional: they take the larger-than-life mystique of classic rock and modernize it with a driving attack that is equal parts roots and modern hard rock.

Offically forming in 2001, Black Stone Cherry took over a century-old practice house that had been the territory of the Kentucky Headhunters since 1968 and rehearsed relentlessly. There was a special vibe in that practice house that emanated from the walls plastered with decades of rock memorabilia - posters, flyers, album covers. "We grew up looking at these posters and visualizing ourselves being on kids’ bedrooms," explains John Fred. "It pushed us to try to create something up to that level."

While there are echoes of the past in their music – their fluid musicality recalls Zeppelin and they have an honesty often associated with bands like Skynyrd and the Black Crowes – it merely acts as a foundation for their music. Black Stone Cherry is a full-throttle modern rock band, with guitars that rage and a shuddering rhythmic attack. They can grind out an intense, bluesy riff that’s equal parts Guns N Roses and Alice In Chains on "Lonely Train," a gripping song about how war effects the families left behind when a soldier goes off to war. They also can conjure up spooky, cinematic drama as they do on "Rain Wizard," a tune based on a local legend about mysterious wisemen that could bring about rain at a time of drought and famine. And with the rampaging "Backwoods Gold," BSC proves they're master storytellers, too, with a tale about a local man who ran moonshine out of the hardware store in the heart of town.

August 19-20, 7 & 9 p.m.

You are back in the 1980s getting ready for the greatest all day concert event of the decade. The biggest rock stars will be performing for you including AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Guns N Roses, Poison, Twisted Sister, Journey, Loverboy, ZZ Top, and too many others to list. You grab your can of Aquanet and get ready to get that hair as big as you can.

Now the year is 2009 and you take that same show and put it all into on hour of a non-stop 80s- style party and you have Hairball. The Midwest’s premier 80s impersonation act gives you all those stars and more. Featuring two lead singers who switch off back and forth, one onstage at a time as Axl Rose of Guns N Roses while the other one prepares himself to come up as Ozzy Osbourne. This happens all night long, bringing you as many as 30 different 80s stars.

August 21-22, 7 & 9 p.m.

During the group’s 26-year history, The Blue Band has acquired a dedicated fan base of all ages and has become one of Iowa’s most revered and requested bands. Performing both originals and cover songs, the Blue Band is influenced by blues, soul, rockabilly and rhythm and blues. In 2007, The Blue Band was inducted into the Iowa Rock'n’Roll Music Association Hall of Fame.

August 23, 8 p.m.

Since 1993, Matt Nathanson has been playing a unique blend of acoustic folk and rock 'n' roll music. Having just released his sixth album, which includes the hit song “Come On Get Higher,” Nathanson continues to rise in popularity. He has opened for artists like Tori Amos, John Mayer, Pink, Guster and O.A.R. and appeared on “The Late Show” with David Letterman.

With lyrics that can alternately cut deep into the heart or heal it, Nathanson's most recent album expresses his intensely personal worldview with engaging character studies and a bit of soul-stirring romantic passion. Nathanson’s concerts draw fans from all over the country who love his confessional songs and spontaneous, uncensored stage banter.