Local music will survive 21-only

I wasn't thinking about work or local politics when I headed for the Mission Creek Festival in downtown Iowa City last weekend; I just wanted to hear some music.

But in the afterglow it occurred to me that none of the bands I'd gone to see were playing in bars.

That's important as Iowa City Council members get ready for the third and final reading of an ordinance that will ban anyone too young to drink from the city's bars after 10 p.m.

One of the more compelling arguments underage folks have for needing to be in bars is that they want to hear local musicians play. A lot of musicians have argued in the past that age-restrictive ordinances mess with their livelihoods.

But when I went to see Christopher the Conquered on Friday, it was in Public Space One. The next night, I was able to enjoy music at the Java House. There are similar spaces around town that can and will continue to hold shows for all ages after the council puts the final seal on the 21-ordinance.

Other restaurants will be able to do the same, of course – any business that makes less than half its revenue from alcohol can apply for an exemption from the ordinance. You'd be surprised by the names that make that list. When I covered the last round of 21-talk as a news reporter, it included popular venues like The Mill.

Other bars can look for other options as well. In Ames, where 21 has been the law of the land for years, bars block off alcohol-free sections so their younger patrons can get in there and get down.

So April 6 won't be the day the music died in Iowa City – at least it shouldn't be, not if local musicians and venues get creative.

Good thing that's what they do best.