Kiva Iowa profile: Supporting Iowa music

CEDAR RAPIDS — As a musician, Antonio “Tone Da Boss” Chalmers didn’t think there were enough opportunities in Iowa for his colleagues to get recognized.

As a promoter, he’s aiming to change that.

Chalmers, of Cedar Rapids, is the founder of T1 Entertainment, an artist development management company in Iowa.

For the past six years, T1 has worked with hundreds of artists and put on dozens of major events, from Iowa Summer Jam to the Iowa Music Awards.

“Iowa is home for me, but we have a lot of talented artists who don't have the opportunity to showcase what they want to do,” Chambers says. “And I want to help them.”

Alongside business partner Chuck Crawley, Chalmers launched Iowa Summer Jam, a daylong local music showcase featuring 30 different artists from diverse backgrounds and genres.

The success of Iowa Summer Jam led Chalmers to create T1 Entertainment in 2017, allowing him to provide management, booking, workshops, consultations and more.

It also inspired him to want to create the Iowa Music Awards, a statewide celebration that launched in 2022. The most recent ceremony was held at Riverside Casino in October.

The Iowa Music Awards gives local artists the opportunity to feel like celebrities, it brings together the entire community and it serves as a networking event,” Chalmers said. “A lot of us here in Iowa will never make it to the Grammys. So I figured, why not create our own thing?”

A Kiva loan

While Iowa Summer Jam and the Iowa Music Awards have been successful so far, Chalmers noted that they have all been self-funded. He realized he needed additional funds to take his promotional efforts to the next level. That’s when he looked into Kiva Iowa.

Kiva gives entrepreneurs access to a microlending platform to raise zero-interest, zero-fee, extended-grace-period loans. The loans can be for up to $15,000, and lenders can give as little as $25 at a time. Chalmers applied for an $8,000 loan and is currently working to get that loan funded.

“The Kiva loan is going specifically toward Iowa Summer Jam,” he said. “We're looking to lock in an arena, so that artists will get showcased on a large platform. There will be billboards, advertisements and everything we can do to draw people's attention.”

Although it’s been active in Iowa for two years, Chalmers says many people aren’t aware of Kiva Iowa. That led to some skepticism among people in the community when he first announced the campaign.

At first, people weren't receptive to a post asking people to lend money,” he said. “But after I made a video, and posted a testimonial, the lenders started coming, and they are still coming.

“This Kiva process has been one of the easiest I've done, and it's definitely a route I recommend for getting your business started the right way.”

What next?

Even as he works to secure a Kiva loan for Iowa Summer Jam, Chalmers already is planning what he wants to accomplish in the years ahead. He wants to see Iowa Summer Jam grow to Lollapalooza-like levels, bringing in bigger-name celebrities and putting Iowa on the national music map.

He also wants to keep helping young musicians who have the same dreams he had at their age.

“These are the opportunities that I wish had been available to me,” he said. “So I love giving back. I didn't go through trials and tribulations of music in my younger days for me. I went through them so that I could learn how to help out other people.”

And that, Chalmers says, sums up Iowa in a nutshell.

“There is no place in the world like Iowa.,” he said. “We always look out for each other."

To learn more about T1 Entertainment, find it on Instagram at @t1entertainment. To support the company’s current Kiva loan, visit kiva.org/lend/2697918.

Rob Merritt is director of communications for NewBoCo.

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