New Iowa Music Awards coming to Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — The inaugural Iowa Music Awards is designed to highlight and celebrate the high-caliber artists across the state. The event begins at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, and tickets start at $50.

The Iowa Music Awards aims to fill a gap in the way Iowa shares its talent with the world, according to a news release, saying the event will follow in the footsteps of the most high-profile award ceremonies throughout the industry, offering a premiere red carpet experience to honorees and guests.

Honorees are being selected by a diverse panel of leaders and influencers in the Iowa music industry, and the event is presented by T1 Entertainment, in partnership with The Olympic South Side Theater.

“We’re doing this ceremony to give the praise and celebrate all genres and roles of music made in Iowa,” said Antonio Chalmers, founder of T1 Entertainment who also performs as celebrated rap artist Tone Da Boss.

Award categories represent the Iowa music industry, from performing artists across all genres to producers, videographers and industry-related events.

“It is about time that we have a platform to recognize everyone’s hard work and dedication,” Mike Schulte of the Pork Tornadoes said in a prepared statement.

T1 Entertainment also produces the Iowa Summer Jam event in Cedar Rapids each year, and Chalmers said the company is eager to take those experiences and apply them to the Iowa Music Awards. This previous success is what caught the eye of the owners at The Olympic South Side Theater.

“This is exactly what Iowa needs. We’ll be happy to house it at the Olympic,” said Steve Shriver, co-owner of the venue, located on the second floor at 1202 Third St. SE, No. 200, in the NewBo District.

Tickets are available at IowaMusicAwards.com. More information also is available on social media platforms at @IowaMusicAwards.