By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Reggae band Public Property plays the Earth Jam Festival on Friday. The T. Albert Lloyd Band headlines Blues For Greens II on Saturday. Chicago singer-songwriter Dick Prall plays the Third Annual Earth Day in the Junction on Sunday.

Dig these tunes and Mother Earth

In celebration of Earth Day, a number of community events featuring live music will be held in Greater Des Moines this weekend. Here’s a look at some of them:

• Earth Jam Music Festival — An all-day music festival that caps Drake University’s Earth Week Festival, three bands, speakers, a DJ and hula hoop dancers perform for free on Friday at Drake’s Helmick Commons. The lineup includes performances by Hula Hoop Making with Hoop Iowa (4 p.m.), Tim Knepper and the Flying Frog Brigade (5 p.m.), “Earthly Words” from Keith Summerville (6:10 p.m.), Andrew’s Ave. (6:30 p.m.), Drake President David Maxwell (8 p.m.), Public Property (8:20 p.m.) and DJ After Party (10:30 p.m.).

• Blues For Greens II — Hosted by the Iowa Clean Cities Coalition and the American Lung Association of Iowa, this free festival promotes clean energy, clean vehicles and energy efficiency with live music, food and “green” exhibitions on the Walnut Street Bridge in downtown Des Moines on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free music by The Soul Searchers, The Torpedo Darlings, Make Like Trees and the T. Albert Lloyd Band will be held all day. The event will also include a Blues For Greens 5k run/walk that starts at 8:30 a.m. Registration for the run/walk is $30. Visit http://www.cleanairchoice.org" .

• Third Annual Earth Day in the Junction” — Valley Junction in West Des Moines will be the site on Sunday where families can enjoy a variety of free events including a 5k run/walk (9 a.m.), a Kids Fun Run (10 a.m.), the Hybrid MPG Challenge (10:30 a.m.) and live music by Dick Prall, The Honey Bees and Rob Lumbard. A number of local organizations will also host environmentally friendly education, services and products booths. The event will also include an art and photography exhibit featuring local artists, free bike checks, free White Oak tree seedlings, rides to Brown Woods for nature walks at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a groundbreaking ceremony for the new West Des Moines Affordable Green Home. Visit www.earthdayinthejunction.org.

DMMC announces acts for 80/35

The Greater Des Moines Music Coalition announced on Tuesday the first acts booked for its 80/35 Music Festival to be held July 4-5 in downtown Des Moines at the Western Gateway Park. They include a mix of national and local bands like The Flaming Lips, The Roots, Yonder Mountain String Band, Girl Talk, Drive-by Truckers, Radio Moscow, The Vandon Arms, Public Property and Mr. Baber’s Neighbors. The festival runs July 4 from 5 to 11 p.m. and July 5 from noon to 11 p.m. A limited number of two-day pre-sale tickets go on sale Friday through IowaTix.com for $40. Ticket sales start May 1 and are $30 for one day and $50 for two days. For more information, visit the DMMC’s new Web site launched this week devoted to the festival at http://www.80-35.com.

Scene notes

The second round of the 2008 Iowa Blues Challenge will be held Thursday at 8 p.m. at Blues on Grand where five local bands will compete. The Avey Brothers won the first Des Moines round last week. Visit www.cibs.org. … “Aria,” featuring countertenor Jason Badger, plays Friday at 8 p.m. at the Salisbury House. The program will include a selection of music from the Baroque period. Badger, a 2002 graduate of Simpson College, was a regional finalist in the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and has appeared in eight productions as a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera ensemble from 1998 to 2002. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for cider and wine. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students. Call 274-1777 or visit www.salisburyhouse.org. … Bike Down to “I” Town, a seasonal bike rally held the third Friday of the month featuring live music in downtown Indianola, returns Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. with a performance by Coyote. Insane Jane plays May 16. Visit www.bikedowntoItown.com. … Saturday is Record Store Day, a celebration of independently owned record stores. Those that are participating in the Des Moines area are offering discounted merchandise and music trivia contests, so check with your favorite one. … The Redneck Rodeo in Fort Madison, featuring performances by Eric Sardinas and Big Motor and Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band Freebird, will be held April 26 at the Tri State Arena. Rodeo at 7 p.m. and music at 9 p.m.; $12 at the gate. Call (319) 470-3068. … The Subjective Theatre Company of Des Moines (STC/DSM), a non-profit theater company that plans to open in the spring of 2009, hosts its debut benefit show, The Subjective Circus, on May 10 from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. at its future home located at 1408 Locust St. The event includes music by Ticklish, Cruciful, The Honey Bees and Dark Mirror; theatrical performances by Theater… for a Change, Stagewest and STC/DSM; live painting by Brent Houzenga and Van Holmgren; spoken word performances by Circus Diem and Jonny the Red Nosed Poet; and a sideshow of fire spinning/juggling, acrobatics, knife throwing and fortune telling. Tickets are $15. Visit www.DesMoinesSocialClub.org. … Hold For Swank’s “Big City Life For A Small Town Girl” can be heard on MTV’s “True Life” reality show. It marks the sixth different series in which the local band has had its music played, including “Real World Road Rules Challenge” and “Bad Girls Club.” By the way, the band has found a new drummer — Nick Talley — and will play the House of Bricks on May 16 and Mars Café on May 26. … The Dave Matthews Band and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headline the first annual Mile High Music Festival in Denver, July 19-20. Other performers include John Mayer, The Black Crowes, O.A.R., Steve Winwood and Spoon. Tickets, $85-$495, are on sale now. Visit www.milehighmusicfestival.com. … Shout! Factory, an audio and video entertainment company has purchased the HighTone Records catalog of more than 300 albums of rockabilly, alt-country, blues, folk and gospel. CV

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