The curators of the annual 515 Alive Music Festival are bringing a new festival to the Des Moines area later this year. Dubbed the Kosmos Music Festival, the event is geared toward electronic music fans and will feature music, yoga, live art, camping and more. Slated for the Avenue of the Saints Amphitheater in St. Charles, the festival will take place Aug. 26-27. Tickets are on sale now, and you can check out www.kosmosfestival.com for more information.

The Belin Quartet will play a series of free lunchtime concerts in downtown Des Moines beginning this Friday at 12:15 p.m. at the People’s Plaza. The quartet will perform Friday noontime concerts throughout downtown Des Moines this summer, partnering with the John Morgan Trio, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ballet Des Moines and the Des Moines Public Library. This year, concerts will be moving to new downtown locations each week. All concerts are free and open to the public. The season will conclude at Cowles Commons on July 29. Call 280-4020 or visit www.civicmusic.org for more information.

This week’s Pick o’ the Week is the Des Moines Music Coalition’s Gross Domestic Product music festival in the East Village on Saturday, May 28. Check out more than a dozen local and regional acts on two stages and a variety of acoustic pop-up shows in local businesses. The first pop-up show starts at 2 p.m., and music continues until midnight. Mahalo. CV

Chad Taylor is an award-winning news journalist and music writer from Des Moines who would love to take his talents abroad if the rent were not so much more affordable in Des Moines.