Even with tie-dyed shirts soaked in rain, the drums thumped and brass instruments blared as Iowa Pride Ensembles passed beneath the towering Iowa Capitol, playing pop hits like "Hot To Go" and "Born This Way." As they marched, the musical refrains echoed through the streets of Des Moines during this year’s Capital City Pride parade.
Made up of LGBTQ musicians and allies from across Iowa, the nonprofit, volunteer ensemble has quickly grown in size. Around 70 musicians marched with the band during their debut at the parade, where they took home first place for best parade entry.
Over 160 people have expressed interest in joining the ensemble, with members traveling from cities like Cedar Rapids and Dubuque to participate.
The Iowa Pride Ensemble is the only LGBTQ musical group in the state affiliated with the national Pride Bands Alliance. While currently a marching band, the group’s founders hope to expand into a concert band, jazz band and pep band in the near future.
The idea was born when co-founders Amanda Thomas-Murphy and Meredith Murphy — both musicians who met while performing in the Hawkeye Marching Band at the University of Iowa — moved to Des Moines and noticed something missing.
“In many of the largest states around the country you'll find bands that are similar to this," said Amanda, who serves as the group’s drum major and music director, and works as a middle school band director in West Des Moines. "There’s bands in Kansas City, which we have friends in, St. Louis, in New York and other larger cities, and when we moved to Des Moines, we realized that doesn't exist here.”
“The enjoyment and the fun of it is just as important as the musical excellence and the activism of it. We are making a stand, but we're having a really great time doing it. I think that's the best possible combination that we could have.”Meredith Murphy, Iowa Pride Ensembles co-founder
For Meredith, a music school graduate who performs in the color guard, the ensemble is as much about personal healing as it is about visibility.
“For me, this has been a very healing experience. Music school is a very competitive environment … and having a space to express musicality in a really low-pressure and happy environment has been wonderful," she said. “The enjoyment and the fun of it is just as important as the musical excellence and the activism of it. We are making a stand, but we're having a really great time doing it. I think that's the best possible combination that we could have.”
The couple partnered with third co-founder Rachel Gulick of Girls Rock! Des Moines to help get the ensemble on its feet. The group plans to perform next at Ankeny Pride, Valley Junction Pride and potentially at Iowa City Pride later this month.
For Gulick, the band is a symbol of pride, resistance and belonging.
“Just like people don't belong in closets, neither do your instruments or your talents,” they said. “It's arts and culture that maintains a space for people to feel grounded — and seen, and heard and appreciated. Yes, pride is a celebration, but is also a riot. It's a protest, because the personal is political, and this is as much a protest as it is about the joy of sharing community and music with one another, because we will not be silenced, and we're not going anywhere. We're here, we're queer, we're marching everywhere.”
