Ames will unleash a new kind of music festival this fall when Vagrant Fear Productions hosts “Narly’s Night of Music,” a three‑band showcase built around horror rock’s theatricality, adrenaline and the playful side of fear.
The event is set for Sept. 26 at Mary Jane’s, 119 Main St. Vagrant Fear is partnering with the bar and KHOI Community Radio to showcase Iowa bands Next to Midnight and Grave Corps, along with New York City’s rising metal act Witchforce.
Each group brings its own style, but all three lean into the visual flair and dark‑humored storytelling that define horror rock.
Tickets are on sale for $15 each and are available at tickettailor.com.
Horror rock is a genre built on atmosphere
Horror rock isn’t about shock value, David Detlefs said, founder of Vagrant Fear Productions.
It’s about mood.
“It’s less the lyrics and more the presentation,” he told the Ames Tribune. “Think Alice Cooper or Rob Zombie. It’s like going to a haunted house, but with guitars.”
Grave Corps leans the hardest into that aesthetic, with a new video called “Hellfire Boulevard” that plays like a supernatural car chase. Witchforce brings an ’80s‑metal swagger, while Next to Midnight delivers a punk‑leaning duo’s raw energy.
Detlefs said the mix of styles creates “three different types of energy” that still feel connected by theme.
‘Narly’s Night of Music’ is a new chapter for Vagrant Fear
The festival marks a new direction for Vagrant Fear Productions, which has spent six years creating locally written horror theater, radio dramas and variety shows. The company’s weekly KHOI program blends original thriller scripts with interviews about fear, horror and the psychology behind both.
Detlefs said the group’s mission has expanded since the pandemic.
“Fear is just as important an emotion as any of the others,” he said. “People think it’s negative, but it’s a decision‑maker. It’s part of being human.”
That idea now shapes everything Vagrant Fear produces, from stage plays to radio conversations about why some people love haunted houses and others avoid them.
KHOI’s Lynne Carey said the conversations about fear are as important as the scripted stories.
“We don’t talk about it as a culture,” she said. “Isn’t it better to bring it out into the light and figure out what our relationship is with it?”
She said the show gives listeners a rare chance to hear fear discussed openly, thoughtfully and without judgment.
Ames festival may plant seeds for something bigger
The September event is intentionally modest — three bands, one night, one venue — but Detlefs admits he’s thinking long‑term.
If the show goes well, he hopes it becomes an annual tradition that expands into a broader, multi‑genre celebration of local music and creativity.
For now, Detlefs is focused on giving Ames a night where fear is fun, theatrical and shared.
“It’s a controlled space,” he said. “You get to feel something intense, and then you go home and you’re fine. That’s the beauty of it.”
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rfaaborg@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: A new horror rock festival will strike fear in the heart of Ames
Reporting by Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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By Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune | USA TODAY Network
