Meet the Creators: Kate Dale

"I love Alternating Currents; it's my favorite event of the year in the Quad Cities,” says Kate Dale, co-founder of Hive Event Consulting.

Dale works with Hive partner Jason Gilliland to help bring the festival's music programming to life. Together, they book artists, coordinate production logistics and serve as a crucial link between performers, venues and the Downtown Davenport Partnership.

Dale says Alternating Currents is one of the most organized festivals she has ever worked. "It's such a well-oiled machine," she said, crediting festival director Alisha Espey and the DDP team for creating a framework that allows hundreds of moving parts to come together.

And what you’ll see come together in a few weeks begins long before August.

Back in January, the team faced a welcome challenge: nearly 500 music submissions from all over the U.S. and some overseas.  Dale said it was about double the number received the previous year. "It surprised us," she said. "It has to be due to the marketing that the AC team has done that's cast a wider net. And I think the bands that come here are telling their friends. A lot of submissions will say, 'We're friends with someone who played the fest last year, and we think we'd be a good fit.'"

The growth is exciting, but it also makes the selection process increasingly difficult. With only about 60 performance slots available, it’s tough to narrow down.

"There are so many really good bands out there, and it's really hard,” she says. Dale describes the booking process as a giant puzzle. She and Gilliland divide the submissions, build separate "yes" lists and then come together to evaluate artists, not only on talent, but also on where they fit within the festival.

Different venues have different identities, capacities and technical needs. She says they have to take into consideration that a 10-piece funk band requires a different space than a solo singer-songwriter.  

"We're trying to make sure we're keeping it as diverse as possible and giving everyone a chance," Dale said.

When submissions don't fully represent a particular genre, the team sometimes seeks out artists to round out the festival. They've also developed what Dale calls a "soft rule" regarding repeat performers. Even the most popular acts occasionally step aside to make room for newcomers.

"If a band has played three years in a row, you don't want the lineup to get stale," she said. "We're trying to mix it up and make sure everybody has an opportunity to perform."

That can be especially difficult in the Quad Cities, where there is no shortage of local talent. "We have a lot of really good talent here. Everybody wants to play Alternating Currents."

Dale's own journey into live music started at the University of Iowa, where she was involved with SCOPE, the student-run concert programming organization. One of her final projects before graduation was helping organize a Bob Dylan concert. Shortly afterward, a chance connection led her to the River Music Experience.

For more than a decade, she booked artists for the Redstone Room in Davenport.  In 2021, she left to pursue Hive Event Consulting full time, with Gilliland joining her. Today, Hive manages everything from artist booking to large-scale event production throughout the Midwest and beyond.

That experience comes into play during Alternating Currents, where Dale and Gilliland wear many hats. They coordinate artist check-ins, prepare credential packets, answer questions about schedules and accommodations, communicate with venues and production crews, and help solve problems as they arise.

And then there’s the weather.

"If there's heat or rain, we help with those decisions. Do we need to shut down? Do we need to move people? Can we move anyone to another venue?"

Some moments allow Dale to catch a performance. Other moments are spent racing between venues making sure everything stays on track.

"It's a lot of being the connector and communicator between the artists, the venues and the production companies."

Ask Dale about favorite moments from the festival, and she doesn't immediately point to a headlining act. Instead, she talks about discovery.

One of her favorite experiences is watching a relatively unknown artist leave the festival as one of the most talked-about performers of the weekend. She mentioned last year’s festival that featured saxophonist Michael Wilbur, whose performances became a word-of-mouth sensation, and to Thot Squad, another act that generated a lot of buzz. "I love hearing people say, 'I've never heard of this band before, and they were amazing.'"

For Dale, those unexpected discoveries are an important part of the spirit of Alternating Currents. "I love that because it's free, it's a choose-your-own-adventure," she said. “And the AC app is great to tell you everything that’s going on. It truly is a way to get to know your own hometown backyard.”