Des Moines, IA - Casey’s Center
July 15th, 2026
Des Moines, MO
Casey’s Center
Preface: This was a show we were looking forward to quite a bit because we know people local to the area who were nice enough to show us around the town! Des Moines is a small capital with a big feel and you should take time to check it out if you’re in the mid-west!
Casey’s Center after getting rocked
Show Notes: Wow! Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps gave Des Moines a show to remember! Playing the fan favorite ‘Space and Time’ was not something we’d expected!
Space and Time is a song originally sung by S.G. Goodman, a fellow Kentuckian who Tyler admires. This song has gained popularity since its release and to see it live is incredible!
Space and Time once seemed like it could find its way onto several setlists but that quickly dissolved and in total has been played less than 20 times now. To get this on the setlist was a highlight of the show for sure!
Also on the setlist was ‘Bus Route’ which was played for the first time this tour.
Bus Route is a song that used to find its way onto almost every setlist and has slowly become less and less likely to be seen. But, again, the people of Des Moines were blessed with this less common song on their set!
One of our favorite parts of the show was the piano interlude between the acoustic set and continuation of the band’s set. During this interlude you can commonly expect to hear something related to the city they’re in or a very popular song. Des Moines seemed to be lucky with this interlude as it was a short cover of Elton John’s ‘Bennie and the Jets.’ While we’ve done some digging on this and have come up with a theory (Elton’s last show in Des Moines was the day after his 75th birthday and he opened with Bennie and the Jets) we have no real idea why this song was played. Nonetheless, as huge Elton fans we don’t care why it was played we just want to hear a full cover of it at some point!
Tyler Childers’ Snipe Hunt tour rollin’ into Des Moines
Venue Notes: Casey’s Center was a great venue. Nothing too frilly and nothing bad. It was what you’d expect from an arena and that’s just fine! If we had a venue like this as our home venue we’d be elated!
Casey’s Center is somewhat dated but what it doesn’t have in modern amenities it makes up for by having tons of room to move around in the concourse and tons of food and beverage options.
All in all there’s nothing too much of note we can make about Casey’s Center. It is what it is: An arena made to house big events and it does that well.
Parking Notes: By suggestion from someone local we parked near the Beechwood Lounge which is located about a mile from the venue. The total cost was less than $16 and it’s worth every penny.
Entering and leaving were a breeze, albeit we did hang out for a while after the show which probably helped the lack of traffic when leaving.
There was parking closer and cheaper that could be had but in terms of price and location it’s in our opinion one of the best parking spots we’ve ever gotten for any show.
Travel Notes: Wow! What a town Des Moines is! We ate breakfast at Burger Shed, a pre-show pizza at Fong’s, pre-gamed at Ernie’s and post-showed at Burger King and all 4 of them were perfect!
Burger Shed in Altoona was a top tier spot and we would highly suggest eating there any time you can! It was affordable, friendly, and some of the best food we had on the trip. No joke the honey mustard alone stayed on Chloe mind for several days after.
Fong’s had a great Crab Rangoon pizza which is equally as good as it is interesting in concept. You’ll just have to try one for yourself when you’re in the area!
Ernie’s is a longstanding pre-show hang out spot for concert goers and this night was no different. There were tons of people there on the way to the show who wanted to chat about Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps as much as we did! Their prices were fair and they had a wide variety.
Admittedly we didn’t partake in any drinking while there because it’s not something we enjoy doing on show days but our friends really enjoyed their drinks!
One the way home our route took us through Jackson, OH which you all should know by now is home to Rowdy’s Smokehouse and their famous ribeye steak! You must stop at Rowdy’s when you’re in the area (be aware though the steak isn’t able to be purchased until 4pm or later).