Eastern Iowa is chock-full of musical talent, but when the talent is at an all-time high, stages become crowded, gigs are hard to book, and competition holds first priority instead of having fun and jamming out.

The Corridor Project, crafted by Soul Sherpa leader and bass player Ian Draves, will present a concert of genre-varying 11 Iowa bands at the Englert at 8 p.m. Friday.

“We wanted to collaborate with other bands and thought it would be cool to record with a live show,” Draves said. “There is so much amazing talent in the eastern Iowa area. We have a lot of care for the live-music scene here.”

Soul Sherpa is a funk-soul band that reigns as the largest band (10 members) at the Friday performance. However, high-school choir teacher Avery Mossman switches up the game with his solo project called the Ivory James Band.

Raised by a folk musician and hospice nurse, Mossman took his musical career down a different road, one of synth-pop. Some guests have appeared on his tour, but for the most part, it’s just one man and numerous instruments. On Friday, Mossman will perform one of his new songs, called “Prophets.”

“The song is about how hard it is to make art in 2018 and still care for other humans and not be controlled by the money,” he said.

Treesreach — another concert performer — is a trio, a prime number for an alternative chamber-pop band. Its old band name was Live Broadcast, but the band found it hard to broadcast, because the name is not Google search specific.

“Treesreach was derived from a lyric from a rock band called Dawes,” bass and piano player Dillion Rairdin said.

Riley Thurm, the guitarist for the group, said the group’s musicians are “melodically centered” and employ stylistic elements to make songs popular. But they will also throw in dramatic orchestral music.

The Uniphonics blends the iconic funk-soul and hip-hop genres into a fascinating hybrid of its own. It’s 11-year reign began with winning a battle of the bands and quickly escalated into performing for crowds of 1,000.

The group’s fans are drawn by kids and middle-age folks who enjoy the hip-hop scene. Derek Thorn, also known as MC Animosity, noted the evolution of the group’s lyrics.

“The band has evolved a lot. I come from the East Coast and have been living in Iowa since 1998,” he said. “We represent Iowa everywhere we go on tour. Our albums have always been clean, and we try to pull that Iowa City vibe in with our lyrics. We put some thought in our lyrics and keep them optimistic.”

The live recording of the concert will be released free to the public. Draves said he was excited about his brainchild taking the stage, sayng the “organizational nightmare has finally come to life.”