Mile Of Music

Appleton's premiere independent music showcase, Mile Of Music, is officially in the books. After a shaky return last year (due to time lost during the Covid 19 shutdown) this year marked a triumphant and confident return to "business as usual", if over 700 performances at 40 different venues is considered the usual.

We (WCZR - Code Zero Radio) were fortunate enough to secure a spot at The Performing Arts Center that serves as headquarters for the Mile team. Interviews were hot and heavy as we were trying to squeeze as much production time in as possible and still enjoy the Mile for what it is...an original music showcase for visiting and local artists.

Stand out performances this year included the return of Chestnut Grove from Pennsylvania, who were elevated to the Jones Park Stage this year, Brett Newski absolutely enthralled the crowd at Houdini Square, and Brother O Brother who unleashed their trademark sonic assault at every venue they played.

Best discovery of Mile 9 was an artist from Nashville by the name of Gyasi (Jah-see). A nod to the glam rock era with a fresh attitude and plenty of guitar slinging material to fill a void that has been missing from the genre for quite a while. It was refreshing and familiar at the same time. I was fortunate enough to interview Gyasi and his bass player Cole the day after I caught their performance at Rookies.

Looking forward to next year at Mile 10, a few questions still remain for the future of this festival. Obviously, the biggest issue is sponsorship and raising the funds to put this event together. For now it remains a free to attend festival but the logistics of organizing something of this magnitude might require investigating the use of wristbands or some other form of admittance fee. But that is just based on my opinion and not any official word from the Mile Of Music organization.

Next year, Mile 10, August 3rd - 6th. See you there!