Kelli ArseneauAppleton Post-Crescent
APPLETON – In preparation for Mile of Music's 10th annual festival, coming to College Avenue Aug. 3-6, festival organizers announced the first 50 artists at a news conference Tuesday.
Appleton's largest event annually brings musicians and fans from all over for a free festival of 100% original music. In September, the festival was featured in Rolling Stone magazine, which highlighted its history of bringing rising talent to the festival before their careers take off, as well as providing unique care to artists like free meals, free lodging and even free health visits.
This year, around 750 music sets will be offered from more than 200 bands and a total of 600 artists, across 40 venues along a 1-mile stretch of College Avenue, from Lawrence Memorial Chapel to Spats.
Dave Willems, president and founder of Willems Marketing & Events, the organization that puts on Mile of Music, said "Mile 10" will be a return to the full Mile of Music experience for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the festival was canceled. In 2021, "Mile 8" returned in a smaller scope, including fewer artists, fewer performances and more outdoor venues. In 2022, the festival still had a few modifications.
This year, Willems said, organizers hope to top 100,000 attendees for the first time.
"It will be similar in scope to 'Mile 7,' similar in scope to a 'full tilt' festival is what we're kind of calling it," Willems said. "It's been three years that we've had some variations of things."
Among festival elements returning for Mile 10 is the Mile of Music bus, a Valley Transit bus that is transformed into a moving music venue. The bus offers 50 to 60 rides during the first three days of the festival, and became a popular staple for artists and fans, Willems said.
Additionally, Mile of Music will continue expanding its "listening rooms," which played a larger role in the festival last year. The "listening rooms" invite festival-goers to hear performers in a more intimate setting, where they are expected to stay quiet while artists play their original music and share stories. There will be 10 at this year's festival, Willems said.
The "listening rooms" are a unique opportunity for the festival's artists, Mile of Music talent director Ian Thomson said.
"Those artists that play in those spaces, they don't get that often. And when they come here, they get that experience, and it goes such a long way," he said.
The first 50 artists to be announced are from 19 states and four countries. Among them are a couple firsts for Mile of Music: Alisa Amador is the first winner of NPR's Tiny Desk Contest to play at Mile of Music, Fantastic Cat is the first band to play at Mile of Music where all members will also perform at the festival as solo artists, and Nigel Wearne is the first artist to come to the festival from Australia.
"We expect fans to come from all 50 states, from several countries, to see these artists," Willems said. "I think that's kind of a cool phenomenon, because as you know, our festival is about ... these artists who may not be household names but should be."
The first 50 artists include 19 groups and solo-acts who have previously played at Mile of Music, and 31 who will be first-timers at the festival.
Over the next six to eight weeks, festival organizers will announce more than 150 more artists and groups. In total, around 600 musicians will come to Appleton for Mile of Music, according to festival organizers.
"There really is something for everyone in this lineup," Thomson said.
Returning artists:
- Girl Blue - Saratoga Springs, New York
- Making Movies - Kansas City, Missouri
- Ben Mulwana - Kenosha
- Remember Jones - Asbury Park, New Jersey
- LowDown Brass Band - Chicago
- Sway Wild - San Juan Island, Washington
- Joy Clark - New Orleans
- Betsy Ade & The Well-Known Strangers - Racine
- Rachael Davis - Nashville
- Próxima Parada - San Luis Obispo, California
- VOLK - Nashville
- Lemon Sky - Cincinnati
- The End of America (TEOA) - Philadelphia
- Flagship Romance - Louisville, Kentucky
- The Stews - Charleston, South Carolina
- JD Eicher - Youngstown, Ohio
- Michaela Anne - Nashville
- J.E. Sunde - Minneapolis
- Mo Lowda & The Humble - Philadelphia
New artists:
- Welshly Arms - Cleveland, Ohio
- The Heavy Heavy - Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom
- Steve Poltz - Nashville
- Alisa Amador - Boston
- Danielle Nicole Band - Kansas City, Missouri
- Julie Williams - Nashville
- Adeem The Artist - Knoxville, Tennessee
- Anthony D’Amato - New York
- Brian Dunne - New York
- Don DiLego - New York
- Mike Montali - New York
- Fantastic Cat - New York
- Nigel Wearne - Woodford, Victoria, Australia
- Walden - Nashville
- Mom Rock - Nashville
- Radio Free Honduras - Chicago
- Kiss The Tiger - Minneapolis
- SloCoast - Los Angeles
- Buffalo Rose - Pittsburgh
- Ken Yates - Creemore, ON, Canada
- May Erlewine - Traverse City, Michigan
- BLKBOK - Las Vegas
- Sweet Lizzy Project, Nashville
- Certainly So - Nashville
- Abby Holliday - Nashville
- Sleepy Gaucho - Milwaukee
- Whitehorse - Toronto
- HAPPY LANDING - Nashville
- Soultru - Davenport, Iowa
- Patty PerShayla & The Mayhaps - Nashville
- Caiola - Philadelphia
RELATED: Mile of Music kicks off Thursday with new and returning artists and fans
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 orkarseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at@ArseneauKelli.
