Mile of Music returns for its 12th year on July 31 to Aug. 3. Downtown Appleton will be filled with nonstop music, bringing in around 200 local, national and international artists.
You can start planning now by downloading the Mile of Music app, available on Apple and Android phones, where all of the artists and venues are listed. The app also provides a map of the festival’s events.
Dave Willems, co-founder of the Mile of Music, spoke with the Appleton Post-Crescent to provide some tips and tricks for those attending the festival.
Wednesday/Thursday: Just ease in
The first day of Mile of Music is described as a “gearing up into the festival” kind of day by Willems. There will be mainly acoustic sets happening during the day, but when the evening begins, be ready for the party to really start.
Willems originally envisioned the first day of the festival to be a less crowded, more chill day for fans to enjoy. That ended up not coming into fruition, as things don’t calm down until the final day.
“I would say Thursday and Friday are very similar, and then Saturday is the real busy day. Everybody is tuckered out by Sunday,” Willems said. “People are so excited to have the festival start… Thursday night is a very busy night in particaular.”
On the eve of the festival, the kickoff to Mile of Music begins. “First Songs” goes from 7 to 9:15 p.m. on July 30 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, 400 W. College Ave. Willems says around 1,500 fans stop by, with eight artists performing short sets.
Willems also recommended fans catching the first round of “Writers Round” from 8:45 to 9:30 p.m. July 31 at The 513, 513 W. College Ave. It’s the first of three rounds at Mile of Music and will feature Whitney Mongé, Goldmine, and Katie Dahl.
“Writers Round” is an event where artists take turns performing original music and sharing the stories behind them in a collaborative setting.
Friday: Partake in workshops
Nearly 40 workshops will be hosted between Aug. 1 and 3. Whether it’s learning how to write a song, practicing a cultural dance, or being taught how to play an instrument, the workshops have multiple experiences for fans to enjoy.
Friday will have 18 workshops available. Here are some of the events offered that day. For the rest, use the Mile of Music app or on mileofmusic.com.
Saturday: Look out for pop-ups
Willems said that pop-up events will happen throughout the four-day event. A number of them will be at the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley hotel, 333 W. College Ave. Some will already be in the schedule, while other you’ll have to pay attention to the Mile of Music social media to catch them.
Official pop-up performances are at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, according to Willems. The hotel has a piano in its lobby, which Willems says will be tuned up this year for artists to do a pop-up there.
Multiple artists performed pop-up sets last year, including Minor Gold, Nathan Graham and Christopher Gold. Willems has seen crowds of more than 100 people show out for the surprise sets.
Sunday: ‘The Song Before We Go’
“The Song Before We Go” Mile of Music tradition will take place at Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 510 E. College Ave., and musicians will perform one last time before the festival closes for the year. This is typically hosted by festival co-founder Cory Chisel.
“It’s a neat way for some of the fans to see him as part of it. He hosts it, and then we have seven to eight artists that each do one song. It’s a chance really for the artists to say goodbye till next year, and for the fans to say goodbye till next year,” Willems said.
Rashad Alexander can be contacted at ralexander@gannett.com and 920-431-8214.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Here’s how to make the most out of each day at Appleton’s Mile of Music festival
Reporting by Rashad Alexander, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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