This year’s Mile of Music festival, led by its fedora tipping spokesperson Cory Chisel, turned out to be a big ole toast to family.
We saw sibling bands and bands who bonded like brothers.
We spent most of four days with a nice variety of our own family members on the Avenue and saw more than 43 acts.
In a classic case of FOMO, we enjoyed 14 hours downtown on Saturday, walked 11.55 miles (according to my app), and dashed back and forth among diverse venues including tiny bars, a giant chapel, a beer garden and a beautiful old church.
We saw Swear and Shake cover a Wild Adriatic song on Friday in the rain, and then Wild Adriatic cover a Swear and Shake song Saturday in a crowded bar.
We sang along with the Chisel family, and gave a standing ovation to Jon Wheelock, who took the stage at Lawrence Chapel with his father Steve.
We welled up as our friend Hillary and her dad Ric played a gorgeous pop up concert in the Radisson Paper Valley lobby.
We saw several sister duos, including Lily and Madeleine, who impressed an enormous crowd with vocal harmonies that belied their tender years.
We applauded Adriel Denae’s solo debut, and the Outer Edge felt like a musical cocoon that night, with her parents, partner, baby and best friends there to watch her soar.
In the vision of its founders, Chisel and Dave Willems, Mile of Music has grown to become a songwriter’s festival with multi-generational appeal.
We can’t wait for Mile 4.
My sister and her family joined us for a great day. My nephew Traveain is a DJ.My niece Mari came all the way from Portland.The Chisel family set the tone for a wonderful festival with a warm family feel. Here are Adriel Denae, Rhodes Wilder and Cory Chisel with MoM music curator and Lawrence University music professor Leila Ramagopal Pertl.16-year old Genevieve Heyward performed throughout the festival. This is a set she shared with her friend 16-year old Jackson Mankowski. We loved their set. The camera you see in this photo belongs to Genevieve’s mom.Sisters Vic and Gab put on a nice show in the Radisson Courtyard.It felt like a big, family sing-a-long with Mr. Jim Heiks leading and his former students Cory Chisel (with his family) and Hillary Reynolds chiming in.Everyone loves the sing-a-longA cellphone pic taken by Swear and Shake lead singer Kari Spieler of drummer Benny Goldstein, Vince and Wild Adriatic bass player Richie Derbyshire. We love these two bands and have all their CDs.Jon Wheelock sang a song with his dad Steve Wheelock that brought down the house.Hillary Reynolds played a beautiful set, accompanied by her dad, Ric Reynolds.Sisters Lily and Madeleine played to a giant crowd. Apparently, word of this great festival is getting out.Nothing exemplifies the family atmosphere of this festival more than the traditional Songs Before We Go concert, a rollicking good time. I really love the joy in this picture. Bring on Mile 4.
