A big ole toast to MoM and family

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.