Mile 5: From A-Z

By Scott Peeples

Mile of Music 5, August 3-6, features 225 bands from around the planet.  It’s a virtual alphabet soup of Americana, singer/songwriter soul sharing, folk, Indie, a little country and good ‘ol rock and roll.  In less than a month, music lovers will be basking in the glory of four full days of original music on a one-mile stretch of Downtown Appleton.

But where to begin? 

The answer, of course, is wherever you want.  But it’s fun to offer a road map – or a ladle, if you will (alphabet soup).  Having seen 80 of the 200 plus bands coming to Mile 5, it’s safe to say I’m an eager promoter (some would say fanatic). And so here it is: Mile 5, A to Z, a taste of all the great music that’s coming to town.

A – “American Love”: The song, and latest album, is Toronto, Canada-based Fast Romantics’ ode to our nation. The flashy, hook-heavy band played a Mile bonus show in Appleton a few weeks ago and is excited to make their Mile of Music debut.

B – Banjo:  In the right hands, a banjo can do wonders for a great vocal delivered in the classic bluegrass or country roots tradition.  Masters at this craft are the delightful duo of Kendi and Palmer, known, as The Lowest Pair, returning for their second trip to the Mile.  When they’re pickin’ and singin’ together, it’s banjo bliss.

C – Cat:  New to the Mile, Cat Clyde is an emerging artist from Ontario, Canada with a fresh take on a classic sound.

D – Diane Coffee: Alice Cooper meets Rocky Horror Picture show meets… okay, enough of that. Suffice it to say, this is inspirational, original music with a theatrical twist that you won’t want to miss.  All eyes on Shaun Fleming, the former Disney child actor and Diane Coffee lead magician.

E – Emilee Petersmark: Singer/guitarist/songwriter/creative genius Petersmark is one fourth of The Crane Wives, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based band that made a big splash here at Mile 2 and 3. Most recently, they were finalists for the JBL sponsored Best American Band Contest.

F – Frederick the Younger:  Fronted by Jenni Cohran, this is another band that’s hard to pigeon hole. Lush vocals and lots of percussion, they remind me a little of Florence and the Machine.

G – Ron Gallo: The booking of this Nashville-via-Philadelphia guitar-wielding maniac (self-proclaimed) is another major coup for the Mile of Music team. Says Gallo, “Weird is a level of freedom achieved by being yourself.”  In Gallo’s case, the music does the talking.  In June, he was part of the star-studded line-up at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. He also played Summerfest.

H – Har-di-Har, High Up and Honey, Come Home:  Har-di-Har (Julie and Andrew Thoreen) performed just one show at the Durty Leprechaun at Mile 3 but it had a cool, underground feel to it. Their influences range from Yes to classic folk.  Why only one show? They say it takes them a long time to set up. Intrigued yet?  High Up is led by sisters Christine and Orenda Fink. The innovative band features Christine’s powerful vocals. Finally, I had the audacity to call the Hillary Reynolds Band song, “Honey, Come Home,” the best overall performance of Mile 2.  It’s a perfect song. Now based in Los Angeles, they are back for the second straight year performing as Peridot.

I – I Am the Polish Army: This up and coming rock/punk band based in Brooklyn is Turner Stough, Eric Kuby and Appleton-alum Emma Decorsey. If you were counting, that’s 104,997 fewer members than the real Polish armed forces.

J – Jamie Kent: Rolling Stone Magazine loves this guy as much as ebullient Mile of Music fans that keep him coming back.  Always the showman, Kent will win you over with a style of music I like to call What Country Music Should Be. Kent will play a variety of showcases during Mile Week, including a community concert.

K – Kari:  As in Kari Spieler, of Swear and Shake and Kari Arnett, of Kari Arnett.  While there is no consensus on which band best embodies the heart and soul of the Mile of Music, Swear and Shake is always mentioned in the conversation. They took last year off to finish their album, “The Sound of Letting Go.”  Spieler is the whirlwind front-woman with the soulful voice and empowering smile.  Kari Arnett, who will join us from Minneapolis, has been lauded by American Songwriter Magazine.  (See the letter J for musical genre.)  Mark her on your “must see” list.

L – Liz Cooper and Lauren Pritchard: Cooper is the front-woman for Liz Cooper and the Stampede, which woke up the Rhythms & Brews at Riverview Gardens crowd a few months ago with a gritty, alluring, pure Americana performance.  Pritchard is better known as LOLO, the “Shine” singer that energized the Mile with her breakout performance last year.

M – Miles Nielsen: His dad’s band once sang, “Mommy’s alright, Daddy’s alright, they just seem a little weird.” But Mr. Nielsen (Miles, not Rick, the weird guitar player for Cheap Trick) is better described as grounded but versatile. In addition to playing with Mile of Music vets Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts, Miles teams up with Kelly Steward to debut the new duo, Weep and Willow.

N – “Need You By My Side”:  This quintessential sun-soaked pop song by The Sun Parade from Northampton, Massachusetts is all you need to hear to fall in love with this band making their second appearance at the Mile.

O – OuterEdge Stage:  With the popular Jones Park out of the mix for Mile 5, the Mile of Music team has looked to other amazing venues to step up to the plate. The OuterEdge Stage, located a few blocks north of College Ave., will also host four full days of performers as a main stage venue.

P – Paris, France:  Paris is home base for highly acclaimed Mile newcomer Octave Lissner and the Mile 4 dream pop/indie rock duo of Paloma Gil and Louise Hayat-Camard, known as The Dove and the Wolf. They like it when you try to guess which one is which.  This is the first U.S. appearance for Octave Lissner.

Q – Quadruple: As in, you can quadruple your fun if you commit to attending all four days of Mile of Music 5.  One day would barely get you to E, let alone Z.

R – Rae, as in Erin Rae and the Meanwhiles:  Every Wednesday, from November through May, the Mile of Music Team hosted the Rhythm & Brews concerts at Stone Arch at Riverview Gardens in Appleton. Erin Rae’s February 15 performance was as close to soul-soothing perfection that one could imagine.

S – Sheboygan, WI:  Great music comes out of unlikely places.  If forced to name my absolute favorite performance at Mile of Music 4, it would be Cedarwell, a highly innovative band that runs the gamut of musical genres with a touch of wackiness. They were the only band I saw two times last year – at 11 a.m. and at 11 p.m., on the same day. Another great band at this year’s fest, also from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is The Belle Weather, a deeply passionate duo that takes each note they play personally.

T – Trump:  Nope, not the guy in the White House. Sam Trump is a musically gifted, multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago who’ll have your jaws dropping with his jazzy, soul-soaked original melodies. Trump (real name Sam Harris) took his stage name after mastering the instrument that made Dizzy Gillespie famous.

U – Una Walkenhorst: Another Mile vet, this solo artist based in New Orleans delivers candid lyrics with  thoughtful guitar accompaniment.

V – Vogelzang, as in Anna Vogelzang:  Anna can wield a ukulele and a quirky pop melody with the best of ‘em. The Madison artist, whose been touring since 2007, moved to Los Angeles last summer but is back for another round of engaging folk-pop eloquence.

W – Wild, Wild and Wilder: As in Wild Adriatic, Wild Fur and Wilder Adkins. Wild Adriatic is in that same conversation with Swear and Shake.  If you love the Mile of Music, you’ve almost certainly had your sails tattered by these guys.  Wild Fur is a genre-bending sleeper that has my curiosity peaked and Wilder Adkins strikes me as a compelling singer/songwriter in the style of Cory Chisel, Andrew Combs, or – and I’m not kidding here — William Wild.

X – Xenial (pronounced ziːnɪəl):  Talk to the hundreds of artists who’ve made the trek to little Appleton, Wisconsin and they’ll tell you they love our city because of the hospitality from the Mile of Music team and the music-loving masses who support their original songs.  Indeed, no one really uses this word.  I’m using it here because it starts with the letter X. But it’s a great word, isn’t it?

Y – Yakima, Washington: Mile 4 alum Bradford Loomis, who hails from Yakima, performed last year with his duo, The Banner Days.  He combines Americana, Soul and Funk styles to create a warm, tender mix.

Z – Zippin Pippin:  Popular Mile of Music rock and roll veteran Trapper Schoepp from Milwaukee loves amusement parks and has an affinity for Bay Beach. In fact, he just released a six-song CD dedicated to the coolest little place in Northeastern Wisconsin.  Swedish immigrants, lost cause relationships and destructive wind storms are other themes this eclectic artist touches on in his songs.

2 Responses to Mile 5: From A-Z

Kevin Otte says:

July 12, 2017 at 8:55 pm

Just read your blog for MILE 5: A-Z. I suggest you edit “S” from Sheboygan to “Street Pedalers, LLC”, a venue specific shuttle service for MILE 5 pedestrians. MUSICIANS(with credentials) RIDE FREE!

Reply

• Scott Peeples says:

  July 13, 2017 at 10:33 pm

  This sounds great. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of this! How do we find out more?

  Reply