Behind The Cheddar Curtain: Mile No. 7, This Must Be Heaven

It's that time of year, that the town just above

Lake Winnebago seems to say

"Mile of Music, where your new band dreams come true."

It’s not hyperbolic for me to say that the first weekend of August is my favorite time of year. It’s like Christmas in Summer. Annually, for the last seven years, Thursday through Sunday of the first weekend of the eighth month is when Appleton hosts Mile of Music -- a tidal wave of 900+ original musical sets taking place at up to 70 venues.

This will be our fifth in a row. After missing Mile 1 and 2, we sampled it in 2015 and were hooked. The “mile” -- the approximately 5280 feet west of the Lawrence University’s Chapel along College Avenue -- becomes an invigorating and electric display of hip, punk, chic, hillbilly, and bristling musical energy.

If I could have invented a music festival, this is mostly what it would have looked like.

With more than 200 national and international musicians descending upon the city, the months prior I spend listening and determining my must-see list. It is a difficult task because really, there no bad acts at the Mile. In our 16 collective days at the Mile, I have not seen one. There are some that I prefer over others, but every artist there brings a unique gift of musical talent.

There are three approaches:

Schedule, schedule, and schedule. The Mile of Music app is great for timing your mile to the minute. I am using it loosely — it’s invaluable for navigating the strip on the fly — but I still call a lot of audibles each day. Sometimes you have to, because you might run into a friend who tells you “You have gotta see *blank*!” and then you go and see *blank*.
Sit tight and let the music come to you. There’s a lot of venues where you can just chill all day and take in whatever comes next. When we were Mile rookies, we did this. It was fun, comfortable, and we made some new friends. If I did this today, I’d likely camp at Spat’s, Emmett’s Bar and Grill, or Fox River House. The last is my favorite. I swear bands sound the best under that big tree. Good beer selections, too.
Random. Bounce around like a loose electron and let your ears and instinct guide you. You’ll stumble into many great acts.

Here’s where my story gets slippery. There are so many bands to recommend. I’m afraid to say too much, as there certainly are many bands that I’ve yet to see or hear that are great. But at the very least, I’ll tell you a few that are absolute musts to me.

First and foremost, Volk. This self-described duo of country-fried rock and roll sizzles. I have not seen them, but enough pals have and they recommend them highly. One view of their video 'Honey Bee' and I know this is a band for me. Plus, some of my favorite Mile bands have been two-piece rockers. Brother O’ Brother (recognize the guy on the tv in the video below?), The Ghost Wolves, Poncé, and a few others have provided the most face-melting Mile experiences.

Late to my must-see list, but holy smokes, Candy Ambulance rocks!

One of the bands that we stumbled upon at Mile 6 that provides an unforgettable show is Philadelphia’s Chestnut Grove. Dee, the only woman in the band and its obvious leader, is a force of nature. Pure rock and roll essence emanate from her with every move. The whole band is tight. We saw them only once, and once was not enough.

A less-rocking artist, but one that I’ve discovered in my preparations for Mile 7 is Carsie Blanton. I’ve listened to her music more than any new Mile 7 performer and I instantly recognize her immense talent. American Kid and So Ferocious are videos that I’ve watched at least 10 times each.

For something completely different, I’ve got to check out Brothers Footman. Genre? ROCKHOPFUNKSOULTRY. Thank you, Sir. May I have another.

Last year we were photographers for Michigander. What a blast and a super nice guy (Michigander is Jason Singer.) Since Mile 6, we’ve come to love his anthemic and moving songs. I think greater fame is headed his way. This many good songs can NOT go unnoticed.

C2 and the Brothers Reed. Face-melting. Riff-roaring. Soul-shaking. Roof-raising. They were on my Mile 6 must-see list. I saw them. Now they’re on my Mile 7 must-see list.

Keeping with the face-melting, riff-roaring, soul-shaking, and roof-raising theme: Lemon Sky.

Perennial Appleton favorites Me LIke Bees returns. I’ve seen them numerous times and every time the result is the same: Me LIke Me Like Bees.

Out of the San Francisco Bay area, Megan Slankard and The Wreckage have grabbed my ears and wrapped them around my little brain. Her song stylings are all over, from rock to pop to folk. And she’s appearing both as a solo artist and with her band, The Wreckage.

Okay, I knew I should not have started this exercise. It’s hard to know where to stop. Just a few more, I promise.

Brett Newski and the No Tomorrow because it’s Brett Newski and the No Tomorrow, dammit. Brett’s got to be the hardest working artist on the Milwaukee music scene. I’ve seen him a bunch and every time he puts on a great show. We love this guy and support him to the end.

Andrew Leahey & The Homestead. Andrew’s band is one that I missed at Mile 6, but with the influences of Tom Petty and The Boss, plus serving as the guitarist for my SiriusXM Outlaw Country afternoon redneck girlfriend, Elizabeth Cook, he’s a can’t miss this time around. Plus his new album Airwaves is really good and he’s a darn nice guy. (Mile of Music is a no-cover festival, but Andrew’s version of Echo & The Bunnymen’s ‘Lips Like Sugar’ should be an exception.)

I’m ending it with one of Appleton’s own: Christopher Gold. I recall seeing CG on the schedule of previous Miles, but I only caught the last 20 seconds of one of his shows at Spat’s. It wasn’t long enough for me to understand the music, but the crowd sure was enthusiastic -- so I knew that they had just witnessed something special. Since, I’ve seen him at Blueberry Music Festival and now I know what the crowd was buzzing about.