Another Open Letter to My Friend, Bruce

Bruce,

Recently I sent you 30 things to do/tips for getting the maximum enjoyment out of Appleton's Mile of Music. My first tip you might remember was "Download the app, start listening and discovering new artists now." I did this last year and made a list of the bands that I considered must-sees. One of those bands was a group of talented musicians out of Cincinnati: Motherfolk.

Motherfolk at Mile 4

I caught their performance at Houdini Plaza and it was a delight. These guys (guys and one girl, actually) put on a raucous and energetic show. It was super and I felt like I was watching, potentially, the next big thing (which coincides with tip #3). Motherfolk's written some great tunes, too, somewhat in alignment with the great songs by The Lumineers, The Head and The Heart, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, or The Avett Brothers. I've never seen the first three live, but I've seen The Avetts at least seven times; Motherfolk's performance energy nearly matches the Brothers' -- and that's not an easy feat. (Watch below for a taste.)



Fast forward to May of 2017, when the Tosa Tonight Summer Concert Series schedule came out. You can imagine how elated I was to see that the crew that signs band for the summer schedule pulled an amazing coup and signed Motherfolk to perform at Rotary Performance Pavilion on Wednesday, July 26th! I've been going to the series -- my favorite Summer concert series in the 414 -- for a decade, but I've never seen such a contemporary, up-and-coming band signed to play here. This is quite amazing. Even more so considering the last band that performed prior to Motherfolk was none other than 80's rock radio stalwart The Motels! Someone's doing something right over at Tosa Tonight.

Anyway, Bruce, I hope that I'll see you at Mile of Music, but even if you don't make it, I hope you won't pass up the easy opportunity to see one of the great acts that will be performing in Appleton: Motherfolk. If you go, don't worry about texting or calling me, I'll be easy to find. I'll be right up front, stage-center, singing loudly along to the songs I know. In fact, I mean even ignite the "Motherfolk sucks! Motherfolk sucks!" chant that seems popular to yell before Motherfolk takes the stage (even though they don't suck at all).

Alright, Bruce. Good writing to you. I hope to see ya on the 26th in Tosa. Perhaps you can shop for a home while you're here. You know it's calling; it's where all the cool people live. ;)

Cheers,

Mike

P.S. - I love this tune...