After a few whirlwind years of touring, media appearances, and studio record-ings, award-winning musician Cory Chisel is grateful to be back home in Appleton. Even when he is on the road, the pull to return home is strong for Chisel—especially in the summertime, when the annual Mile of Music festival, which he helped to establish in 2013, takes place in the schools, bars, concert halls, and streets of his hometown Appleton.

“It’s my favorite weekend of the year,” says Chisel.

But it took a tremendous community effort to make this weekend happen. According to Fox Valley marketing professional and community volunteer Dave Willems, the idea for a citywide music festival had been percolating for years. But the Mile of Music festival really crystallized after a conversation Willems and Chisel had in 2012. They both realized that they shared a similar vision for a regional music festival with a distinct Wisconsin flavor that leans more toward an intimate, personal experience for the audience and artists alike.

“We got to talking about music, our shared work with nonprofits, the impor-tance of local businesses, and Appleton’s walkable downtown, and all the pieces fit together,” says Willems. “The kicker was that Cory has a huge music pres-ence that was launched in Appleton. He said he wouldn’t have gotten to the next level if it weren’t for the support of his following here.”

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Named Rolling Stone Best New Artist in 2009, Chisel says he is grateful for the encouragement and support he’s received from the Fox Valley community. Ever since he received a scholarship to Appleton Boy Choir his heart and hands

have been invested in Appleton arts and education, even partnering with the Fox River Valley Environmental and Educa-tion Alliance to develop the former Monte Alverno Retreat & Spirituality Center into a space for creativity.

Chisel, who acts as the festival’s music curator, says that the Mile of Music festival “initially started with my dream scenario of artists that I wanted to see. [Today it has] branched out into including artists I felt would be emerging onto the national scene—gathering that insider info from touring.”

Helping to organize a free, public music festival was simply another opportunity

for Chisel to give back to the commu-nity. And he and Willems knew that there was a willing educational partner at the end of College Avenue. “With Lawrence University … we had a great opportunity to weave music education and support for it into what we were creating,” notes Willems.

The two found willing partners in Leila Ramagopal Pertl, director of Lawrence University’s Academy of Music commu-nity program, and Brian Pertl, dean of the Conservatory of Music.

“When we first met with Dave and Cory, the idea just clicked that a large education component would set it apart and that it could help to support music education,” says Leila Ramagopal Pertl, who is now the music education curator for Mile of Music.

Per t l be l ieves that “mus ic i s a birthright,” and says that there is a misperception that music is somehow divided into two categories: the makers and the listeners. At Mile of Music, now in its third year, Pertl hopes people will “re-enliven their inner musician, not only by seeing and hearing local and national performers, but also with participa-tion in music-making events, and talking with and learning from the performers in discussions and workshops.”

According to Pertl, the most popular music-making workshops are often the most foreign to most Americans: African drums, the Australian indigenous Didjeridu (a large wind instrument), the Balinese gamelan (a collection of metal

Music education curator

Leila Ramagopal Pertl

believes that “music is a

birthright,” and says that

there is a misperception

that music is somehow

divided into two catego-

ries: the makers and the

listeners.

A Music Festival That’s Miles Ahead:

Appleton’s Mile of MusicB Y B R E N D A K . B R E D A H L

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xylophones with differing pitches), and many other exotic instruments all receive high marks.

Other popular “maker” events are Parachutes and Boomwhackers, where participants create parachutes and music and then put it all together in a performance, and the multi-day song-writing workshops. Last year’s mini song-writing event, hosted by Richie Ramone of the seminal punk band The Ramones, fired up youth and adults alike with an incredible drum workshop and stimulating panel discussion.

Dozens of mini-workshops on drum, fiddle, mandolin, harp, guitar, and other instruments bring together would-be and practicing musicians, while budding musicians mix with established performers at career stations, demon-strations, and panel discussions where artists are encouraged to talk freely about everything from inspiration to irritation.

Indeed, learning opportunities abound at Mile of Music, which, thanks to a $7,500 grant from the Community Foun-dation for the Fox Valley Region to Lawrence University, has nearly quadru-pled the number of education-related events since its inception.

“We’ve been able to put a small amount into the music education fund so far. And we’ve just started our downtown creative fund that will help seed projects like murals and public art,” says Willems. “Our community is willing to be patient, because this effort [to bring more

creative energy to downtown Appleton] is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Creative programming on city buses, in plazas and parks, or at coffee shops, restaurants, supper clubs, and bars will come to a crescendo this August 6–9,

when some 200 Mile of Music artists from 18 states and four countries provide 800 performances for over 35,000 attendees at more than 65 venues along the city’s mile-long College Avenue. In addition to all of these performances by local and national recording artists and musicians, the streets of Appleton come alive with music-making activities, educational workshops, and demonstrations.

While he is the music curator for Mile of Music, Chisel is also keen to incorpo-

rate the visual arts. For instance, last year, Chisel and Appleton artist John Christian Adams invited area visual artists to share their folklore inter-pretations for an art exhibition titled “Fearsome Creatures of the Lumber-woods.” The exhibition was inspired by Chisel and Adams’ love of Mythical Crea-tures of the North Country by Walker D. Wyman, emeritus professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls and author of 23 books on Upper Midwest folklore.

Housed in an empty warehouse a block off College Avenue, “Fearsome Crea-tures of the Lumberwoods” featured Appleton artist Brad Brautigam’s “uPho-nium,” iPhone amplifiers fashioned from discarded horns, gramophones, and vintage telephones. Visitors were encour-aged to park their iPhones and crank the tunes, with an astounding result.

This year Chisel and Adams invite artists to interpret the life and works of Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist and vaudevillian who grew up in Appleton. Chisel and Adams have also asked that participating musicians who are visual artists as well share their work in a Mile of Music group exhibition.

A tour of Wisconsin music history will also be part of this year’s Mile of Music. Musician and animator Frank Anderson, author of the popular “Wisconsinology” blog, will share formative moments of Wisconsin music history—from the Wisconsin Chair Company’s division of Paramount Records that spread Amer-

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Events like this do

contribute to a commu-

nity’s economy in an

important way. But for

most of the Mile of Music

festival participants, it

is about so much more.

“In the end it’s not about

revenue or tickets sales. …

It’s about how the music

brings the community

together,” says Litt.

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ican blues and jazz throughout the world to Waukesha’s Les Paul, who invented the solid-body electric guitar.

Many performers and educators provide their music and expertise free of charge for the benefit of the community. Nathan Litt, Mile of Music operations coordinator and Lawrence University alumnus, says the festival also depends heavily on volunteer and community support from local businesses, arts organizations, Lawrence University, the school district, and citizens.

“With a great many volunteers who make the festival happen, we have a model that is sustainable,” says Litt, adding that the “300 or so volunteers are good stewards and ambassadors in this festival with so many moving parts.”

The idea of presenting a multi-faceted festival such as Mile of Music is gaining

momentum as other communities in the Fox Cities—and across the state—have launched similar ventures, like the new summer-long EastWest Music Fest in nearby De Pere, organized with help from Mile of Music organizers.

Events like this do contribute to a community’s economy in an important way. But for most of the Mile of Music festival participants, Litt notes that it is about so much more. “In the end it’s not about revenue or tickets sales. … It’s about how the music brings the commu-nity together,” says Litt.

Leila Ramagopal Pertl echoes that sentiment, noting that “what ties people to music are memories, the connec-tions that people make, and that sense of community. These ideas are key to the philosophy of the Mile of Music.”

For more information on Mile of Music, visit mileofmusic.com.

—Brenda K. Bredahl

TBD/EDITOR’S PICK

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