APPLETON (NBC 26) — The 12th annual Mile of Music festival in Appleton concluded Sunday with organizers reporting increased attendance and new features that resonated with fans.
Festival creator Dave Willems said attendance was up approximately 5-10% compared to previous years, largely due to favorable weather conditions.
"I think we're up probably about 5-10% in the number of people largely due to the great weather," Willems said.
The four-day independent music festival introduced several new elements this year, including pop-up performances between scheduled venue shows.
"We tried a few more pop-ups, which is kind of just having music pop up between other venues," Willems said. "People absolutely love that so that's something we will be doing more of next year."
Among the pop-up performers was Milwaukee-based shoegaze band Mizzy, making their Mile of Music debut. The group, consisting of Joe Nsubuga, Maliqk Martinez, Carter Cribbs, and Sebastian Gutierrez, found the festival to be a learning experience.
"You know, I think we've seen a lot of the other bands who have played here and it's like, you can tell they are a lot more professional and used to this setting than we are," Nsubuga said. "We have a lot that we can improve on. For me, like, it's like an inspiration."
For veteran performers Adrian and Meredith, who have been participating since the festival's second year, saying goodbye to Appleton is always difficult.
"Incredibly difficult, incredibly difficult," the duo said. "We go back, we were telling it on stage. When we're about between Beaver Dam and Milwaukee is when we lose our rockstar status and we become civilians again on our way home."
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