Midwest Music Fest is back in Winona April 29-30 and in La Crosse September 16-17. After talking to new executive director Dylan Hilliker, we are super excited. If you haven’t been – think South by Southwest for the Midwest.
Fun to hear a little bit about how the festival happens. There’s staff and there are committees that help select music and curate the various stages. The music selection committee starts with a list of folks who catch their eye (maybe 300 bands) then they put out call (add another 200 bands) and they listen, listen, listen to whittle that down to 130 bands – 70 that will play in Winona and 60 that will play in La Crosse. Then they assign stages and venues to each. And to make it easier for attendees – they have create a new app this year to help take in and manage your planned night. Putting on the festival is a team effort.
The goal is to create a festival that springboards some emerging artists and helps fans find their new favorite performers as well as connect with longtime music heroes. Dylan is new to his position but he has experience running a festival; he founded a festival in Rochester in high school and grew it from 100 tickets the first year to over 1,000.
Tickets are available to Winona now. La Crosse tickets will open up at the end of March. There are VIP tickets available that include both weekends and a few other awesome perks!
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