Mile of Music Festival program airing on PBS Wisconsin in 2025

June 24, 2024 Alyssa Beno Leave a Comment

PBS Wisconsin and Mile of Music organizers announced the upcoming production of a program highlighting the nationally acclaimed festival. Filming will take place at this year’s festival, Aug. 1-4, 2024, with the PBS Wisconsin program set to air in 2025. The feature program aims to capture the essence, energy and impact of the annual original music celebration held in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The Mile of Music festival, now in its 11th year, is renowned for its commitment to showcasing original music and its sharp focus on fostering a vibrant interaction between artists and fans. Featuring 200 original acts, the festival spans four days and 40 venues throughout downtown Appleton, offering a diverse array of musical genres and experiences. The festival stretches exactly a mile along College Avenue between the Lawrence Memorial Chapel to the east and Spats Parking Lot stage to the West.

“Mile of Music has always been about more than just the music. It’s about community, connection, and celebrating both originality and creativity,” said Dave Willems, creator/curator of Mile of Music. “We are honored to have PBS Wisconsin document our journey and share it with Wisconsin and the world in the wonderful and very original way that they do.”

Throughout the past year, the Mile of Music team has worked closely alongside the PBS Wisconsin team to curate content that will be featured in the program, along with organizing production and logistical plans. In total, PBS Wisconsin plans to have approximately 40 field crew members and producers in Appleton covering the August festival. The PBS Wisconsin crews will be filming at multiple locations within the festival footprint, including significant footage from Lawrence Memorial Chapel and Jones Park. The PBS Wisconsin team will also be filming at various venues throughout the festival – ranging from coffee shop showcases to bar stages – in addition to speaking with artists, partners, fans and organizers.

PBS Wisconsin had members of its production team at Mile 10 last summer, scouting the festival. At Mile 11, production crews will be on-site throughout the event capturing the work that goes into creating the festival, the music that makes the festival move and the community that comes together to celebrate the musicians at the heart of the event. PBS Wisconsin’s coverage will result in a television program that will be broadcast statewide in 2025 along with a library of music performances from across Mile of Music that will be available to stream online and on PBS Wisconsin’s free streaming platforms.

“We are proud to be partnering with Mile of Music to capture and share this event,” said Jon Miskowski, PBS Wisconsin director of television. “As the state’s largest stage, PBS Wisconsin shares arts, culture and performances with audiences throughout Wisconsin. Now, working with Mile of Music we can share the music, and the story of this ambitious community event, to new and larger audiences through our television and digital channels.”

In 2025, the Mile of Music team will announce a community screening event of the PBS Wisconsin program in advance of the public broadcast.

Made in Wisconsin Mile of Music