Mid West Music Fest completes its 2022 festival series Sept 16-17 in LaCrosse. Tickets and details can be found HERE.
MWMF has established a reputation over the past decade as the preeminent discovery showcase in the Midwest. Each year it splits weekends between Winona and LaCrosse. The former, takes place in late spring with LaCrosse taking place as summer winds down.
I’ve written extensively about how cool and important this event is in the upper Midwest music scene. It’s patterned after Austin’s SXSW where bands are playing all over town. Many in established venues. Some in places that step up and host line ups for this special occasion.
There’s something for everyone; all styles are represented. The emphasis is on showcasing the best up and coming talent in the Midwest, along with providing exciting new artists an opportunity to perform to built in audiences and build their resumes. The talent level is high and the ticket price is almost too good to be believed.
MWMF’s best attribute is that it feels like a homecoming for all those bands you love or have wanted to check out. Unlike most festivals where bands do their thing and hit the road, the vast majority of musicians spend most of their time as fans. Most of the bands in the line up work weekends. So they don’t get a lot of chance to support each other or check out new bands unless they land together on the occasional bill. MWMF has a unique feel that seems a lot more about art than commercialization.
Consider this. Music lovers from LaCrosse have been jumping in their cars and coming to the Twin Cities to see music since Henry Ford put four wheels and a motor on a frame. It’s an easy run. It’s just as easy going in the opposite direction. Twin City music fans really don’t have anything like MWMF, with the possible exception of The Hook’s Roots, Rock & Deep Blues. Expect a large contingent of metro area fans in attendance.
Kiss The Tiger and The Shackletons are just two of roughly 60 bands on the bill. Both are MWMF veterans. This is their take on what goes down: