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NEWS RELEASE
De Pere to Stage EastWest Music Fest to Showcase 125th Throughout Summer
De Pere, Wis. (April 29, 2015) – The City of De Pere will collaborate with Definitely De Pere and
Mile of Music Productions to celebrate the City’s 125th anniversary by staging EastWest Music
Fest, a showcase of free, original music that will encompass 75 live music performances over six
summer Fridays at venues on both sides of the Fox River beginning June 5.
EastWest Music Fest will be offered at six venues – three on each side of the river – on
June 5 and 19, July 10 and 24, and August 7 and 21. In addition to the venue series, an Opening
Showcase will kick-off the multi-week festival on June 5 at Dudley Birder Hall and, weather
permitting, a Closing Showcase will be offered on Sunday, August 30 at Nicolet Square.
Billed as “A Summer of Song to Celebrate 125 Years,” De Pere Mayor Mike Walsh said
the collaborative production is as much about showcasing what the city has to offer today as its
history. “This multi-week music concept is a great way for us to celebrate what De Pere has
become just as much as it is a tribute to our rich history,” Walsh said in announcing the fest.
“Combined with Definitely De Pere’s Downtown Art Walk Series on the alternating Fridays, the
original music completes a really special summer schedule that we think fits well with our
community.”
Kicking off De Pere’s EastWest Music Fest will be national touring artist Cory Chisel, who
will bring his soulful brand of folk rock to the Opening Showcase at Dudley Birder Hall. Chisel
will be joined by long-time collaborator Adriel Denae. Both Chisel and Denae have albums
coming out this summer. Chisel, the Nashville-based artist who grew up in Appleton and cut his
teeth as a singer-songwriter in the Fox Valley, is music curator of Mile of Music’s four-day
original music festival in downtown Appleton each August.
Though the remaining 75 music performances during EastWest Music Fest will be free
through the respective venues, the Opening Showcase featuring Chisel and Denae, along with
De Pere troubadour Michael Gillespie as the opener, will be the only ticketed showcase of the
summer-long series. Tickets will be $25 and are available at
www.definitelydepere.org/eastwestfest. Proceeds from the opening show will seed future
music events through Definitely De Pere.
Eight venues will participate and share hosting duties in the first EastWest Music Fest,
with six featured on the schedule for each of the Fridays. They are: Buddha’s Still, Fire House
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EastWest Music Fest Announced/Page Two
Bar & Grill, Luna Café and Nicky’s on the west side; plus George Street Connection, La Vie
Boheme, McGeorge’s and Starry Realty on the east side. Two acts will perform at each of the six
venues on the six Fridays – a total of 72 performances for the series itself.
The Closing Showcase is planned for Sunday, August 30 – the weekend after the series –
at Nicolet Square, weather permitting. Like the Opening Showcase, it will include Wisconsinconnected artists, likely featuring a singer-songwriter opener and two folk/indie rock bands.
Allyson Watson, executive director of Definitely De Pere, said the full roster of acts,
some of which will perform more than one music set during the series, should be announced
along with the full schedule within the next week. All info will be available at
www.definitelydepere.org as it becomes finalized.
“More and more people in our region are looking to De Pere for its arts and hospitality
and to enjoy a safe, fun night out,” Watson said. “We’ve scheduled the times for the music at
some venues to complement the dining opportunities for a full artisan experience.” Watson
said music at the venues will be back-to-back, with the time blocks each night being: 7 p.m. and
8:10 p.m.; 8:30 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.; and 10 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. Artists will play 50 minute
showcases of their original music.
Unison Credit Union has signed on to be the overall presenting sponsor for EastWest
Music Fest. The Kaukauna-based credit union, which began as Thilmany Credit Union in 1932,
serves those living or working in Brown, Outagamie, Calumet and Manitowoc counties and the
cities and townships of Neenah and Menasha in Winnebago County. In January, Unison opened
a new branch in De Pere, its fifth location.
Three hallmark local businesses – Union Hotel, Ryan Funeral Home and Crematory, and
Van Gemert Memorials – have teamed up to sponsor EastWest’s Opening Showcase. The
Closing Showcase is being sponsored by Baylake Bank.
“It’s tremendous to see the local business community join with the City of De Pere to
make this summer-long, distinctive event for our community happen,” said Larry Delo,
administrator for the City of De Pere. “These businesses are helping us celebrate, in a neat way,
where we’ve been, who we are today, and where we’re going as a community.”
Among the artists on the roster thus far, in addition to Chisel, Denae and Gillespie, are:
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EastWest Music Fest Announced/Page Three
Jamie Kent, a fast-rising singer-songwriter originally from Boston; Matthew Szlachetka from Los
Angeles; North by North, an indie rock band from Chicago; and Mighty Fox, an alternative rock
band from Atlanta. More than 50 other artists, including more Wisconsin artists, will be
announced with the full roster.
Dave Willems, creator of the Mile of Music and co-founder with Chisel of the annual
four-day August festival in Appleton, said EastWest Music Fest will also be a good blend of
excellent touring acts and talented Wisconsin performers. “We’re excited about adding the
original artistry and handcrafted songs of Mile of Music to the De Pere landscape,” Willems
said. “Nothing promotes a community vibe quite the same as original music.”
In what’s become a four-day spectacle in downtown Appleton, the Mile of Music
Festival offers 800 live music sets at 65 venues and will stage nearly 200 artists this August. It’s
become nationally acclaimed for its focus on emerging and new talent.
“Each community will add its own special flavor and characteristics as we take the spirit
of Mile of Music on the road,” Willems said. “We’re honored to have De Pere, where my dad
and his 12 siblings grew up, be the first new community to partner with us.”
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For more information, please contact:
Dave Willems, Mile of Music, [email protected] or [email protected] or 920419-3550.
Allyson Watson, Definitely De Pere, [email protected] or 920-371-9797
Mayor Mike Walsh, City of De Pere, [email protected] or 920-339-4044
Larry Delo, City of De Pere, [email protected] or 920-339-4044