Mission:

The mission of the MWMF is to promote music and art in the region, creating opportunities for artists, stimulating downtown economic development, and providing diverse educational resources for artists, community members, and children.

A Brief History:

Mid West Music Fest was born in 2009 when AmeriCorps volunteer Sam Brown was stationed in the historic city of Winona, beautifully nestled between the bluffs and the Mississippi River. Boasting three institutions of higher education and a blossoming arts scene including the annual Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Frozen River Film Festival, Boats and Bluegrass and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Sam quickly fell in love with his new community and planted his ambitious idea amongst a group of eager new friends. His idea would be a first-of-its-kind event in the area that brought together more than 70 bands and musical acts at various venues around the community. Loosely modeled on Salem, Oregon’s “Cherry City Music Fest” (which was loosely modeled on Austin’s South by Southwest), MWMF was from the beginning an all-ages, multiple-genre, volunteer-driven festival.

In 2014, we officially incorporated as a nonprofit, increased our educational opportunities through our Sounds Like School initiative, and offered more music at more venues throughout the year. 2016 marked our first year of organizing a multi-stage, multi-genre companion weekend of the festival in our sister river town of La Crosse, WI.