City of Kaukauna announces band lineup for new music festival

KAUKAUNA, Wis. –  The City of Kaukauna has announced the bands performing during its premier music festival, August 9-10 in Hydro Park.

The two-day music festival (official name to be announced during the event) will feature seven bands from the Midwest who play for a variety of music tastes. In addition to live music, the festival will also feature bounce houses, face painting, balloon twisting, and henna.

“We want to make sure there’s entertainment for everyone,” Mayor Tony Penterman said. “It will be fun for the whole family.”

The city is reaching out to organizations with opportunities to get involved and hopes to also incorporate local businesses in the future.

“We’re looking forward to hosting this event for the community, by the community,” Penterman said. “Each year we plan on building on the year prior with more bands and more activities. This is the opening act.”

The music festival will be held from 4:00 PM – 10:30 PM Friday, August 9 and from 1:00 PM – 10:00 PM Saturday, August 10 in Hydro Park, located at 100 Crooks Ave. in Kaukauna. Bands begin one hour after open. Stay up to date by visiting the event’s page on the city’s website kaukauna.gov/kaukauna-music-festival/ and by following on Facebook @Kaukauna Music Festival. Those interested in sponsoring the event can check out the sponsorship opportunities tab of the event page for more information.

Learn more about the bands

Stage Sponsor: Kaukauna Utilities

Friday, August 9:

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm:
Pegasis (Jazz/World/Pop – Green Bay, WI)
Pegasis is a band made up of a vocal trio of sisters (Marvelis, Rissel, and Yaina Peguero) and Jazz Guitarist Matt Hillman. Currently based out of Green Bay, Wisconsin the four members write, produce, and perform their original music. PEGASIS describes their sound as genre-fluid. Their lyrics speak of the struggles and triumphs of everyday life, on being kind to our minds, finding love and happiness, first and foremost, within ourselves.

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm:
Horace Greene (Indie Rock – Oshkosh, WI)
Horace Greene crafts danceable indie rock, teasing elements of synth-pop and psychedelia. Their album, “The Diamond Engine,” released in 2018, received over 400,000 streams on Spotify. Horace Greene was also nominated for a Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) award after “The Diamond Engine” was released. In addition to their albums, the band has played over 200 shows at venues such as: Milwaukee’s Summer Soulstice Festival, Mile of Music, and The Anderson Japanese Gardens.

9:00 pm – 10:30 pm:
Cool Waters Band (Roots Rock – Fox Valley, WI)
High-energy, dynamic, timeless, rock, intense, catchy, pop jam, inviting, vintage, family, roots, get down feel-good music.  The Cool Waters Band has changed the way live, original music is listened to and appreciated throughout the region. With an extremely dedicated fan base spanning the Midwest, The Cool Waters Band is making powerful statements on their own terms – in their own unique way.

Saturday, August 10:

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm:
Moooose! the band (Blues Rock – Kaukauna, WI)
Moooose! is a three-piece rock, funk, and blues band from the heart of Wisconsin. Positive vibes, good times, and groovy music.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm:
Listening Party (Folk Rock – Milwaukee, WI)
Over the last decade, Milwaukee-based band Listening Party has sought to create songs that deeply resonate with their listeners. Their folk and Americana-steeped sound expertly and reverently takes the pulse and traditions of their genre while adding their own charm. Milwaukee-based Shepherd Express even compared the band to The Avett Brothers and The Lumineers. They’ve stayed busy with shows ranging from dive bars to regular main stage performances at Summerfest. Pounding the pavement for over 120 shows a year throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest has led them to a road-tested live performance.

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm:
Kyle Megna & the Monsoons (Alternative Rock – Fox Valley, WI)
Kyle Megna and the Monsoons (2017 & 2018 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Alternative Rock/Rock Artist of the year 2018 Male Vocalist of the year.) is an original Wisconsin band with an ever-growing following locally and beyond. The band has shared the stage with acts such as Toto, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rusted Root, Jack Russell’s Great White, and Here Come The Mummies. Touring the Mid-West and South-East the Monsoons are a tight-knit group of accomplished, charismatic musicians with diverse backgrounds, these guys know how to have fun while always keeping it professional. Best seen live, they feed off the vibe of the crowd as well as each other. Their “dark-indie-blues-folk-rock feel” is a magnetic force that’s ever-charged with surges of creativity and artistic experimentation. Fused with a healthy dose of spontaneity and humor, Kyle Megna and the Monsoons channel can’t-get-enough energy that’s good for the soul.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm:
Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts (Soul/60’s Pop Rock – Rockford, IL)
Led by free-wheeling frontman Miles Nielsen, (Son of Rick Nielsen Guitarist of Cheap Trick) The Rusted Hearts have been wowing audiences for years with the diversity of their sound, the tightness of their 4-part harmonies, and the quality of their songcraft. Equally comfortable in a compact 3-minute pop song and an epic 10-minute jam, the band has toured incessantly since their inception in 2011, amassing an army of hardcore followers that have dubbed themselves the Rusted Herd. Their new album “OHBAHOY” finds the band venturing into a sphere of Americana that feels both familiar and excitingly new. Tight drums, rich guitar tones, gorgeous woodwinds, and sweeping harmonies provide the perfect complements to Nielsen’s immense storytelling gifts and impeccable vocals. The album’s name comes from an imaginary friend Nielsen had growing up, a fitting reminder as we get older to hold tightly to the noble ideals of freedom and creativity that seem so natural to us as children.