MUMBAI: To commemorate its return in 2015, the Wisconsin State Legislature has officially designated August 6-9 as 'Mile of Music Weekend', encouraging people to travel to the host city of Appleton and celebrate the festival that promotes emerging artists.

Mile of Music – or Mile 3 as it’s referred to – will feature more than 200 acts and 800 live performances at 65 venues throughout Downtown Appleton and its riverfront area.

With the preliminary schedule released, the music festival continues to distinguish itself from others going into year three. As it has since the beginning, Mile of Music focuses on original music from up-and-coming artists from all over the country.

“This concept has really resonated with music lovers from near and far,” said Dave Willems, the marketing executive who co-founded Mile of Music with singer-songwriter Cory Chisel in 2013. “People are coming to see what all of the buzz is about as the festival has successfully carved out its niche in offering a fun, music-filled weekend with original songs and emerging talent.”

Mile of Music has helped promote Appleton as a premier destination for travel in Wisconsin after drawing more than 30,000 attendees in 2014 alone and having an estimated spending impact of $2 million.

In featuring a mix of both bands and solo artists, Mile 3 will showcase performers from 20 states across the U.S. While some artists are traveling from as far as California and Texas, many are based nearby in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest.

A sampling of these performers includes The Delta Routine and Great Lake Drifters from Milwaukee as well as Fort Frances and Wild Skies from Chicago. There are several groups scheduled to appear from the Twin Cities area as well, including We Are The Willows of Minneapolis and Har-di-Har of St. Paul.

“As exciting as it is to bring in acts from faraway states, we also want to showcase the more local talent, too, and give these performers a stage to share their original music on and mix with the touring artists,” said Willems.

All but a few of the hundreds of music showcases are free and many are accessible to fans of all ages – two things that are hallmarks of the festival. In addition, the popular Music Education Team will return again this year with a variety of hands-on activities.

The Mile of Music is an artisan, original music festival that kicked off in August 2013. In its first two years combined, the festival has brought 250 bands and solo artists to Downtown Appleton to perform more than 800 live music sets. It is a collaborative event that was co-founded by Appleton marketing executive Dave Willems and Nashville-based national recording artist Cory Chisel, with support from nearly 100 community organisations and sponsors as well as 300 volunteers.