A Kickoff to a Music Filled Summer - June Recap

Listening Party - June 16

The Farmer’s Market is in full swing as we celebrate the third week of the Wednesday market, and Gather has brought back its Concert Series, tickets complementarity paid for on behalf of Nicolet Bank. 

The Milwaukee-based band Listening Party is the first to kick off the concert lineup, with an energetic country feel that had everyone on their feet. Members of Listening Party, Jacob Wood and Weston Mueller sat down with music journalist and Gather website writer, Kira Doman, to discuss their Green Bay performance. 

After stepping off the stage and thanking the crowd for their energy and presence for the show, Wood and Mueller reflected on their performance with almost as much excitement as while they were performing.

“The crowd that’s been built up over the last few years is amazing to see,” Wood exclaimed. “We’re getting the jitters just jumping up there! People were clapping along to the music, dancing – it seemed like we really got ‘em going during ‘3 Eggs’.”

“I feel like the kickoff to the concert series also really had the people excited,” Mueller joined in. “People came back, and really showed up tonight with their presence, it made for an amazing and entertaining night for us. We had a great time.”

Feeding off of the crowd’s energy is something that drives an artist to give a performance that often cannot be replicated, and any concert or performance at Gather sets the mood for an evening that is surely worth remembering. 

“This was the best attended and most attentive and attended that show that we've had here, and we couldn't have asked for more here tonight,” Mueller said. “It’s nothing like any other Farmer’s Market we’ve performed. We've played here for multiple of Gather’s events, both in the foreground and background – we’re just happy to help Jyll and Tommy, we’ve grown a real friendship with them!”

“Jyll and Tommy, and the rest of the staff here are just so amazing at making those they’re working with feel comfortable,” Wood piggybacked. “Normally at a Farmer’s Market performance you’re under a tent, it’s really hot outside, and you’re barely catching people’s attention as they walk by, distracted by everything else around them. Our experience from Gather is so great because you guys put the importance on having an enjoyable time, and being in the present moment with the music and company.”

“We couldn't feel more welcome,” Mueller smiled. “We feel welcome at a lot of places, but the way you guys go out of your way to make us feel comfortable and make sure there's nothing we have to worry about is top tier.”

Listen to their 91.1 The Avenue Interview!

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Matt Koziol - June 21

Up-and-coming Country singer, Matt Koziol was the second artist to perform for Gather’s Farmer’s Market Series, tickets paid for complimentary of Nicolet Bank, and he brought the crowd!

If you were there, you felt the energy from his performance and how he electrified the crowd. You might have guessed that because he’s an artist he naturally has an amazing stage persona, but what came out of Koziol during his second Green Bay performance ever, was actually a sentimental pride and joy.

“I played here for the first time last year,” Koziol said. “I’ve always wanted to come to Green Bay because I grew up watching the Packers, my father’s hero was Bart Starr, so this has always been on my bucket list, specifically seeing Lambeau, and I love that Lambeau is literally in the middle of a residential area. Going to Titletown and Lambeau was a dream come true, and I hope the next time I’m invited to play in Green Bay, I can bring my father so that he can experience that magic as well.  Just in my second time around I’ve already grown to really love the people and city.”

In his second visit to Green Bay, Koziol has noticed the sense of community that threads the city together, and how it doesn’t truly feel like a big city such as Nashville or LA.

“Everything that happens here, it seems to me as an outsider, is to serve the community, and I think that’s really beautiful,” Koziol remarked. “It reminds me of the town I grew up in as a child, and I hope it keeps that small-town in a big city feel, ‘ya know? With some locations, it’s like if you whisper the name too loud, groups of people are going to figure it out and bum-rush it – that’s what happened to Nashville.”

Koziol has been playing live and original music for over 20 years, and the approach in which he takes his career is incredibly admirable, and something many of us can take into our own lives. 

“I’m 35 years old, and I’ve gotten a second wind of opportunity for the chase of music, to really enjoy the love of music…and it’s one of those things that makes me stop and ponder how I got this lucky,” Koziol reminisced. “I played my first paid-live show when I was 14 years old, so I’ve been playing live music for over 20 years, mostly for no money but for the absolute love of it. Now I get paid for it, but now it feels like it doesn’t even matter either. I get to hold a guitar in my hand and call it my job! My 14-year-old self never would have imagined.”

“I want to wake up every day and play my guitar – that’s the approach I want for my life,” Koziol smiled. “The cherry on top of playing music is sharing your story, and making connections. Making this big role, a little bit smaller.”

Listen to their 91.1 The Avenue Interview!