MidWay Music Speaks is the non-profit Bloomington based organization that works to connect women and non-binary people in music and in the music industry. The organization was founded in 2018 following the first Midway Music Festival in 2018. The yearly festivals are put on entirely by Bloomington locals. In its fourth year, MidWay Music Festival faced an entirely new challenge, as if putting on an entire music festival as a non-profit organization with all volunteer directors and coordinators isn’t difficult enough... This year, with the C****19 Pandemic, MidWay Music Speaks decided to proceed with their important work and the 4th iteration of the festival virtually! (and boy, did they smash it out of the park ~~adaptability~ learn about it!)
The festival spanned from September 28th to October 3rd 2020. Each festival day was packed with virtual activities; workout and meditation classes in the morning, panel discussions in the afternoon, and, of course, incredible music performances. A number of our WIUX directors attended the various panels that were a part of the MidWay Summit; panels such as “Effective A&R and Discovering Artists,” “Behind the Glass as an Audio Engineer,” and “Music Media: Photographers & Videographers.” The panels were composed of music industry professionals who shared their wisdom with the Bloomington community and all of the ~virtual viewers~.
Let’s talk music, shall we? MidWay Music Festival came THROUGH with this incredible line-up of artists and musicians. From local artists to regional artists, the performances covered all the bases one could look for in a music festival! Sudan Archives headlined the show, bringing ambient gorgeous violin and vocals set to the sweetest of beats. Her third and most recent release, the EP Athena (2019) came out last year. Keep an out out in the month of November for a new album! The other acts were absolutely transportive. Beware. Tuning into Kadhja Bonet will absolutely take you on a hiatus outside of your body and up into the trees (just me? For sure for sure).
If you are looking for music by women and non-binary artists check out the Spotify playlist of the 2020 lineup below. Thank you, once again, MidWay Music Speaks for delivering and putting on such an incredible festival; exercising and calming our bodies and brains, teaching up wisdom, and putting us on to some inexplicably amazing music. If you missed this year’s festival, do not fret. You can catch this festival next year. Follow @midwaymusicfestival or Instagram and like MidWay Music Speaks on Facebook to stay in the loop!
2020 lineup Spotify playlist:
Instagram:
Facebook:
https://www.midwaymusicspeaks.org/
