June 19th, 2018

Meet ‘Southern Accents’ performer Farewell Milwaukee

Farewell Milwaukee performs as part of the ‘Southern Accents’ series, a free outdoor concert series celebrating the late songwriter Tom Petty.

Farewell Milwaukee is our next featured band in the free summer outdoor concert series ‘Southern Accents: New original music inspired by the songwriting legend Tom Petty’ in New York City. The lineup features some of North America’s best up-and-coming acts playing original music inspired by the well-loved troubadour Tom Petty.

Mainstays of the Minneapolis music scene since 2008, Farewell Milwaukee embraces the role that Midwestern towns have played in shaping the band artistically, garnering them fans through their authentic lyrics, lush vocal harmonies, and an honest sincerity at live shows. They have gathered accolades from local and national press, landed a song placement on major-network TV, opened for the Lumineers (among others), and are featured on compilations alongside Mumford & Sons, Adele and Amos Lee.

We asked Farewell Milkwaukee three questions in advance of the band’s ‘Southern Accents’ performances Tuesday, June 19 at One New York Plaza and Wednesday June 20 at Grace Plaza. Both shows take place 12:30-1:30 pm and are free and open to the public.

1. How does Tom Petty influence your own music?

I bought the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers greatest hits tape when I was in middle school, and by early high school had worn it out. I logged so many hours on the lawn mower listening to those songs. I also saw him in 1999 at Summerfest in Milwaukee on the 4th of July and he closed with “American Girl.” It was magic. He wrote perfect rock and roll music and all of us in Farewell Milwaukee have similar experiences in which his music shaped important moments in our lives. Tom’s like the cool, unassuming uncle that was always there for you on the radio. 

2. What is your songwriting process like?

On our most recent album, “FM” I came into the studio with a batch of songs and our producer friend Jason Orris said, “These are great songs, but you have one more in you! Try writing something that’s three chords and happier, like something Tom Petty would write!” I was up for the challenge and wrote a song called “Hurt No More” for my daughter, which became the lead track on that album. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written, and it’s super fun to play live. 

3. What’s coming up for you that you would like readers to know about?

We’re starting to enter a writing season. We have a ton of fun outdoor shows throughout the Midwest this summer, following our visit to New York, but after that, we’re hoping to focus on writing songs for a new record.