Music on Main provides perfect summertime soundtrack for downtown visitors
Jazz and blues fill the streets of downtown Oshkosh every Thursday night, featuring musicians from around the area for the low, low cost of nothing. Music on Main takes place in Opera Square on Main Street from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM, beginning in August and ending in September. Originally funded by the Downtown Business Improvement District as the ‘Jazz in the Square’ event in 2020, it remained popular enough to repeat the next year and is now an annual event.
This year, the event name was changed to include a larger variety of genres. The music line up is organized by Mike Underwood with Oshkosh Jazz and a member of the band The Presidents. For event worker Jessica Meidl, money has stood as the biggest barrier to success.
“The hardest part of any free event is finding funding for it,” she said. “Especially as we grow larger, the best course of action is to find sponsors.”
The costs of this event used to be covered by the Improvement District, but the recent growth demanded more funding. This called for allowing local businesses, like the New Moon Cafe, to sponsor. Cafe employee Sierra Kowalski finds events like this to be extremely beneficial for all businesses around.
“It provides a lot of traffic to local businesses, which is important,” she said. “Also, I think when you go to a city and they thrive in the arts and music, you just want to go there again. It makes people come back and even consider living there.”
Being directly across from Opera Square, the Music on Main event brings in a healthy amount of business, specifically for the New Moon cafe.
“We get a bunch of business, even for other events like the Farmer's Market or Jazz Fest,” Kowalski said. “These events are extremely helpful for our business because of that, and then people find out about us too. If there’s a big event, they might not know that there’s a place like this around the corner, but these events help more people discover us.”
There are many different reasons why people come downtown, whether for the food or for the music.
“The jazz scene in Oshkosh has really been picking up,” Oshkosh local David Sabinski said. “It's pretty intriguing from the outside.”
Travelers and tourists such as visitor Debbie Magee also find the event drawing them in.
“I was walking by, heard the music, and decided to listen,” she said. “I’m glad I did.”
Kowalski witnessed firsthand the abundance of new faces brought in from this event.
“It’s so fun to see all the new people that come into town because of these events,” she said. “When people come from different countries you get to hear so many cool accents and learn about their cultures, it's really interesting. Not to mention that I've just made so many new friends and new connections, like local artists and musicians. They’re all super nice when they do come in here. Overall, it’s just really good for getting connected to the community around.”
Music on Main strives to bring the surrounding community together through music and completes this all while supporting the artists that participate. Local band Julio Reyes was invited to play by Meidl and loved doing it, as the event became a regular spot for them.
“We're from Oshkosh,” they said. “We like to play from home when we're here and there’s no better way than this.”
For locals looking for a relaxing Thursday night activity, Music on Main provides just that. Meidl enjoys the well-rounded event because it’s one for everyone to enjoy.
“It celebrates beautiful fall evenings, delicious food from local restaurants, and music from local musicians - all in one night,” she said.
By Delaney Smith
Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue I
October 3, 2022