Mile 0 Fest IV – Revenge of the Festival

By Rick Owens

During a global pandemic that seemed to have lasted forever, in that wretched year of our lord, two thousand and twenty, life was anything but normal. Shelter in place, mask mandates, closed movie theaters, take out food, as well as cancelled concerts and festivals were the norm. Several of us had tickets to shows that were called off or postponed, and in much of the country, the virus came out after 11 P.M., so local bars and restaurants had to close early. Live music took a beating across the world. There was much talk about the Mile 0 Festival and whether it would still go off with all of its pomp and circumstance.

I personally made the decision that Key West was my perfect vacation destination and that I would go this year with or without a festival. But lo and behold, Kyle and his army of sponsors, event coordinators, Key West officials, and artists said “Fear not, ye downtrodden concertgoers, there will indeed be a music festival in the land of pirates and rum, and it shall be righteous.” (I’m paraphrasing, of course.)

I think most of us were still afraid for the other shoe to fall, after so many shows had been cancelled the previous year, we braced ourselves for last minute disappointment. But, alas, the show must, and indeed goes on.

Mile 0 Fest 2021, in its fourth year, would be the first festival of its size and stature since the lockdown the year before. The nation’s, if not the world’s, eyes were on this festival to set the tone for future events to come. For all of us in attendance, we can all say resoundingly “YES!!! THIS EVENT WAS AMAZING!!!”

Mile 0 Fest - Key West. Photo credit: Rick Owens

I, like many of the festival patrons, visited Key West as a four-time repeat attendee. You may have read my other stories about Mile 0 years past. This time around, pandemic or not, I was going to have a different experience for myself. I set out, on purpose, to move at a slower pace than years before. To savor each moment, even more so than in the past, and to feel and appreciate the atmosphere, the people, and the music that surrounded me.

While it is quite literally impossible to make every show at every venue, I had done my due diligence in the past to make as many shows as possible. This year my approach was:

A) be certain to catch any must-see shows on my list, and

B) not worry about ones that I missed.

I must say, it worked out swimmingly. It was as if the festival promoters’ vision and mine intertwined. There weren’t as many satellite stages as in years before because it was important to have each venue have the music outdoors. There were also no late-night shows, which for me was conducive to a much more chill, laid back approach to the evenings. Now, don’t get me wrong, I go hard in the paint at festivals, and you would rarely catch me without a drink in my hand or smoke on my lips, but the laid back approach this year was exactly what the doctor ordered, and I partook of the medicine gladly.

As far as the acts go, everyone has their favorites. I do as well. Watching the Red Dirt Rangers in Key West is one of my all-time treats. I live in Stillwater, and get to hang out with those guys regularly, but to see them on those stages, on that island, is something other-worldly. This year during their first set, they had the Stragglers backing them up, and on the second set, it was the Departed. You really can’t get any better than having a grand total of hundreds of years’ experience on stage at one time.

Red Dirt Rangers - Photo credit Rick Owens

Breakout artists that got a chance to share full band experiences this year were the Wight Lighters as well as the Jason Scott Band. Both of them are Mile 0 alumni and brought back electrifying full stage shows this year. Of course, RC and the Ambers always put on a good show, doing their original music, carefully crafted covers, as well as a few chart toppers that RC had written for another band that had played the festival before.

I don’t think the festival would be the same without Cody Canada and the Departed as well as Jason Boland and the Stragglers. They are key lynchpins in the Red Dirt community and put on some of the greatest live performances out there. Now before you go and start to criticize your faux journalist and say something to the affect of “why are you naming all of the Okie artists? Didn’t you see any of the other shows?”

Rick and Seth enjoying Boland & the Stragglers - photo credit Rick Owens

The answers to those questions are: Oklahoma is synonymous with Red Dirt, and yes, I tend to enjoy our local artists more than most. And yes, I did see other shows as well, and I enjoyed them immensely. Band of Heathens, American Aquarium, Blackberry Smoke were all incredible. The only other one that I hadn’t seen before was Morgan Wade. I had been listening to her for several months before Mile 0 Fest, and told everyone I knew to listen to her new album Reckless, but even I was not prepared for the awe inspiring performances she gave to slack jawed onlookers, in disbelief of what they were seeing. She said she had never played in Florida before and that we were “her first.” I have already secured tickets for two of her upcoming shows opening for American Aquarium at Knuckleheads in Kansas City and the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. She will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come, and I can see her eventually headlining this festival as well as others.

Morgan Wade wows the crowd - Photo credit: Rick Owens.

I have read several comments on the Mile 0 Fest Fan Page on Facebook that this was the best year yet. Although I agree to a very large degree, I don’t live in a world where I have to pick the best Mile 0 Fest year. They are all the best to me. I have met people in Key West that are great friends now, I have many friends that I get to see only a handful of times per year, and one of those times in during Mile 0 Fest, and of course, there is the music family that we all share. In a past article for LittleOkieland, I said that walking around the island during this festival felt like a giant family reunion. And it is. We’re all a part of a larger, like-minded life that puts music, comradery, and fellowship up there with enlightenment, a “Maslow’s Red Dirt Hierarchy of Needs” if you will. Music is life, and thanks to all of the people and moving parts that make the Mile 0 Fest work every year, we are all grateful for this, much needed, music transfusion. Everything that was stale in 2020 is sprouting anew with the glorious songs, sights and smells of the Florida islands.

See y’all next year, and all points in between!

Rick