Dream State: Miles of Music

Building 222 in Appleton, WI

Saturday Evening 

It is about 7:00 PM Saturday afternoon in Appleton, Wisconsin. I am at the Miles of Music music festival, getting two days' worth of photos at this 4-day event. My anxiety is running high. My final shoot for R-Not is in just about two hours. There is so much that has led me up to this point in my life. 

How did I get here?" 

At this moment, nothing matters other than this last set. My hands are on my steering wheel and the sun is shining through the parking garage into my car. Everything feels so surreal. 

Am I dreaming? 
This entire event seems like a giant dream to me. 

311 

Two days ago, I had driven 13 hours to get here from upstate NY. The drive itself felt like I was setting sail in a vast ocean in a tiny boat. The feelings of excitement and not truly knowing what to expect were at the forefront of my mind. There was no room for being tired, and everything had been set into motion. No backing out now. 

The scenery through Ohio was absolutely breathtaking. I haven’t traveled to this part of the country, and seeing the miles of farmland that were flat enough to see until the end of the world reminded me that I was no longer in my home state. 

I arrived at my destination late in the night—tired, but still anxious about the days ahead. Earlier that day, I had passed a billboard cycling through upcoming shows at a local Hard Rock Casino, and I caught a glimpse of “311” on the screen. Later that night, I was given room 311. 

That hit me. 311 was my favorite band as a teenager. And now here I was, on this wild journey, seeing signs I couldn’t ignore. Oddly enough, that wasn’t the first weird synchronicity—and it was far from the last over the next 72 hours. 

222 

Friday morning started around 7:30. I took a few minutes to get ready and sip on some coffee Jenn had ordered me—DoorDash from NY, which is still kind of wild to think about. Even from 800 miles away, she was finding ways to support me, and I loved that. 

After finishing my coffee and a turkey sandwich, I was back in my car heading toward the event. I wasn’t meeting up with R-Not until 1:00 PM, so I had time to explore. I spotted an island on Google Maps nearby and crossed my fingers it’d be a solid place to get some warmup shots and shake off the rust before the real work began. 

Turns out, the island was stunning. Trains, birds, bridges, sculptures, flowers—it was like something out of a movie. When I looked back toward Appleton, another synchronicity hit: the building “222” stood in the distance. That’s Jenn’s favorite number. 

And just like that, this whole experience kept slipping further into the dreamworld. 

Into the Abyss 

I finished up shooting at the island and was back in my car to meet up with Mike from R-Not. He told me to meet him at “HQ.” 

What?! HQ?! 
Yessir, HQ it is—and I’m on my way. 

Mike was excited that I had driven all the way from NY to get some photos done for the band—and honestly, I was too. I needed to do this. I needed to prove to myself that I could drive almost halfway across the country by myself to do a 2-day photo shoot. 

As the days went by—which seemed like a lifetime—I felt a shift. I could feel the energy within the event and the entire city. This was something extremely special. 

Just think of all the positive and creative energy that goes into an entire city being turned into a giant music festival. To top it off, the city was insanely picturesque—to the point of disbelief. I seriously felt like I was in a dream. A dream that I was having where everything was happening exactly as it was. And it was beautiful. 

I will not be the same person after this. 

One night and two sets later, here I am—sitting in my car in awe, wondering how the fuck I got to this point. 

Yes, it is overwhelming—and yet I was welcoming it, as hard as it was. Fighting back tears of joy, waves of anxiety and happiness, I take time to meditate for a moment. Clear my head and step into the abyss. 

It’s a quick walk down a few flights of stairs from the parking garage to the final venue. Resistance runs strong—but my dreams run stronger. 

This is exactly where I need to be.