By Jason Arndt
Editor
The Labor of Love Music Festival hasn’t been held at its birthplace in the Town of Wheatland since 2019.
However, after a five-year hiatus from the immediate area, Just Live, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention and mental health awareness will bring back the annual event in celebration of its 15th anniversary from 11:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1 at New Munster Ballpark along Geneva Road.
According to organizers, the music festival promises a day of incredible live music, family fun, food and drinks, raffles and other features.
President Robert Stevens, of Just Live, Inc., said the return of the Labor of Love Musical Festival is imperative because of the organization’s milestone.
“After years of development to get back on solid footing for our festival, the 15th anniversary of Just Live, Inc. felt like the perfect time to come back to our roots and reconnect with the community from which we began.” Stevens said.
Stevens said the Labor of Love Music Festival will introduce a stellar lineup of musicians, including Scott Kirby, Miles over Mountains, Chicken Wire Empire, and legendary performer Charlie Parr.
The president said each performer strongly advocates for mental health programs.
Although the price of admission is free, organizers have suggested a $5 donation, which would support the nonprofit’s mission of supporting programs with a similar mission at Just Live, Inc.
Just Live, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization with no paid staff and committed volunteers, has used proceeds to benefit multiple programs committed to helping others.
Stevens said the organization contributed seed money for research at Marquette University’s Neurosciences Department, where school officials are developing cutting-edge treatment and researching the root causes of mental health conditions, some funding for the National Suicide Awareness’s Hopeline, while assisting school counseling programs, among a series of other initiatives.
“We feel we hold an important role in safeguarding the investment of generous citizens and businesses who believe in the importance of this cause,” Stevens said. “In that spirit, we want to make sure we give to those organizations and resources that mirror our values with low overhead and comprehensive, disciplined approaches to how they utilize every dollar for the maximum good.”
Humble roots
Just Live Inc., which has raised more than $1 million for mental health causes, was created 15 years as a tribute to Jamie Leigh Wilson, of the Town of the Wheatland, and others lost to mental illness.
“Founded by five individuals deeply touched by Jamie’s life and supportive community, Just Live, Inc. has been a beacon of hope and healing,” organizers wrote in a news release. “The organization’s mission is to provide suicide prevention education, financial support to related organizations, and emotional assistance to those affected by suicide, depression, and mental illness, enabling them to Just Live more positively.”
Since Wilson had an affinity for bluegrass music, Just Live, Inc. decided to move forward with scheduling performers specializing in the genre, according to officials.
Similar to previously held festivals, the 15th annual event will feature the same flavor of music, Stevens said.
“We knew that in ‘coming home’ we wanted our crowd to experience that authentic Labor of Love Music Festival vibe from the live music right down to the kid’s entertainment, food, resources, and love that is poured into what we do,” Stevens said. “Labor of Love is not our festival, it is the people’s festival. It’s lifeblood is the personal stories, tragedies, triumphs and celebration of why life is worth living.”
“The music of Bluegrass tells a lot of those stories in a what that connects to the heart and soul of our audience,” he added.
Changing venues
Since 2019, when the Labor of Love Music Festival was last held in New Munster, the event has been held in other Southeastern Wisconsin locations, such as the Rock Sports Complex in Franklin, and the Hart Park Rotary Sports Complex in Wauwatosa.
Stevens attributed the venue changes to the COVID-19 pandemic that hindered planning efforts at New Munster.
“No live venues would host in 2020, and unfortunately, due to how far out we have to book the bands, (the Town of Wheatland) was not accepting reservations in 2021 by the deadline of when we needed to lock down a venue for contracts,” Stevens said.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic had diminished the organization’s core of volunteers, Stevens said.
“However, we took this opportunity to expand our message and reach new communities, creating new partnerships in the fight for more suicide prevention and mental health support in our communities,” Stevens said. “These new venues allowed us to hear so many stories from other areas throughout Southeastern Wisconsin and only served to strengthen our conviction in what we do, but now with new allies.”
While the organization hosted the event in other venues, Stevens said the return to New Munster looks to keep the group grounded in its roots.
“This festival is a celebration of 15 years and a chance for us to keep our mission grounded with the lives of those we have impacted over the past 15 years,” he said.
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