Our Story
Bringing people together who do it, get it, and aren’t afraid to share it.
We’re building the 9th edition of MMX (Midwest Music Expo). What started as a student-run music business conference here at Millikin has morphed into a vibrant day of arts and community, with our last event clocking nearly 30 bands on two stages. MMX paired the concert experience with local vendors, speakers, artist booths and more.
This year is different.
So many of the Oakwood storefronts are empty, signaling the needs of our community. Music Business teaches us to pivot and respond to the world around us, which is why we are choosing to focus this year’s efforts there.
Our plan is to have artists perform across Oakwood on May 2nd, and populate the streets and storefronts with pop ups in a real life ‘artists impression’ of what this creative district could be. We’ve done this before, but this has a lot of moving parts with a lot more at stake than a good gig or great merch sales.
This is real. We need help, and we need you!
Decatur, IL
Soy City
Decatur is the largest city and county seat of Macon County, Illinois. The city was founded in 1829 and lies along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur. As of 2017, the city’s estimated population was 72,174.
The city is home to Millikin University and Richland Community College. Decatur has vast industrial and agricultural processing production, including the North American headquarters of agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, international agribusiness Primient, and the designing and manufacturing facilities for Caterpillar Inc.’s wheel-tractor scrapers, off-highway trucks, and large mining trucks.
Music in Decatur is not as large as its potential provides. The city is currently taking steps to change that and MMX wants to help along the way.
Millikin University
Ah, There You Are Millikin
Millikin is an independent, four-year university that is privately funded and has an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students in traditional and non-traditional undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The signature of a Millikin education is a unique experience called Performance Learning.
Since its founding more than 110 years ago, Millikin has operated under the philosophy of providing an education that combines theory with practice. While this was a radical idea at the time, today that practice is not enough.
Today’s students must perform their knowledge in order to be truly prepared for a successful career after college. Through immersive experiences such as internships, co-teaching, running a business, presenting research to experts, and performing in front of audiences – students find new ways to live out their learning and reap the rewards of their hard work.