WHAT IS MIC1PARK MUSIC?

Hi! My name is Kevin Vargo, founder of Mic1park. If you want to learn more about me outside of music, there's plenty of information listed at the bottom of this page.

For now, though, let's get to it...

On the surface, Mic1park is a music community focused on indie rock bands throughout the US & Canada, specializing in show promotion, booking, playlists, podcasts, special events, and more.

Now, I may be biased, but I'll also add in that this is the realest, most loyal online music community in North America.

All of this - the continued growth, the friendships, the memories - is because of you, the people.

The bands. The fans. The venues. Mic1park would be nothing without.

All of that, and it still gets even deeper...

Mic1park is a community, an idea, a brand; a culmination of my entire life's vision as it continues to evolve through time.

Just as many bands begin solely with a feeling - a sincere urge to create - Mic1park was born in the exact same fashion.

Since its birth, here are some accomplishments Mic1park is able to proudly claim:

• Raised over $700 for suicide prevention during an all-day Instagram Live event in September of 2022
• Seen 50+ indie rock bands live in concert
• Released a collaborative album featuring 8 bands from across the United States, all with brand new original music
• Organized a Mic1park 'Midwest Magic' tour set to begin this spring with 8+ shows featuring 30+ different bands across Cleveland, Akron, Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, and more
• 2,000+ followers on Instagram
• 500+ monthly playlist follows on Spotify
• Created digital promotion graphics for 20+ local shows
• Curated 30+ playlists
• Wrote and published press releases for 7 band releases in 2022
• Began an annual year-end award show in 2022 with over 15 different awards to recognize the indie rock community
• Interviewed 100+ bands for the Mic1park Podcast
• Accumulated 8,000+ podcast streams
• Host of 1,900+ active users on Mic1park.com
• Wrote lyrics for a song to be released in February 2023; in the process of another
• Visited Nashville, Chicago, Milwaukee all for the purpose of attending a local show
• Set to begin The Midpark (record) Label in March of 2023

...and we're just getting started.

HISTORY

Mic1park was founded by Kevin Vargo in May of 2020 with the original purpose of a personal creative outlet. Quickly, the idea became a brand itself, and with that began to take structure as a full website and podcast covering music, sports, politics, and current events.

In March of 2021, Kevin made the decision to take the Mic1park brand back to its roots, exclusively covering the one topic that ultimately inspired everything to blossom from the ground up to begin with: music.

Since then, Mic1park has undeniably become one of the most prominent, trusted names throughout all of the various local music scenes in North America by curating exclusive playlists, highlighting brand new music, publishing write-ups and blogs, hosting bands weekly via the Mic1park Podcast, facilitating bookings, promoting shows, and much more.

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Outside of music, Kevin is a proud uncle, dog father of two beautiful dogs (Lily and Jimi), son, brother, and friend.

Kevin received a degree in communication/journalism from Cleveland State University in 2014, is a 3x published poet, former athlete and coach, and avid fan of the Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Michigan Wolverines football.

Causes important to Kevin: rescue dog adoption, freedom of choice, mental health, federal cannabis legalization, providing for the underprivileged

What does "Mic1park" mean?

First and foremost, you are likely wondering - it's pronounced "Mid-Park" -

Kevin's late father, John, graduated from Midpark High School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1976.

An avid trivia fan his entire life, John used the moniker "Midprk76" (yep, with no a; an eight-character limit) for trivia games at restaurants and bars.

Simply put, it's a name created specifically to always honor, cherish, and remember the memories and time spent between father and son.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOHN J. VARGO

September 10, 1958 - June 14, 2015