THIS YEAR'S BAND

Gregg “Cheech” Hall makes music for the Coulee dwellers who can be found stump-jumping in Mississippi river backwaters and dancing barefoot on dirt roads. Calling the muddy and mysterious northern bayou home, the La Crosse native and founder of Deece Productions keeps the spirit of outlaw country alive with heartfelt lyricism and the holy trinity of river rhythms: country, blues and rock-n-roll.

Hall has spent over two decades traveling across the country working with an eclectic mesh of folksy rockers. In Nashville, he had a record produced by Garth Brooks guitarist Johnny Garcia and around the midwest, he could be found onstage with the likes of White Iron Band and the Smokin Bandits.

The culmination of those experiences and diverse local talent is what brings together Gregg Hall and the Wrecking Ball — a group working to capture the magic of the driftless region through timeless twangy guitar riffs and swinging baselines. Occasionally, the crew will showcase the charming side of Wisconsin’s central-European roots with bouncing polka beats, as heard in “Hokah Polka.” Altogether, their work is a collection of odes to what life is like in a small river town — for better or worse.

All is on display during Cheech’s Deecefest, a two-day multi-genre festival dedicated solely to the music of the midwest; the driftless in particular. The event, running seven years-strong, has been nominated for festival of the year by the Midwest Country Music Organization, which has also cast Gregg Hall and the Wrecking Ball, and Hall himself, in the hat for band of the year, album of the year and entertainer of the year.