Meet Our Monfest 2025 EMCEE

Highlighting Artists | Sharing Purpose

We are excited to bring you behind the scenes of the Middle of NOWhere Rural Art & Music Festival with extended details about the artists who will be turning it up at this year's festival.

Whether you're pumped for the playlist, or getting your shopping list in order, we hope that you'll enjoy learning more about the artists and sharing with your networks about all the cool things we're cooking up together!

Introducing our EMCEE - Emmett Phillips

If he looks familiar, it's because Emmett is joining us for the second year in a row! We're so glad to have you back!

We posed some questions for our artists' consideration and we're happy to share more with you here about what inspires Emmett about the MONfest.

We're so grateful you're back for another year to emcee our second festival! What inspired your return?

Emmett Phillips: I had an amazing time hosting last year and I want to continue to see this festival grow and engage more people each year!

If you had to name a mission statement for your life what would it be?

EP: My mission is to development my God given talents to the highest degree and use them in service of humanity.

What's something you would like people to know about your craft?

EP: It comes from the heart and it's 100% authentic to who I am at my core.

If you could collaborate with one creative who would it be and why?

EP: Flying Lotus because his production is absolutely phenomenal!

Tell us about a creative project you're proud of and why!

EP: I wrote a children's play which highlighted poetry, the law of attraction, and emphasized the importance of the black family unit, I toured my play around the city and served over 1500 youth, and I acted in it as well!

Tell us about your relationship to rural places and why you see the work of the Middle of NOWhere Festival as so important in these times?

EP: I grew up in the the city with limited exposure to rural life. This festival is helping me appreciate the peace and power that comes with being in the "middle of nowhere" and I love it!
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When you're not emceeing, what's your favorite hobby or pastime?

EP: Teaching

If you were truly stuck in the middle of nowhere who would you choose to bring with you and why?

EP: Eli Fox cause that's my day 1 dog and I know he'll have my back.

Thank you Emmett for your responses! We look forward to hanging out with you at the Festival, July 12th!

Stay tuned for more interviews with our team in upcoming newsletters. In the meantime, you can catch Emmett on IG and read more coverage about our musical lineup in this great story that ran in the Ames Tribune in early May.

Be sure to stay up to date on all things MONfest by tapping in to our socials below.

In rural we vibe,

The MONFest Team

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the

Sunday June 15th 2:00-5:00pm

MONFest Fundraiser

Where the exclusive Siricasso wine will be available for purchase... until it's gone.
You're not going to want to miss it!