Moon Tunes kicked off with local Grammy winner Bill Miller

Miller was upbeat, comical taking with crowd, despite tragedy recently.

It’s going to be a weekend full of the arts in La Crosse. 

And, the weekend kicked off early at Riverside Park with Thursday night’s opening of the Moon Tunes series for the summer.

As usual, Bill Miller was the opening act. Miller had heart surgery just over a year ago, and says he’s still trying to heal.

“I just (didn’t) have the will to live, to be honest with you, even though nurses and doctors kept saying, ‘You’ll make it. You’ll make it,'” Miller told the audience. “And they kept telling me this crap (chuckles from audience), and giving me more medicine.”

Miller’s oldest son and his mother died recently. 

Miller will perform again this weekend at the Artspire festival, which begins tonight outside the Pump House.

More performances are scheduled around downtown Saturday, along with a variety of art displays.