John Mikos
Hall of Fame – 2024
John Mikos was born into the musically talented family of Bruno and Sue Mikos in 1971. However, John has excelled at proudly securing his own special place in the Polka music field.
John began playing the chemnitzer concertina at age 12, and relied on fellow concertina musician friends and mentors to develop his own unique style and performance. He was a quick learner and in 1986 at age 15 he was ready to take the stage with his father’s band, Bruno Mikos & His Harmony Stars.
A few years later, John joined Freddie Bulinski and The Brass Works, before settling in with Lenny Gomulka & Chicago Push in 1990. While performing with Chicago Push for the last 35 years, John has also filled-in as time has allowed with several other popular bands, such as Polka Country Musicians, Frankie Liszka & The Brass Connection, the Trel Tones, and many more.
John is a fixture on concertina at most every major Polka music festival, providing inspiration for many younger musicians. Besides being a crowd pleasing concertina musician at live performances across the country, John has also been prominently featured on more than twenty professional recordings, including eight Grammy nominated recordings with Lenny Gomulka & Chicago Push.
Through all this time, John has remained friendly, approachable, and willing to mentor other musicians while he continues to hone his own skills. Many musicians, concertina and other, have benefited from John’s advice and instruction. He generously shares his knowledge and talent to take the concertina to the next level. John has been in the Polka music spotlight for over 40 years and he serves as a proud ambassador for the chemnitzer concertina.