By Chris Spangler and Kim McDarison
“Rhapsody,” a citywide music festival was held Saturday in Fort Atkinson.
The Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce facilitated and Artisan Graham Real Estate sponsored the event, which was a rebranded version of two former and similar events: “Rhythm on the River” and “Rhythm Remix.”
This year, the full festival featured a bike race, sponsored by the Lions Club of Fort Atkinson, and a 5K run, along with opportunities to listen, throughout the course of the day, to five bands, each of which performed at a different location within the downtown area. The event concluded with late afternoon and evening entertainment, featuring two bands, each of which performed in Barrie Park.
The festival also included activities for children, which were provided by the Badgerland After School Enrichment program (BASE) and held in the KidZone, which was offered in Bicentennial Park. The venue was sponsored by Enbridge, according to information shared by the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce.
The BASE annual Duck Race was among activities held Saturday in the KidZone. A performance by Nazario Chickpeazio was held at 11 a.m.
Music venues this year were provided at Jones Market, where event-goers were treated to an 11 a.m. performance by Mambo Surfers; Cafe Carpe, where Sarah the Red performed at noon; Riverwalk Plaza, where Pro Pittman came to the microphone at 1 p.m.; Good2Go, which hosted the MadTadders at 2 p.m., and Mr Brews Taphouse, where event-goers were entertained by 7000apart on the outdoor patio.
At 3:30 p.m., the Tinker Boys appeared in the Barrie Park bandshell, followed, at 6 p.m., by the Zac Matthews Band.
Photos from the day’s activities follow.
Lions Club of Fort Atkinson John McKenzie and Don Bakker Memorial Bike Ride participants gather to document their adventure. The event, which was held Saturday morning, returned to Fort Atkinson after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ride offered a variety of lengths, taking bicyclists through scenic areas within Jefferson County, including Rock Lake, Lake Ripley, Koshkonong, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Cambridge.
Bicyclists arrive at the Lions Club of Fort Atkinson John McKenzie and Don Bakker Memorial Bike Ride registration table early Saturday morning.
The Lions Club of Fort Atkinson John McKenzie and Don Bakker Memorial Bike Ride kicks off.
Participants in the 5K and one-mile runs arrive at the registration table. The event was added this year to the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce-facilitated citywide music festival, which, this year, was called “Rhapsody.” The event kicked off at 9 a.m. from Jones Park.
Runner leave Jones Park to begin their race along the Glacial River Trail.
Members of Team BKS — Bender, Kind, Stafford dental practice — walk in the 5K and one-mile run/walk on Saturday.
Six photos above by Chris Spangler.
Erik Tadder, from left, his cousin, Lukas Tadder, and Ken Korasz, all members of the Edgerton-based MadTadders band, perform Saturday afternoon on the Good2Go patio. While the group performs throughout Rock, Jefferson and sometimes, Dane counties, they said, Saturday’s performance was their first as part of the Fort Atkinson citywide Rhapsody festival.
MadTadders band members Lukas Tadder and Ken Korasz play. The band performs classic rock music from the 1950s to 1990s.
MadTadders band member Kyle Furseth entertains festival-goers gathered at Good2Go in downtown Fort Atkinson.
MadTadders band member Mike Schachtschneider plays the drums. He also serves the band as a harmonica player and singer.
Audience members gather in advance of the MadTadders performance. The band played Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. from the Good2Go venue which was sponsored, as part of the citywide Rhapsody festival, by TDS Telecommunications LLC.
Pro Pittman captivates an audience gathered at the Riverwalk Plaza in downtown Fort Atkinson.
With the Rock River as backdrop, Pro Pittman begins his mixed genres performance at 1 p.m. The venue was sponsored, as part of the Rhapsody citywide music festival, by Spacesaver.
Pro Pittman audience members enjoy the concert.
Stoughton resident Sarah Lien, who performs under the name “Sarah the Red,” strums her guitar Saturday afternoon. She performed at Cafe Carpe in downtown Fort Atkinson at noon.
Lien said she began singing and songwriting some 15 years ago, and after taking a break from music, she returned to her craft after the COVID-19 pandemic. “I began writing again, and I started going to open jams and then I got some gigs,” she said, adding that on Saturday, she performed some 13 original songs, along with some covers, for an audience of about 20 people. She is working on an album, she said, and described her music as “Americana,” or a mix of folk and country. The Cafe Carpe venue was sponsored, as part of the Rhapsody citywide music festival, by Johnson Financial Group.
“7000apart,” a musical, husband-and-wife duo composed of Amelie Eiding and Jonathan Kresin, relax on the outdoor patio at Mr Brews Taphouse in advance of their 3 p.m. performance.
7000apart welcomes the audience and begins its performance. Band member Amelie Eiding said she met band member Jonathan Kresin while the two were attending high school in Green Bay. She was an exchange student. After her return to Sweden in 2014, Eiding said she and Kresin began a long distance relationship, sharing their musical aspirations and performances through YouTube. “We were 7,000 kilometers apart,” she said, which inspired the name of the band. The couple married in Sweden in 2016.
Amelie Eiding, at left, and Jonathan Kresin perform. The couple said that after they married, they lived in the United States for six years. Last October, they moved to Stockholm where they continue to reside. The couple is not new to Fort Atkinson; they have performing at three citywide summertime music festivals, and at a Charity Concert held in Barrie Park. The Mr Taps Brewhouse venue was sponsored Saturday by Badger Basement Systems.
“Quinn,” a 7-year-old pit bull mix, who arrived Saturday afternoon at Mr Taps Brewhouse for lunch with her humans, enjoys her chew toy in advance of 7000apart’s performance.
Fourteen photos above by Kim McDarison
Two photos above: The Zac Matthews Band performs at the Barrie Park bandshell Saturday night. The venue was sponsored by Artisan Graham Real Estate.
Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce volunteers serve beverages to Barrie Park concert-goers.
Jan Lasch, at left, and daughter and son-in-law, Teri and Rich Dary, all of Fort Atkinson, listen to the Zac Matthews Band. Their dog, “CeCe,” a Texas Heeler mix, is a rescue dog brought to Fort Atkinson by Paddy’s Paws.
A youngster rides around the fountain as the Zac Matthews Band performs in the Barrie Park bandshell.
Joe Steinman of Janesville and Kim Luckert of Lake Mills enjoy music performed by the Zac Matthews Band.
Amara Dary of Fort Atkinson dances to the music at Barrie Park.
A youngster photographs a Fort Atkinson police officer during the Zac Matthews Band performance Saturday night.
The Zac Matthews Band fills the night with music.
A light show glows from the bandshell in Barrie Park. The show was part of the performance presented by the Zac Matthews Band.
Ten photos above by Chris Spangler.
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