Celebrate Community and Music 2017

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin is a small town of only 18,000 but it has a big heart and a lot of talent! There are almost 3,000 members in non-profit group Friends of Rapids Music (FRM) which is made up of amateur and professionals musicians, music venues, and "music lovers" across all musical genres in Rapids and Central Wisconsin. Our sole purpose is to support live local music and those who provide it. We want to raise money for our festival June 2017 which will be a celebration of community and music and will hopefully establish a fund to help local musicians, music educators and music venues pay for expenses that come up as they inspire music careers, develop their own careers or own a venue that supports live music. For example perhaps a young talented music student can't afford to rent an instrument or take private lessons. We could help. Or a graduating senior needs to travel to the East coast for an audition at a private college. We could help. Or a promising young (or not so young) musician can't afford to record a demo for an interested music producer. Or a music teacher is struggling AGAIN with budget cuts. We could help.

Our festival will have 7 local bands (all volunteer) playing everything from blues to rock to polka to jazz all day June 17th. And our headliner is The Jimmys from Madison. (see video attached) Of course a regionally known band like The Jimmys isn't cheap and all of the other expenses of a festival can really add up, but with your help and the help we've already received from local businesses and individuals, we could not only have a great festival but also increase the fund that could help both amateur and professional musicians in our area for years to come.

Already businesses and individuals in our area have donated time, money, products and services to this effort. So we hope you'd like to join us too! We will be forever indebted to those who support this cause and who support live music everywhere!