ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (September 6, 2021) — For years, Moeller Nights’ GARP Fest has rocked the barn at Codfish Hollow barn in rural Maquoketa, quickly becoming recognized as one of the Midwest’s best events. But on short notice this year, the barn made the difficult decision to temporarily cease performances, leaving the beloved festival without a venue. After cancelling last year due to the pandemic shutdown, this comes at a challenging time.

Responding quickly to the closure of GARP’s original venue, the River Music Experience has stepped in as a coproducer to bring the festival to Rock Island. RME and Moeller Nights will coproduce this year’s “Baby GARP” festival.

RME had already reserved Schwiebert Park in downtown Rock Island for a concert on September 11, the scheduled date of GARP. Working closely with Downtown Rock Island, Rock Island Parks and Recreation, and Bent River Brewing Company, the coproducers combined their two events and have quickly put all the pieces in place for a memorable night of music on the riverfront, with the City of Rock Island supporting the event as presenting sponsor.

“We immediately knew we needed to step up and help make this happen,” said Tyson Danner, RME’s Executive Director. “These kinds of partnerships are what it takes to create a truly collaborative, diverse, and growing music culture.”

Moeller Nights and River Music experience present. . .

Baby GARP

Presenting Sponsor: The City of Rock Island

In partnership with Downtown Rock Island, Rock Island Parks and Recreation, and Bent River

Brewing Company

At Schwiebert Park, Rock Island

September 11

3-11PM

Full Day Tickets: $50//$20 after 6pm, at the gate only

Kids under 12: Free

The lineup includes:

• Comedian James Austin Johnson

• Christopher Porterfield of Field Report

• TORRES

• Local Grateful Dead tribute band Winterland

• Aaron Kamm and The One Drops

• Paw Paw Rod

• Petey

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit: www.rivermusicexperience.org.

About the River Music Experience

Founded in 2004, the RME is a community music organization in the Quad Cities. The non-profit provides music education and live music programs throughout the region, and advocates for our local music scene.

For more information: www.rivermusicexperience.org.

The Echo features stories, interviews, photos, and podcasts about all the things that make our music scene great. The comprehensive music event calendar, created in collaboration with Visit Quad Cities, is your one-stop shop for live music events.

To learn more about the QC music scene and the people that make it happen, visit www.TheEchoQC.com.

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