Rhythm and Booms

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Rhythm & Booms, 2003

Rhythm and Booms is an annual Independence Day fireworks show in Madison, Wisconsin at Warner Park on the city's northeast side. The show, which began in 1993, is held on the Saturday before Independence Day. Madison claims it is the largest fireworks presentation in the Midwest. The event is primarily sponsored by the Madison Oldies radio station, 94.9 WOLX and draws an annual attendance of around 300,000 people.

The show is operated by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Madison Fireworks Fund, that exists only to produce the event. Proceeds from the event go to area children's charities.

Due to the amount of time, personnel and equipment required to set up for the show, the actual show is held on Saturday on the weekend closest to July 4th, either before or after.

[edit] Rhythm

The fireworks are launched in choreographed fashion to music broadcast over the radio. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own radios to listen. During the day of the fireworks show, the park is host to musical stages featuring a variety of musical styles from oldies to marching bands. A carnival is also set up in the park, and a Madison Mallards baseball game is played in the afternoon. The show is preceded by a Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter landing, and a Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16 fly-over. Music from a variety of genres accompanies the fireworks when they begin at around 9:30PM.

Radios are required mostly because it is easier to synchronize the musical rhythm with the booms going on in the sky, since radio waves travel at the speed of light. There is also the practical consideration of getting enough speakers, amplifiers and wires for a traditional sound system for 300,000 people. In the actual shows, speakers are not used at all.

[edit] Booms

Rhythm & Booms, 2006

The fireworks last for around 35 minutes and feature over 15,000 fireworks shells.

In a show in the late '90s, 155mm howitzers from the nearby Wisconsin Army National Guard were used in the finale, which featured Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The howitzers fired blanks in place of the tympani normally used in that piece. The booms in the sky were so loud the audience couldn't hear the howitzers!

The fireworks' mortars are fired by computer; once the computer starts the show, it can't be stopped.