Beer & Cheese Fest had a polka dance with a silent disco on January 17, 2026

Saturday, January 17 - Beer & Cheese Fest, Madison

Beer, cheese and DANCING. Back for its 16th year, the Beer & Cheese Fest at Alliant Energy Center had food, fun and “silent” dance parties.

Honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect at this gig. All I knew was that my mission was to play vintage polka during a silent disco. For the uninitiated, a silent disco is a dance floor filled with people grooving to beats piped into individual headphones.

The twist at Beer & Cheese Fest is that there were TWO channels of music dancers could choose from. Red channel: club beats. Blue channel: Frankie Yankovic, Roger Bright and old timey oompah tunes.

Not everyone loved the polka. And that’s ok! If I were to guess, the average age of the attendees was maybe late 20s and 30s? Not the Lawrence Welk set.

When the kids DID dance, it was amazing. Some people knew some moves and waltzed and two-stepped across the dance floor. Others just hammed it up in their circle of buddies. Occasionally I would look over at the other DJ and nod when our music - that neither of us could hear - seemed to sync up and everyone moved to the same beat regardless of which channel they were on. One couple had opposite music and still found a way to dance together.

Though I knew the festival attendees where not there for polka music like you’d be for a polka festival, I could see the spark of recognition when someone caught the vintage polka vibe that paired so well with the beer and cheese.

The day was a great fit for my mission to get more people - especially young people - to listen to old polka music.

And the biggest takeaway? Frankie Yankovic still gets people dancing. There’s a reason why he was the polka king. His music is infectious.

Learn more about the festival on their website. There’s also a fun recap video on Facebook where you can get a glimpse of DJ Shotski warming up the silent disco dance floor.