FOUNTAIN HILL, Pa.: The year was 1998. Gas was $1.10 a gallon, Bill Clinton was president, and little Jess Madzik sat on her father's shoulders to watch a free concert by The Dixie Chicks at Musikfest.
"They were brand-new, unheard of," Madzik said, speaking from the back yard of her duplex in Fountain Hill. "I got to see them at Musikfest before they got big."
Musikfest had been in Madzik's family's DNA for as long as she can remember. She recalled long, hot nights listening to local acts, coloring and doing crafts with other kids and, of course, the Pennsylvania Dutch food.
Her husband, Stu Elsenbaumer, had a different experience with Musikfest, despite being from nearby Fogelsville.
"I had only been once myself," he said.
It was "love at first swipe."Jessica Madzik
Yet the stars aligned during Musikfest 2021 when, after "matching" through an online dating app and corresponding for a few weeks, the two shared their first date at the festival.
And among the million people that Musikfest brings together each year in Bethlehem, they found love.
Musikfest kicked off its 41st year with a Preview Night on Thursday and continues through Sunday, Aug. 11.
The festival produces millions of memories for attendees, but for Madzik and Elsenbaumer, it was only the beginning of their memories.
They'll celebrate three months of marriage this month.
It was "love at first swipe," according to Madzik.
Well, not quite.
"Online dating is weird"
The year was 2021, and 67% of Americans had received the COVID-19 vaccine, Joe Biden was months into his presidency, and Jess Madzik wasn't having much luck with online dating.
"Dating post-pandemic was weird," she said. "You could never gauge whether someone was truly comfortable being there.
"Also, I went on dates with plenty of guys who just weren't genuine. That's a trait that's really important to me."
Elsenbaumer was packing his bags, headed for Lansdale, Montgomery County, when he got the notification that Madzik had matched with him.
"I had moved back in with my parents [in Fogelsville] during the pandemic to save up some money," Elsenbaumer said. "The plan was to move back down to Lansdale, where my company was based.
"I was on online dating for all of two weeks and said to myself, 'This is stupid.' I may as well just wait until I get down'" to Lansdale.
But Jess Madzik had other plans.
First date while 'Festing
There was something just different about Elsenbaumer, Madzik said, gushing.
First off, he was funny.
"He makes me laugh every day." she said.
Secondly, and most important, he was genuine, which, after dating many duds, Madzik said she was growing tired of not seeing in suitors.
Both of those characteristics were on full display as the couple shared their first date at Musikfest 2021, the first 'Fest after the start of COVID.
The pair found themselves on the shuttle headed toward downtown Bethlehem, to the sights, sounds and smells of a bustling Musikfest.
The world was very much creeping back toward normalcy, and the attendance reflected it: around 1.1 million people attended Musikfest that year, compared to 2023's record-breaking 1.3 million.
Still, the soon-to-be couple made the most of it.
"I still only thought of it as a 'test-date,'" Elsenbaumer said. "Again, I was moving."
"I really liked him," Madzik said.
While talking, the two learned that they had more in common than they thought. They shared a deep-rooted love of Philadelphia sports teams, both grew up with animals and are deeply attached to their families.
By the end of the night, after having talked for hours and having shared an abnormally large funnel cake, Elsenbaumer was pretty sure he liked her, too.
Wedding bells
Soon, Elsenbaumer packed his bags and moved, not to Lansdale, but in with Madzik, in the two-story Fountain Hill duplex which they now share with their two cats.
They got married in May at Woodstone Country Club and Lodge, in front of all their family and friends.
Although the couple plans to move to Walnutport, where they are building a house, they plan to return to Bethlehem for Musikfest each year.
The Dixie Chicks, now known as simply The Chicks, are much too big for Americaplatz now.
But maybe, Madzik and Elsenbaumer said, they soon might hoist their own kids up on the shoulders to watch local acts and reminisce about the night where two people took a chance on each other all those years ago.
