MADISON, S.D. (KELO) — It’s a Tuesday night in Madison, but the small town is anything but quiet on a work night.

Live music, food trucks, and inflatables have taken over the city’s downtown.

Kassy Olson of Nunda and her family are enjoying the free event that helps break up the week.

“I think it’s just good for all the surrounding communities, just for people to get together, kids to do something fun, safe,” Olson said.

It’s called Downtown in Madtown, and it’s held every Tuesday for six weeks.

The event is put on by the Greater Madison Area Chamber of Commerce.

The family-friendly concert series was born in 2018 out of a desire to host an event that wasn’t on a weekend.

“Our weekend attendance for our weekend events was really dropping. There’s activities, so many activities going on on the weekends in surrounding towns and down in Sioux Falls, so that was pulling our attendance away. We thought if we did something during the week where people were in town already, the people would support it,” Greater Madison Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Eric Hortness said.

The idea worked.

Hortness estimates the very first Downtown in Madtown drew in about 1,000 people.

It took over just one block of downtown.

This year, it stretches down two and a half blocks.

Attendance in recent years has more than doubled.

“I get overwhelmed every week on how big the crowds are. People start showing up at 5:15 putting their lawn chairs up. The band doesn’t start until 6:00, so each week it seems like lawn chairs are showing up earlier and earlier,” Hortness said.

Downtown in Madtown isn’t just giving people some Tuesday night entertainment.

It’s also putting local businesses in the spotlight.

Cozy Home & Lighting and Birch Hill Home, two businesses in one space, stay open late on Tuesdays specifically for the crowd of people outside.

The business owners opened the downtown Madison location about a month and a half ago.

“Being open for Downtown in Madtown is huge so people can come in and they’re curious about it and just to get to know us,” Cozy Home & Lighting owner Jessica Evans said.

“Every week I run into somebody that’s not from Madison. Last year, we had people from Minneapolis, Watertown, Sioux Falls, Yankton. It brings people from out of town into Madison, which is the ultimate goal,” Hortness said.

Whether people are traveling miles to get here, or just down the road, they’re all helping turn this small town event into a big success.

“Just to get out and go do things and know that you’re going to run into your fellow neighbors and their kids and just enjoy the evening, it’s a great time. It’s great for Madison,” Olson said.

You have four more chances this summer to attend Downtown in Madtown this year.

Next week Rowan Grace will perform and first responders will be there for National Night Out.

Click here for a full schedule.