Rivers headed to Gulf of Mexico, playing his cello along the way

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Zak Rivers performed this past Sunday at the top of the stairs inside Rivers Edge Commons Park in downtown Elk River.

The crowd was light but appreciative and complimentary. It was by no means an encore performance of the last time Rivers was here as a member of The Blue Ringers band that performed for one of the Thursday night Riverfront Concert Series events last year.

It was a soothing pop-up concert with just him, his cello and his canoe, which was tied up to the dock at the base of the park.

Rivers is making good on a dream of paddling the length of the Mississippi River — from the headwaters in Itasca State Park to the Gulf of Mexico — all while getting reacquainted with his first musical instrument of choice during impromptu performances along the way.

Rivers has dreamed of paddling the length of the Mississippi River for many years, and that interest led him to Dale “Greybeard” Sanders, who set the record for the oldest man to paddle the length of the Mississippi River at the age of 80 nearly 10 years ago.

When he decided to do it again at 87 years of age a couple of years ago and reclaim his record after it had been taken from him by another canoeist, Rivers set aside his dream in order to make a documentary of Sanders called “Greybeard: The Man, the Myth and the Mississippi.”

In addition to being a musician, Rivers is a Minnesota filmmaker and photographer by trade. Age is a factor in the timing of the trek, mostly because of Rivers’ own realization that any adventure he tackles now is not going to get any easier in the future, so he better dip his paddle in the water now.

“The long hikes, the long adventures hurt a little more,” he said.

He knows that from following “Greybeard” and hearing his stories.

“He’s also set the age record for the Appalachian Trail, the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim, and a couple of other trails,” Rivers said. “The Mississippi River record was taken away from him, so at age 87 he vowed to paddle it again and get (the record) back, and that is what the documentary I made was about.”

Rivers has given himself 100 days to complete all 2,300-some miles of the Mighty Mississippi that’s been swollen since he began his journey on June 1.

His beloved cello is a Luis and Clark graphite cello, hopefully immune to warping and wear from moisture.

Rivers played it at the launch at Lake Itasca, and he has already made his way into Wisconsin and back into Minnesota for several more pop-up performances. He will meet up with Greybeard, who lives in Memphis, Tennessee, along the way, and he looks forward to playing in some big cities and having other artists join him on the streets.

He’s not expecting to inspire others, like Greybeard did for him and countless others, but he already knows he’s been a day brightener for many.

“People are starting to hear of this, and I’ll get people yelling and waving from their balconies, just to cheer me on as I’m passing,” Rivers said. “It’s awesome.”

The stops are also starting to generate on their own as people are getting in touch with him ahead of his arrival. For instance, a Lake City family reached out about their great campground and encouraged him to come and play.

Rivers is a native of Fairmont, Minnesota, and has lived in Mankato for the last 10 years. He is a lover of music, and has played music all his life. His instruments of choice include cello and guitar.

“This is a personal journey. I wish I could say it was for some greater good. However, I hope that sharing my trip, my photos, and my music along the way with folks who are following along online, and people I meet along the way, will spread a little joy.”

The 1990 graduate of Fairmont High School was greeted by David Murphy, an Elk River man and Rivers’ classmate. The two did not run in the same circles, but it was a small tight-knit school, and the two men caught up at a class reunion about 10 years ago and again last year at a wedding of one of their classmates that Rivers photographed. As they got reacquainted, Rivers found out Murphy lives in Elk River.

“He told me he’d be coming through Elk River next summer on this trip,” Murphy recalled, admitting he had his doubts upon hearing the news. “It’s pretty impressive.”

Rivers met with people in the audience after his June 23 performance in Elk River. A resident who lives in Granite Shores down the block handed him some money after the show, calling the performance “fantastic.”

The musician also talked to a couple engaged to be married who expressed their satisfaction.

On the water, Rivers has been dealing with high waters, and some of the campgrounds he has stayed in have been flooded. On Wednesday of this week, he told the Star News he was dealing with wind.

When things calm down, Rivers says being on the river in a canoe is Zen. Same with playing his cello.

“My plan is to keep these pop-ups going until I reach the Gulf of Mexico,” Rivers said. “And my end goal is to be on that beach at the very end of the river and play my cello one last time.”

To follow Rivers, go to: https://zakrivers.com/zak-traker/ and click on the icon that takes you to his geo tracking page.