Attention Montana Rockers: Rockin’ The Rivers Is Over For Good

Rockin' The Rivers Is No More

What? I can hear you already.  We'll get to whys of the end of this era toward the end of the article.

Rockin’ The Rivers Was Established in 1999

It was originally called Rockin’ The Rockies, the show was held over 3 days near Three Forks, Montana at the bridge. Everybody camps and rocks the hell out. For years, the event grew bigger and bigger and bigger with big name acts like Sammy Hagar, Journey, Joan Jett, and 38 Special. You can check out their yearbook here.

I Went To Rockin’ The Rivers In 2019

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It was a great time. We got to see Warrant, Lou Graham, what’s left of Asia, Saliva (THE BEST OF ALL THE SHOWS) and it all cumulated with the worst Cheap Trick concert ever. (I mean THE WORST. But that's another article.) I have never seen anyone play a guitar like Zach Wilde. It was crazy.  What a fun weekend.

The RTR crew found out we were from the radio and bumped us to VIP status. It was glorious.

People Were Complaining In 2019

A couple of years prior to going, I had heard rumblings from rockers all over the state that the show just wasn’t to its former level. The die-hards were saying they go for the community, not necessarily the rock.

When I was there, the biggest complaint was the lack of food and widget vendors. Nobody was complaining about the music.

The 2024 Shows Had People Complaining About The Music

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Sadly, the rumblings I heard about the show this year weren't good.  They had Smashmouth without the lead singer,  Hinder, Hoobastank, and more. Not horrible bands but not A listers.

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Rockin' The Rivers Is No More

I reached out to RTR and straight up asked them if the rumors were true.  Here is a snip of my email:

It's the end of an era for rock in Montana.

Headwaters Country Jam Fans: Your show is still ok.

Check out my RTR experience below