Tim McGraw and Darius Rucker will headline this summer’s Rockin River Music Fest in Merritt, billed as “B.C.’s country music capital.”
After a two-year hiatus, the festival returns July 28-31 with a lineup that also features Chris Janson, Billy Currington, HARDY, Randy Houser, Kip Moore, Jo Dee Messina and other country-music artists.
Surrey’s rising star Tyler Joe Miller is also on the bill, along with Rodney Atkins, Aaron Pritchett, Cam, Mackenzie Porter, Madeline Merlo, Kenny Hess, Chris Buck Band, Donny Grubb Band, Appaloosa, Becca Hess, Karen Lee Batten, Cross Parallel and Merle Swaggard.
The festival lineup was announced Tuesday (March 15) by Live Nation Entertainment, and tickets go on sale starting Thursday, March 17, at 10 a.m. on rockinriverfest.com.
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McGraw, a three-time Grammy Award winner, will return to the Rockin River stage 17 years after playing in Merritt, during Merritt Mountain Music Festival.
“I can’t begin to explain how happy I am to see the return of the Rockin River Music Festival,” Merritt Mayor Linda Brown said in a news release.
“This has been an unquestionably challenging couple of years for the City of Merritt, culminating with the November 2021 flood. Now more than ever, we need things to be excited about. We need things to look forward to, that make us feel vibrant and remind us that life can and will be good again, even if times are hard right now. We are thrilled to be a small part in bringing the sounds of Rockin River back to the Nicola Valley.”
Elsewhere in B.C. this summer, John Fogerty and Tom Cochrane with Red Rider are among the artists booked to perform at Laketown Rock, a two-day festival at Laketown Ranch in Lake Cowichan, July 22-23. Passes and camping will go on sale March 18 and 10 a.m. at laketownranch.com/laketown-rock. The Live Nation-presented festival will also feature performances by Wide Mouth Mason, Big Sugar, Keb’ Mo’ and others.
Fogerty will headline his own concert at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Sunday, July 24, as part of a Canadian tour.
Also in Vancouver, Scottish alt-rock band Franz Ferdinand will bring its “Hits to the Head Tour” to Granville Street’s Orpheum Theatre on Friday, Aug. 26, Live Nation announced.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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