Rock The River, the summer concert series that the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce puts on at Cold Spring's Alexander Park with music, food and kids' activities, is expanding from four shows to six next year. The growth follows what organizers describe as record attendance in 2026, and it comes alongside a freshly updated agreement between the city and the River Park Foundation, according to WJON.
According to WJON, the Cold Spring City Council approved updating its agreement with the River Park Foundation, increasing the number of allowed events from five to seven per year. The revised deal carves out six dates specifically for Rock The River, with a seventh date reserved for the city's own use. The updated agreement provides additional dates for the series.
Vienna Meyers, executive director of the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce, said the series is constantly growing and called its expansion exciting. The added dates, she said, are meant to help maintain that momentum, and the move to six shows is being treated as a first step toward future growth rather than a final destination, as noted by WJON.
New Schedule Doubles Down on Thursday Nights
Under the new format, Rock The River will take place from June through August 2027, according to the same WJON report. That's a shift from the 2025 lineup, when the series ran on the third Thursday of each month from May through August, per KNSI Radio. More recently, the series had trimmed down to four acts spread across June, July and August, the station's report on the concert series notes.
Whatever the exact night, the series' format has included live music, food, drinks and children's activities, with events running from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Alexander Park, per a report from KNSI. The same account also covers the 2025 edition.
A Central Minnesota Tradition Keeps Building
Rock The River has grown into a central Minnesota music festival. The station's earlier coverage also discusses the concert series.
Meyers said a meeting to plan the 2027 events was scheduled for the week the expansion news broke, and the report advised readers to stay tuned for more details. For now, Cold Spring residents know only that Alexander Park will host more music next summer than it has in recent years, with the city and the River Park Foundation laying the groundwork for a bigger Rock The River going forward.
