River Rocks is returning to the Barwon Club, keeping punk and hard rock flowing through G-town.
The greatest event to grace Geelong’s rock scene is back for its 13th year this November, finally announcing its save the date.
That’s right you little rockers, we’re talking about River Rocks – the self-funded festival that’s featured some dream bands over the years, initially born out of the lack of bands bypassing Geelong and how the local music scene had seemingly dropped away.
Check out our review of the 2019 event here.
Hosted by the Barwon Club Hotel, the mini-fest is back following a brief hiatus last year due to you know what and is gearing up for the ultimate comeback.
The last edition in 2019 saw the likes of Aussie legends the Cosmic Psychos, The Meanies, Hard Ons, Rocket Science, Los Chicos, Cable Ties, Pinch Points, Dr Colossus, Dicklord and so much more take to the stage, while previous years have featured the likes of Magic Dirt, Rose Tattoo, I Spit On Your Gravy, Front End Loader, The Chats, Harmony, Pillow, Senor No from Spain, Meatbeaters, Totally Unicorn, and more.
Since its inception in 2008 thanks to two local legends – Buzz [Jason Bee] and Nibbsy [Neale Cox], River Rocks festival has gone from a drunken dream around a fire and a MySpace page, to a sell-out event worthy of your best mate’s birthday party, inspired by the hey-day of the Geelong ’90s rock scene where you could see bands like Bored!, Cosmic Psychos, The Hard Ons in one week at The BC.
“Truthfully, River Rocks was born out of the lack of bands we felt were bypassing Geelong and how the local music scene had dropped away,” Nibbsy confesses, “we thought it would be an awesome idea to see how many bands we could get for an all day/night rock festival.”
Highlights from over the years include Ox from the Poppin Mommas taking a 9-inch grinder to the lighting bar and spraying the room with sparks, Dave Thomas from Bored! getting up and playing ‘Little Suze’ with Warped, having BORED! reforming for the first RR in 2008, and The Ruiner just being The Ruiner… And we’re thinking this year could be worthy of adding some special memories to that list.
While initially just a one-day fest, the team introduced River Rock Rehab for their 10th year and it’s been a permanent fixture of the event ever since. More than just a consolation prize for those who missed out on tickets to River Rocks, River Rocks Rehab includes a mix of bands from the night before as well as some new ones, a BBQ breakfast and Bloody Mary’s for all the hungover folk attending for day two.
Full lineup and ticket info will drop soon, but for now save the date for Saturday, November 27 for River Rocks and Sunday, November 28 for River Rocks Rehab.
Keep up to date with the latest via the FB event page here. Tickets WILL sell out. We warned ya.
Mask, QR code check in & proof of double vaccination mandatory upon entry (unless you have a medical exemption.)
