An annual summer tradition, Rochester Civic Music’s Down by the Riverside is a free, public outdoor music festival held on Sunday evenings in downtown Rochester along the banks of the Zumbro River. This family-friendly community event features must-see national acts as well as standout local opening artists. Down by the Riverside also features local food vendors, craft beer, and giveaways – something for everyone!

More about Down by the Riverside here.

About the Artists

8:00 PM Headliner - CHARLIE PARR

Charlie Parr is an incorruptible outsider who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us. Parr has released 14 studio albums and tours the globe performing at legendary venues like Newport Folk Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Troubadour, and Bowery Ballroom. But he hasn’t moved to LA or Nashville; he’s stayed in the cold grey north of Minnesota, because that’s his home. Parr has a new record with only his name on it, and it isn’t shiny and perfect and commercial and catchy. It’s him. It’s pure Charlie Parr and that’s enough.

7:00 PM Opener - The Walking Beat

The Walking Beat is a band based in Rochester, Minnesota. Fusing thoughtful, well-written songs with male/female vocal harmonies, old time country twang, vintage keys, banjo, accordion and even a little punk rock energy and ethic, the Walking Beat harkens back to a mythical musical past and toward an open and free future.