Connect With Your Community!
Connect With Your Community!
Pictured is a performance at the 2023 Rappin the Rivers. Courtesy photo
Early bird tickets are on sale for the second Rappin the Rivers festival, which will be held on August 16 and 17 at the "Bridge" near Three Forks.
This year's event will feature a wide variety of acts, including Brother Ali, Cordel Drake, Dizzy Wright with a live band, Mac Lethal, DL Down3r, Stevie Stone, Killah Priest, Kosha Dillz, Kottonmouth Kings, Lady Dice, Mickey Avalon, Montana of 300, Filth and Foul, and Talib Kweli.
Looking back on the inaugural event, Nickel Barney of No-Coast Entertainment was pleased with how things went in 2023 at Montana's first Rap and EDM Festival.
"First year was actually great considering the rough weather and it being our first attempt at putting together a musical festival this large," Barney said.
After its first year, Rappin the Rivers was also recognized with a Bozeman Choice Award for Best Local or Regional Music Festival.
With this year's event inching closer, Barney is excited for 2024.
"I feel like year two will be tremendously better considering all the lessons we learned last year. We expect to double our attendance numbers from 2023. Huge thanks goes out to everyone who has been supporting our efforts to provide fresh entertainment to Montana's Summer Festival Circuit," Barney said.
The 2024 festival will have three stages with live music on August 16 from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. and August 17 from noon to 3 a.m.
"Early Bird" two-day concerts and camping tickets are $100 each, and more information is available at https://rappintheriversmt.com/.
The event will also include merchandise and food vendors.
Before last year's event, Barney said the origin of Rappin the Rivers dates back to 2016 when his friend Tyg Cooper approached him about the possibility of hosting a hip-hop festival in the same place where the Headwaters Country Jam and Rockin' the Rivers music festivals are held.
Barney, who is also known as NICKBUSY of the Bozeman-based rap group Filth and Foul, has been promoting local shows since 1997 and said the Rappin the Rivers Festival was the culmination of his journey as a concert buyer and promoter for FilthyFamily and No-Coast Entertainment.
