Rockin River floats into Merritt with Joe Nichols headlining

The Rockin River Music Festival in Merritt kicked off today with a roller coaster of emotions – and weather!  The day started off hot and lacking any sort of breeze but by the time evening rolled around the tables had turned.  The clouds and wind came in full force – making the bathing suit wearing crowd scramble back to their campsites for hoodies and blankets.

I’ve always wondered, why, with a strict zero tolerance ban on all fires – including propane – though people were still smoking and throwing their butts around so why not let them cook their dinner?!
The cooling station was one of the most popular stops early in the day thanks to the heat but at the end of the night everyone was huddled together for warmth.

 

 

One of the B Stage performers, Jesse Allen Harris,   He quickly got my attention hi-fiving the crowd by jumping off stage and walking end to end of the photo pit … and even taking their phones from them to do selfies on stage.  If you missed him and you’re in the area, you have 2 more opportunities to catch him perform in the Lower Mainland – at the Roxy in Vancouver on August 12th and on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds August 18th.

On opening night, only 2 performers hit the main stage, Kenny Hess and Joe Nicols.  Kenny Hess is a BC area staple in terms of musicians … and also happens to be the Rockin River main organizer.  This weekend marked the 20th anniversary of his band.

 

Joe Nicols wrapped up day 1 on the main stage.  Fans packed into the party zone to get a close a look as possible.  He threw all his guitar picks out into the audience and also offered a meet & greet to everyone to bought one of his t-shirts.  According to the ladies workin the merch table for him, over 50 had sold in the first few hours – as well as a custom printed Joe Nicols guitar, which included a 4 song private concert on his tour bus before his set.

 

The #TGIF line up includes The Abrams, Meghan Patrick, Luke Combs, and Eric Church on the main stage.