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About Rochester Public Music

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Rochester Public Music brings people together through concerts, cultural programs, and music education. Our events are free and public by design.

We turn parks into concert venues, bring artists into classrooms, and share music across neighborhoods. Our work is rooted in shared experience, local connection, and the belief that music belongs to everyone.

Music with Purpose.

Rochester Public Music is a department of the City of Rochester.

Our Programs

  • FORWARD Park Concerts: Free summer concerts in Rochester parks. Local bands, local food, and space for everyone to gather.
  • Riverside Music Series: Live music. Big names. No tickets. Large-scale concerts featuring chart-topping acts and rising stars.
  • Sound School: In-school residencies where students explore rhythm, movement, and musical identity — from hip hop and taiko drumming to close-harmony singing.
  • Passport Sessions: Free outdoor concerts during Thursdays Downtown, celebrating culture and connection through sound.

Ilika Ward and The Moonlight Riders - Chris Hawkey

@ Thursdays On First & 3rd

  • Date: 06/16/2016 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM  
  • Location: First Avenue SW / Peace Plaza
    Rochester, Minnesota

THURSDAYS ON FIRST & THIRD - WK #3

PEACE PLAZA STAGE:
5PM: Ultrasonic Duo
7PM: ILIKA WARD & THE MOONLIGHT RIDERS
Ilika Ward is an acoustic-based Americana group out of Minnesota, hailing from both Minneapolis and Rochester. Armed with... acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies that grab your attention and don't let go, their first studio release is due out in June of 2016, featuring 8 songs that encompass the sound Ilika and Ward have been crafting over the decade and a half they’ve made music together.

1ST AVE. STAGE:
5PM: Geoff Elvee Trio
7PM: CHRIS HAWKEY
“I grew up in the Garth Brooks era of bringing the show to the people,” he explains. “I love it when I hear someone say my shows are high energy, that they’re like a big party. When you’re performing original music, you have to find a way to keep your audience entertained, and I think that’s what I do best. I want to change people’s lives, even if only for a chorus, a song, or an entire show. I want my audiences to be as happy and in love with the music as I am. If I can do that, then I’ll be the happiest guy alive.”

When Chris isn’t pursuing his music dream, he can be heard on a different microphone; he’s the producer and Co-Host of the Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN in Minneapolis. It’s the number one sports talk show in the Twin Cities and syndicated across the Upper Midwest.






 

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