30+ years running! Featuring must-see national acts and standout local opening artists, these free, un-ticketed outdoor music events are held on five consecutive Sunday evenings in downtown Rochester, Minnesota along the Zumbro River.
Stellar music, gorgeous green space, plus local food vendors and giveaways. These shows are for everyone, and we hope to see you in the park!
Save the dates - we'll see you next year! 2025 dates:
Intro Text
ON SALE: August 10 (Members)/August 24 (Public) TICKETS: $28/$31 Legendary trumpet player and Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Herb Alpert is a platinum-selling, multi-Grammy winning musician, songwriter, and co-founder of A&M Records. His band The Tijuana Brass, was wildly popular throughout the ‘60s, with Alpert becoming the top-selling recording artist of 1966. Two-time Grammy winner, Lani Hall is celebrated worldwide for her fluency in singing with equal finesse in English, Portuguese and Spanish, for which she won a Grammy for ’Best Latin Pop Performance’. Hall first rose to fame as lead singer for Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66. Sponsored by: Davies Printing & KTTC.
ON SALE: August 10 (Members)/August 24 (Public) TICKETS: $28/$31
Legendary trumpet player and Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Herb Alpert is a platinum-selling, multi-Grammy winning musician, songwriter, and co-founder of A&M Records. His band The Tijuana Brass, was wildly popular throughout the ‘60s, with Alpert becoming the top-selling recording artist of 1966. Two-time Grammy winner, Lani Hall is celebrated worldwide for her fluency in singing with equal finesse in English, Portuguese and Spanish, for which she won a Grammy for ’Best Latin Pop Performance’. Hall first rose to fame as lead singer for Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66. Sponsored by: Davies Printing & KTTC.
The Chicago-born Hall, who’s especially known for her emotional vocal interpretations, started her professional career as the original lead singer with Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66. She helped propel the group to international stardom with her distinctive vocals on the infectious Brasilian tune "Mas Que Nada". It was in 1966, while singing with the group in an audition for A & M Records, that she met Alpert. They were married in 1973 and since then their lives and musical gifts have mingled. Hall has enjoyed a distinguished solo career, having recorded some 14 solo albums (variously in English, Portuguese and Spanish.) In 1983, she sang the title song of the James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again, starring Sean Connery, and won a Grammy for ‘Best Latin Pop Performance’ for her album Es Facil Amar in 1986. She also has credits as a lyricist, producer, arranger, writer and editor.
"I am an interpreter", Lani explains. "The singers that have influenced me the most are jazz singers like June Christy, Anita O’Day, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, and pop performers like Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. All of them were always engaging to watch and had a sense of drama about them, probably because some were also actors. They were always expressive and had the ability to pull you into a song and make it feel real."
Alpert is a legend in the music business and the co-founder of A & M Records, one of the most successful independent record labels in history. In the decades before Alpert and partner Jerry Moss sold A&M in l990, he significantly influenced and/or produced a diverse roster of talent, including Janet Jackson, Gato Barbieri, George Benson, Chuck Mangione, Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, Milton Nascimento, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, The Carpenters, The Police, Joe Cocker, Sheryl Crow, Peter Frampton, and scores of others.
Of Alpert’s performing style, the late Miles Davis once remarked, "You don’t have to hear but three notes before you know it is Herb Alpert". For his part, Herb explains, "There is a certain satisfaction and energy that comes from playing the horn -- a feeling that comes when I am really in my element. I am passionate about what I am doing. I am just playing what comes out. I try to stay conscious of things that are happening in the spontaneity of the moment".
The principle of being authentically in the moment extends to his other modes of expression as well. Alpert is a prolific painter, sculptor, philanthropist and theatrical producer. He helped bring to Broadway Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer prize-winning Angels in America, as well as plays by Arthur Miller, David Mamet, August Wilson and others. "It’s the same with any creative form of self expression", Herb observes. "If it isn’t feeling good I feel all stuffed up and not satisfied with it. But when it resolves itself, BANG! I get that good feeling again."
Herb Alpert’s legendary career includes five decades of unprecedented breakthroughs as an artist, record executive and philanthropist. In the past two years alone, he won his ninth GRAMMY for 2013’s Steppin’ Out and received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama. As impressive as those accolades are, they may soon be overshadowed. Come Fly With Me, his latest studio album is some of the best work of Herb Alpert’s career, rivaling his classic Tijuana Brass output. In the past year, Alpert composed seven original songs for the album, drawn from a diversity of musical influences, with inventive arrangements and lush orchestrations. His stirring new material is wonderfully complemented by fresh interpretations of some of the most indelible melodies of the 20th century.
The exciting original compositions on Come Fly With Me were inspired by everything from a Tito Puente rhythm Alpert fell in love with (the propulsive "Night Ride") to jamming with his world class band in between shows on tour (the fun, reggae–infused "Cheeky" was born of these sessions). On "Walkin’ Tall", another track with a punchy reggae beat, Alpert’s trumpet melody slinks and slides. Herb’s take on one of Frank Sinatra’s most famous recordings, "Come Fly With Me", is set to a groovy bossa nova beat with the surprising addition of a steel drum. His sparse take on George Harrison’s "Something" includes the use of an electronic instrument known as an EVI, to play the signature guitar lick from the original recording.
Alpert was always fond of the infectious melody in "Something", and of George Harrison as a person, who recorded on Alpert’s A&M Records in the seventies.
CART captioning will be available here or via QR code in the park. Please bring a data-connected digital device (phone, tablet, laptop) to access this streaming service.
Assistance with CART will be available at the Public Music tent. Please contact Public Music for questions about additional accessibility accommodations.
Where
All concerts take place in Mayo Park, located in downtown Rochester behind the Mayo Civic Center. Concertgoers are encouraged to walk, bike, or roll to the shows if possible.
when
Save the dates - we'll see you next year! 2025 dates:
July 13, 2025
July 20, 2025
July 27, 2025
August 3, 2025
August 10, 2025
Music will begin at 7 p.m. and conclude between 9:30 and 10 p.m.
Food vendors will be onsite at 6 p.m. Come early to get food from local vendors and choose your spot in the park!
cost
Concerts are free and open to the public!
Meet & Greets
Interested in meeting the headliners? We partner with local radio stations to give away FREE backstage passes. Check here for information about how to win a pass.
Giveaways
On opening night, stop by the Think Bank tent to receive a FREE, limited edition Riverside Music Series t-shirt! Shirts are available in limited quantity - arrive early to be sure to get one!
And at each concert, Think Bank gives away a FREE electric guitar autographed by the headliner. Enter the giveaway by completing a survey by 7:45 p.m. on show day. Surveys can be completed at the Think Bank tent, by visiting the survey webpage, or by scanning a QR code at the event. Must be present to win.
Directions & parking
Mayo Park is directly accessible from nearby walking paths and bike trails, and concertgoers are encouraged to walk, bike, or roll to the shows if possible.
Ample free parking is available nearby, with public ramps, on-street meters, and City-owned surface lots all free to use on weekends and evenings. Accessible parking is available in all public parking ramps, and several designated accessible parking spaces are available on Civic Center Drive. Additional information about parking is available on the Mayo Civic Center website.
Seating
Space in the park is available on a first come, first served basis. Come early to choose your spot! We do not allow the use of ropes or stakes to reserve space.
We encourage you to bring lawn chairs or blankets to the events; seats are not provided.
items to bring
Coolers, food, drink, lawn chairs, blankets, and other items to make your experience more comfortable are welcome and encouraged. Please leave grills and pets, with the exception of service animals, at home.
concessions
Local food and beverage vendors will have a variety of options for sale. Vendors will be onsite at 5 p.m.
Smoking
Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is strictly prohibited in Mayo Park.
Restrooms
Restrooms inside the Mayo Civic Center will be available for use. Entrances to the indoor restrooms are on either side of the stage through doors marked 16 and 19.
Additional portable toilets are located in the park near the food vendors.
Weather Policy
Concerts will take place outdoors rain or shine. Ponchos are preferred over umbrellas to keep sightlines unobstructed. In the case of threatening weather, the concert may be delayed, postponed, or, as a last resort, cancelled.
For weather related updates the day of the event, please check our event updates page or social media accounts.
Soliciting
In order to make our events enjoyable for all, we respectfully request that public and private parties refrain from campaigning or soliciting at the Riverside events. We appreciate your consideration.
Down by the Riverside has been sponsored by Think Bank since 2008.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.