
Your Complete Guide to Rochester’s FORWARD Park Concerts 2025
A recent study published in Billboard Magazine shows that going to concerts makes you live longer. Patrick Fagan from O2 and Goldsmiths University found that live music can extend a person's life by 9 years!
Rochester, Minnesota, famous for the Mayo Clinic and its health advancements, also offers a fantastic dose of that life-extending joy with a packed schedule of live music throughout the summer.
Thursdays Downtown is a weekly market/festival with 54 bands scheduled for this summer, the Riverside Concert Series features iconic and up-and-coming acts, and the FORWARD concert series features six shows in each of the city's wards. And, they're all free!
READ MORE: THURSDAYS DOWNTOWN: 2025 BAND LINEUP & NEW LOCATION
ALSO READ: RIVERSIDE CONCERT LINEUP AND DATES FOR 2025 FREE SHOWS

What Are FORWARD Park Concerts?
FORWARD is a free summer concert series that pops up in parks all over Rochester. Each date features two bands, a bunch of food trucks, and fun activities.
They're always free, and all ages are welcome. Here's the 2025 lineup:
June 4: Wild Horses with Tennessee Stiffs at Martin Luther King Jr. Park
June 11: Clay Fulton & The Lost Forty with Poppa Bear Norton at Cascade Lake Park
June 18: Beth Bombara with Becky Schlegel at Allendale Park.
August 13: Avey Grouws Band with Jake La Botz at John Withers Sports Complex
August 20: Nathan Graham with Mark Joseph and The American Soul at White Oaks Park.
August 27: Space Monkey Mafia with The Reach Outs at Cook Park.
Food trucks start serving at 5:00 p.m., and the music kicks off at 5:30 p.m., usually wrapping up by 8:00 p.m. Get there early to grab a spot and some food.
2025 Rochester, MN Riverside Concert Series
Gallery Credit: troy dunken
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