Beloit Riverfest
The Beloit Riverfest was an annual music festival held in July at Riverside Park in Beloit, Wisconsin. The festival attracted thousands of people from the American Midwest, who came to see internationally known musicians perform. In addition to music, the festival had a carnival, shops, and food vendors. Riverfest was held the second week of July and ran from Thursday through Sunday. The Riverfest Board of Directors voted to discontinue the festival in 2013 because of reduced financial support and difficulty in recruiting new board members. Riverfest was held on Riverside Drive, north of downtown for most of its existence. The festival typically spanned from Riverside Park to the Beloit Mall (now Eclipse Center). Concerts were typically held closer to the park whereas the carnival stretched throughout the street. In its final years, Riverfest relocated out to the space where ABC Supply Stadium is located. Groups that have performed at Riverfest include: 12 Stones The Beach Boys Blue Öyster Cult Johnny Cash Ray Charles Cheap Trick Collective Soul Alice Cooper Crossfade Earth, Wind, and Fire Hootie and the Blowfish K.C. and the Sunshine Band B.B. King Foghat Kool and the Gang Little Richard Lynyrd Skynyrd The Outlaws Ted Nugent REO Speedwagon Quiet Riot Saliva Evan's Blue Halestorm Shinedown Silvertide Smash Mouth Rick Springfield Styx Survivor Tesla Trapt "Weird Al" Yankovic Official Beloit Riverfest website