At Dominion Energy Riverrock, the music is part of the experience — not just background noise between kayaking competitions and climbing events. Across Brown’s Island and Richmond’s downtown riverfront, live performances help shape the atmosphere that has made Riverrock one of the city’s signature spring traditions.

This year’s lineup blends regional touring acts, Richmond favorites, jam bands, indie artists, and Americana performers into a weekend soundtrack designed for the energy of the James River.

Friday night begins with Bucko, the Richmond-based band that describes its sound as “honky-tonk goof rock,” combining country storytelling with indie-rock unpredictability and punk spirit. The evening continues with Clay Street Unit, a Colorado-rooted sextet known for weaving together bluegrass, folk, country, psychedelia, and improvisational jam influences into sprawling live performances.

Saturday’s lineup pushes Riverrock into even broader territory. Richmond artist Dhemo brings an introspective and genre-fluid sound centered around what the project describes as “music for healing and growing.” Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers lean into blues-folk storytelling and emotionally grounded songwriting, while Willie Williams blends Southern Americana, roots rock, country soul, and jam-band influences into a style built for outdoor festival crowds.

Wolph continues the jam-heavy energy Saturday with a sound shaped by classic rock, blues, folk, Southern rock, and psychedelic improvisation inspired by groups like the Grateful Dead. One of the weekend’s most anticipated acts, Philadelphia-based SNACKTIME, combines funk, soul, punk, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B into high-energy performances that began as free street shows in Rittenhouse Square.

Saturday night closes with Circles Around the Sun, the Los Angeles instrumental rock group originally formed to create music for the Grateful Dead’s “Fare Thee Well” concerts. Their psychedelic and atmospheric sound is likely to provide one of the festival’s defining sunset moments along the riverfront.

Sunday shifts toward indie and alternative rock. Richmond singer-songwriter Deau Eyes, the project of Ali Thibodeau, brings emotionally sharp indie-pop and powerful vocals to the stage before Illiterate Light closes the festival. The Shenandoah Valley-born duo has built a national following through expansive alternative-rock performances that feel much larger than a two-person act.

Together, the lineup reflects Riverrock’s evolution beyond an outdoor sports festival into a broader cultural event where live music, recreation, and community gathering all meet along the James River.