Rock the Park

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RBC Rock the Park
Genre2004 to 2008: Classic rock
2009 to present: Classic rock, rock, modern rock, country, hip hop
Dates2024: July 10–13
Location(s)Harris Park, London, Ontario
Years active2004 – present
Websitewww.rockthepark.ca

RBC Rock the Park, formerly known as Start.ca Rocks the Park and Hawk Rocks the Park, is an annual music concert held at Harris Park in London, Ontario, Canada. From 2004 to 2008, it was primarily a classic rock concert sponsored by radio station 103.9 The Hawk. In 2010, the three-day concert was sponsored by three radio stations: 98.1 Free FM, FM96, and country music station BX93.

For the first 12 years, the purpose of the event was to raise money for Bethany's Hope Foundation for MLD Research, which raised over $2.2 million.[1]

Since 2016, Rock the Park has teamed up with the following charities: Big Brothers Big Sisters of London and Area, Make-A-Wish Southwestern Ontario and Children's Health Foundation, while also supporting Western Mustangs Football.[1] In 2019, they rebranded the name to Start.ca Rocks the Park with their partnership with Start.ca. In 2023, they again rebranded to RBC Rock the Park to reflect their partnership with Royal Bank of Canada.[1]

Rock the Park I[edit]

The first Rock the Park was held July 22–24 in 2004. Its main function was to raise money for Bethany's Hope Foundation and it raised more than $110,000. It featured several musical groups:

Thursday, July 22

Friday, July 23

Saturday, July 24

Hawk Rocks the Park... Again[edit]

ZZ Top plays at Hawk Rocks The Park Again

The second edition of Rock the Park was held over four days during July 21–24, 2005. Due to the success of the first concert, this second one was expanded to four days, during which over 40,000 Rock fans attended. It featured:

Thursday, July 21

Friday, July 22

Saturday, July 23

Sunday, July 24

Rock the Park III[edit]

Held July 20–22, 2006, the groups that took part were:[2]

Thursday, July 20

Friday, July 21

Saturday, July 22

Rock the Park III managed to raise $180,021 for the Bethany's Hope Foundation.

Hawk Rocks the Park: Back 4 More[edit]

Rock the Park IV was run July 26–28, 2007.

Thursday, July 26

Friday, July 27

Saturday, July 28

One of the announced bands was supposed to be Boston. The announcement was postponed after the death of Brad Delp. Subsequently, all of Boston's plans for touring, including Hawk Rocks the Park, were cancelled.

Hawk Rocks the Park 5[edit]

Rock the Park 5 ran from July 23 to July 26, 2008.

Wednesday, July 23

Thursday, July 24

Friday July 25

Saturday July 26

Rock the Park 2009[edit]

Rock the Park 2009 was held July 23–25, 2009. This marked the first time Rock the Park was not fully put on by The Hawk. Instead it was put on by two other major London radio stations as well. July 23 was presented by FM96, July 24 by BX93, and July 25 by The Hawk.

Thursday, July 23

Friday, July 24

Saturday, July 25

Rock the Park 2010[edit]

Rock the Park 2010 was held from July 22–24, 2010. It was presented by Bob FM. Approximately $1 million was raised for the Bethany's Hope Foundation.

Thursday, July 22

Friday, July 23

Saturday, July 24

Rock the Park 2011[edit]

The 2011 edition of Rock the Park took place over three days in July 2011. That year's sponsors included FM 96, 103.1 Fresh FM, 103.9 Greatest Hits FM and AM980, among others.

Thursday, July 21

Friday, July 22

Saturday, July 23

Rock the Park 2012[edit]

Thursday July 26, 2012 (Modern Rock Night)

Friday July 27, 2012 (Classic Rock Night 1)

Saturday July 28, 2012 (Classic Rock Night 2)

Rock the Park 2013, 10th Anniversary[edit]

Thursday July 25, 2013 (Modern Rock Night)

Friday July 26, 2013 (Classic Rock Night 1)

Saturday July 27, 2013 (Classic Rock Night 2)

Rock the Park 2014[edit]

Rock the Park XI took place July 24–26, 2014. A new event, the Gone Country Music Festival, sponsored by radio station BX93, was held at Harris Park on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

Wednesday July 23, 2014 – Gone Country Music Festival

Thursday July 24, 2014

Friday July 25, 2014

Saturday July 26, 2014

Rock the Park 2015[edit]

Rock the Park XII took place July 14–18, 2015.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 – Gone Country

Thursday, July 16, 2015 – Gone Country

Friday, July 17, 2015

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Rock the Park 2016[edit]

Rock the Park 2016 took place July 13–16, 2016

Wednesday, July 13, 2016 – Gone Country

Thursday, July 14, 2016 – Gone Country

Friday, July 15, 2016

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Rock the Park 2017[edit]

Rock the Park 2017 took place July 12–16, 2017. On April 10, 2017, it was announced that another night, Sunday, July 16, was added to the festival.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017 – BX93’s Gone Country Presents:

Thursday, July 13, 2017 – Virgin Radio Presents:

Friday, July 14, 2017 – Virgin Radio Presents: I Love the '90s Tour

Saturday, July 15, 2017 – FM96 Presents:

Sunday, July 16, 2017 – Virgin Radio Presents:

Rock the Park 2018[edit]

Rock the Park 2018 takes place July 11–14, 2018.[8]

Wednesday, July 11, 2018 – FM96 Presents:

Thursday, July 12, 2018:

Friday, July 13, 2018 – Virgin Radio Presents:

Saturday, July 14, 2018 – FM96 Presents:

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2019[edit]

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2019 took place July 10–13, 2019.[8]

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 – Pure Country 93 Presents:

Thursday, July 11, 2019 – FM96 Presents:

Friday, July 12, 2019: 97.5 Virgin Radio Presents:

Saturday, July 13, 2019: 97.5 Virgin Radio Presents:

On Monday July 8, 2019, due to travel situations, the set order was changed. As a result, the headline act, Pitbull, opened the show, followed by T-Pain and finally Flo Rida.

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2020[edit]

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2020 was to have taken place July 15–18, 2020.[8]

On April 27, 2020, festival organizers announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival had been postponed for one year until 2021. Due to scheduling conflicts, various artists could not be reconfirmed for two of the postponed dates. As a result, the artists who were to perform on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, and Saturday, July 18th, 2020 had been cancelled.[9]

Wednesday, July 15, 2020 – FM96 and 103.1 Fresh FM Present: CANCELLED

Thursday, July 16, 2020 – FM96 Presents: POSTPONED To Thursday July 15, 2021

Friday, July 17, 2020: 97.5 Virgin Radio Presents: POSTPONED To Friday July 16, 2021

Saturday, July 18, 2020 Pure Country 93 Presents: CANCELLED

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2021[edit]

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2021 was to have taken place July 14–17, 2021.[8]

On May 17, 2021, festival organizers announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival once again had been postponed for another year until 2022. The organizers said that they were working with the artists to play on the rescheduled dates.[9]

Wednesday, July 14, 2021:

  • TBA

Thursday, July 15, 2021 – FM96 Presents: POSTPONED To Thursday July 14, 2022

Friday, July 16, 2021: 97.5 Virgin Radio Presents: POSTPONED To Friday July 15, 2022

On April 27, 2020, Aqua was added to the line up.

Saturday, July 17, 2021:

  • TBA

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2022[edit]

Start.ca Rocks the Park 2022 took place July 13–17, 2022.[8]

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 – FM96  & fresh103.1 Present:

Thursday, July 14, 2022 – FM96 Presents:

Friday, July 15, 2022 – 97.5 Virgin Radio Presents:

Saturday, July 16, 2022 – FizzFest:

Sunday, July 17, 2022 – Pure Country 93 Presents:

RBC Rock the Park 2023[edit]

RBC Rock the Park 2023 took place July 12–15, 2023.[8]

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 – FM96 Presents:

Thursday, July 13, 2023:

Friday, July 14, 2023 – 97.5 Virgin Radio Presents:

Saturday, July 15, 2023 – FM96 Presents:

RBC Rock the Park 2024[edit]

RBC Rock the Park 2024 takes place July 10–13, 2024.[8]

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Friday, July 12, 2024

Saturday, July 13, 2024

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "History of Rock the Park". Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  2. ^ "London Free Press article about Rock the Park III". Lfpress.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  3. ^ "AM980 News (CFPL AM)". 980 CFPL. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Welcome to the Official Huey Lewis and the News Website". Hueylewisandthenews.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. ^ Reaney, James (2014-01-24). "38 Special, country bands join 11th Rock the Park". London Free Press. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  6. ^ "Tour Dates – 38 Special". Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  7. ^ "TURN IT LOUD – Headpins.net". Canadianclassicrock.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Rock the Park 2018 Lineup".
  9. ^ a b "Start.ca Rocks the Park 2020". Retrieved 2021-05-17.

External links[edit]