Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
Saskatoon’s Rock the River has rolled back into the city for another year.
The three-day event began Friday night at the Bessborough Gardens and runs until Sunday with vendors, drinks, and lots of great live music.
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On Friday, Toronto The Legacy, Streetheart and Tommy DeCarlo performed.
DeCarlo, former lead singer of Boston, told CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk he had an amazing time opening the festival.
“I think I was most excited about two hours before the show, when my son and I went down the street to have a little lunch, and I heard somebody on the radio say that we were playing here, and they mentioned my name,” he said. “It was very cool, amazing.”
The rainy weather didn’t dampen the spirits of music fan Rob Lecappellain at Rock the River in Saskatoon on Aug. 15, 2025. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
DeCarlo also said he was impressed music fans stuck around for the rainy and cool weather.
“I was surprised,” he said “Because I know for myself, I must really love a band to stick around to really bad weather. I can’t wait to come back.”
Tommy DeCarlo, former lead singer of Boston performed at at Rock the River music festival in Saskatoon on Aug. 15, 2025. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
Regina-based band Streetheart’s lead singer Paul McNair said the best part of coming to the festival was “everything.”
“It’s the hotel, it’s the people, it’s the restaurants, it’s the nice little coffee shops … this festival is fantastic,” he said.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Bessborough Gardens at Rock the River music festival in Saskatoon on Aug. 15, 2025. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
He was also grateful to the fans for sticking it out in the weather.
“It warms the heart to see that people are hanging out and enjoying it. Whether there’s a little bit of rain happening or not .. they’re here to party and we’re here to provide it,” McNair said.
Saturday’s lineup includes music from Odds, Teenage Head, Honeymoon Suite and Journey.
Sunday features performances from Strange Advance, Haywire and Asia and 54-40.
Brad Merritt, one of the founding members of 54-40, joined The Evan Bray Show earlier this week to discuss the festival.
He said the band has played at the event before, and it’s always a good time.
Tommy DeCarlo’s guitarist Frankie at Rock the River music festival in Saskatoon on Aug. 15, 2025. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
“I think this is the third time we’ve played this show, and it’s an amazing show. Assuming the weather holds, it’s going to be about as much fun as we can have,” said Merritt.
He said that 54-40 takes inspiration from many different bands.
“I think all the basic ones from the ’60s and ’70s — The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, anything that Neil Young was involved with, The Kinks, The Who, a little bit of Pink Floyd,” he said.
“Then when punk rock came along in the mid- to late ’70s, we really gravitated towards that.”
Merritt said that fans on Sunday will hear “12 or 13 solid radio hits, one or two kinds of deep tracks, and then a couple of new songs.”
— with files from CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk and CJME’s Roman Hayter
The Bessborough Gardens on the first night of Rock the River music festival in Saskatoon on Aug. 15, 2025. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
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