The Rockin' Ridge Music Fest began in 2018 at our home in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. In its 7th annual iteration now, we have decided to change our focus toward benefiting our community in a more active way. This allows us to meet our goals of paying our musicians (Musicians are valuable members of society and deserve remuneration!), making the festival entirely free to enter (In the past, we have asked for donations upon entry), and raising money for a valuable and purposeful organization here in the NEK.

The festival will take place on OCTOBER 4th 2025, so please do not wait to donate!

So, our plan is simple: ALL net proceeds will go directly to Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seeker's Network (NEKASAN). The more we raise, the more we can give to NEKASAN! So please, dig deep!

Here is a message from our friends at NEKASAN:

To welcome people from other countries and cultures into our community is always a gift to us. When we are open to the opportunity to expand ourselves, share music, dance, foods from Africa, Sudan, Liberia, the Middle East, how rich we become as the world opens to us. In return, we offer New Vermonters a sense of belonging and a welcoming arm that in so many ways relieves the distress experienced by people who need to flee their countries for safety. This is part of the mission of NEKASAN. We are a community-based organization that has welcomed “guests” since 2020. One of our guests has been here for 4 years, another for 3, and they want to stay. They feel this is their home. They are hard-working parents who are thriving here because of what our community is offering.

It is also a difficult time for NEKASAN, recognizing the political challenges that we face. Grants are disappearing, job training can be costly, legal support is costly, services may become unfunded. Yet this is what we do here, in the Northeast Kingdom. We do it for each other.