Gold Peak play the opening set of the Seventh Annual Rock’N the Ranch on Friday, July 7, 2023, at RustyRavin Plant Ranch in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Gold Peak play the opening set of the Seventh Annual Rock’N the Ranch on Friday, July 7, 2023, at RustyRavin Plant Ranch in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Music fest returns to RustyRavin

The annual nonprofit music festival is a fundraiser for Nuk’it’un, a transitional home for men

Rock’n the Ranch is set to return this weekend to the RustyRavin Plant Ranch for its eighth year. Ranch co-owner Ravin Swan said the forecast calls for great weather and the lineup describes great bands.

The annual nonprofit music festival is a fundraiser for Nuk’it’un, a transitional home for men that Swan also founded. She said the funds raised at Rock’n the Ranch go to a great cause, “right here in our community.”

The festival opens Friday, July 19, at 4 p.m., with music running late into the evening. There will be on-site camping, opening Thursday evening, though Swan said Tuesday that spots are filling quickly. The revels resume at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 20.

The first band to take the stage, at 5 p.m. Friday, will be the Ridgeway Rounders. Friday evening is rounded out by The Vintage Retro at 7 p.m. and Blackwater Railroad Company at 9 p.m.

Saturday morning, the Tune Weavers restart festivities, followed by The House Band at noon, HarpDaddy at 2 p.m. and “hot, up-and-coming” Ellie and the Echoes at 4 p.m. Denali Cooks will play at 6 p.m. and Roland Roberts Band will close at 9 p.m.

Swan encourages attendees to bring a lawn chair to set up on the grass in front of the stage, but notes that the bands will be playing high energy music that’s great for dancing — “or toe tapping.”

Putting on the annual festival takes a crew of up to 35 volunteers, Swan said. She said it’s the purpose of Nuk’it’un that drives people to lend their time and hands.

“They believe in what we’re doing.”

Rock’n the Ranch runs Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20. Tickets can be purchased at rockntheranch.bpt.me or at the door.

For more information, visit “Rock’n the Ranch at the RustyRavin” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

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