Rock the Locks report shows similar attendance to last year with an eye on improvements for 2026
By Griffin Beach on Friday, December 5th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
Umatilla City Manager David Stockdale gave a final report on the city’s third edition of the Rock the Locks music festival that took place in September.
“Finances were about the same as far as the cost recovery amount, revenue did go up but expenses went up more,” Stockdale told the council adding that there were several large one-time purchases such as the sound curtains.
Much of the attention in planning for this year’s event went to sound mitigation for nearby homes. Stockdale said there was improvement compared to previous years, but the city is still looking at further improvements such as reorienting the stages more due north.
“We’ve gotten better year over year, but it still hasn’t reached the level that we’re satisfied with and that the neighbors are satisfied with so, there’s some work to do there,” he said.
Attendance was similar to last year, with 5,211 visitors who attended an average of two of the three festival days.
The Tri-Cities area accounted for 17.2% of total visitors while Umatilla residents comprised 9.1% of attendees. Hermiston residents were 7.9% of ticket sales with Pendleton at 1.9%. Stockdale noted that visitors from 28 states were represented.
“I fully expect that we’ll continue to reach out to our core which is that area within a 50-mile drive of Umatilla,” Stockdale said mentioning that the contract for a marketing firm is up for bid.
“Once we get an updated marketing campaign that’ll cast a bigger net.” Adding that marketing in Bend, Portland, Seattle, and Spokane had yielded returns.
Next years event will likely allow more vendors, The number this year was limited to maximize vendor profit, but post-event feedback suggested the longer lines may have limited attendee spending.
“Let the market do what the market does, bring in the vendors have the space,” Stockdale said. “If we have more options available, the lines are a little bit shorter.”
Stockdale also suggested that future attendance could be helped by shifting the musical focus back toward nostalgic bands that appeal to an older demographic, moving away from the “heavy metal” bands that were featured more at this years event.
“Getting back to those late eighties, nineties bands that were Billboard top 10 that are still relevant,” he said.
The Rock the Locks music festival was recently approved by the Umatilla city council to run through 2028.
