Drag the River
Fort Collins' punks-gone-country, led by ALL's Chad Price and Jon Snodgrass — whiskey-worn harmonies and heartland ache. Fest's morning-after soundtrack.
Drag the River came together in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1996, when Chad Price, then singing for the punk band All, began working with Jon Snodgrass of Armchair Martian, along with Paul Rucker and J.J. Nobody of the Nobodys. All four came from punk backgrounds and turned that history toward country songwriting.
The band's sound settled around two-part harmonies over acoustic guitars and pedal steel, played with a loose, unpolished feel, and lyrics that stay plainspoken and rueful rather than sentimental. That sound was first documented on 2000's Hobo's Demos. Steel guitarist Zach Boddicker joined in 2001, appearing on Closed, released through Upland Records in 2002, and the live album Live at the Starlight, issued the same year.
Drag the River became a reference point for punk musicians moving toward alt-country, even as its lineup kept shifting: Casey Prestwood of Hot Rod Circuit took over pedal steel duties, and Dave Barker replaced Rucker on bass. Signed to Suburban Home Records in 2006, the band released It's Crazy that June, toured widely, and broke up the following year, marking the split with a shared release alongside the band Dents.
The group reunited in January 2008 and issued You Can't Live This Way that same month. Live at the Starlight was made available as a free download in 2009 after unauthorized copies began circulating online, and the band toured Europe before the decade closed. Drag the River has broken up and reconvened more than once since, with Price and Snodgrass maintaining solo work and other projects alongside the band, playing on as a duo or full lineup.
Festivals Drag the River is playing
Drag the River at a glance
What festivals is Drag the River playing in 2026?
Drag the River is booked at 1 festival: The Fest 2026.
When does Drag the River play at The Fest?
Sunday, October 25, 6:50 – 7:40 PM at Depot Village.
Where is Drag the River from?
Drag the River is from FORT COLLINS, CO.
What kind of music does Drag the River play?
Drag the River is tagged alt-country and cowpunk.
Also on these bills
Whiskey & Co.Chad PriceA Wilhelm ScreamAgainst All AuthorityAlgernon CadwalladerBear Vs. SharkBouncing SoulsThe FlatlinersHey MercedesHome FrontI Am the AvalancheThe Impossibles
More alt-country acts
Noah CyrusFaye WebsterChad PriceMJ LendermanThomas DollbaumWhiskey & Co.
Find acts like Drag the River at upcoming festivals
Start the finder with Drag the River already in the box and see which acts on a lineup fit the same taste.
