RivahFest Idol

First Place $1000 cash prize

Second Place $500 cash prize

All participants must be no younger than twelve (12) years of age and no older than eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the finals on May 23, 2026. Participants must register by 4:00 pm on Friday, March 27, 2026. Preliminaries auditions on:Monday, April 13 - 6:00pm to 8:45 pm and Monday, April 20 - 6:00 pm to 8:45 pm.

Each participant must have a parent or legal guardian sign a release form before competing. Proof of age must be provided to the organizers at your preliminary. Proof of age includes, but is not limited to, birth certificate, school records, passport, or state or military issued identification cards. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your audition time to hand in your release form and proof of age.

At the preliminaries, the participant will be asked to perform one song for up to 2 minutes. The song will be performed with NO musical accompaniment. Three judges will rate each participant on a weighted scale on each of the following criteria: song selection, talent, and overall performance. ALL OF THE JUDGES’ DECISIONS WILL BE FINAL. 

There are ten (10) slots available for the finals. Once all of the tabulations have been completed, and the finalists have been chosen, all finalists will be called to be informed of the decision.

The finalists will be asked to perform one (1) song with musical accompaniment not to exceed 4 minutes in length. The finalist will have to provide RivahFest Idol by May 11, 2026 with an instrumental copy of the song they wish to perform. The musical accompaniment can be sent via mp3 to rivahfest26@gmail.com. The officials reserve the right to reject any song if they believe that the subject material is deemed offensive. 

Finalists will perform at RivahFest in Tappahannock on Sat., May 23, 2026 on the Main Stage on at 11:30am.

The final decision of the winner of RivahFest Idol will be made by the judges as a group. ALL DECISIONS MADE BY THE JUDGES WILL BE FINAL. The winner will be announced during the first break of the first band performance which follows the RivahFest Idol competition. The winner and runner up will need to remain for an encore presentation between the first two bands performing. 

Any situations that occur that are not covered by the “Rules of RivahFest Idol” will be made by the directors of RivahFest Idol within thirty (30) minutes of the situation being brought to their attention. The directors have the final decision on all matters concerning this contest. All questions please contact rivahfest26@gmail.com