It all started with a keg party in the pasture.

That is how Rod “Woody” Woodruff, President of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, describes the first gathering back in August 1982 when the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground was nothing more than three stands of barbed wire and some cows.

“In high school, I used to like to throw keg parties out in the middle of nowhere, so, later in life, when bikers were being kicked out of Sturgis, I found a field to lease and decided to give them a place to go where they felt welcome,” said Woodruff. “In my mind, I was just throwing another keg party and not much more thought than that went into it.”

Securing bands for The Best Party Anywhere® is no easy feat.

It often takes the entire year before all the variables fall into place.

But the process always starts by listening to requests from fans like you.

Planning is currently underway, and lots of you have been asking about bands and listing ones you’d ride across the country naked in a blizzard to see perform.

The original venue to bring together music and motorcycles during the Sturgis Rally turned the BIG 4-0 this year. Suffice it to say, everyone anticipated the party celebrating this milestone would be one for the history books. Riders, rockers, celebrities and gawkers from across the globe all made their way to the legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip® expecting that the Best Party Anywhere® would truly deliver on its name for the anniversary. And it did. Here were some of the highlights…