That Time MTV Turned Mount Rushmore Into a Concert Venue

30 years ago, South Dakota's most famous landmark was the site of a concert by one of the biggest bands at the time. The Presidents of the United States of America broke onto the music scene in 1995, first with their song "Lump," then reached near-anthem status with their ode to fruit, "Peaches."

Formed in 1993, the Seattle band was made up of vocalist and bassist Chris Ballew, drummer Jason Finn, and guitarist Dave Dederer. Their self-titled debut album came out in early 1995, and I was immediately hooked. As a lifelong Weird Al devote, their irreverent and fun post-grunge style lined up perfectly with my tastes. "They're fun songs about bugs and hanging out," is how I sold the album to anyone who would listen.

Read More: 'Weird Al' Album Flashback - 'In 3-D' Highlights

Rushmore Rocked - This concert actually happened

That album went triple platinum; they were huge for a minute in the mid-90s. Their follow-up album II came out in the fall of 1996. It wasn't quite as big, but it is still a fun album.

While the Presidents were riding their moment of fame between the two album releases, they did what bands do: they hit the road. The band played all over, from the UK to SXSW.

One of the stops on the tour ended up being a special concert for MTV. Capitalizing on the band's name, they were booked to perform live at Mount Rushmore. And when should this concert be? Well, Presidents' Day weekend, of course.

Mount Rushmore’s Most Unexpected Music Moment

On February 17, 1996, The Presidents of the United States of America, the band, climbed on a stage assembled in the viewing area of Mount Rushmore National Monument. With the faces of the presidents, not the band, looking over them, they played an 11-song set to 2500 concertgoers.

They did the hits from the first album along with covers of "The Joker" by The Steve Miller Band and "Video Killed the Radio Star," by The Buggles, which was the first video played on MTV in 1981.

The concert was organized by MTV, which covered all the costs and made a donation to the National Park Service afterwards. The cable network recorded the concert and aired it later in February 1996, with VJ Kennedy kicking off the special with a brief history of the monument.

The band continued to tour over the next couple of years. They also recorded a cover of "Cleveland Rock" to be the opening theme of The Drew Carey Show.

They broke up in 1998. They reformed in 2000 and released new music. They broke up again soon after. In 2003, they did it again, creating new music and starting to play regularly. They continued performing until 2015, then the band called it quits.