The classic 1994–1998 quartet lineup of Mañalac, Blanco, Azarcon, and Escueta performed a major reunion concert, with the event held at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque on February 17, 2024 and produced by Live Nation Philippines.

[4] The band's predecessor consisted of Jesse Gonzales on vocals, Kenneth Ilagan on guitars, Nathan Azarcon on bass guitar, Rome Velayo on drums, and Rico Blanco on keyboards and backing vocals whom Azarcon and Ilagan recommended to the management after hearing him play his portable piano rendition of Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" during the audition process.

[5] In the process of grueling practice sessions, Azarcon's schoolmate Francisco "Bamboo" Mañalac replaced Gonzales who was asked to leave the band for not meeting expectations; Azarcon's childhood friend Mark Escueta replaced Velayo who no-showed and personally left after sensing he is not fit with the group's musical style,[5] and Ilagan (a family friend of Roño), who eventually left the band later on for personal reasons concerning his studies, was replaced by Perfecto "Perf" de Castro who owned the rehearsal studio where the band used to jam.

The name "River" was already in place, as mutually agreed by the whole band, while the added "maya", to serve as a distinction, was said to be initially coined by Blanco which was then strongly approved, suggested, and vouched by de Castro to Nakpil.

[citation needed] The band's second album Trip, released in 1996, contains the singles "Kisapmata" [Blink of an Eye], "Himala" [Miracle], "Flowers", "Princess of Disguise" and "Panahon Na Naman" [It's Time Once Again].

[11][12] Rivermaya decided to forge on, with Rico Blanco taking on lead vocals and released their fourth album, It's Not Easy Being Green on January 15, 1999, containing the singles "Nerbyoso" [Nervous], "Shattered Like", and "Rodeo".

[22] In April 2001, Nathan Azarcon departed from the group to focus on other musical interests (later revealed he got kicked out due to serious unruly behavior off-screen), leaving Rico Blanco and Mark Escueta as remaining members.

They were later signed with Viva Records and released an EP "Alab ng Puso" [Passion of the Heart] in June 2001, an original soundtrack for the film Buhay Kamao which starred Robin Padilla.

[28] On December 8, 2001, the band also performed at the Fort (also known as Bonifacio Global City) to celebrate Pulp Magazine's 2nd Anniversary also dubbed as "The Freakshow".

[31] On October 10, 2003, they released their 7th studio album Between the Stars and the Waves containing the singles "A Love to Share", "Balisong" [Butterfly Knife], "Sunday Driving", "Table for Two", "241", and "Atat" [Eager].

[34] The band were nominated in the MTV Asia Awards 2004 for Favorite Artist Philippines, which was won by Parokya ni Edgar.

He then later performed as a session player with other musicians such as Julianne Tarroja, and Peryodiko, among others, thus, the band became a four-piece line-up once again and has been that ever since during the mid-2000s Pinoy rock era.

Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child introduced the group, and they were backed up by Thailand’s Royal Symphony Orchestra during their live performance.

[citation needed] Also during this time, Rivermaya has been often referred to as "Banda ng Bayan" [The Band of the Nation], a nickname they share with Parokya ni Edgar.

Aside from the band members, main judges are Rivermaya manager Lizza Nakpil, The Dawn guitarist Francis Reyes, and Razorback bassist Louie Talan.

[59][60] and in the same month and year, the band released the album Closest Thing to Heaven with the track "Dangal" [Dignity] as the carrier single.

She was charged with the crime of estafa, sued for damages, and the court issued a Writ of Preliminary Injunction forbidding further contact with Rivermaya.

However, in October of the same year, Escueta was granted with a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Regional Trial Court of Lucena City.

After taking a brief hiatus, in November 2012, Japs Sergio posted on his official Facebook page that he left Rivermaya, in order to pursue his new band, Peso Movement.

[78] On February 12, 2016, the band released the music video of their fifth and final single for the Panatang Makabanda album, "Tayo", on Facebook and later uploaded on YouTube on March 9, 2016.

[79][80] On March 6, 2016, bassist and vocalist Norby David posted a statement on Facebook that he quit the band primarily claiming it was ultimately a lack of communication as the reason for his departure.

On May 22, 2017, the band signed with ABS-CBN-owned record label Star Music and later announced that it will release its 13th studio album, Sa Kabila ng Lahat.

[90][91] In late 2018, Peralta voluntarily left the band in good terms prompting Escueta to switch back to playing drums.

[94] The band was inducted in the Eastwood City Walk of Fame on March 6, 2024 represented by Escueta, Azarcon and former member Kakoy Legaspi.

Former member Japs Sergio was also invited to the event but was not able to make it; he instead posted a message of gratitude in his official Facebook account the following day.

On October 31, 2023, concert producer Live Nation Philippines posted a five-second teaser showing blurred images resembling classic Rivermaya members Rico Blanco, Bamboo Mañalac, Mark Escueta, and Nathan Azarcon.

[96] Meanwhile, an overwhelming number of fans aired their disappointment online after noticing the absence of Perf de Castro from the promotional materials.

De Castro himself then posted in his social media accounts confirming that he will not be a part of the reunion concert as he was not approached by the producers of the show.

[97] In a separate interview with Mark Escueta on Raymund Marasigan's podcast dated February 8, 2024, he mentioned that Live Nation made it clear to them from the beginning that the producer's original plan all along is that only the four out of the five from the "classic lineup" (sans de Castro) will be participating in the "reunion concert" since the scope that Live Nation wanted to focus on was the lineup from the band's second and third studio albums.