Matthew WestJFest will celebrate its 21st year as the area's largest Christian music festival next spring, and will do so with a new location and its biggest lineup ever.
Held for the last two decades at Camp Jordan in East Ridge, JFest is moving to the Tennessee Riverpark on Amnicola Highway. Scheduled to perform will be co-headliners Lecrae and Matthew West, Tauren Wells, Building 429, Ryan Stevenson, The Young Escape and Riley Clemons.
The concert will take place May 18, with $10 wristbands going on sale Feb. 7. Admission prices will be on a tiered system, rising gradually to a final cost of $25.
Festival organizers at J103, the festival's producer, announced at the conclusion of last year's festival that it had outgrown the facilities at Camp Jordan and that they would be working with Chattanooga State, which is located next to the Riverpark, and the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department to figure out logistics such as parking, seating and traffic for the event.
"Hamilton County Parks Department is very excited to host JFest this year as it will be the biggest event they have ever held at that location," says Ted Gocke with J103.
"They have talked about hosting a large event like this for years and are impressed at how well the planning is coming."
Barry Courter» Kane Brown continues to add to his list of accomplishments. His new record, "Experiment," had more than 2.5 million streams in the first 24 hours after its release.
The reviews aren't bad either. Rolling Stone wrote "'Experiment' proves why Brown has become one of the genre's hottest up-and-comers," while Time Magazine writes "Brown proves he's got the range to stick around."
"Lose It" became a Top 5 hit from the record and the new single is "Weekend."
Brown kicks off his first headlining tour in January.
He's not the only local country performer getting love from Rolling Stone. The magazine mentions that Luke Combs' latest single, "She Got the Best of Me," is the first country single of the year to stay atop the Country Airplay chart for four weeks.
It was co-written by local artist Channing Wilson, with Combs and Rob Snyder.
Richard Lloyd has a new record out called "The Countdown," and it, too, is getting plenty of attention in places like "Guitar World" and Billboard.com.
It's always great to see local artists doing well, and these aren't the only ones earning much-deserved recognition. Just the latest.
Contract Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.