Rock/pop band 3 Doors Down, funk band War, R&B's St. Paul and the Broken Bones and rappers Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick have been added to this year's Riverbend Festival lineup.
One of the hottest bands out there at the moment, St. Paul and the Broken Bones will perform at 6:30 p.m. on the Coca-Cola Stage on opening night, June 5, prior to headliners 3 Doors Down.
"I love those guys," says Riverbend talent and production coordinator Joe "Dixie" Fuller of St. Paul. The Birmingham-based outfit is coming off a momentous performance on "Late Show with David Letterman" during which the host gushed over the band during his introduction.
"I've never seen him [Letterman] introduce a band like that and then let them sign off the show. That was pretty special," Fuller says.
St. Paul also had a sold-out show in September at Track 29.
Riverbend has tried to sign 3 Doors Down several times over the years. The band hails from Escatawpa, Miss., and formed in 1996. They exploded on the national and international scene with the release of the song "Kryptonite" from their 2000 debut "The Better Life." It also contained the singles "Loser" and "Duck and Run."
Over the years, 3 Doors Down has undergone numerous personnel changes and only vocalist Brad Arnold remains from its early days. Joining Arnold are guitarist Chris Henderson, drummer Greg Upchurch, guitarist Chet Roberts and bassist Justin Biltonen.
The band has five studio albums to its credit, the last being "Time of My Life" from 2011. Among their other hits are "When I'm Gone," "It's Not My Time," "Let Me Go" and "Away from the Sun."
"They are one of those bands we've looked at over the years," Fuller says. "They have a new album coming out in late April or early May and they are such a neat modern rock'n'roll band that will be a really good fit."
War, maybe best known for the classic funk-rock hit, "Low Rider," will be the 6:30 p.m. act on the Coca-Cola Stage on June 6.
Doug E. Fresh, who will perform June 10, helped pioneer the "beat box" movement in rap and R&B, creating beats and drum machine sounds with his voice, throat, lips and tongue. Known as the "Human Beat Box," he and Slick Rick created "The Show" and "La-Di-Da-Di," both considered two of the best early hip-hop songs.
"They don't do a lot of shows together, so this will be a fun, clean R&B show," Fuller says.
Other previously announced acts include Martina McBride on June 6, Merle Haggard, Sam Hunt and Leon Russell on June 7; Hunter Hayes and Little River Band on June 11; and the Gregg Allman Band, Jaimoe's Jasssz Band and Jack Pearson on June 12.
Riverbend is set for June 5-12. Yet to be announced are the closing night headliner and the Wednesday, June 10, headliner.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.