Chattanooga has been selected as one of 14 cities across the country as part of Navy Week, and Riverbend has several events planned as part of the local celebration.
Tonight is Military Appreciation Night, for example, and that means the Navy Ceremonial Band will hit the Coke Stage at 8:30 p.m., with headliner Dustin Lynch following at 9:30. In addition to the Navy band's performance, there will be a swearing-in ceremony for new recruits during the musicians' time on stage as well.
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Also, the Ceremonial Band, which plays a mix of popular and patriotic favorites, will play again tonight in front of the main entrance on Chestnut Street from 5 to 6 p.m.
The Navy Brass Band will perform at 5 p.m. on the Unum Stage on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Thursday show is not listed in the program as it was a late addition, according to Mickey McCamish, a retired U.S. Navy captain who serves as military events and sponsorship coordinator with Friends of the Festival, which produces Riverbend.
"This is Navy Week, and Riverbend was chosen as the platform to tell people about some of the things that the Navy does, and it will deploy certain assets to support it during the week," McCamish said of the planned events.
A ceremonial guard will be on hand for the swearing-in ceremony, which McCamish said will include all branches of the military.
Lynch is from up the road in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and has made a name for himself in Nashville with songs like "Cowboys and Angels," "She Cranks My Tractor," "Where It's At (Yep, Yep)" and "Wild in Your Smile." He also co-wrote James Wesley's 2013 single "Thank a Farmer."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.
Also don't miss
If you like R&B and funk with plenty of brass, you can't get any better than Tower of Power. The group will perform at 8 p.m. on the Bud Light Stage, and you can hear the hits like "You're Still a Young Man," "So Very Hard To Go," "What Is Hip?," and "Don't Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)."
And if you don't get enough funk in your trunk from that show, head up to the Unum Stage at 9:30 p.m. for Turkuaz. The New York-based band plays a mixture of just about everything and all of it is dance-worthy.
TODAY'S SCHEDULE
Military Appreciation Night
Coke Stage
9:30-11 p.m. Dustin Lynch
Bud Light Stage
6-7:30 p.m. Black Cat Moon
8-9:30 p.m. Tower of Power
Unum Stage
6:30-7:45 p.m. Justin Long
8-9:15 p.m. Albert Castiglia
9:30-11 p.m. Turkuaz
TVFCU Stage
6:15-7:30 p.m. Hive Theory
7:45-9 p.m. Heather Gillis Band
9:15-10:30 p.m. Casey James
Chevy Stage
6-7 p.m. Hatcher/Phillips Band
7:15-8:30 p.m. Cole Sitzlar