Regular Riverbend Festival attendees will notice a few changes to three of the stages this year thanks to the construction near the river.
Talent and Production Coordinator Joe "Dixie" Fuller said the Unum Stage will be moved and rotated across Riverfront Parkway in front of the Hunter Museum of American Art because of work on the Edwin Hotel near the Walnut Street Bridge.
Work on Interstate 24 around the Olgiati Bridge also has forced Fuller to move the Bud Light Stage about 50 feet and the Chevrolet Stage, which had been under the bridge, will move to the lawn near Power Alley.
"It's a little bit unique for me this year also because all three of those stages will be mobile stages," he said. "Both the Bud and Unum stages will be the same size, we just don't have to build them. You roll them in and open them up."
The Bud and Unum stages are being provided by Teri Productions in Knoxville, while Friends of the Festival bought its own mobile stage this year that will be the Chevy Stage. It will be used by Friends for other events it produces throughout the year such as Riverfront Nights, and it can be rented by other organizations as well.
The festival, set for June 9-17, will feature almost 100 acts, including headliners Boz Scaggs, Ludacris, Old Dominion, Crowder, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Morris Day & The Time with Cameo, Toby Keith and The Flaming Lips. The Bessie Smith Strut, which Friends also produces, is set for June 12 on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Admission to the strut is $10 or $5 with a Riverbend wristband.
Executive Director Chip Baker said the festival has adapted to a changing landscape along the riverfront since the very first festival in 1982. The biggest was during construction of the 21st Century Waterfront in 2005.
"It's what we do as a festival and as a city. There are always changes," he said. "That's what makes it fun. As long as people are communicating, things get resolved and that's what we do as a community. It's the Chattanooga way, right, to figure out solutions."
For example, Baker said, he has already spoken with Mitch Patel, owner of the Edwin Hotel, about ways to incorporate the hotel into the festival next year.
"I'm really looking forward to that."
Among the new offerings this year is Camp Riverbend, a partnership between The Creative Discovery Museum and Friends of the Festival. Children ages 10-14 who participate will get a tour of the Coke Stage, go backstage to work with sound and lighting crew members and get to talk with some of the performers.
They'll also visit Songbirds Guitar Museum, the world's largest collection of rare and vintage guitars. The camp will take place June 12-16 from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. For more information, visit cdmfun.org/camp or call 423-648-6045.
Wristbands for the festival are available at area Circle K stores at the discounted rate of $42 in Tennessee and $44 in Georgia through midnight June 8. They will be $55 once the festival starts.
Day passes are $25, except for Faith and Family Night, June 13, when one-day admission is $10. Star Seating tickets, which also require an admission wristband, are available for each night of the festival except June 16. Star Seating for the Toby Keith show is sold out.
Contact staff writer Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.