R&B musician Brian McKnight performs on the Coke Stage as Thursday’s headline act for the 2011 Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga, Tenn.Barring covert early morning missions to claim a spot on the Coke lawn, the average Riverbender’s day starts when gates open at 4:30 p.m. For Ben “Uncle Ben” Gaddy and the other members of the Local 140 Stagehand Union, however, that’s the halfway point.
At 3 p.m., Gaddy was five hours into his shift as he helped prep for Unum Stage closer Dangermuffin. Gaddy said his day probably wouldn’t end until midnight.
“[At the end of the night], we feel worn out, but you get up again to do it the next day anyway,” he said. “We do it because of the love of what we do. You get to meet a lot of interesting people. Every show that comes in is different.”
Tall and rail thin with a graying ponytail and drooping mustache, Gaddy has worked as a Riverbend stagehand for 12 years. He has attended the festival every year since its inception in 1982.
The quality constantly is improving, Gaddy said.