The opportunity to play a stage at Riverbend can be the turning point for a local band looking to get its name out. Ten local groups have that chance this year, playing side stages along Riverfront Parkway.
Hive Theory is one of the few first-timers whose name already has some buzz around town. Winners of the Road to Nightfall contest, the five-piece band won the right to headline one of those Friday night concerts, which they will do June 22.
Anyone wanting a preview of that show can catch them first at Riverbend on Wednesday, June 13, at 6:15 p.m. on the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union stage.
Hive Theory includes Courtney Holder, guitar and vocals; Ryan Hitt, guitar; Zach Turner, drums; Jeff McSpadden, bass and vocals; and Matt Grimes on keys.
Local bands making Riverbend debuts
› Chattanooga Girls Rock Stars: June 14, 6 p.m. Bud Light Stage› Hatcher Phillips Band: June 13, 6 p.m., Chevy Stage› Hive Theory: June 13, 6:15 pm. TVFCU Stage› Magic Birds: June 14, 6:15 p.m. TVFCU Stage› Masseuse: June 16, 8 p.m. Unum Stage› Mother Legacy: June 15, 6:15 p.m., TVFCU Stage› Rare Coalition Band: June 8, 9:30 p.m., Unum Stage› Rye Baby: June 14, 6:30 p.m. Unum Stage› Sonny and the Wingnuts: June 15, 6 p.m. Chevy Stage› Time Machine: June 16, 6:15 p.m., TVFCU Stage
Holder and Hitt have played together since 2016. With the addition of Turner and McSpadden in 2017, they became Hive Theory. The quartet placed first runner-up in Nightfall just a few months after getting together.
“We were nervous last year (at Road to Nightfall) because it was one of our first performances. We didn’t think we did super well,” Holder recalls.
Earlier this year they added Grimes and won The Road to Nightfall as a five-piece.
“We had grown so much that we entered this year thinking we didn’t want to do it unless we went in thinking we would win. Basically we intended on winning and it worked out for us,” Holder says of their first-place award.
Holder says Hive Theory plays a mix of originals and pop covers. All of them contribute to their songwriting process, a “collective effort” as Holder calls it. The result is an energetic, powerful sound.
Hive Theory released a five-song EP, “Root Beer Float, in 2017. The band has plans to release a full album within a year.
“We’re really excited about playing Riverbend,” says Holder. “A couple of our members have already played Riverbend, but our guitar player and keys player haven’t. We’ve added a few songs, and a couple are really popular covers we’re excited to debut. We play full-length sets around town pretty often, so there will some of those songs people know in the Riverbend set.”
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.