Riverfront Nights schedule
› July 16 — Lefty Williams› July 23 — Muddy Magnolias› July 30 — Deacon Bluz & The Holy Smoke Band› Aug. 6 — Dead Phish Orchestra› Aug. 13 — Ripe› Aug. 27 — Jason D. Williams
People who come to the Riverfront Nights concert series in July and August should come ready to dance.
“This is not a music-listening party,” says Jeff Styles, who helps book the bands with Friends of the Festival, which produces the series. “You will dance.”
The series kicks off July 16 with Southern roots rocker Lefty Williams and closes out Aug. 27 with Southern rockabilly artist Jason D. Williams.
In between will be the Muddy Magnolias, a female duo that blends Texas country with New York R&B into their highly passionate set-list of spirituals, local blues act Deacon Bluz & The Holy Smoke Band, Deadphish Orchestra which, as the name suggests, blend the music of the Grateful Dead and Phish, and Ripe, a Boston-based funk/pop band.
The list of local acts who will open each concert has not been completed.
Riverfront Nights is a free, six-week series set at the 21st Century Waterfront. It is presented by Friends of the Festival, the same folks who put on Riverbend, and combines live music with people and organizations that promote healthy lifestyles, sustainable practices and intense outdoor recreation. While the bands are playing, people representing everything from outdoor adventures sports to animal care will be on hand to discuss what they do.
Born without his right hand, Lefty Williams found a way to play guitar by fashioning a custom-made pick, and has become one of the most respected Southern rockers around. He is also well-respected for his soulful voice and clever songwriting.
“He has gotten better and better and his band is filled with some of the best guys from Atlanta and Athens,” Styles says.
The Muddy Magnolias are Kallie North from East Texas and Jessy Wilson from Brooklyn, N.Y. They’ve managed to forge a partnership based on their different backgrounds both geographically and musically.
Styles says they will surprise people with their sound and the passion they put into their shows.
Along with being a musician, Deacon Bluz is a music historian who specializes in traditional blues dance music. He’s also well connected in the blues world.
“He knows all the Memphis players, the guys in the Blues Brothers and really all over the country,” Styles says. “This will be a great show and we will have a surprise opening act, a swing band, that people will love.”
The members of Deadphish Orchestra are all friends and fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish, and they all actually were together in bands that played songs by one or the other before deciding to merge the styles of the two legendary jam bands.
Ripe is a seven-member act devoted to getting people on the dance floor with their blend of funk and psychedelic music.
Chattanoogans who have been around awhile still talk about Jason D. Williams’ Riverbend performance in 1990 and the return performance in 1991 when he threw his piano stool into the Tennessee River. His music is fun and his style is high-energy outlandish. You never know what he’ll do.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.