Ah, The Bessie Smith Strut.
Along with symphony night, this is the evening that I think epitomize what sets Riverbend apart from other festivals. It also happens to be my favorite of the nine nights.
Ostensibly, the Strut is an evening celebrating blues music and barbecue, but in my experience, it’s so much more than that. The atmosphere is one of communal revelry, more akin to a massive block party than a concert. I just love to wander around and soak it in. It’s a night that needs to be experienced through constant movement, hence its moniker.
This year, the experience will be more compact than normal since we’re down a stage (nothing doing at Miller Plaza this time around). But again, this is a night where music plays second fiddle (or slide guitar, in the spirit of cohesive terminology) to rubbing shoulders with your fellow Chattanoogans.
That’s not to suggest there’s not plenty of killer tuneage to be enjoyed, though.