Riverfront Nights, the free summer concert series held at the 21st Century Waterfront and presented by Friends of the Festival, kicks off July 31 with Slim Pickins opening and TelluRide headlining.
All shows take place on Saturday nights and begin at 7 p.m. with a local opening act followed by a national or regional touring act on the Greenlife Grocery stage. The series will take a break Aug. 21 and 28 for other events scheduled downtown.
Riverfront Nights is modeled to a degree after the Nightfall series, according to Jeff Styles, Friends of the Festival talent coordinator.
“The folks on the Riverfront wanted something down there on Saturday night,” he said.
Mr. Styles said the mission of the series is similar to the Riverbend Festival in that the goal is to book artists in a variety of musical styles.
“We have a small amount of time and space, and we try to hit our overall audience,” he said. “The average music fan in Chattanooga should be able to find at least one of these shows to their liking.”
The series has a “green theme” with healthy food choices, renewable and efficient energy-oriented businesses as exhibitors and solar-powered lights on stage, according to a news release.
Series sponsors are BlueCrossBlue Shield, State Farm Insurance, Coca-Cola and Carter Distributing.
THE SCHEDULE
(Opening act is listed first)
July 31
Slim Pickins – bluegrass
TelluRide – country rock
Aug. 7
Ogya – world music
Dirty Dozen Brass Band – New Orleans horn-based funk
Aug. 14
Jennifer Daniels – singer/songwriter/folk
Jamie Mclean Band – Americana rock
Sept. 4
Wes Crider – acoustic guitar
Randall Bramlett/Geoff Acheson Blues Band (with Yonrico Scott)
Sept. 11
Pat Babb’s “Gypsy Parade” – acoustic pop rock
Stratospheerius – fiddle-based jazz/funk/rock
Sept. 18
Oz & Jaynes – reunited party-song duo
Blueground Undergrass Reunion (with Ike Stubblefield) – jamgrass