The big acts on the spotlighted Coca-Cola Stage get most of the attention before and during the Riverbend Festival, but every year the smaller side stages feature more than 70 acts.
Often these stages feature past stars, rising stars and a variety of musical styles. This year is no different.
For some Riverbend fans, such as Tad Laskowski, the side stages offer other positives as well.
“It’s also usually new music or somebody I haven’t heard on the radio every day,” Laskowski said. “I saw Dead Confederates under the bridge. It’s cooler, the layouts are better, there’s shade and the bathrooms are closer. Everything is better on the side stages.”
He said the only big-stage act he plans to see is Pink Floyd tribute act The Machine performing with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera.