It’s Faith & Family Night or, as I like to call it, Sweet Tea Night, and that means alcohol sales are suspended for the evening and Christian music dominates the lineup.
For you historians out there, for years Riverbend used to take Tuesday night off, then took a chance 15 years ago by rallying financial support from area religious groups. For the most part, the experiment has worked since many folks who don’t care to go on other nights turn out for Faith & Family Night. Many churches load up the vans and come in groups.
A big part of the success of the night also is that Riverbend gets the best and brightest in contemporary Christian music and this year is no different. Hello, his name is Matthew West.
West, who recorded the song “Hello, My Name Is,” a No. 1 hit that spent 17 weeks atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart in 2013, is this year’s headliner. He’s also an actor who has appeared in several Christian television shows. His other hits include “More,” “You Are Everything” and “The Motions” and he’s written songs recorded by Point of Grace, Mandisa, Natalie Grant, Rascall Flatts and Billy Ray Cyrus.