The lineup for the first Moon River Music Festival was announced on Tuesday morning and it’s a good one. Of course, as I’ve said for many years, if your favorite band or artist is on the bill, it’s a good lineup.
As a fan of several of the acts on the bill, including the Avett Brothers and Mavis Staples, it’s a good lineup. Several things about the festival coming here Sept. 8-9 are noteworthy to me. First, it will be at Coolidge Park and it will be gated and ticketed.
Barry CourterWe’ve had large events there such as 4 Bridges Arts Festival and Pops on the River, but nothing like this. Which makes a lot of people wonder if the space can handle it. Festival organizers AC Entertainment spent a good deal of time studying spaces all over the state before deciding on Coolidge Park, so they think they have a good plan.
Organizers hope people will bike, walk, paddleboard, kayak or canoe to the site as parking on that side of the river will be stressed. The positive is that being able to walk across the bridges or paddle across the river will give the event a different vibe than most other festivals.
Second, co-founder Drew Holcomb said he expects most of the ticket buyers to come from outside of Chattanooga as they did when the event was held in Memphis, where it began in 2014.