Standing on the grass infield of Coolidge Park on Sunday night watching 10,000 people throwing their hands back and forth to the music of Judah & the Lion at the Moon River Festival was one of the more surreal experiences I’ve had in a long time.
It wasn’t just because the Tennessee River, the Tennessee Aquarium (which was lit up with the same colors as those lighting the trees in the park, by the way; nice touch) and the Bluff View Art District/Hunter Museum of American Art were to our left, creating a stunning backdrop for the music.
Barry CourterNor was it that several hundred people lined the railing of the Walnut Street Bridge above and behind us. It was all of those things, plus the fact that nearly two dozen acts, including Mavis Staples and The War and Treaty, had already performed, and The Dirty Guv’nahs and The Avett Brothers were still to play, and the crowd was still there. On a Sunday night, no less.
For those wondering what all the fuss was about, the event brought a bunch of bands to a city, and a park, not known for such things. And it brought nearly 6,100 people from out of town willing to pay $100 to $139.50 to see it.
As has been pointed out many times, all of those 10,000 tickets sold within eight hours of going on sale. And the organizers, AC Entertainment, came in and transformed an already beautiful park into something even more impressive with things like lighting, swings hanging from the bridge and an entrance gate with working waterfalls on each side.