“It feels like a place we can keep coming back to,” said Sinkane, whose real name is Ahmed Gallab. “Everyone is so lovely, you know. Friendly.”
Gallab — a Sudanese-pop artist — kicked off the 39th season of “Nightfall,” a free concert series in downtown Chattanooga. Friday marked the first of 14 concerts that will take place weekly throughout the summer.
(READ MORE: Downtown Chattanooga’s music series Nightfall releases 2026 lineup)
“I’m just delighted that Sinkane is back,” Carla Pritchard said at the event. She is the owner of Chattanooga Presents, the company that produces Nightfall. “”He’s a Sudanese artist, which is not something you hear every day. The music is all about joy.”
Gallab was born in London to Sudanese parents before moving to Ohio when he was 5. His first project under the Sinkane artist name was released in 2007. Gallab has also worked as a session musician and composer and has been part of collaborations with well-established indie artists like of Montreal and Caribou.
As an artist, much of his rhythmic and melodic inspiration comes from Sudanese music culture.
“I don’t always aim to write that way,” Gallab said. “I’ll start something, playing guitar or keys, and all of a sudden there will be these lines that come out and sound very Sudanese.”
Sinkane and FlashDrive were booked to play together last year for Nightfall’s penultimate summer concert, but a “gully washer” of a rainstorm flooded Miller Plaza and led to low attendance, according to John Phillips. Phillips is the band manager and one of the two guitarists for FlashDrive.
Sinkane, FlashDrive kick off Nightfall’s 2026 summer concert season
“When we got notice this year that they wanted us to open up the show season, and open up for Sinkane again, we were over-the-moon thrilled with that opportunity,” Phillips said before the concert.
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The live music event spans from 10th Street to Miller Plaza and from Georgia Avenue to Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. During Nightfall, Miller Park is home to artisan vendors and family-friendly lawn games while Miller Plaza is where the performance stage is set up.
“I love seeing the crowd over here dancing because they are all ages, they are all kinds of people,” Pritchard said during Flashdrive’s opening set. “There’s nothing like music that can bring us together.”
LOCAL MUSICIANS
FlashDrive was born in the Chicago suburbs in 2013, about eight years before Phillips moved to the Scenic City. In late 2021, he reinvented the band with a fresh cast of Chattanooga musicians. They focus on playing top-40 hits that span over the past seven decades of popular music.
After four years of hard work playing around Chattanooga, Phillips felt like Friday was the culmination of their labor.
“That was by far the best show we have ever given, and that was the best audience we have ever received,” Phillips said after the show. “I told my drummer, Flashdrive has come of age!”
Nightfall will take place every Friday until July 31. Most concerts are set up in Miller Plaza, but the show will be relocated to Miller Park on May 22, June 12 and July 3, according to an April press release from Chattanooga Presents.
The streets surrounding Miller Park — M.L. King Boulevard, Market Street and Cherry Street — will be shut down every Friday evening until the end of July for the concert series. Georgia Avenue and 10th Street remain open to vehicle traffic during the event.
Nightfall’s second concert of the season May 8 takes a sharp turn toward country. Nashville country-folk singer Alicia Blue headlines the downtown concert, with Chattanooga songwriter Blake Worthington set to open.
Contact digital producer Sam Kohn at skohn@timesfreepress.com