So Riverbend is being cut to four days.
Good idea.
A music festival that stretches over nine days has always seemed excessive. It can be hard to find enough quality acts to fill a weekend-long event, but drag it out more than a week and you can end up scraping the bottom of the barrel. With AC Entertainment booking Riverbend - they're the guys who book Bonnaroo - it should be no trouble to find good acts for a four-day festival.
Shawn RyanOther changes are coming to the 36-year-old festival, too. The Unum Stage, located at the top of the hill near the Bluff View Arts District, is going away, leaving the Coca-Cola Stage on the Riverfront, the Bud Light Stage, the Chevy Stage and the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union Stage.
Faith and Family Night, which featured Christian acts and no alcohol on Tuesday nights, will no longer be held. And the Bessie Smith Strut, held on Mondays on M.L. King Boulevard, won't be affiliated with Riverbend, either.
In another change, festival passes are doubling in price, but they're cheaper if you buy them early. Tickets are now on sale and start at $60. That makes sense, though. Fewer days means fewer people, which means fewer dollars and that means higher ticket prices. Simple business.
Tokens won't be used for buying food and drink. Good deal. When Riverbend is over, there's always a question of "What the heck do I do with these tokens?"
Since 2002, Riverbend has run the same time as Bonnaroo over in Manchester as well as the CMA Fest in Nashville. All three festivals have altered their dates to avoid banging into one another. Riverbend is May 29 through June 1; CMA Fest is June 6-9, and Bonnaroo is June 13-16.
Over the past few years, the organizers of Riverbend have raised the idea of moving it away from the riverfront, perhaps to the Tennessee Riverpark on Amnicola Highway. Not a bad idea, either, although there is something to be said for the current location and its proximity to downtown and the Tennessee River, which gives the festival an urban feel with a bit of nature, too.
But the Riverpark is next to the Tennessee River, too, and has the added plus of being a large, grass-covered area that's more comfortable to stand on that asphalt. Parking is a serious issue there, but a deal might be worked out with the industrial warehouses and businesses directly across the highway from the park or with Chattanooga State Community College next door. Generally, they're not open on the weekends and their parking lots would be empty.
But moving Riverbend is a discussion for another day. Just cutting it down in size is the first step.
Now, if we can just get rid of the wretched Coke Stage.
Contact Shawn Ryan at mshawnryan@gmail.com.