With the exception of the pandemic years, the Riverbend Festival has been presented on the Tennessee River since 1982, and every year - without exception - it has been the object of criticism for those not happy with the lineup.
Too little country, too much country, too many old bands with only one original member, too many new bands with not enough hits, acts who have vulgarities in their songs - to name a few from over the years.
The complaints about this year's festival appear to focus on lack of genre diversity, lack of familiar acts and wristbands being too expensive - $95 this year.
Riverbend has always been about booking acts, especially headliners, that are familiar to local radio listeners. That is not the case for any other festival in the country, and it is not the case for this year's lineup.
More than half of this year's lineup comprises women or people of color - many you might not have heard of.
I didn't know about Ayron Jones, Brittney Spencer or Los Amigos Invisibles two weeks ago, for example, but now I'm as excited to see them and the other artists that are in the small fonts near the bottom of the poster as I am the headliners, which are Brothers Osborne, indie rockers Cage the Elephant and singer/songwriter Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit.
File photo / Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ayron Jones will perform during Riverbend 2022 in June. His sound is a mix of grunge, hip-hop, rock, soul and more.People are going to complain, and they have every right to. No lineup is going to appeal to everyone. And not every lineup tries to. That's one of the dirty little secrets of festival lineups. Smart organizers know they will never, ever make 100% of fans happy.
Over the past few years, the Riverbend model, offering as many different acts as possible, proved to no longer work as revenue fell significantly. The trend in festivals over the past decade has been to curate lineups, or boutique festivals, designed to appeal to a specific audience. Moon River in Coolidge Park each September is an example, which is primarily an Americana, singer-songwriter event.
Boutique festivals try to offer more bang for your buck by spreading quality acts around. And this year's Riverbend lineup reflects that model with fewer acts on fewer stages spread over just three days.
Will the lineup appeal to everyone? No way. Is a good lineup? Absolutely.