Stone Temple Pilots complete Riverbend lineup

Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
photo Stone Temple Pilots

With the announcement today that Stone Temple Pilots and Here Come the Mummies will perform on the main Coca-Cola Stage on closing night of this year's Riverbend Festival, the headline lineup is complete.

Also announced by Riverbend Marketing Coordinator Amy Morrow are rapper Chubb Rock, who will headline the Bud Light Stage on closing night, Juice Newton & Exile, who will appear on the Unum Stage on June 6. On the Bud Light Stage, Nashville funk band Deep Fried Five performs on June 5, festive rockers Cowboy Mouth on June 6, Latin rock/hip hoppers Ozomatli on June 10, and Yacht Rock Revue, who play covers of '70s soft rock hits, on June 11.

"I think the overall lineup, from A to Z and including the new 6:30 featured Coke acts, there are no weak spots," says Talent and Production Coordinator Joe "Dixie" Fuller. "People are excited about Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick and War, and now Chubb Rock."

For the first time since the festival began in 1982, Riverbend will have two featured acts on the main Coca-Cola Stage on all nights except for the Bessie Smith Strut, which takes place along M.L. King Jr. Boulevard on Monday, June 8, and Tuesday, June 9, which is Faith & Family night.

Headliners for the Strut have not been announced, according to Morrow, while Christian singer Matthew West will headline Faith & Family night.

The rest of the Coca-Cola Stage schedule, with the 6:30 p.m. act listed first, is: St. Paul & the Broken Bones and 3 Doors Down on June 5, War and Martina McBride on June 6, Leon Russell and Merle Haggard on June 7, Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick and Melissa Etheridge on June 10, Little River Band and Hunter Hayes on June 11, and Cole Swindell and the Gregg Allman Band on June 12.

There are still a few slots to fill on some of the smaller side stages, Fuller says, but the bulk of the lineup is complete. Every year the festival tries to balance the schedule with a wide range of musical styles in addition to mixing up old with new with known and lesser-known acts, he says.

"We've got really good country, but we always have good country acts," Fuller says. "I think with 3 Doors Down opening the festival and now Stone Temple Pilots closing it, we have really good quality modern rock acts."

Stone Temple Pilots will not feature former lead singer Scott Weiland, who was with the band for its heyday from 1992 until 2002, although there were frequent reports of tension, including fistfights, between Weiland and the other band members. Still, they managed to produce four hit singles from their 1993 debut, "Core": "Sex Type Thing," "Plush," "Creep" and "Wicked Garden." Later hits included "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart," "Down" and "Between the Lines."

They broke up in 2003, but Weiland and the others reunited in 2008, touring and releasing an album in 2010. In 2012 tensions began to mount again. Weiland was fired in 2013 and was replaced by Chester Bennington, formerly of Linkin Park, who is still the band's lead singer.

Here Come the Mummies is a funk outfit that, yes, dresses up like mummies when performing.

Fuller says he hopes people who are maybe unfamiliar with acts like Here Come the Mummies, St. Paul & the Broken Bones or Deep Fried Five will be adventurous and try something new.

"They are a great acts," he says. "Go see those acts or at least give yourself a chance and Google them. Just because you've never heard of them doesn't mean they aren't a good act."

The festival is set for June 5-13. Wristbands can be ordered online for $39. They will go on sale at area Kangaroo stores on May 1 for the same price. They will increase to $55 after June 4.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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