The Moon River Music Festival Presented by Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors will return to Coolidge Park Sept. 11-12 with headliners Wilco, Lord Huron, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lake Street Dive, Dr. Dog, Indigo Girls, Hippo Campus, Dawes and COIN, among others.
Tickets for Moon River will go on sale starting at noon Thursday, May 13, via moonriverfestival.com.
Also on the lineup are Shovels & Rope, YOLA, Mipso, Amythyst Kiah, Molly Tuttle, Madison Cunningham, Rebirth Brass Band, Seratones, Overcoats, The National Parks, American Aquarium and Allison Russell.
Moon River, which celebrates folk, indie and American music, was founded in Memphis in 2014. It outgrew the venue there and was moved in 2018 to Chattanooga, where it enjoyed two straight sold-out events, with 10,000 tickets sold the first year and 11,000 the second. Organizers said they hope to be at full capacity for this year's event with tickets ranging from $150 to $450.
Past highlights include a 2019 performance by Brandi Carlile, who invited Holcomb to join her on stage along with The Lone Bellow for a stirring rendition of John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery."
Moon River is presented in partnership with AC Entertainment, co-founders of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. That festival is typically held in Manchester, Tennessee, in June, but this year will take place a little over a week before Moon River. The 2020 Moon River festival was canceled because of COVID-19 and Holcomb said only five acts - Dawes, COIN, The National Parks, Shovels & Rope and YOLA - that were on the 2020 lineup are also on this year's list. Last year's festival also had Nickel Creek, Sheryl Crow, Ben Rector, Billy Strings and Robert Earl Keen.
On Wednesday during a Zoom interview, Holcomb said that organizers started putting the lineup together about eight weeks ago when people began getting the COVID-19 vaccine in large numbers.
"It was pretty crazy, but a lot of fun, really," he said.
Holcomb also said Moon River organizers, like those with other festivals around the country, took their cue from Bonnaroo, which has already sold all of its allotted 80,000 tickets.
"Once they announced it was happening, it sort of opened things up," he said.
As in previous years, a portion of every ticket sale supports Outdoor Chattanooga and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A special Friday night event will be held on Sept. 10 exclusively for VIP ticketholders.
In addition to the live music, returning features for 2021 are The Treehouse, Lookout Lodge, Tennessee Tavern and the Outdoor Activity Area. Because of the fluid nature of COVID-19, new health and safety measures will be in place to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for fans, artists and staff, according to organizers, and will be updated as the event approaches.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.