File photo / Michael and Tanya Trotter of The War & Treaty return to Chattanooga in June for the Riverbend 2022. The husband and wife are staples on the festival circuit and played in recent years in Chattanooga at Moon River and Nightfall. They are known for their powerful, high energy gospel-infused shows.As happens every year, Chattanoogans are somewhat split on their satisfaction with the Riverbend 2022 lineup, but if ticket sales are any indication, people like it.
The 500 VIP tickets sold out within days of the lineup announcement Jan. 20, and the 200 corporate VIP wristbands sold out a week later, according to spokesperson Robin Derryberry. She said the festival is limited to 15,000 attendees, and she cautioned people shouldn't wait to get their tickets if they plan to go.
"It is selling really, really well, and once those are gone, that's it," she said.
Not everyone is happy with the lineup. Hamilton County Commissioner Katherlyn Geter, D-Ridgeside, publicly questioned the diversity represented in the lineup this past week in other media outlets. She did not return a request for comment from the Times Free Press.
Derryberry said the 23-act lineup is composed of 33% women or people of color. Seven of the acts, including The War and Treaty, Devon Gilfillian, Ayron Jones and Brittney Spencer, are African American artists.
The three headliners for the three-day festival are country artists Brothers Osborne, indie rockers Cage the Elephant and singer/songwriter Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit.
"We would have liked to have had a headliner that is a woman or a person of color," Derryberry said, "and we did our dead-level best, but between COVID, availability and budget constraints, we got the very best acts available, which is what we always try to do."
Comments on social media platforms since Riverbend's lineup announcement have seesawed between fans calling it the best Riverbend lineup they've ever seen and people who said they'd never heard of any of the acts on the list and would not be going.
Willie Partridge wrote on Facebook, "Black people have been officially uninvited to Riverbend with this lineup. Don't spend one dime at this event!"
Greg Seaborn commented, "Bunch of nobodies, not worth my time?"
Philip Gardner wrote, "Very excited for this lineup! The price is right too. I've seen a lot of these musicians before and they are very good."
Someone from Cage the Elephant band's page posted, "We can't wait!"
That's good news for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Angelo Andrews.
"With all the great lineups this year at Riverbend, I almost collapsed out of my chair when I heard Cage the Elephant is attending!" he said by text.
"They had an enormous impact on my upbringing and even helped me through through my toughest times," he wrote. "I can turn on Cage the Elephant with my friends or my brother and before you know it we have a full on sing along session! I've attended Riverbend ever since I was little when my father first took me, and he always had a nice picnic for both of us to enjoy the show with. Truly an experience to enjoy with family and friends all in our backyard of Chattanooga!"
Some on social media also lamented the ticket price of $95 as too high, while others countered that a single ticket for just one of the headliners garners that much money.
Tickets for the January Jason Isbell show at the 1,700-seat Tivoli Theatre ranged from $59 to $99.
Chattanooga podcaster Bryan Stone has attended every Riverbend since 1996, he said. He said there are always people who love and people who dislike festival lineups, "depending on who you ask. Somebody's great lineup is someone else's terrible lineup. I have friends whose kids think this year's Forecastle lineup [in Kentucky] is the best ever. There is nothing there for me."
He feels differently about Riverbend 2022.
"In fact, for the first time ever, I bought a single ticket because of fear of missing out, or FOMO, as the kids say," he said. "I've been a hater for the last five years. I absolutely love this lineup. Especially at this price point. It might be the best deal in the Southeast.
"I also think it's very cool that for the first time ever, 'Riverbend lineup day' is a thing. They always released it a little at a time before, and now everybody was buzzed talking about 'Riverbend lineup day.'"
Riverbend 2022 is produced by Friends of the Festival. Officials have been working for the past three years to reshape the festival, which started in 1982. Among the more significant changes are doing away with the iconic barge stage, reducing the number of stages to three and the number of days for the event to three. Also, wristband sales were unlimited in the past but now are capped at 15,000.
Festival Director of Operations Mitchell Hall said earlier in an interview that the changes were made after polling nearly 30,000 patrons to find out what people wanted going forward. Respondents made it clear they wanted a more intimate festival with better access to the stages, smaller crowds and fewer days, he said.
Derryberry said that in an effort to save money, the festival this year will be using the 2020 wristbands it had purchased before the event was canceled. The chips are programmable, meaning wristbands that were bought in 2020 but not returned will not work this year.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.