Riverbend Festival 2022

Riverbend’s 2022 Evolution

I’ve been going to Riverbend since I moved to Chattanooga in 1993, and though I’ve missed a couple recent years, I am to say a Riverbend veteran and specifically a local Chattanoogan who is a Riverbend veteran. This is to say I bring with that all the baggage that entails, for better or for worse, and I’m very aware of Riverbend’s unique place in the Chattanooga landscape as both a heralded tourist boon for the community by some and for a small, yet loud minority, an increasingly divisive headache one has to deal with, but never attends anymore because “it was better when I used to go”.

One moment that really put Riverbend’s positive community status into question was the controversial CeeLo Green performance in 2013, which was notable for his use of…cough….language. Yes CeeLo Green, whose 2010 hit FU was undoubtedly a big part of why he was hired for the festival in the first place, surprised the Riverbend crowd and festival planners alike due to his use of language. (A full write-up on the ridiculousness of this situation can be found at NoogaToday)

Ridiculous or not, this was the beginning for many of the end of Riverbend as a go-to family festival, and it never quite recovered. To win them back, Riverbend mixed-up the format by adding more artists to the main Coke stage in 2017. After mixed results from that experiment, and undoubtedly seeing the success of Moon River Festival, the organizing group Friends of the Festival took the historically 8 days and nights of music down to 4 days and nights of music in 2019. The idea was to focus on bigger acts, a slightly higher price tag, and though the numbers were down from my music loving friends they felt it was a success. (Notably I was unable to go to see this for myself.)

Needless to say Riverbend was shut down by Covid as were so many festivals after 2019, but what I can tell is this gave the Friends of the Festival to consider what they wanted the future of Riverbend to look like as well as listening, perhaps a bit late, to some suggestions too from past attendees. This is all to say that when we in the media tour were told something to the effect of “this is a radically new Riverbend’, it felt rather true.

Casualties of the changes included the barge stage, long derided by many as a poor stage for artists and fans alike, which was quite literally sent down river. Likewise Riverbend’s scale was also diminished, both by dropping a day from 4 to 3 days, but also by dropping several stages and several thousands of feet of real estate especially in the direction of the Hunter Museum of American Art, which long ago was home to 2 of my favorite stages. Likewise to match the diminished number of stages, only 3 in total, the number of acts dropped too, so that fewer acts coincided with one other thus giving each artist more time to really shine. Perhaps the change though most impressed upon us by the organizers was the loss of chairs, which had long been a staple of Riverbend, as trust was built with the “leave a chair on day 1, claim any day since” chair policy that unofficially had been followed as a way to save the best seats before the festival even officially opened. (This was I noticed replaced by blankets to varying degrees of success.)

While old time fans may read the above in horror, there was plenty of good that filled the gaps, and there was still a lot of Riverbend’s charms remaining. Importantly the “chicken on a stick and funnel cakes” were singled out by organizers as still in place, along with a bevy of other food trucks and alcohol tents. Likewise artists like Tanya Tucker, Brothers Osborne, and Moon Taxi, still felt like artists that the old Riverbend would’ve booked as well (and in fact Moon Taxi has performed at Riverbend in years past.)

What changed though was that Riverbend’s organizers clearly decided they didn’t just want to be a festival for the casual fan, who more and more were opting to not to go due to overcrowding, traffic, or some argument about line-up. Devoted music fans and festival goers though, of which I met many, were the new target, and artists like Gov’t Mule, Cage the Elephant, Niko Moon, and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit among others, were chosen for them. This was a bold choice for Riverbend, as it means they’re taking a side between ‘casual vs hardcore’ fans, but for me, and I hope for Riverbend, it paid off.

Friday

Elle King live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Friday of Riverbend for everyone I think, especially those who’d yet to go to many major events since Covid began, felt like a welcome return to some sense of normalcy. Even if the festival had changed over the years, crowds were gathering again, and live music was back in a big way!

Likewise Riverbend even kicked off differently with honorary Master of Ceremonies Leslie Jordan kicking the event off with a parade and Mayoral welcome. Soon after Riverbend was even serenaded by the U.S. Army Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division Band, which for any festival is undoubtedly a unique experience.

Of course after the ceremonies it was time for the music, and with a stacked line-up of artists such as Jenny Lewis, Elle King, Brothers Osborne and more, we were in for a treat! Regretfully due to a personal conflict I was unable to see Jenny Lewis, a personal favorite, so my first highlight of the night was truly Elle King, who many say, and I don’t entirely disagree, already stole the spotlight with her raucous, uproarious concert that evening.

@lesliejordan Always my mood with @Elle King ♬ Ex's & Oh's - Elle King

You don’t need to take my word for it though, as TikTok extraordinaire Leslie Jordan truly captured the action best.

Just before Elle King wrapped up I beelined for the main stage to await Brothers Osborne. A crowd had gathered early in front of the stage to catch the act, which I noticed was a common occurrence with each of the main stages. (It was nice to see that now that fans no longer had to strain to see the old barge stage, or more often the TV screens around the barge stage, that folks could at least jockey to get a real up and close view of their favorite artists.) Thanks to the alternating stage schedule, where no performer on the two larger stages would overlap each other, we were soon joined by a whole host of fans from King’s show ready and awaiting the Osborne brothers.

Brothers Osborne live at Riverbend Festival 2022

My familiarity with Brothers Osborne was limited, except I knew they were recent award winners, and I had learned that to my country friends they were not country but Southern Rock, a distinction I do not all together agree with even as I write this. Still I was excited and the crowd pumped me up so I was ready for a great show, and wow was it pretty spectacular! Though the music definitely hooked me in, Brothers Osborne went big with neon wardrobes and staging that included two giant skeleton puppets on the stage which loomed large over the band and the audience! This felt like the most, truly spectacular moment I’d seen at Riverbend since the Flaming Lips performed, and even then they were limited. This made Riverbend feel like it’d graduated to being a big time festival, and it was the perfect finale for the first day back in years.

Saturday

Niko Moon live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Saturday was the second longest day of the festival, and as such I was able to see even more artists on this day. I started with Niko Moon whose joyous country vibe, and party energy, matched the vibes of the crowd who already by 4 were partying alongside as if it was an evening performance.

Following immediately after Niko Moon, Moon Taxi started up on the main Coke stage to a warm Riverbend welcome. Moon Taxi’s such a fan favorite that even for an afternoon crowd fans gathered early and were raucously awaiting at the front. Moon Taxi gave them all the audience wanted and more with a fantastic live set that proved they are one of the top festival bands around. In particular I was stoked to hear some of my favorites “Two High” and “Morocco”.

Jung Youth live at Riverbend Festival 2022 with Moon Taxi for Rage Against the Machine set

Immediately after a short break, Moon Taxi returned for a special performance that’s one of the unique additions to Riverbend, which was an ensemble performance of Rage Against the Machine songs. For this performance, Moon Taxi played both as featured players but also the “house band” as other artists joined them on stage, including Jung Youth, Daisha McBride, Speech, and Classic Williams. While I enjoyed the set for sure, as part of the millennial audience it was no doubt targeting, I couldn’t help but think of how Riverbend in 2013 would’ve never allowed such an act to happen, as a mosh bit, which of course broke out, and cuss words from the main stage would’ve been reason for an artist to have been disallowed. Yet it’s 2022’s Riverbend and this year it was beloved by most of the audience from what I could tell, and I can only imagine the festival runners knew what to expect this go around.

Strung Like A Horse live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Strung Like A Horse picked-up where the Rage set left off, and as one of the local acts they had a supportive crowd alongside cheering them on. Though no mosh pit broke out (to my thanks as I was exhausted enough from the last one), they rocked their set to my delight! As I expected their performance was one of many high points for Riverbend Saturday, and I can only hope they are invited to return again and to perform on even larger stages in the future.

Grace Potter live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Though the sun wasn’t quite down yet, we were nearing the end of the day as Grace Potter took the stage! I was admittedly unfamiliar with Grace before the festival, but she brought such an immediate energy it was hard not to be captivated by her and her band’s performance. Aside from perhaps Moon Taxi, I don’t know anyone who leapt around, hair flipped, and just truly rocked as much as she did. Regretfully I left early to prep for the Cage the Elephant set, but even across the festival I could hear her set till the end, and I could hear the crowd cheering alongside.

At long last Cage the Elephant arrived! I’ve been a fan of Cage the Elephant since my college days, as I went to Western Kentucky University when they were still playing some clubs and bars under their previous name “Perfect Confusion”. Yet somehow I’d never been able to see them in their present form. Needless to say I was ready to see how my college favs had grown, and I knew their albums like the back of my hand, as did so many of the fans I could tell.

Cage the Elephant live at Riverbend Festival 2022

No longer the anxiously optimistic, but oh so talented upstarts I remember from Bowling Green, Matt, his brother Brad, and the rest of the band, were now confident like arena rock stars so often are and deservedly so. They’d won acclaim and respect with Grammys plural, and the festival audiences loved them. All that showed as Matt raised his “Iggy Pop” vibes to 11, and the band rocked through a set consistent of favorites old and new including “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”, “Trouble”, “Cold Cold Cold”, “Cigarette Daydreams” and more.

Cage the Elephant live at Riverbend Festival 2022

I think Matt was especially feeling the love too, and just so thankful as so many of us were to be back at festivals, that he couldn’t help but espouse his emotions between each song. He loved the audience, he loved life, he loved peace, and we loved Cage the Elephant.

Sunday

Despite Sunday being the final day of the festival, and often a slower day, it was actually the longest day of the festival and it had the most acts play. Likewise of my “9 Must-See Acts” it had the most on the bill in one day, with Los Amigos Invisibles, The War & Treaty, Lennox Hills, Tanya Tucker, and The Shindellas.

Los Amigos Invisibles at Riverbend Festival 2022

I started the day by catching Los Amigos Invisibles, who despite drawing a modest Sunday crowd are globally known and beloved in their home country of Venezuela and beyond. I was excited in part because I knew due to their early afternoon timing they probably would have a lesser crowd (still a shame), and I’m sure at international festivals I’d have had to fight packed crowds to see them as close as I did. I thoroughly enjoyed their set and I hope all those amongst the crowd felt similarly.

Lennox Hills at Riverbend Festival 2022

Next I caught Lennox Hills who I’d fallen in love with well before thanks to a co-worker introducing me to their music. I really know these guys will go big, and it’s no surprise they almost took the #1 spot in the highly competitive Music City Mayhem contest just a few weeks before. Thankfully they had a good crowd to watch them do what they do best, and knowing they are formerly of Cleveland, TN, I couldn’t help but be curious how many of the audience were local fans of them from their early days. Either way, I’m sure they garnered even more fans!

The War and Treaty live at Riverbend Festival 2022

I quickly hopped over to catch perhaps my favorite festival band The War & Treaty! This was my fifth time seeing them, and they just get better every time! Even more exciting as a fan I love that they also keep moving to larger and larger venues and reaching more and more fans. Their message of love, peace, and harmony is so universal too, and their blend of blues, gospel, and soul just reaches all I feel. Not to mention their incredible voices and obvious love of music just hits you each time. I’m not the only one who thinks so as Leslie Jordan, a fan himself, introduced them so lovingly, and he stayed around to rock and dance in the VIP area which was awesome to see. I can’t wait till one day they headline the Coke stage.

Leslie Jordan and Tanya Tucker live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Following The War & Treaty I headed to the main stage to see the living legend Tanya Tucker! Though I’ve come to Tucker’s music rather late in life, I’ve loved what I’ve heard and it was wonderful to be regaled by fans pre-show of her music career, their favorite songs, and stories of seeing her at previous shows. They all revered her and were excited to see her either for the first time or the first time in forever! Well Tanya did not disappoint as she sounded just as she had decades ago! Seriously I was incredibly impressed as veteran singers often lose a bit of their voice, but she didn’t lose her touch at all. Likewise she was absolutely one of the wittiest performers I’ve seen in awhile, doling off jokes on the sly. In addition to that she treated many in the front row to her own tequila she brought. While this probably took up more of her set time than she even expected, the crowd was into it. She then sang a duet with Leslie Jordan that was a wonderful surprise. Right before the last song of her set too Tanya was treated to uproarious applause that was such a clear thanks to her for all her years of music that she had to hold back tears. I came to find out her daughter was the young lady singing alongside her too, and seeing her also fighting tears and knowing she was feeling just as emotional for the love for her mother made the set even more special. Truly this was a magical Riverbend moment, and I’m sure one none of us present will forget.

The Shindellas live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Of course though I couldn’t linger in this moment for long as I had another exciting act I had to catch: The Shindellas! The Shindellas in many ways too was the perfect follow-up with Tanya Tucker, because though these two artists have very different music styles, both have a reverence for music of the past. Likewise they kind of bookend the festival experience. Tanya Tucker’s set felt like a revue of her many excellent works, while The Shindellas were performing at a festival for the first time! The Shindella’s confident though, and their wonderful backing band, sure presented as if they belonged on this stage. They kept the audience captivated throughout, and at the end they announced their next performance in Chattanooga and I already could see audience members nodding as if to say “oh yeah, we’ll be back”.

Gov’t Mule live at the Riverbend Festival 2022

Though the sun was still high we were getting near the end of the night as Gov’t Mule took the stage. Gov’t Mule started as a side project for the Allman Brothers Band, and their jam band sensibilities make them a natural inclusion for festivals like Bonnaroo. Including them in this year’s festival seemed like one of the very clear nods to Riverbend wanting to be a festival goers festival, and as the large crowd demonstrated they made a wise choice as this was one of the largest audiences at this middle stage the whole festival. Likewise more than any band prior I noticed the most artist shirts representing the band in the audience. Though I didn’t stay too long as I needed to grab some food, what I heard was enough to make me want to check them out more.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit live at Riverbend Festival 2022

Last but not least Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit arrived to close-out the festival! Jason Isbell’s another “festival goer’s festival” artist, and indeed in the audience before his show I met many first-time Riverbend goers, but long time festival veterans, who came from miles around just to see artists like Jason Isbell. My parents have long been a fan of his and this was their fifth time seeing him, but incredibly it was my first. I’d long loved his music though, and I was treated to a wonderful show as he played an array of great songs new and old. He even featured a song by one of his band members Sadler Vaden, formerly of Drivin N Cryin, who brought the house down with his rendition of his former band’s song “Honeysuckle Blue”. We were also treated to such fantastic songs from Isbell's former band Drive-By Truckers, including "Decoration Day" and "Outfit". Of course, Jason also featured many greats of his own, including one of my personal favorites “If We Were Vampires”. It was a fantastic performance to close out the show, and it made me so sad to be leaving but already excited for next year!

Moon Taxi live at Riverbend Festival 2022

All in all I can’t speak highly enough about Riverbend’s evolution as a music festival this year. Truly the line-up was great, and while undoubtedly there’ll be small changes they’ll tweak here and there, this is the first year in many I attended where I felt this is what Riverbend should be for years to come!