Some very tough choices tonight. If you are not thrilled by the country headliner, there are still some wonderful options on the side stages.
Angel Band [1] (8:00 Unum Stage)
[1]They're all about the vocals.
Three women from a folk & church music background blending their voices.
They are backed by a string band of sorts, anchored and arranged by the legendary David Bromberg (who has also brought his own band)
Consider the Angels the warm up.
And I also want to include this clip of them backing Paul Thorn, a Chattanooga favorite in his own right who will play Riverbend on Thursday night.
David Bromberg Quartet [2] (9:30 Unum Stage)
[2]A true musical vagabond.
He plays a national steel guitar along with other strings.
He played with folkies like Dylan & Tom Paxton.
He played with blue legends like John Hurt and the Rev. Gary Davis.
He played on more than a hundred albums for various artists.
That's enough of a career.
But then in the early seventies, he hit the road on his own.
You can call his sound bluesy, folksy, jazzy, but it's really just an acoustic mix of American music.
He is just emerging again musically after a semi retirement.
So this is an opportunity to renew an old musical acquaintance or see a legend for the first time.
And then we travel back 30 years to his long hair days.
Katy Moffat [3] & Rosie Flores [4] (6:15 TN Valley Credit Union Stage)
Two longtime, critcal darlings in one show.
[4]Katy Moffat has always been caught in the label game between country, folk and rock. She's somewhere in the middle.Her career has swung from Texas to California.
She has a knack for popping up as a singer in movies (Billy Jack, Hard Country, A Thing Called Love).
She got an Academy of Country Music Award Nomination for best new artist in 1985, and became an early role model for the alt-country movement.
[4]Katy and Rosie have worked the same Texas/Southwest/California territory in their careers.
But if Katy is a little bit country, then Rosie is a lot Rock and Roll.
She was part of the Bakersfield movement in the 80s (they even called her the female Dwight Yoakum).
Rosie has worked the musical territory between Rockabilly, western swing and Honky Tonk ever since.
Katy and Rosie will perform together and then solo at the Singer-Songwriter Roundtable at 7:45.
Joe Bonamassa [5] (7:45 Bud Light Stage)
[5]Yet another master guitarist playing Riverbend tonight.
He's one of the Young Guns who took the Blues world by storm a few years ago.
His early years are the stuff of legend.... picked up a guitar at 4, mastered Stevie Ray Vaughan licks by 7, playing shows by 10 & discovered by no less than B.B King.
He just turned 31 and already has 7 albums behind him.
He's racked up all kinds of magazine awards from the guitar geeks, and raves from fellow musicians.
First, check him out when he was just 12 years old, playing with Danny Gatton.
There are hundreds Bonamassa clips on You Tube. Here's one of him playing on a Dutch TV show.
Monte Montgomery [6] (9:15 TN Valley Credit Union Stage)
[6]And if Josh Turner isn't your taste, we've got one more Guitar Master on the Tennessee Valley Credit Union Stage.
The acoustic guitar is his axe of choice, and many say nobody plays it better, anywhere, these days.
He was born in Birmingham, move to Texas at 12 and was playing with a band in his mid teens.
Guitar Player calls him one of the top 50 guitarists of all time.
Guitar One named him one of the ten best undiscovered guitarists.
But he gets plenty of love on You Tube, which is filled with tributes to his playing.
Here's the most legendary.. a version of Little Wing that's been passed around for years now.
Josh Turner [7] (9:30 Coca Cola Stage)
They say modern fans these days don't want to hear old fashioned country anymore. And radio won't play it. Well Josh Turner is proving that wrong.
The radio is playing him and the fans are eating it up.
Here is Josh performing on the night he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.
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