This Friday’s Nightfall event is a great chance for families to enjoy the last few weeks of summer before the new school year begins again in August.
In anticipation of classes resuming in a few weeks, Nightfall will combine a great night of music and visual art with a school supply drive and Back To School Bash for Hamilton County Schools.
Headlining with her modern electric blues band is the iconic Joanna Connor. A Chicago-based blues singer, songwriter, and virtuoso guitarist, Connor’s musical prowess has earned her the title of “Queen of Blues Rock Guitar.” Drawn to the Chicago blues scene, she shared the stage with James Cotton, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and A.C. Reed. After starting her own band, Connor released her first album “Believe It!” for Blind Pig in 1989. Her take-no-prisoners playing style joins fiery single-string runs to dazzling, rough-and-ready slide guitar pyrotechnics in an approach at once incendiary and deeply soulful. Connor and her band take the Miller Plaza stage with their blues, soul, and blues rock set beginning at 8pm.
Opening the night at 7pm on the home stage at Miller Plaza is Rye Baby, a local husband and wife duo. Their twangy rock, alternative folk and blues music has made them a crowd favorite with Chattanooga audiences and across the region.
Adding to the music, the Back to School Bash will consist of collection bins for school supply donations will be provided by the Chattanooga Football Club as they launch their weekend of supporting Hamilton County Schools (they will also have their inflatable soccer field on site for kids’ entertainment). Because Nightfall is a proud supporter of the arts, art supplies are a priority in this Friday’s school supply drive.
Art supplies needed include crayons, Crayola markers, art canvas, drawing and sketch pads, watercolor or acrylic paint sets, etc.
Other supplies requested are: Scissors, lined paper, composition and notebooks, Kleenex and paper towels. Along with the collection bins, a school bus will be in the street to “stuff” with school supplies for the Hamilton County School “Teacher Shop” to offer free school supplies for teachers and classrooms.
Since this week serves as the orientation week for new teachers, those teachers have also been invited as a group to attend Nightfall this Friday. First Students First will be on site advertising employment positions for bus drivers for the 2021/22 school year.
To showcase the emphasis on supporting artists both in and out of school, there will be a greater number of artisan vendors at this Friday’s concert, including up to 25 booths which will be set up in the 900 block of Market Street. Open Doors Jazz, a not-for-profit who offers music education to under-served youth in the Chattanooga area on a sliding scale, based on what the family can afford.
Motorcycle parking in the streets at Nightfall will be suspended for the next two weeks to allow for the extra space needed to accommodate the number of art vendors and school-related activities and displays designed to support the Hamilton County public schools Back to School Bash (July 23 and 30).
Immediately following Nightfall this year, the Lookout Wild Film Festival will be showing an hour of free short adventure films in Miller Park from 9:45-10:45pm.
Nightfall bulk discount beer and wine tickets will again be available this year at each show, offering a 20% savings on a packet of 20 beer and wine tickets. Food trucks and non-alcoholic drink concessions are also available on site. No outside food or beverages are allowed to be brought in to Nightfall since concession sales are a primary funder of Nightfall.
Known for its family-friendly environment as well as being recognized nationally for the quality of its musical programming, Nightfall is a family-friendly concert series that brings the Chattanooga community together in the heart of our city.
Nightfall is made possible this year thanks to sponsorships from Mich Ultra, Fletcher Bright Company, SouthEast Bank, Transcard, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Crown Subaru, River City Company, Southern Honda Powersports, Gate 11, Lass & Lion, and Chattanooga Whiskey. Media Support comes from NPR/Music 88.1, Chattanooga Times Free Press and Ruby Falls.
Nightfall is locally produced by Chattanooga Presents. For more information on this FREE community concert series, visit NightfallChattanooga.com