Chattanooga’s favorite weekly music tradition celebrates a successful 2023 season with this week’s headliner Southern Culture on the Skids.
From all-night house parties in North Carolina to late night TV shows to performing at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, the group has shared the stage with musical luminaries including Link Wray, Loretta Lynn, Hasil Adkins and Patti Smith.
Touring around the world since 1983, Southern Culture on the Skids is comprised of Rick Miller on guitar and vocals, Mary Huff on bass and vocals, and Dave Hartman on drums.
In 2014, the band was honored by the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with an exhibition featuring their music and cultural contributions. Rolling Stone refers to their performances as “a hell raising rock and roll party.”
The opener for Saturday will be the Paul Childers Band. Blending pop, R&B, and soul, Paul Childers is leading a new breed of singer/songwriters and guitarists. Hailing from Nashville, he finds a way to blur the lines cast between Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix styles of guitar playing, a Motown rhythm section, and pop vocal melodies.
Childers was selected by Acmeville Records as the debut artist on their label, which features live recordings from the Nashville music hotspot. Touring nationally and internationally since 2017, Childers has opened for Vince Gill and Robert Cray, Leann Rimes, and has played the guitars of Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix in tribute.
With the heat continuing through the weekend, the Friends of the Festival will keep guests comfortable by providing great food and beverages. California Smothered Burrito, Kenny’s Smokehouse, Bopcha, King of Pops, Bruster’s Ice Cream, Mo Lemonade, Hanner International and Magikal Moments Face Painting will be on hand to make sure guests are fed. And Tennessee American Water Company’s mister will be cooling off kids of all ages as they run through the water! Vendors open at 6 with the show beginning at 7.
This year’s season is made possible by: Athens Insurance, City of Chattanooga, Coca-Cola, Crown Automotive Group, Cutwater, EPB, Food City, Hamico, Hard Truth Distilling Company, The McMahan Law Firm, Nature Films Network, Premier Property Group, Smart Bank, Tennessee Highway Safety Office, TVA, TriStar Beverage, Truist Bank, and Unum.