Nightfall 2021 continues its 34th season Friday at Miller Plaza, and will continue every Friday through Sept. 10. Chattanooga’s longest-running outdoor concert series, Nightfall features music on the Miller Plaza stage, with food trucks, local artisan vendors and lawn games in Miller Park.
This upcoming show features traditional bluegrass bands Po Ramblin’ Boys and New Dismembered Tennesseans.
Review for Po Ramlin' Boys:
Headlining for this week’s bluegrass-centered show is Po Ramlin’ Boys, an energetic group from the Smoky Mountains. With a passion for bluegrass and “music that feels real,” the Po Ramblin’ Boys have a 2019 Grammy nomination for “Best Bluegrass Album” under their belt for “Toil, Tears, and Trouble,” as well as the title of “Emerging Artist of the Year” at the 2018 IBMA Awards. This group has been described as the type of band that will “knock everybody’s socks off and get people talking.” Now they’re bringing those talents to Nightfall’s home stage in Miller Plaza, giving audiences the traditional bluegrass sound that this summer has been missing. Come see this award-winning band Friday at 8 a.m. on the Miller Plaza stage.
Review for New Dismembered Tennesseans:
Sticking with the theme of good ole’ bluegrass, this Friday’s opener will be none other than Chattanooga’s own New Dismembered Tennesseans. The band’s predecessors, the Dismembered Tennesseans, were formed in 1947 when fiddler and philanthropist Fletcher Bright began picking and playing with some fellow schoolmates. The band gained recognition around the region for over 70 years until Fletcher’s passing in 2017. Now the group has reformed with six musicians, including original member Doc Cullis and Fletcher’s granddaughter, Eleanor Bright. Don’t miss their performance this Friday at 7 p.m. on the Miller Park Stage.
Adding to the music, the second and final week of the Back to School Bash theme at Nightfall will consist of collection bins for Hamilton County school supplies provided by the Chattanooga Football Club (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. A school bus will also be on site to “stuff” with supply donations, and financial donations will be possible through an online link.
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.
New interim Hamilton County Schools Superintendent, Dr. Nakia Towns, will also be on site to meet and great Nightfall attendees.
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.
Motorcycle parking in the streets at Nightfall will be suspended this week 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 30).
Registration for artist booth spaces in Miller Park can be found at http://www.nightfallchattanooga.com/nightfall-registration-form.
Immediately following Nightfall this year, the Lookout Wild Film Festival will be showing an hour of free short adventure films in Miller Park from 9:45-10:45 p.m.
Nightfall bulk discount beer and wine tickets will again be available this year at each show, offering a 20 percent 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 the city.
Nightfall is locally produced by Chattanooga Presents. Visit nightfallchattanooga.com for more information.