Continuing its 36th summer of free concerts at Miller Plaza, Nightfall features headliner Patrick Sweany with his band on Friday, preceded by Clare Donahue Quintet featuring Ken Watters at 7 p.m.
Review for Patrick Sweany:
Patrick Sweany is an American blues rock musician from Massillon, Ohio, who wraps his audience in the sultry sounds of the South. Sweany has toured throughout the U.S. both headlining and supporting artists including other Nightfall headlining notables such as Sonny Landreth, The Black Keys, Los Straitjackets, The Gourds and Paul Thorn. According to American Songwriter magazine, “If the blues torch stands a chance of being passed down to the next generation, it’s going to be by the works of artists like Gary Clark Jr. and Patrick Sweany. . . . mingling the spirit of the blues with a firm singer-songwriter grasp . .” With lessons learned through role models like Eddie Hinton, John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles — Sweany’s righteous guitar licks and rich vocals have slowly earned him a fervent following over the past 20 years of performing.
Chattanooga vocalist Clare Donahue will open the show at 7 p.m. with her jazz quintet featuring Huntsville jazz trumpeter Ken Watters. Brooklyn-born, Clare’s early music career included being one of a handful of female managers in New York when she was only 25. Since then, she has spent years as an educator, artist, animal rights advocate and humanitarian, but still enjoys sharing her love of jazz music, which has been highly influenced by vocalists Billie Holiday and Doris Day.
Nightfall offers a variety of food from over a dozen local food trucks as well as beer, wine and cocktails each week. 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 highly acclaimed concert series that brings the Chattanooga community together in the heart of our city to enjoy great music, food and fun all summer long.
Nightfall is locally owned and produced by Chattanooga Presents. Visit NightfallChattanooga.com for a complete, interactive website that includes music samples by each headliner, as well as other important information on this free community concert series.