Is ‘downtown’ the defining force in town?

When you hear people talking about the tremendous strides Chattanooga has made in the last decade or so to become known as a cool, progressive or exciting place to visit, live or work, what part of town comes to mind?

The short answer is likely downtown, and more specifically, maybe a section of what we consider downtown — the Southside, the North Shore or the riverfront. These are the places that are now home to several cool shops, restaurants and businesses, and it’s where the creatives are choosing to live.

The exceptions to this would come from the folks who might point out the outdoorsy parts of the region where t hey f i nd mount ai n cl i mbing, kayaking or hang- gliding activities, which, generally speaking, are not downtown.

I was thinking about this in relation to Riverbend the other day because someone asked me if I thought the festival needed to change.

As i n: Is it t oo l ong? Should it raise its admission price to attract more big- name and current acts? Should it be l i ke Bonnaroo, Hangout or Forecastle, which are one-weekend events with tickets in the $200 to $450 range?

The short answer is that Riverbend has developed a formula for what it knows has worked for the last 35 years. That formula is country mus i c and classic rock acts, which attract fans who are happy with the $ 41 a d mission price and Barry Courter happy to buy domestic beer, corn dogs and funnel cakes.

Riverbend strives to offer something for everyone, and while some call it a “redneck festival,” it is a success by its own definition. So under that criteria, the answer is no, Riverbend does not need to change.

But, one can easily argue, the city’s image is changing, becoming cooler and hipper and more progressive every day and for the creative types who already live here and the ones who are moving here, new country and old rock are not what’s happening.

For me, this isn’t really a question of whether Riverbend is a good or bad festival, or whether it should or shouldn’t change, but of who is defining the rules and asking the questions.

The festival was created in part to bring people back to a desolate downtown years ago

The irony is that people do come to the city to eat, live, work and play, and they are the ones often shouting the loudest that the festival isn’t for them or that it should change.