CityScopeMag.com | 83 82 | CityScopeMag.com

Gary AllanSince he signed to Decca Records in 1996, Country music superstar Gary Allan has had 26 singles hit the Billboard Hot Country charts, including five that reached the No. 1 spot. His ninth studio album, Set You Free, hit No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart in February of last year. We talked to Allan about Set You Free, his favorite song to play right now, and what to expect at Riverbend on opening night.

Growing up in California, what inspired you to start playing country music?My dad was a big country music fan and had a band. I started playing in bars with him and my brother when I was very young. That sort of set the tone for everything with me. What was your first impression of Tennessee when you got to Nashville to start recording? I had always been a country fan and wanted to come to Nashville to make a demo, so I was just excited. To get to work with Nashville session players and be in studios where so many of the legends had played was quite a thrill for me.

How does Set You Free compare to your previous eight albums?I think every album reflects where I am in life at that moment, so I think my music has grown and ma-tured with me. You can hear that in Set You Free. It sounds very different from the first album. If you had to pick a favorite song from your entire career, what would it be? That is a tough one. I have differ-ent favorites at different times. My favorite right now is “It Ain’t The Whiskey.” I wish I had written that song. I love the way it is written, I love to perform it, and I love the reaction we get when we play it each night. It is one of my all-time favorite songs. What musical influences shape your records and who are your favorite artists – country and otherwise – of the past and present?I have a lot of favorite artists, but the people who have had the biggest influences on me are my dad, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Buck Owens, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. Those guys made an impact on me at an early age. What can the people of Chatta-nooga look forward to seeing at your Riverbend performance?You can expect a mix of some of the new songs from Set You Free, as well as a lot of the hits from all the previ-ous albums and just maybe a few new things we have been working on for the next album. You can plan on a good time, that is a guarantee!

Opening Night

Friday, June 69:30 p.m.

On the COCa-COla Stage

Grab your sunglasses and buy your pins, because it’s time for Riverbend 2014. This year, as always, thousands will be flocking to Chattanooga’s 21st Century Waterfront to see over 100 music artists perform live on six stages. To get you pumped up, CityScope magazine chatted with four of the world-class acts headlining the main stage. Here’s a sneak peak of this year’s festival.

Photo By Eric Adkins

iverbend2014

Read More!

Go to CitySCOpemag.COm

For extended Q&As!

84 | CityScopeMag.com CityScopeMag.com | 85

[ RIVERBEND 2014 ]

Widespread Panic

Your bandmate once told the Miami Times that “people either love you or they hate you.” Does your music really have that effect on people? (laughs) Maybe not so much as it did in the past. Now-a-days our music has

crossed over through a couple genera-tions. When we first started we played for college kids, and yeah, they’d pretty much either love us or hate us. It was more black and white. But as the band grew and became more diverse, that started changing a little bit.

So the younger generation is digging it! Most definitely. And a lot of them seem to be the children of our original fans that date back to their college days. You see a lot of fans and kids of those fans go to shows together, which is really strange to see at a rock concert, but it’s pretty common at ours.

How do you decide what to play on a certain night? It really does reflect the mood of the day. It’s kind of organic and real. Like, if we had a bad day, we may play aggressively and strong, or if we feel mellow and laid back, it might be that kind of show.

When you’re “jamming”– what’s going through your mind? It’s like a reflex memory. Some people call it “numb-mindedness.” Some people call it “the zone.” You kind of get into a consciousness where you are just reacting to what you are hearing instead of thinking. When that hap-pens, it’s pretty fun. It’s kind of what you are shooting for. And that’s one reason why people come see us I think.

What are some of your favorite albums? You know, the other day somebody asked me, ‘If you were stranded on an island and could only take three songs, what would they be?’ So my answer was, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” “In my Life” by John Lennon, and “Rocket in my Pocket” by NRBQ.

That’s a really diverse set of music!(laughs) Yeah, well, we are pretty much affected by anything we see or hear. You know, that’s one of the nice things about growing up in the South. That you get exposed to great music. And if you think about Rhapsody in Blue

— it’s classical. But it’s American clas-sical because its got American music like the blues.

Saturday

June 7, 9:00 p.m.On the COCa-COla

Stage

Transcending the boundaries of rock and roll for over 28 years, Widespread Panic is one of the most quintessential jam bands in the history of American music. To date, the band has sold over 3 million records – but of course, their diehard fans will tell you that there’s nothing like a live performance. We spoke with drummer Todd Nance about the “jamming” state of mind, his inspirations, and keeping it fresh every night.

intErviEw By LAurA chiLdErs

[ RIVERBEND 2014 ]

TobyMac

You’re usually called a “Christian hip-hop artist.” How do you feel about that?

I think I would call myself a pop-funk-hip-hop artist. And you know, sometimes

that “Christian” label causes your music to fall on deaf ears. Now I am a Chris-tian, but for me, I would love for people to figure out for themselves what they can take away from it. Because when I sit down to write a song, I try to write

a song for everybody. I don’t just have a niche market in my head.

Your latest album Eye on It has a dubstep vibe. When did you start getting into that type of music? Well, it’s definitely not a dubstep record by any means, but I think I definitely tip a hat to it. I see music as moving like a river, and because I’m a pop artist I’m in that river moving with it. So you get affected by things. Your mind starts to open to them and you start to dabble a bit. Which I love – I love that about being what I call a “schizophrenic pop artist.”

What do you think of Chattanooga? I think it’s like the secret diamond of Ten-nessee. I’ve gone there just to write. I’ve gone there for a couple days to hang out with my family. I’ve even done after shows there. Like back in the day we would do a show at the arena and then run to Club Fathom afterwards and do songs for people just because we wanted to love on Chattanooga.

What’s one of your favorite songs to perform live right now? I love doing “Eye On It” because it’s per-fectly obnoxious. “Speak Life” is another song I’m really enjoying right now, because I think it’s significant. You know, I wrote it after reading a Brendan Manning quote that said, “In every encounter, we either give life or drain it. There is not neutral exchange.” And I think most people are probably like me, they just don’t always real-ize that. Personally, I want to be responsible with my words.

What’s on the docket for the rest of 2014? I’m making a record and just trying to write songs that are real and poignant and cause people to think and to love better. It’s sort of exciting, like, “What can I share with people that I’ve learned along the way?” I look at music as something to serve people, so the songwriting process is an important time for me and I take it very, very seriously.

With 11 million albums sold and 6 Grammy® Awards to his credit, recording artist TobyMac is one of the best-known Christian pop and hip-hop artists out there. His latest album, Eye on It, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 when it was released in August 2012. We talked with Toby about labels, his love for Chattanooga, and his thoughts on the songwriting process.

Faith & Family Night

Tuesday, June 109:00 p.m.

On the COCa-COla Stage

intErviEw By LAurA chiLdErs

CityScopeMag.com | 87 86 | CityScopeMag.com

[ RIVERBEND 2014 ] [ RIVERBEND 2014 ]

Justin Moore

When did you first know you wanted to pursue a career in country music?

It started after I recorded a demo for my mom and dad – they wanted me to do it before I left for college. I guess I liked

the attention it received. It prompted me to have an interest in playing music live. After that, my uncle had a southern rock band that I started to play with. That gave me the itch and I still haven’t gotten rid of it.

What drew you to music first – singing or songwriting? I love the process of songwriting and couldn’t imagine not doing it. But from the beginning, singing and performing were most important to me. They still are. They’re why I got into music in the first place.

How does Off the Beaten Path compare to your previous al-bums? OTBP is the most diverse album of my career. It was my goal to record an album that allowed me to stay true to what I have done up to this point in my career, but also to grow as an artist. I think we accomplished that. I took a couple risks on the album that I hadn’t taken before. I’ve been thrilled with the response.

If you had to pick a favorite song from your new album – and one from any album you’ve done – what would they be? I would say “That’s How I Know You Love Me” is my favorite song on the new album. That song is very personal to me even though I didn’t write it. As far as my favorite song on any album, I’d have to say “Outlaws Like Me.” I think it’s the best song I’ve ever written.

What musical inspirations shape your records? I listened to old-school country growing up mixed in with a little Southern classic rock. I think you can probably hear the influence of both styles throughout my albums. More specifically, Charlie Dan-iels, Hank Williams Jr., and Dwight Yo-akam are three of my biggest influences.

What can we look forward to at Riverbend? We have a very high-energy show. I feel like it’s our job to throw a party for a cou-ple hours. Through the years I’ve learned that if we have fun on stage, it’s infectious. So that’s our goal every night.

Watch out – because 30-year-old Justin Moore is joining the ranks of the hottest names in country music. Earlier this month, Moore won the sought-after “New Artist of the Year” Award at the 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards. Now he’s more than half-way through his 57-city tour that began in November. We talked to Moore about his early career in country music, his latest album Off the Beaten Path, and the music artists that inspire him.

Thursday

June 12, 9:30 p.m.

On the COCa-COla

Stage