All this talk about a mystery guest at the Riverbend Festival has the rumor mills churning like crazy.  Metallica, U2, Col. Bruce Hampton, Bruce Springsteen, The Beastie Boys, Phish, Snoop Dog.  It’s funny how people make the connections in their guesses.

Bettye LeVette, who just played on the Unum stage last night, played with 1⁄2 of the Beatles earlier this year, so maybe Paul and Ringo are coming to join her in a concert.  Elvis has retired and is living in Kalamazoo, Mich., so it can’t be him. Besides, you won’t ever get him away from the Kalamazoo Burger King, the place where he has been spotted so many times.  Michael Jackson may have some outstanding warrants in the U.S., so it probably isn’t him.  Bill Payne, my brother from Roanoke, has already been announced as an act for next Friday, so it isn’t him.

Want some better guesses?

Here is a riddle. Josh Turner is playing tonight in Myrtle Beach.  His bus would come right through Chattanooga on its
return to Nashville. Sara Evans lives pretty close to Chattanooga, and doesn’t play until June 12. Josh played on the Coke stage last year. The mystery guest of whom I speak also was on that stage. Sara Evans played the Coke stage a
couple years ago.  These are facts, folks.  Go to youtube and pull up some Josh Turner and Sara Evans videos. I promise you will see a few of the possible mystery guests. There are some handsome guys coming, and one fine
looking, musically talented lady.

That’s about all I can say right now, but if I were you, I would be under the bridge at the Tennessee Valley Credit Union Stage on Sunday night at 6:15 p.m. Bring an autograph pen and a camera and get some pictures with them.

And, yes, the answer lies within this column.

After touring the country in my motorhome the past few weeks, I had the pleasure last night of taking in the Chattanooga Riverbend Festival.

Little did I know this would be such a unique and unforgettable experience.

Never before have I heard such quality music…fresh sounds, and totally unbelievable talent coming from three young artists from Nashville.

The intricate acoustic string work and soaring 3-part vocals of these “prodigies” are the unique blend I’ve been hungry for.

Jonathan, Jordan, and Cassandra are definitely blazing the trail in taking music to a higher level, one that gets up close and personal to every listener.

Thanks Tin Cup Gypsy for making my day at Riverbend 2009!

One of the songs on my much-cherished iPhone these days is “Risk is Right” by a group called Tin Cup Gypsy. It’s catchy, and although the band might not have realized this, it’s about records management. (Play the song on the band’s Facebook or MySpace page. You’ll like it.)

We talk about records management and risk together all the time, and we should. What are the risks to our company if we don’t keep this record long enough? What are the risks if we keep it too long? How do we manage the risks to our organization through disaster recovery planning? How do we manage information and the risks involved with legal discovery? There are days when risk alone is enough to turn staff, management, and IT into records management true believers.