By Rick Steelhammer
For HDMedia
Singer-songwriter, rapper and seven-time Grammy Award-winner Bobby Brown and country music icon Wynonna Judd will be among musical luminaries taking the stage at Charleston’s Haddad Riverfront Park on July 2-5 when the 2026 edition of the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta returns to the capital city.
Revived five years ago after a 13-year hiatus, “the Sternwheel Regatta is back in abundance and with a passion,” Andy Richardson, chairman of the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta Commission, said Monday prior to announcing this year’s musical lineup. “We’re ready to make the 2026 the best Regatta year yet.”
In addition to four nights of free music, this year’s Regatta will include an expanded fireworks display, starting at 9:30 p.m. on July 4, featuring launches from two additional sites — the state Capitol and Magic Island — thanks to a group of anonymous Charleston donors, Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin announced Monday.
“As we celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, we’re excited to welcome folks together for a Regatta weekend filled with music, celebration and unforgettable moments across Charleston,” Goodwin said.
This year’s Sternwheel Regatta concert lineup will be:
- July 2: Melissa Etheridge and Wynonna Judd, starting at 6:30 p.m.
- July 3: Montell Jordan, Bow Wow and Bobby Brown, starting at 7:45 p.m.
- July 4: Lita Ford, Bret Michaels, starting at 7 p.m.
- July 5: Vertical Horizon, Tonic, starting at 6:45 p.m.
For rocker Etheridge and Ashland, Kentucky, native Judd, their Regatta appearance is a stop on their 27-city cross-country “Raised on Radio” Tour, which begins in June. Etheridge, a two-time Grammy winner who also won an Academy Award for best original song (“I Need to Wake Up”), might be best known for her 1993 hit “Come to My Window.” Judd’s credits include 19 No. 1 singles, many released while she was part of the duo The Judds, with her late mother, Naomi.
R&B artist Jordan produced the 1995 hit “This is How We Do It,” while rapper Bow Wow (real name: Shad Gregory Moss), who began his career as Lil’ Bow Wow after being discovered by Snoop Dogg, produced his first studio album at age 13 and later branched into acting, including a role in “The Fast and the Furious” and as a cast member on HBO’s “Entourage” series. Bobby Brown, who won the 1991 Grammy for “Every Little Step,” rose to fame as a member of the pop group New Edition, before launching a solo career. He and his then-wife, Whitney Houston, starred in Bravo’s 2005 reality series “Being Bobby Brown.”
Ford rose to fame as the guitarist with the all-female rock band The Runaways in the 1970s and went on to a solo career that included “Close My Eyes Forever,” a duet with rocker Ozzy Osbourne that reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 10 chart in 1989. Michaels is the long-time frontman for the rock band Poison, which sold more than 65 million albums worldwide and has been on hiatus since 2023.
More at Regatta
Among Regatta traditions that will be returning to this year’s river festival are the wiener dog races, hot dog-eating contest and funeral parade.
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