SUNRISE
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Sunrise
Memphis makes major step toward getting on board with other Southern cities on solar power.
PHOTO: TOM HRACH
Three Rings
p10
Use this magical technique to protect you and your home. p25
PHOTO: NATALIIA BONDAR | DREAMSTIME.COM
A
Bad Deal
TVA is accepting public comments on the methane gas expansion at the Allen Plant until April 28th. p31
PHOTO: TVA WEB TEAM | CREATIVE COMMONS | VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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THE fly-by
MEM ernet
Memphis on the internet.
“LIBTARD
ALERT”
Elected o cials took heat over spicy comments they made on the MEMernet last week.
Memphis-Shelby County School Board Member Towanna Murphy issued a formal apology days a er she threatened to have a Facebook commenter deported for comments she made. (More on this in Week at Was.)
Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) raged on Facebook about a column from the Daily Memphian’s Dan Conaway. In it, Conaway criticized Taylor’s moves to remove Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, called him a “gad y,” and said Taylor lives in a replica of the Mississippi governor’s mansion.
For this, Taylor issued a “libtard alert,” calling Conaway “a pompous, elitist, le wing clown … su ering from Taylor Derangement Syndrome.”
“A dog gets more useful information sni ng the ass of another dog than you get reading a Dan Conaway column,” Taylor wrote.
Otis Sanford, a longtime Memphis pundit, said, “ is is one of the meanest things I have ever read from an elected o cial who fashions himself a public servant.” Sanford wanted as much hubbub on Taylor’s post as Murphy’s deportation post.
“Shame on you, Senator,” Sanford wrote. “Your respect meter is plummeting toward zero.”
{WEEK THAT WAS
By Flyer staff
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
Storm, MATA, & ‘Baby, Be Quiet’
Mayors talk storm impacts, leader stop the bleeding, and a school board member apologizes.
STORMY DAYS
Mayors from up and down the Mississippi River cities said that e ects from that stubborn storm front two weeks ago ranged from a mass rescue in West Memphis to “nothing happened at all” in Caruthersville, Missouri. e total damage, however, could cost $90 billion, according to AccuWeather.
e relentless bouts of severe weather began with tornado warnings on Wednesday, April 2nd. Lines of high wind threatened the Mid-South that ursday through Saturday. e storm nally moved on Sunday but not before dumping nearly 12 inches of rain in Memphis.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said, “ e last few days have been a challenge.” He said the city had “historic levels of rainfall,” which created more than 600 tickets to the city’s 311 system. Also, wind and rain felled 109 trees that blocked roads, Young said. Tra c lights at intersections went out, too, and the massive amounts of water were a challenge for the city’s drainage system, he said.
“ ankfully, our teams worked really hard and they were very responsive and very prepared for the storms that took place,” Young said.
Across the river in West Memphis, teams in boats rescued nearly 100 people caught in the oodwaters created by nearly 13 inches of rain.
Young said his team began watching the Mississippi River early in the week, though. e river was expected to peak here at about 37 feet.
“For us, ood level is about 34 feet,” he said. “We do think we have enough things in place to manage [ ooding] at that level, however. It is something that we’re going to be paying attention to.”
MATA MOVES
Interim leaders at the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) told
PHOTO: (ABOVE) TOWANNA MURPHY; (BELOW) OVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY
Towanna Murphy apologizes for her social media comments; the region reels from the storm two weeks ago.
Memphis City Council members last week that their goals were to get as many buses on the streets as they can and to stop wasteful spending.
John Lewis, interim CEO, said his team has stopped all travel except for safety certi cations, limited employee spending, and suspended an American Express card at the heart of investigation into loose spending by the previous administration.
“ e majority of spending has got to be focused on putting transit service on the street and not towards supporting unnecessary or redundant administrative funding, as has been the practice in the past,” Lewis said.
“DEPORTED”
Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board Member Towanna Murphy apologized for social media comments last week.
Andrea Avalos sent a message to Murphy saying, “You are an embarrassment to Memphis and to our students please resign from your job you stupid bitch.”
To which, Murphy responded, “Baby be quiet before I have you deported.” Murphy posted screenshots of the conversation to Facebook.
“While I found the initial message from the individual to be disrespectful and upsetting, my response did not represent the professionalism and respect that I know should be a standard in my service as an MSCS Board Member,” Murphy said in a formal statement. “It certainly was not a re ection of my true feelings or intentions towards the Latino community.”
Murphy said her comments did not re ect her understanding and concern facing the city’s immigrant and refugee communities.
Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
CREDIT: JOSE SALAZAR POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY OTIS SANFORD POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY BRENT TAYLOR
By Toby Sells
‘Madness’ { STATE WATCH
Backlash to the Tennessee Senate’s passage of a bill to allow school districts to ban undocumented students from schools began as the vote was recorded last ursday — and was from sources as varied as clergy, small businesses, and, of course, state Democrats. One group called it “madness.”
Bills for the move were led in early February by Tennessee House Majority Leader Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland) and state Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson).
e bill would challenge the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court Plyler v. Doe decision, which entitled all children to public education despite immigration status. at’s exactly what the bill’s sponsors said they want to do, citing the cost of public education.
“ e ood of illegal immigrants in our country has put an enormous drain on American tax dollars and resources. Our schools are the rst to feel the impact,” Lamberth said in a statement to the Nashville Banner in February. “Tennessee communities should not have to
su er or pay when the federal government fails to secure our borders. Our obligation is to ensure a high-quality education for legal residents rst.”
e Tennessee Small Business Alliance issued a statement condemning the bill, saying the group has “opposed the bill since its introduction” and called it “madness.”
Faith leaders associated with the Southern Christian Coalition said the bill violates the teachings of Jesus. Group member Ellen R. Sandidge Gentry, a member of the same church Watson attends, had sharp words for the legislation.
“As a conservative and member of First Presbyterian Church, I’m unhappy that Senator Bo Watson’s bill is associated with our church,” Sandridge Gentry said in a statement.
A group called Education for All Tennessee was created to work against the bill. It pointed to the bill’s narrow passage (19-13) as a sign that there is “weakening support for this cruel attack on children’s education.”
“With razor-thin vote margins and growing bipartisan opposition, this bill
can still be stopped,” the group said. “Tennessee families deserve better than a bill that targets kids and divides communities.
“Every child deserves an education — no matter where they were born.”
State Democrats issued plenty of tough talk and even some tears in a news conference following the vote last ursday.
Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis) said the GOP are using children targeted by the bill as “political pawns.” She called the bill a “new low” for state Republicans, saying, “ ey didn’t send us up here to bully kids.”
“Did you forget Jesus was an immigrant? Did you forget?” she asked. “Jesus stood with the least of these, and it’s up to him to decide who is righteous and who’s not. But it’s on us to love everybody. It’s not for us to pick and choose who we love and who we support.”
Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) said she asked Watson in committee if he’d heard from any school districts that requested the legislation.
“He said, ‘We’ve all had those con-
versations — maybe not on the record — with folks from our school districts,’” Akbari said. “My response was that I represent the largest school district and I have not ever heard that request.”
A House committee is set to pick up the bill on Monday. A reporter asked Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) what he thought about the bill’s chances to pass on the House side.
“All I can guarantee you in the House is we’re gonna ght like hell to protect the children of Tennessee,” Clemmons said. “People of every faith believe this is a bad idea. Everybody knows this is unconstitutional.
“We’re going to ght like hell to protect every child, to provide an education in compliance with the state Constitution, as well as the interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court of the United States.”
PHOTO: CDC | UNSPLASH e bill would set up a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.
NOTICE TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS
As required by Tennessee Code Annotated § 67-5-508, the property assessment records of Shelby County will be available for public inspection at 1075 Mullins Station Road. These records may be inspected Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Any person desiring to inspect these records may do so at the above times and places. Property assessment records may also be reviewed through the Assessor’s website at www.assessormelvinburgess.com
THE SHELBY COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION WILL BEGIN ITS ANNUAL SESSION TO EXAMINE AND EQUALIZE COUNTY ASSESSMENTS ON MAY 1, 2025. THE COUNTY BOARD WILL ACCEPT APPEALS FOR THE 2025 TAX YEAR UNTIL 4:30 P.M., JUNE 30, 2025, THE LAST DAY OF ITS REGULAR SESSION.
The Shelby County Board of Equalization (SCBoE) is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 1075 Mullins Station Road, Suite C-142. Any property owner who wishes to appeal to the County Board of Equalization may file in person, online or by mail. Appeals may be filed online by 11:59 p.m. on June 30th. Mailed in appeals must be postmarked on or before June 30th. Failure to appeal may result in the assessment becoming final without further right of appeal. Please contact the SCBoE at 901-222-7300 for additional information or you may visit their website at boe.shelbycountytn.gov.
Melvin Burgess Shelby County Assessor of Property
POLITICS By Jackson Baker
Bonfire!
Public concern over the xAI project (and TVA) is heating up politically.
It’s been a matter of weeks since President Donald Trump singlehandedly deprived the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of its quorum, and the giant semi-public utility may come to gure in crucial decisions regarding Elon Musk’s controversial Colossus xAI project in Memphis.
When Trump issued walking papers to two members of an already truncated TVA board, he e ectively deprived the board of its ability to vote on policy shi s and other matters of consequence. e utility’s rules require the presence of ve active and voting members to constitute a quorum. At full strength, the board would number nine directors, but attrition of various kinds over the years had previously reduced the board’s membership to ve. at membership now stands at only four a er Trump, in successive acts, red both Michelle Moore, a well-known “clean power” advocate, and Board Chairman Joe Ritch. e president gave no reasons for either ring, but coincidentally or not, his actions came in the immediate wake of public prodding from Tennessee’s two Republican senators for changes in the Authority’s leadership.
In an op-ed that appeared in the industry periodical Power magazine on March 24th, senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty had expressed doubt that the TVA leadership, as then constituted, was up to the need, as they saw it, of jump-starting a new era of reinvigorated nuclear power.
“With the right courageous leadership, TVA could lead the way in our nation’s nuclear energy revival, empower us to dominate the 21st century’s global technology competition, and cement President Trump’s legacy as ‘America’s Nuclear President,’” the senators wrote.
Within days of the op-ed’s publication, the TVA board, then still at quorum strength, if only barely, named the utility’s chief operating o cer, Don Moul, to serve as the CEO of TVA. (For what it’s worth, the two senators had wanted a new CEO from outside the Authority’s ranks.)
Almost immediately a er Moul’s appointment, Trump would re the two board members, thereby stalling any immediate initiatives on TVA’s part beyond matters of basic maintenance. at would include oversight activity vis-à-vis the energy situation of Memphis.
Ultimately Trump will have the
prerogative of restocking the board to quorum strength, with his nominations in theory drawn from all reaches of the Authority’s operating area, which comprises all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. Members, subject to con rmation by the U.S. Senate, serve ve-year terms.
Created under FDR, TVA is no longer taxpayer-funded but is still federally owned. One way or another, politics plays a major role in its operation, and critics of Musk are increasingly conscious that the contours of the Trump ally’s giant xAI program are rapidly expanding, with its demands on available energy from MLGW mounting well beyond what the original estimates were when Musk acquired the vacant Electrolux property to house the supercomputer last year.
Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor
Memphis Mayor Paul Young is now nding himself under re for his apparent acquiescence with the Musk project. In a blistering letter to Young, Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor criticized the mayor for not imposing stricter air-quality controls on the Colossus project, which is requiring the use of even more gas turbines — potentially as many as 35.
Amid an upsurge in various forums and ad hoc opposition groups, one leader of a burgeoning citizen revolt is Representative Justin Pearson, immersing himself in anti-xAI activities in the manner of his successful 2021 opposition to a gas pipeline.
More and more obviously, the xAI matter is rising to a potentially dominant status politically, almost on a scale with the city’s No. 1 bugaboo, crime. And uneasiness about the Trump-Musk alliance could be a major part of that concern.
PHOTO: SHELBY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT | FACEBOOK
Up in Smoke
Tennessee House members ban smokeable cannabis ower; Senate set to move on it this week.
Smokable cannabis ower, especially the THC it creates when lit, took a critical step toward a ban in Tennessee a er a long debate in Nashville last ursday that showed a rare divide among Republican lawmakers.
Tennessee House members passed an amendment last week that would remove THCA from legal cannabis products in the state. THCA is also banned in a Senate version of the bill now traveling through the committee process. at bill, of course, could change before it passes, leaving a glimmer of hope for cannabis companies across the state that have said THCA products are among their most popular.
worked on cannabis issues in Tennessee for years. He agreed with Todd saying, “I wish we could go back in time and not have all these substances out there, but that’s not an option at this point.”
“We were all told when we voted for hemp that it’s the nonintoxicating cousin to marijuana,” Lamberth said. “You don’t have to worry about anybody getting high. Well, that horse has le the barn.
“What this bill does is ban THCA, that when you light it, it turns into marijuana. But that’s one product. ere’s hundreds of other products out there [that will get people high].”
e ban does put at risk Tennessee cannabis companies that have said that smokable ower sales can sometimes total 60 percent of their total revenue. Representative Kevin Vaughan (R-Memphis) spoke loudest among the GOP to keep THCA legal in Tennessee.
“I have a hard time that this body has told [businesses] that this is a new commercial venture in our state, and then, two years later, we’re going to turn the lights o ,” Vaughan said. “Understand that even if we take [THCA out], these stores will still be in the business of selling intoxicants.”
e GOP divide on the issue emerged on the House oor last ursday morning. One group just didn’t like the product — the green, leafy bud now displayed on store shelves — nor the intoxicating e ects it can produce. e other group of GOP lawmakers said removing the products will harm Tennessee businesses and won’t keep other intoxicating hemp products from shelves.
Members of the non-THCA group said they felt duped by hemp advocates in Tennessee.
“Six years ago I carried the bill that allowed us to grow hemp in this state and have many of these products,” said Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County). “But I will tell you at that time, the [Tennessee Growers Coalition], well, I will say there were folks that deceived me and deceived our leaders and many others in this body.”
He said the amended legislation brings the total THC level back down to .3 percent as planned originally. e amount is the federal limit, he said. As for those cannabis companies in Tennessee, “they gambled on a product that is federally illegal.”
House Majority Leader Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland) has
Representative Sabi Kumar (R-Springeld) argued that the legislature gets “carried away by the commercial advantages” of cannabis in Tennessee. He said lives are torn apart by marijuana addiction and that was part of the reason he voted to ban THCA.
“Marijuana is playing havoc on our society,” Kumar said. “We talk about anxiety. We talk about mental health. We talk about schizophrenia and various psychological maladies.
“Yes, we blame the internet for it, but, my friends, I submit to you that marijuana and its prevalent use is playing a role in this malady that is a ecting our society for that reason.”
e scal note, an expert review of the economic impact of proposed legislation, estimated the size of Tennessee’s overall cannabis market is about $120.4 million.
e gure is based on a U.S. market for hemp-derived cannabis products projected at $5 billion in 2026.
Tennessee tax collections on those products would have been $13.6 million, assuming that THCA were included.
ose taxes would have been collected on what state nancial experts expected to be cannabis product sales of $226.7 million over the next year. All of those numbers will change if THCA remains illegal.
PHOTO: ADD WEED | UNSPLASH If banned, it could be a harsh blow to the cannabis industry.
By Tom Hrach, Institute for Public Service Reporting
SUNRISE
Aer years of stagnation, Memphis is nally taking major steps toward creating a solar power system.
e news broke last month when Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) announced it would seek a site to install solar panels and purchase batteries to store electricity.
CEO Doug McGowen said the cityowned utility is seeking proposals to install 100 megawatts of solar generation and up to 80 megawatts of battery storage.
e move is signi cant for Memphis, which trails many Tennessee communities and is far behind other Southeastern cities in developing community solar power.
said in March. “If we are going to meet our needs here locally and nationally, we need everyone in the game. With today’s announcement, I will tell you MLGW is in the game. We are taking an important, huge rst step in helping our community … meet the challenges ahead.”
tains language preventing MLGW from getting power anywhere other than TVA.
MLGW is one of just ve local power companies in TVA’s 153-local-utility system that hasn’t agreed to a long-term contract that allows signers to get up to 5 percent of their power from other sources. Some local utilities that have signed those 20-year contracts have le Memphis far behind in developing solar power.
McGowen hopes to change that.
going to get it? We do not want to burn more fossil elds, so solar is where it can come from,” said Dennis Lynch, a Midtown Memphis resident and member of the MLGW citizens advisory committee.
“I could imagine many empty blocks in Memphis covered with solar panels and then people signing up to be members and getting reduced rates for electricity, but even that is not allowed in the current TVA contract.”
e development hinges on a tentative “side agreement” with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that would allow MLGW to generate some of its own power. MLGW currently gets all its electricity from TVA under an exclusive contract that forbids it from getting electricity from any other source.
“ is does nothing to change our fundamental power agreement that we have with TVA,” he said. “ is is going to be a side agreement, an amendment. at is what we will work on together, on something that will work for both organizations.”
“In our nation and around our world, our demand for energy will soon outpace our collective ability to meet it,” McGowen
at decades-old contract has long stood in the way of MLGW developing solar power. First signed in December 1984, the rolling, ve-year contract con-
Solar power is something MLGW has had in the works for at least two budget cycles. MLGW inserted money into its budget for solar power in fall 2023 when it prepared its 2024 budget. Money was then also included in fall 2024, when it prepared the budget for the current year.
McGowen’s March 5th announcement follows a report in February by the Institute for Memphis Public Service Reporting that detailed the impediment that the TVA contract poses to developing solar power.
“ e community needs more energy. e demand is going up. Where are we
In 2022, MLGW discussed entering a 20-year agreement with TVA, which would have allowed the creation of its own solar power system. But that long-term agreement was never signed, so the terms of the 1984 agreement remain in place.
In May 2023, McGowen announced that the utility would stick with TVA as its power supplier under the terms of the old contract for now.
Was that a mistake?
Not so, said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a Knoxville-based nonprofit. at is because committing long-term to TVA means Memphis likely could never get out from under TVA’s onerous exit clauses to pursue cheaper and cleaner energy sources, Smith said.
Under the terms of the current contract, MLGW must give TVA a ve-year notice if it wants to leave. A long-term
COVER STORY
Memphis makes major step toward getting on board with other Southern cities on solar power.
PHOTO: KAREN PULFER FOCHT Doug McGowen, president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water
“MLGW IS LOSING OUT ON CLEAN ENERGY, PARTICULARLY SOLAR.”
contract would require a 20-year notice, which means it would be decades before Memphis could get free from TVA.
“MLGW is losing out on clean energy, particularly solar, due to the fact that they are not independent from TVA,” Smith said. “But I do not think that signing a long-term contract would be worth it. Memphis would lose out by agreeing to stay with TVA for so long.”
One reason is that the 5 percent limit TVA places on its long-term customers is miniscule compared to the potential for solar power in West Tennessee, Smith said.
“MLGW did absolutely the right thing by not signing that long-term contract. Instead, we would like MLGW to start renegotiating that agreement again and start using the leverage it has to encourage the use of renewable energy,” Smith said.
BABY STEPS TO SOLAR
Outlining his 2025 capital improvement plan at the October 2, 2024, MLGW board meeting, McGowen said the utility is doing what it can to move toward solar power by installing a rst-ever battery storage system.
McGowen has acknowledged MLGW is prevented from creating its own solar power because of the current TVAMLGW contract.
“We are still committed to that. I want to get the battery storage rolling rst,” he said. “We have some architecture and engineering money allocated for solar. We are working with our partners at TVA to determine how to do that in the constraints of our current contract. at remains a priority for us.”
Memphis. At an MLGW board meeting on February 5th, McGowen noted that the request for proposals for the battery storage would be out soon. But he o ered no exact timetable. McGowen has said Memphis needs to expand its ability to provide electricity in order to support economic growth.
e best example is the establishment of the xAI facility in south Memphis, which has huge power demands. Bloomberg News reported that new arti cial intelligence data centers can be drivers of economic growth for communities, but they have huge power demands. Communities that are prepared to provide increasing amounts of electricity will be the bene ciaries. And part of providing increasing amounts of electricity is that local communities need to be generating their own power instead of just buying it from someone else.
MEMPHIS FALLING BEHIND
Scott Brooks, senior relations specialist for TVA, con rmed via email that Memphis is way in the minority when it comes to developing its own power generation, writing, “Many of our partners are doing solar and community solar.”
Other TVA communities that are generating their own solar power are the Knoxville Utilities Board, BrightRidge (which serves the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee), and the Nashville Electric Service.
A 2023 study done by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy titled “Solar in the Southeast” con rmed that Memphis was behind Knoxville and on par with Nashville when it came to using electricity generated by the sun.
over the next 30 years will need to take an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach, with actions ranging from partnering with TVA to increasing renewables in their portfolio, to encouraging and constructing local sources of renewable generation (particularly solar).”
e plan said the city of Memphis and Shelby County would work with TVA to explore changes to the MLGW contract. e report mentions solar power 35 times as a key goal for the community.
Yet more than ve years since that report, no substantial progress had been made toward establishing a local solar power system in Memphis.
SOME SOLAR POWER EXISTS
Despite the restriction, solar power is not absent in Memphis. e TVA contract does not prevent companies, individuals, or even government entities from putting up solar panels and generating power.
One of the most visible solar projects in Shelby County is happening at the Agricenter International, where thousands of vehicles whiz by ve acres of solar panels on Walnut Grove Road.
Solar power would be part of what McGowen called “an aggressive expansion of capacity” to provide electricity for
Battery storage is pivotal to plans for implementing solar power at the utility scale because the sun does not shine at night, so the electricity must be generated during the day and then stored for use at other times. But a battery storage system is only the rst step toward using the sun to generate electricity.
e same study showed that Memphis will be even further behind Knoxville by 2027 if things stay the same with the TVA contract. And Tennessee, which is almost entirely served by TVA, is miles behind the average utility in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
e goal of creating Memphis’ own solar power system is not new. It was part of the Memphis Area’s Climate Action plan written in 2020. at 222-page plan said: “Transforming our energy supply
at project, launched in 2012, is generating enough electricity to power 110 homes per year. And it is connected with TVA’s system, showing the potential for solar power in Memphis. e Shelby County government also generates electricity with the establishment of its modest collection of solar panels o of Farm Road behind the county construction code enforcement o ce.
How can Memphis start maximizing the bene ts of solar power?
continued on page 12
PHOTOS: TOM HRACH Agricenter International’s ve-acre solar farm produces enough energy to power the entire 1,000-acre Agricenter complex.
continued from page 11
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Citizen action is what is needed to change the situation, says Lynch, a frequent public speaker at MLGW board meetings and member of the West Tennessee Sierra Club.
“Citizens need to better understand what is the story,” Lynch says. “They need to knock on the doors of MLGW and ask MLGW, ‘What are you doing to allow TVA to allow us to install solar?’”
At the March 5th announcement, Mayor Paul Young specifically thanked TVA for agreeing to allow Memphis to move forward with solar power. And he acknowledged how Memphis has been behind when it comes to solar power and creating sustainability energy.
“We know that power is one of the utmost concerns for people throughout this nation. We are thinking about ways to do this with more sustainability, cleaner, thinking about ways we can limit our impact on the environment,” Young said. “This is such an important step. I cannot say enough about how many strides MLGW has been taking.”
Young cited reliability as a key. Solar power and the batteries to store that power help a community keep the electricity flowing during blackouts, storms, and natural disasters.
Mike Pohlman, MLGW board chair, also acknowledged that Memphis has been behind in creating solar power. He said the board has been pushing MLGW for years to get moving on solar power.
“We have gotten out of the pace of snail. And things are happening a lot quicker. We have been looking at this solar thing for two years now. It is finally coming to fruition,” Pohlman said.
McGowen said the proposals for solar generation and battery storage are due back to MLGW by the end of April. He said the goal is to start producing and storing electricity by the end of 2026. MLGW has not yet identified a site for the solar facility.
Tom Hrach is a professor in the department of journalism and strategic media at the University of Memphis. He has a doctorate degree from Ohio University and has more than 18 years of full-time experience as a journalist.
THE NUCLEAR OPTION
Earlier this month, the future of energy development in the Tennessee Valley was thrown into uncertain territory. TVA is owned by the federal government, having been established in 1933 during the first wave of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. Its original purpose was to electrify the rural areas of Tennessee, which had been neglected by for-profit electric utility companies who feared the high cost of building thousands of miles of electrical transmission infrastructure to serve a relatively small population in what was at the time the most impoverished region in the country. These days, TVA receives no taxpayer money and operates by selling electricity to ratepayers like a privately owned utility company.
But the executive branch still has control over TVA’s board of directors, and in April, the Trump administration removed two board members, Michelle Moore and Board Chairman Joe Ritch. No reason was given for their removal. The board usually consists of nine members, but with the removal of Moore and Ritch, only four remain. That means that there is no longer a quorum on the board, effectively paralyzing the $12 billion organization which provides power for more than 10 million people.
Shortly before the firings, the board appointed Don Moul, the utility’s former chief operating officer, as the new president and CEO. After the firings, Justin Maierhofer, a longtime TVA
executive, was appointed as chief of government relations. A new Enterprise Transformation Office, created by an executive order from President Trump, will seek to reorganize the utility’s leadership structure, according to reports from Knoxville News Sentinel
The office will seek at least $500 million in savings to make way for building new generation capacity.
What, if any, effects this shake-up will have on MLGW’s solar power plans are unclear. But if Tennessee senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn have their way, TVA’s focus will not be on solar but on nuclear energy. This is familiar territory for TVA, which was a pioneer in civilian use of nuclear power in the 1960s and ’70s. But the utility’s nuclear program has stagnated, thanks to ballooning costs for building huge power plants like the one at Watts Bar in Spring City, Tennessee, where the last new reactor came online in 2016 after decades of development and construction. In an op-ed published in Power magazine, the two senators call for TVA to invest in a new fleet of nuclear power plants which would be smaller and easier to construct than the mammoth facilities the utility currently operates. “With the right courageous leadership, TVA could lead the way in our nation’s nuclear energy revival, empower us to dominate the 21st century’s global energy competition, and cement President Trump’s legacy as ‘America’s Nuclear Energy President.’”
— Chris McCoy
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
For a Laugh
By Sarai Bennett
Has life been so stressful lately that you haven’t had the time to do activities that you enjoy doing?
Whether that’s watching your favorite movie or hanging out with your closest friends, it’s clear that it’s been way too long since you have had real fun. It’s okay, relax. Your one-stop destination for live entertainment has arrived because the Good Vibes Comedy Festival is back to make sure their attendees leave grinning ear to ear with their mouths sore from nonstop laughing.
Hosted by John Miller and Nathan Jackson, and sponsored by several local businesses like Hi Tone Cafe and Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous, the Good Vibes Comedy Festival will feature several comedians that will be headlining this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
“So we have Carlos Hernandez. He’s from Miami.
[ en we have] Erica Nicole Clark. [Next] is Joshua Black; he was voted one of Nashville’s best stand-up comics last year, I believe. And our local headliner is a young man named Wild Beale,” says Miller.
Black will be headlining Friday night, Clark and Hernandez will be there Saturday night, and last but not least, Wild Beale will be representing the Blu City on Sunday night. In total, there will be 14 shows across three days with more than 40 comedians performing.
ose who are up-and-coming comedians or improv artists can apply to be featured as a headliner for next year’s festival. “Next year, anyone can submit. All [you] have to do is send a video to the submission form, ll out the application, pay the fee, and we’ll be watching your video,” says Miller. “And the selection process is by committee. So it’s me, [Nathan Jackson], and a few other people [who] will vote.”
e Good Vibes Comedy Festival will be held at the Hi Tone Cafe and tickets are on sale now. To nd out more about this event and where to purchase tickets, visit gvcfmemphis.my.canva.site.
HI TONE CAFE, 282-284 NORTH CLEVELAND STREET, FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 18-20, 6 P.M., $20/SINGLE SHOW, $35/ALL-DAY PASS, $80/THREE-DAY PASS.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES April 17th - 23rd
“Summer Art Garden: A Flash of Sun” Launch
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1934 Poplar Avenue, ursday, April 17, 6 p.m., free Immerse yourself in the radiant spirit of summer at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art as it unveils “ e Summer Art Garden: A Flash of Sun,” an outdoor celebration of art, nature, and community. Be among the rst to experience Khara Woods’ dazzling installation and join the Brooks for a night of live music from Alex Upton as you sip on refreshing summer cocktails and enjoy the debut of exclusive artistdesigned merchandise. is festive evening also invites you to savor alfresco dining under the open sky.
Earth Day Festival
Shelby Farms Park, 6903 Great View Drive North, Saturday, April 19, noon-4 p.m., free Earth Day Festival is a fun way to inspire movement towards a greener, more sustainable future. Packed with activities, from the family-friendly Fun Run to free Get Outside Fitness sessions, there’s something for everyone. Enjoy live music from Relentless Breeze, a beer garden and food trucks, a kids zone with eco-friendly cra s and activities, and interactive learning stations that bring our community together to learn about and invest in our planet.
Shell Daze Music Festival
Overton Park Shell, 1928 Poplar Avenue, Saturday, April 19, 3 p.m., $63.25/general admission, $132.20/ VIP, free/kids 5 and under Mempho Presents brings e Velvet Dogs (3:45 p.m.), Grace Bowers & e Hodge Podge (5 p.m.), Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country (6:30 p.m.), and Lettuce (8:30 p.m.).
Dragstar Galactica
O e Walls Arts, 360 Walnut Street, Saturday, April 19, 8 p.m., $10, 18+ Hosted by Moth Moth Moth and Cheri Lie Maid, Dragstar Galactica will whisk you away to Luminarus, O the Walls’ new immersive multimedia installation imagining an alternative planet. ese celestial majesties will dazzle, captivate, and spark o Luminarus with one big bang. DJ and dancing a er the show.
PHOTO: COURTESY NATHAN JACKSON Roast battle at last year’s Good Vibes Comedy Festival
MUSIC By Alex Greene
Let Them Eat CAKE
e Sacramento band soldiers on despite pandemics, creeping fascism, and celebrity culture.
CAKE will always be with us. I’ve gleaned this insight a er more than 30 years of listening to the band, ever since my days in Dixon, California, when they were merely regional favorites, not international headliners. One indication of their longevity is the simple fact that the interview I conducted with lead singer/songwriter John McCrea for a Graceland Soundstage concert scheduled for ve years ago still holds just as true today as it did then. A er our chat, a little thing called Covid happened, and the show never took place. Yet here we are: CAKE will nally make their Mid-South appearance by kicking o this year’s season of concerts at the BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove on Friday, April 18th.
Shockingly, things have only gone from bad to worse since 2020, pandemics aside, but that’s kept the band’s outspoken political activism more relevant than ever. e landing page of their website sports the Turkish proverb, “When a clown enters a palace, he does not become a king, the palace becomes a circus,” and their Facebook page is dotted with exhortations to “never forget who Trump really is.” But they also take their activism in a more positive direction.
“‘Rock stars’ — there’s just so much baggage with that. … I don’t really want to be a celebrity.”
In honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day, the band will join forces with BankPlus Amphitheater, Mammoth Live, and Barbian Entertainment to plant a magnolia tree, Mississippi’s o cial state tree, on the venue grounds. e symbolic planting highlights CAKE’s decades-long commitment to environmental sustainability, including global reforestation e orts, clean energy innovation, and ecoconscious touring practices. e band also operates out of a 100 percent solar-powered recording studio in Sacramento, California, a facility that regularly generates more electricity than it uses. Now, in addition to the on-site planting, one lucky fan attending Friday night’s show will receive their very own magnolia tree to
take home and plant.
rough all such e orts, a reliable constant has been the band’s musical aesthetic, yet it can’t be boiled down to any single genre. It’s more accurately characterized by its smallness and sparseness, as McCrea explained when I mentioned seeing the band at a festival of alt-rock superstars in the late ’90s. By then, the band had blown up, with their second album, Fashion Nugget, going platinum in 1997, but they weren’t always comfortable with other groups they were lumped in with at the time.
“It was a very strange experience for me,” said McCrea. “Everything was, like, big dumb rock, even ‘alternative’ was just about this big, sort of bulbous, wide-load sound, right? And we knew people were not gonna get it. I remember one critic called us ‘dinky beats,’ and that was meant to insult us. But for me, it was like, ‘Yes!’ I mean, obviously they didn’t get it, but it was good because I realized, ‘Okay, good. It’s sounding small.’”
Yet while the band’s sound was o en sparse, it was expansive stylistically, with Vince DiFiore’s trumpet echoing everything from mariachi to jazz, McCrea’s dry delivery and richly allusive lyrics drawing on all walks of life, and a taste for scrappy, dirty instrumental sounds. It was — and
remains — decidedly anti-trendy, right down to the shing cap McCrea o en sports and the beat-up acoustic guitar he plays through “a Fender Sidekick ampli er, the kind that they give away for free when you buy a Telecaster.”
It’s always been a sound that’s resolutely D.I.Y. and unpretentious. Yet McCrea has typically been reluctant to con ne the band to any aesthetic, even a sparse one. “I don’t want to make ‘less is more’ sound like the main goal,” he said, “but I think ‘less is more’ in the service of providing musical narrative, I could say that’s our prime directive. It should be a means to an end.”
At the heart of the CAKE experience lie the songs, of course, and the unpredictable turns of phrase which can appear in them. Listing some of his greatest in uences, McCrea noted some of the usual suspects: “I love Hank Williams Sr. for his economy, his ability to tell a story with very few words. I love Cole Porter for his cleverness and how he’s clever without being completely annoying. And then I guess Bob Dylan is similarly clever, you know, and mostly not annoying. I like Leonard Cohen a lot for his lyrics and vocal melody. I mean, all of these people write great melodies.”
Turning to his contemporaries, McCrea zeroed in on Stephen Malkmus of Pavement as a favorite.
“I would de nitely list him as one of my top songwriters, especially of the ’90s.” But he went on to emphasize that, while CAKE are unabashedly political in their practices and in their extramusical communications, he avoids the vagaries of topical struggles in his cra as a tunesmith.
“I don’t enjoy songs that are sort of beating you over the head in any way,” McCrea said. “I do think it’s an emergency right now, like the humans are having a confusing time and we need to focus. And I don’t see why every part of our presence should be about music. I think I’d like to let the music be about music, and let our social media be about whatever the hell we want. But some part of me resists talking about music too much on our page. Somebody wanted to interview me for a book titled something like Rock Stars’ Inspirations, or something like that, and it sounded like a really fascinating book with lots of interesting artists, but I just didn’t want to do it because of the title. You know, ‘rock stars’ — there’s just so much baggage with that, and I’m against it. I’m ideologically opposed to that, you know? I don’t really want to be a celebrity. I don’t want to be talking about what I’m doing as necessarily more important than what anybody else is doing today.”
PHOTO: ROBERT MCKNIGHT CAKE
FERTILOME PLANT FOODS
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule April
17 - 23
Mary J. Blige: The For My Fans Tour
With NE-YO and Mario. Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m.
FEDEXFORUM
Gritty City Bang Bang Sunday, April 20, 11:30 a.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Hank Nightshade & The Midnight Sons ursday, April 17, 7 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Relentless Breeze Sunday, April 20, 6 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Rodell McCord Band Friday, April 18, 10 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Deborah Swiney Duo ursday, April 17, 7-10 p.m.
THE COVE
Dirty Streets
With Speck Joliet. Friday, April 18, 8 p.m.
B-SIDE
DJ Livin + DJ Rhinestonee Friday, April 18, 8 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Jazz Jam with the Cove Quartet
Adam Larson Quartet ft. Kortland Whalum Renowned saxophonist Larson joins forces with celebrated local singer Whalum. Friday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Amy LaVere & Will Sexton
Saturday, April 19, 5 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Art for The Public Live music from e Public, from St. Louis, along with local favorites Mothcat and Movie Nite. $10 Friday, April 18, 7 p.m.
Jazz musicians are welcome to sit in. Sunday, April 20, 6-9 p.m.
THE COVE
Jeremy Stanfill
With Justin Bloss, Sarah Spain. Wednesday, April 23, 8 p.m.
B-SIDE
Joelton Mayfield
With Jesse Wilcox. Monday, April 21, 9 p.m.
B-SIDE
John Vincent III
$44.20. Monday, April 21, 8-9:30 p.m.
Brynn Browder. 18+. $20. Sunday, April 20, 6 p.m. GROWLERS
Sammy Rae & The Friends: Something For Everybody Tour
$45.40. Tuesday, April 22, 8-9:30 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Shell Daze Music
Festival
Lettuce, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Grace Bowers & e Hodge Podge, e Velvet Dogs. Saturday, April 19, 3-10 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
Sierra Hull
$39.45. Wednesday, April 23, 7:30-9 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Spank! Quartet
Saturday, April 19, 9 p.m. B-SIDE
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Candlelight: Neo-Soul Favorites Songs by Prince, Childish Gambino, and others performed by the Beale Street Quartet. $34.50. Friday, April 18, 8:45-10 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Candlelight: Tribute to Adele e music of Adele performed by the Beale Street Quartet. $29.50. Friday, April 18, 6:307:45 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Clark Sommers’ Feast Ephemera
Large ensemble music, featuring a who’s-who of Memphis musicians in collaboration with some of Chicago’s most proli c talent. $25/advance, $30/at the door. Saturday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Classical: Youth Symphony Students in the Memphis Youth Symphony Program will perform against the backdrop of inspiring works of art spanning the ages. Free. Saturday, April 19, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Kaonashi
With Current Solace, Soot, Feral God. Friday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.
GROWLERS
Level Three
Wednesday, April 23, 10 p.m.
LOUIS CONNELLY’S BAR
Melanie Maclaren
Wednesday, April 23, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Memphis Jazz Orchestra + Bobby Watson
e Memphis Jazz Orchestra joins ones of the most signi cant living jazz composers today. $20/advance, $25/at the door. Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Opossums Record Release
With Ibex Clone, Aquarian Blood. Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m.
BAR DKDC
River Rat Music
Presents 420 Bash
With OG Dberry, White Sosa, Hunter Jordan, C Goody, Dust-N-Green, Loud Pack, Hog Leg, Corn Bread,
Tea Dance With DJ Damp Velour, DJ Natalie. Sunday, April 20, 7 p.m. BAR DKDC
Cake e eclectic Northern California tunesmiths bring their unique sound to the MidSouth. Friday, April 18, 8 p.m. BANKPLUS AMPHITHEATER
Ghost Town Blues Band Wednesday, April 23, 8 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Johnny Mullenax Band Friday, April 18, 7 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Tangerine Flavour
With Phases. Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Concerts in the Grove with Cyrena Wages Kids under 18 are free. $9. ursday, April 17, 6:30-8 p.m.
THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHO PRESENTS Lettuce
THEATER By Alex Greene
Agony and Ecstasy
Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s production of Saint Joan is a study in contrasts.
The opening scenes of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, the latest production by Tennessee Shakespeare Company, may be disarmingly light for some theatergoers. Many of us, myself included, tend to imagine the story of Joan of Arc in the direst possible terms — we all know it ends with her being burned alive, a er all. And the rst few minutes of the play depict just that, as if to remind us what’s at stake before the narrative begins in earnest.
But then the story launches on a disarmingly light note, with the broad, jocular acting of a comedy. Two characters blow raspberries at each other. It’s a jolly romp, as local big shot Robert de Baudricourt (Austin Hanna) blusters about the lack of eggs from his hens, which, his underlings insinuate, is likely caused by the slightly touched-in-thehead farm maiden Joan (Erin Amlicke). She’s unfazed by the generalized bu oonery, her face upli ed, radiating joy, embodying the chipper, plucky optimism of a naïf.
and none more powerfully than Lauren Gunn, who plays several characters here, most impressively the English Earl of Warwick. She brings an undeniable gravitas to her performances that at last seems appropriate to what is ultimately a tragedy. en, as the play proceeds, farce recedes and the entire cast rises to the occasion of the story’s inherent drama. As Joan is put on trial for heresy, we see some of the show’s nest performances, including nely wrought characterizations by Hanna as the Inquisitor and Sakaan as Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais. And Amlicke’s distress in the nale is all the more powerful in contrast with her un appably jaunty take on Joan in earlier scenes.
In a sharp disconnect from the romp, Joan insists that she hears voices, and that Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret, and Saint Michael all have instructed her to lead troops against the British at Orléans. ere’s an undaunted quality in Joan’s convictions (and Amlicke’s performance) that wins over the men of power, and ultimately they are swayed to send her o to an audience with the Dauphin, aka Charles II, France’s asyet uncrowned heir apparent.
PHOTO: JOEY MILLER
Chad Marriott, Erin Amlicke, and Austin Hanna
Tennessee Shakespeare Company is nothing if not resourceful, and it casts the eight actors in this production as di erent characters as the changing scenes demand. us, the Dauphin is also played by Hanna, the broad bluster of Baudricourt replaced by his e eminate take on poor little rich boy Charles. is continues the somewhat farcical tone of the opening scene, even as graver characters, like the Archbishop of Rheims (Chad Marriott), enter the narrative. Another man of power, the Duke la Trémouille, also enters the story here, yet, in the ne Shakespearean tradition of gender-swapping roles (done in Elizabethan times because women were not allowed to perform), la Trémouille is played by Sarah Sakaan.
Indeed, several women take on the visage of powerful men in this production,
Indeed, that may be a key to this intriguing staging of the play, as the lighthearted gives way to the tragic. e powerful ending is underscored by way of contrast with the early scenes. And, speaking of underscoring, the sound design and musical compositions by Joe Johnson foreshadow the tragedy to come. at in turn is capped o with a coda wherein a visitor from the 20th century reads the o cial statement of Joan’s canonization in 1920, and all the key characters step out of time to consider their role in it.
e contrasts in tone, as director Sarah Hankins astutely conveys here, are what Shaw envisioned when writing the play. As he noted in the play’s preface, “ ere are no villains in the piece. … It is what men do at their best, with good intentions, and what normal men and women nd that they must and will do in spite of their intentions, that really concern us.”
e nal two performances of Saint Joan are on Friday, April 18th, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 19th, at 3 p.m. Visit tnshakespeare.org for details.
WILL WIN THEIR SHARE OF OVER
$750,000
CALENDAR of EVENTS: April 17 - 23
ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“2024 Accessions to the Permanent Collection” is series honors the new additions to the museum’s collection. rough Nov. 2.
METAL MUSEUM
“A Journey into the Shadows”: Nelson Gutierrez
Colombian-born artist Gutierrez confronts migration and displacement through shadow and movement, using threedimensional cutout drawings. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
Anna Parker and Gopal Murti: “A Harmonious Interplay of Complementary Styles”
A blend of works exploring acrylics, mosaicism, and pointillism by two eclectic artists. rough April 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
ARTSmemphis: GRANTEDTime Exhibition
An exhibit curated by Brittney Boyd Bullock, a visual artist working ber, mixed media, and abstraction. rough Aug. 5.
ARTSMEMPHIS
“Art Speaks”: Visual Poetry Exhibition & Art Inspired by Words is showcase draws on literature, poetry, music, and spoken word. rough May 31.
MEMPHIS ART SALON AT MINGLEWOOD HALL
Brian Jobe and Jered Sprecher: “Arrangements in Gravity”
Two artists in whose work both the poignant and the playful are present. rough April 25.
BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY
Colleen Couch and Dolph Smith: “Walk in the Light”
Both artists studied at the Memphis College of Art — Smith in 1960 and Couch in 2000. Both also taught at MCA. rough June 29.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
“Colorfully, Darkly, Quietly” : Works by Willy Bearden and David Tankersley
A unique blend of two singular, but complementary Memphis voices. rough April 29.
WKNO-TV/FM
“Dialogues”: New Works by Rivertown Artists
Nine artists engaged in a dynamic conversation through their work. rough May 2.
ANF ARCHITECTS
“Earth Matters: Rethink the Future”
See the inner workings of a tree, learn about endangered species, and experience largescale visualizations of changes in our natural world. Learn more about biodiversity and climate change. $18. rough May 18.
PINK PALACE MUSEUM & MANSION
“From the Ashes”: Maritza Davila-Irizarry Works that integrate printmaking, mixed media, photography, video, and remnants from the re that destroyed the artist’s studio. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
“In Plain Sight”: The Photography of Ben Couvillion
Featuring bold and saturated compositions that elevate the beauty of everyday life. rough April 27.
ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Jeannine Paul and Jerry Ehrlich: “Small Works” Paul paints landscapes and orals in oil, while Ehrlich aims “to surprise the viewer with a look and feel that’s not expected … but enjoyed.” rough April 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Kit Reuther: “Many Moons”
An artist using architectural abstraction to deconstruct representational forms in paintings and sculptures. rough May 10.
DAVID LUSK GALLERY
“Light as Air”
Explore the balance of forms, the contrast between heavy and light, and the signi cance of negative space. rough Sept. 7.
METAL MUSEUM
“Not Only Seen, But Felt”
Featuring Black women photographers from Memphis: A.C. Bullard, Ariel J. Cobbert, Alexus Milons, Jasmine Marie, Gabrielle Yasmeen, Keara W., and MadameFraankie. rough April 17.
URBAN ART COMMISSION
“Opposites Abstract”: A Mo Willems Exhibit
Wherein children get the opportunity to “make some silliness and take art seriously at the same time.” rough May 18.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS
Owen Westberg: “Thicket”
Using aluminum ashing and sanded birch, Westberg paints imagery and landscapes captured in and around Pittsburgh. rough May 17.
TOPS GALLERY
Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.
DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENT LISTINGS, SCAN THE QR CODE OR VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
“Speaking Truth to Power”: The Life of Bayard Rustin Exhibition
Featuring the artist’s use of the “medium” to communicate powerful messages of non-violence, activism, and authenticity. rough Dec. 31.
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
“Supernatural Telescope”: Danielle Sierra
A deeply personal and poetic re ection on memory, love, and spirituality, inspired by the passing of the artist’s father. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
“The Colors of the Caribbean”: Juan
Roberto Murat Salas is Cuban-born painter brings the rich visual traditions of his homeland to life through bold colors and dynamic compositions. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
“The Golden Age of Paper Dolls”
A private collection of paper dolls, including an area to make your own. rough May 28.
DAVIES MANOR HISTORIC SITE
Thomas Dambo’s “Trolls: Save the Humans” International Paper presents this larger-than-life fairytale, in which art and nature intertwine. rough May 21.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
’Tis the season for Easter egg hunts, such as this one at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens.
Thomas Jackson: “Chaotic Equilibrium” Ethereal works that use wind to blur the boundaries between landscape photography, sculpture, and kinetic art. rough April 28.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Tributaries: Rachel David’s “Engorging Eden”
e artist transforms everyday furniture into fragmented expressions of life’s chaos, joy, and loss. rough May 11.
METAL MUSEUM
Using Our Art to Tell Our Stories IV: “We Remember Fort Pillow!” Honoring victims of the Fort Pillow Massacre through art, presented by the WEALLBE Group. rough April 30.
WITHERS COLLECTION
Wanda Winsett Exhibition
e artist proclaims that “my delight is in color and light shed upon the day.” rough May 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
ART HAPPENINGS
Like Really Creative
April Collage Party Collage with a creative community. Free, $5/suggested donation. Wednesday, April 23, 6-9 p.m.
THE UGLY ART GALLERY
Opening Reception | “Brushstrokes of Home”: Tyler Guthrie’s Collierville
Opening for an exhibition celebrating Guthrie’s dedication to preserving Collierville’s charm through his detailed brushwork and artistic vision.
Tuesday, April 22, 5:30 p.m.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
Summer Art Garden Launch: “A Flash of Sun”
A celebration of art, nature, and community. Experience Khara Woods’ installation featuring geometric sculptures that cast vibrant hues in the shi ing sunlight. Music by Alex Upton, with cocktails. Free. ursday, April 17, 6 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
BOOK EVENTS
Kelsey Impicciche: Voice of the Ocean
e novel follows a daring young siren who de es her people to save a human prince, unearthing ancient magic and igniting a dangerous romance amid treacherous waters. Tuesday, April 22, 6 p.m.
NOVEL
CLASS / WORKSHOP
Figure Drawing (Clothed Model)
Artists of all levels can practice and increase their skills drawing the human form at Memphis’ art museum. $18/ general admission. Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m.-noon.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Mah Jongg Lessons
Learn the game of Mah Jongg and you’ll understand why it is sweeping the South. $85. Saturday, April 19, 1-4 p.m.
MEMPHIS CHESS CLUB
Make Your Own: Wire Swirl Earrings
Introduction to a fun, simple metalworking technique using minimal tools. Saturday, April 19, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
METAL MUSEUM
Super SaturdaySustainable Art for Earth Week
Celebrate Earth Week! Explore the world of sustainable art by transforming recycled plastic bottles into unique, eye-catching masterpieces. Free. Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m.-noon.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Theatre of Dreams
Explore the hidden meanings of dreams through theater. Wednesday, April 23, 6:30-8 p.m.
THE EVERGREEN THEATRE
COMEDY
Comedy On Tap
Have a good laugh. Friday, April 18, 7 p.m.
CROSSTOWN BREWING COMPANY
Good Vibes Comedy Festival
More than 32 comics. Two rooms. Maximum comedy. $20-$120. Friday, April 18-April 20. HI TONE
Nate Jackson: Super Funny World Tour
One of the fastest growing comedians through his viral content and remarkable engagement on TikTok, where he has amassed over 3 million followers. $39.50-$250. Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
Open Mic Comedy Night
A hilarious Midtown tradition. Tuesday, April 22, 8 p.m. HI TONE
COMMUNITY
Binghampton Earth Day
Community Clean Up
Spend the day picking up litter, beautifying shared spaces, and spreading awareness about the importance of caring for our environment. Saturday, April 19, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
CARPENTER ART GARDEN
City of Memphis: Music Strategy
Report
Hosted by the Office of Creative & Cultural Economy. Wednesday, April 23, 5:30-8 p.m.
MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB
Earth Day Festivities
A celebration of all things earthy. Meet native animal ambassadors, participate in purple martin colony monitoring, and make some earthfriendly crafts to take home. Saturday, April 19, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
LICHTERMAN NATURE CENTER
DANCE
Synthesis: Beats & Paws Charity Dance Night
Dance for a cause as DJs Evonech & Roman Wilder spin darkwave, synth, and more. All proceeds support animal rescue! Apr 19 | Lamplighter Lounge | 21+ | $10 $10/Charity Donation. Saturday, April 19, 10 p.m.-3 a.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
FESTIVAL
Earth Day Festival
A fun way to inspire movement towards a greener, more sustainable future, featuring a family-friendly fun run, Get Outside Fitness sessions, live music from Relentless Breeze, food trucks and beer garden, a kids zone, and interactive learning stations. Saturday, April 19, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
FILM
Italian Film Festival: There’s Still Tomorrow
A working-class woman dreams of a better future for herself and her daughter. Thursday, April 17, 6-8 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Neil Young: Coastal
A personal, behind-the-scenes look at Young on his recent solo tour. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker and Young’s wife Daryl Hannah. Thursday, April 17, 7 p.m.
MALCO PARADISO CINEMA GRILL & IMAX
Time Warp Drive-In
Films inspired by Phillip K. Dick’s writings, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, and A Scanner Darkly, with pre-show music by Fake. Saturday, April 19, 6:30 p.m.
MALCO SUMMER DRIVE-IN
FOOD AND DRINK
Memphis Art Salon 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil
An exciting day filled with live music, delicious food, and unique shopping from local arts and crafts vendors! $20/adult wristband, $10/kids 12 and under. Saturday, April 19, 2-7 p.m. B-SIDE
HOLIDAY EVENTS
Easter Bunny Photos
Hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way! Saturday, April 19, noon-4 p.m.
SADDLE CREEK SOUTH
Easter Egg Hunt
Hunt for eggs and meet the Easter Bunny! Ages 3 and under begin at 9:30 a.m., ages 4 to 8 will follow. Snacks will be provided. Registration required. $15. Saturday, April 19, 9-10 a.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Easter Egg Hunt
Young explorers can search in the bookshelves, story time room, and courtyard to discover hidden eggs filled with surprises. For children age 8 or younger. Thursday, April 17, 3-5 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Easter Lunch
Enjoy this Easter Sunday out on the Mighty Mississippi River for the best views of the city. $65/general admission. Sunday, April 20, noon3 p.m.
MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS
Hops & Hares-Egg Hunt
An afternoon of food and drink specials, a hoppin’ good time, and a chance to snap a pic with your favorite (inflatable) friend, the Easter Bunny. Saturday, April 19, 3 p.m.
CROSSTOWN BREWING COMPANY
LECTURE
Munch and Learn: Sip ‘n’ Forage:
Make a Cup of Tea and Stop Killing
Your Weeds
Nadia X of Black MajesTEA, a self-taught herbalist, will share her herbal creations for health and prosperity. Wednesday, April 23, noon.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Sportswriter Michael Arkush interviews
Coach Bill Courtney
A live podcast interview. Free. Tuesday, April 22, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB
PERFORMING ARTS
Artist Showcase: A Chronic Carnival
Featuring live music, food, local art, and burlesque dancers. Sunday, April 20, 4:20-8:20 p.m.
BRINSON’S
Dragstar Galactica
Hosted by Moth Moth Moth and Cheri Lie Maid, Dragstar Galactica will whisk you away to Luminarus, a new immersive multimedia
installation. 18+. $10. Saturday, April 19, 8 p.m.midnight.
OFF THE WALLS ARTS
SPECIAL EVENTS
Pillars of Progress Awards Gala
Join the Hooks Institute in celebrating those who have made significant contributions to advancing equity, inclusion and social justice — the institute’s “Pillars of Progress.” $125/single ticket, $1200/reserved table for eight. Wednesday, April 23, 6-8:30 p.m.
MAXINE A. SMITH UNIVERSITY CENTER BALL ROOM, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
SPORTS
Memphis Roller Derby Season Opener
Two roller derby games at the Pipkin Building hosted by Memphis Roller Derby! Memphis B-Sides vs. Louisville A’s at 5 p.m., then MRD Home Teams Ghouls vs. Minions at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 19, 4-9 p.m.
PIPKIN BUILDING
THEATER
Saint Joan
The story of French army leader Joan of Arc, with eight actors in six scenes. Friday, April 18, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 19, 3 p.m.
TENNESSEE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
Crossword
ACROSS
1 Outburst after a nefarious plan is hatched
8 Freaks
15 What may be propelled by a propellant
16 Classic song with the lyric “Let’s get together and feel all right”
17 Response to a joke
18 Rat
19 Steadfast determination
20 Game where you don’t want to reach the top
22 Mac ___ (former Bay Area hip-hop great)
23 Chemical suffix
24 P’s
25 Direction to a cellist
26 What “epistaxis” is a fancy medical term for
30 Play detective
31 Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, architecturally
33 Big business news
36 Opera with the “Gypsy Song”
37 Treat with an edible container
41 Santa ___
42 Person who’s whip-smart?
46 Rightmost option in most menu bars
47 Actor Green of the “Austin Powers” movies
48 “Odi et ___” (Catullus poem)
49 It’s not for real
50 Not doubting at all
52 Amoeba, e.g.
53 One might be sent to a passenger’s phone
55 Went over
57 Minute Maid drink
58 It comes after “Coming soon …”
59 Perfumed
60 Not get hung up on
1 Site for a doodle
2 Kook
3 Large numbers
4 Large number
5 An end to smoking?
6 Hilarious sort
7 Like some suits and states
8 Street racers
9 Diarist Nin
10 Live musicians play them
11 Delaware has the lowest mean one in the U.S.: Abbr.
12 Food storage spot
13 Triumph
14 “Come on in!”
Silent Sky
The true story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discovery. $25. Thursday, April 17, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, April 18, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 19, 7:30 p.m. NEXT STAGE
The O’Kays
Set in the gritty, soulful landscape of 1970s Memphis, The O’Kays follows three young men on a thrilling journey to chase fame and fortune in the city’s booming R&B music scene. Saturday, April 19, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
HALLORAN CENTRE
The River Bride
Cazateatro presents a tale of two sisters who struggle to be true to each other and their hearts, as a handsome and mysterious man is fished from the Amazon River. Friday, April 18, 8 p.m. | Saturday, April 19, 8 p.m. | Sunday, April 20, 3 p.m.
THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE
Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion
A Books on Stage youth production. A cast of eccentric characters, all detectives, meet at a mansion, only to become suspects in a murder. $10. Thursday, April 17, 7 p.m. | Friday, April 18, 7 p.m. | Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
Round parts?
Stories that may or may not be
Recognizable figure
PUZZLE BY CALEB MADISON
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
Cameron Carroll traveled from the north Seattle area to Memphis for the Memphis Tattoo Festival, held April 4th, 5th, and 6th at the Renasant Convention Center.
It was his second year attending the festival, Carroll says. College Station, Texas, tattoo artist David Hershman worked on one side of his leg last year, and his other leg this year. Carroll says he “had to come back. [Hershman] invited me out here, and I ew out from Washington.”
Asked what he likes about the festival, Carroll, who sports seven tattoos, says, “It’s a blast. Amazing people. It’s always a good time. Just a bunch of laughs. Great people out here. It’s a fun time.”
Quinn Hurley, director of operations for the three-day event presented by Tattoo Fest and the Explore Tattoo Conference, was pleased to be “coming back to a city that really embraced us and embraced us again this year.”
“ is is an artistic show,” he says. “Everyone that’s here is here because they love some sort of art. A lot of it’s tattooing, but we have our vendors that make art as well. And so we wanted the festival to re ect the love of that.”
MICHAEL DONAHUE above: Robyn Rogers below: (le to right) Tristan Keutmann and Mason Ballard; David Hershman and Cameron Carroll; Chico Wardrick, Sky Jones, Caliyah Jones, and Rae Royston bottom row: (le to right) Neil Lemons and Samantha Watkins; Luke Surman; Madelynne Caldwell and Makayla Weaver
PHOTOS:
above: Aaron Binkowitz circle: Quinn Hurley
below: (le to right) Jen Archer, James Archer, and Jacques Van Wyk; Kierstyn Laird, Noah St. John, and Avery Hall; Austin Gilbert, Breanna Nelson, Christina Robertson, and Travis Robertson
right row: (top and below) Zach Morris, Sarah Lee, Adrian Hood, Leah Chester, and Jenner and Joshua Brooks; Amanda Barnard, Tallon Barnard, and Caitlyn Campbell bottom row (le to right): Chancy Pants and James Archer; Polo Espinoza and Chris Espinoza
FOOD By Michael Donahue
Maeve’s Tavern Coming to Collierville
DJ Naylor opens his third Irish bar/restaurant.
Google describes the Irish Queen Maeve, who is believed to have ruled in the rst century A.D., as “a warrior of great strength, resilience, and at times, ruthlessness. With a name said to mean ‘intoxicating,’ it is certain that she wielded enormous power and sway during her reign.”
All of which sounds like a great name for an Irish drinking establishment. And that’s what DJ Naylor is calling his new restaurant/bar. Maeve’s Tavern is slated to open in mid June at the site of the old Highlander Scottish pub at 78 North Main Street in Collierville, Tennessee. Naylor, Reny Alfonso, and Brad Allbritten of the Brazen Restaurant Group are the guys behind those other Irish watering holes, Celtic Crossing and Bog & Barley.
“Maeve was a mythical queen in the Connaught region in the west of Ireland,” Naylor says.
He had his daughters Kyla and Teagan in mind when he chose the name. “An Irish gure that would represent them,” he says.
Maeve was a “very erce warrior,” who was “ambitious, courageous.”
Asked why Colllierville, Naylor says, “We want to expand our footprint, our reach, our business,” he says. “We’d always planned to have a larger number of restaurants. We were leaning towards Lakeland, but the opportunity presented itself.”
Maeve’s Tavern is more intimate than the other two bars/restaurants, says Allbritten, who is director of restaurant operations for the group. “It’s 120, 130 inside with a 50-seat patio,” he says. “We’ll really be able to be serving some outdoor entertainment.”
ey will feature Irish music and dancing. “It’s very important for us to keep our authenticity to the Irish culture.”
It will have “a family atmosphere. It’s going to be a casual tavern you’ll feel comfortable being in.”
And it will be a great place to bring the kids and for groups who want to “have nice lunches and enjoy tea” with their friends.
Inside, Maeve’s Tavern is going to be very Irish-centric. “All the interior furniture, bar furniture, and dining room furniture are going to be sourced in Ireland,” Naylor says.
e color scheme for Maeve’s Tavern will be “some nice reds and greens.”
Maeve’s Tavern will have “a more feminine and so er approach to your average pub,” Allbritten says. “Not just leather, but a lot more design appeal.”
Also included will be artwork and Irish bric-a-brac, including “antique mirrors
from Ireland.”
And they want to tie in symbols of Maeve, including “the bowl, the crown, the raven,” Naylor says. “Tying all those aspects of her mythology into the design.”
As for the food, Naylor says they will “maintain the staples” at Maeve’s Tavern. “ e tradition will stay with us, but we’ll de nitely show the community a di erent side of our culinary scope.”
Alfonso, who is director of operations for the group, does the menu development and works with the chefs in each restaurant. “Currently, I’m leaning towards more Irish countryside,” he says. “Cottage-style food. Like heartier composed plates.”
Maeve’s Tavern is “going to be a tavern, but we also want to make it fresh and exciting and new. Focused on things you’d nd in the countryside in Ireland. More emphasis on seafood like you’d nd on the coastal side.”
But he says, “I’m trying to lighten it up as well, if that makes sense. Sort of make it healthier and not so heavy.”
Alfonso also will feature traditional items, including shepherd’s pie and sh and chips, along with some new items.
He’d like to do a “lighter and less pungent version of liver and onions.” It will have “caramelized onions.” But he’ll lighten it up with grape vinegar. “ e acidity in it will brighten up the richness of the sauce in the liver. I’m using in uences not only from Ireland, but Scotland, England, and maybe some Australian. ey were also colonized by England. A mishmash of United States and Ireland.”
His other ideas include a version of stu ed leeks, but he’s not sure what he’s going to stu them with. Maybe shrimp paste or something similar, he says.
“ ey’ll be glazed in some Irish cider.”
Alfonso also plans to make a brunch item called “boxty,” which is a “traditional potato pancake,” and a“cabbage cake.”
“I do want to do a version of — I don’t know what I’m going to call it yet — chicken cordon bleu with Irish ‘rashers’ — Irish bacon — and smoked Irish cheddar.”
And, he wants to do a sh “in some kind of a curry.”
He’s playing with an idea for a salmon en croûte. “Maybe coulibiac, an old Russian dish, traditionally. It’s salmon that’s rolled in pu pastry with mushrooms, eggs, rice, and spinach. I’m going to nd a kale or cabbage to make that more Irish.”
“I want to do a curry-marinated chicken paillard and salad-type thing. I’m de nitely going to try to do proper English roasted potatoes. e potatoes are peeled, and they’ve got to be gold, with a little bit of baking soda. ey’re boiled rst in baking soda and water, and then you toss them to beat them up. en they go in a hot pan with beef tallow.”
He wants to do something called an “Irish spice bag,” which is “a thing that you’d nd on the streets in Ireland. Like stands and stu .”
You “fry little pieces of chicken and vegetables and sometimes seafood and toss it in a paper bag with seasoning.
For dessert, he’s thinking of a “mulled fruit tri e,” which he says is “stone fruit mulled with Irish cider and layered with cream sauce and some scones crumbled into it.”
In keeping with the rest of Maeve’s Tavern, Alfonso wants to make his menu items “warm and inviting.” He wants it to be a place people will visit “multiple times a week.”
e experience will be like “going to a cottage and eating dinner.” Like “mom is cooking for you,” he says. “But more re ned at the same time.”
Naylor, who is from Ballina, County Mayo, in Ireland, moved to Boston, Massachusetts, before moving to Memphis, where he opened Celtic Crossing in 2005 and Bog & Barley in 2023. “ e hospitality of Memphis was far more akin to Ireland than Boston,” he says.
His mother said she’d “much rather come here,” Naylor says. She said the people are friendly. And she loved to go to the department store because the people are “so nice.”
Each of his Irish bars is di erent, Naylor says. “We don’t just open Irish pubs and sling beer and shots.”
He maintains the quality of each place so they’re “not being a beer joint” like other cities “where Irish pubs are a dime a dozen.”
Each of his Irish bars has its own personality.
“Celtic, for me, is the neighborhood bar that is the soccer headquarters for the city of Memphis.”
e elegant, majestic Bog & Barley, which is “more of an upscale Irish pub,” is “the cathedral to Irish pubs,” he says.
Maeve’s Tavern will be “a third experience to the Irish dining scene.”
“I love openings,” Alfonso says. “ ey’re just challenging. Getting all the pieces together. Finding out what’s going to work in a new area. New kitchen. New team. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle getting all the pieces together.”
He adds, “We’re just looking forward to welcoming the community into our new home, if you will.”
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE
Future site of Maeve’s Tavern on the Collierville town square
Saturday, May 31st, 2025 3-6pm at Overton Square NEW
Sample from the city’s best margarita-makers, vote on your favorite, and we’ll crown an audience winner at the end of this best ‘rita fest!
Skip the line with our Early Entry Ticket!
Emily Guenther
Three Rings
Use this magical technique to protect you and your home.
Have you heard of the three rings of magical protection? is is a technique I learned when I rst began my spiritual path, and it has stuck with me since. I love sharing it because it’s unique and can be easy to do. You don’t need any supplies or items for this protection technique. What you will need is to be able to manipulate energy and visualize or talk yourself through the steps.
I typically teach this technique the way that I do it. It’s the way I am most familiar with, and I’m con dent that it works that way. However, I am not you. Please feel free to take this idea and make it your own.
bubble, located underneath and inside of the black bubble. e brown shield is the second ring of protection. e third and nal ring of protection is a white bubble inside the brown bubble. All three of these layers sit on top of each other and completely encase your home.
e rst ring, the black bubble, is a protective energetic barrier. is ring is going to take the most hits and is going to do the most work. Black is the color we use most o en for protection and hiding. e black layer is going to shield and hide your home from unwanted energies. However, it is always possible for something to get through. at is what the other two layers are for.
It’s generally easier and more accurate to build this shield while at home. For one, it is easier to manipulate energy in the area that you are in than it is to try and manipulate energy from across town. Being at home also gives you a very good idea of where your property lines are or where you want to speci cally shield. If building a shield or manipulating energy is new to you, or you have trouble visualizing, then going outside and looking at your home can also be very helpful.
To begin, visualize (or describe to yourself) a large black bubble completely encasing your home. is black bubble should go all the way around your home, above it, and underneath it. If you live in a building, your shield may likely end up cutting through your neighbor’s ceiling or upper corners. If you live in a freestanding structure like a house or trailer, you don’t have to worry about your energy shield being on someone else’s property. But you still want to make sure that your bubble goes under your home, so it will cut into the ground. is is the rst ring of protection.
Under your black shield, envision a brown shield. is will be a second
e second ring, the brown one, is a lter. Brown is a color associated with stability and grounding. If energy works its way through your rst ring, when it comes into contact with the brown ring, the brown layer can help ground the energy. e brown ring of protection can, if used properly, send that energy down into the earth where the earth will recycle the energy and put it to use elsewhere. Brown is also associated with transformation. If energy comes through the black ring, the brown ring can also lter and change the energy.
e third ring, the white layer, is there to make sure that negative energy does not make it into your home. Once energy moves past the brown ring where it has been ltered and changed, it comes into contact with the nal white ring of protection. White is a color that boasts a lot of associations including protection and blessings. Any energy that makes it to your white ring has been made neutral by the brown ring. If that energy makes it through your white shield to your home, that energy has now been transformed from unwanted, negative, or malicious to at worst neutral energy and at best a positive blessing. is idea can be used in many ways. Let the three rings of magical protection inspire you to create a unique protection barrier for you and your home.
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of e Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.
February 1-May 21
PHOTO: NATALIIA BONDAR | DREAMSTIME.COM
Visualize a bubble completely encasing your home.
Photo courtesy Atlanta Botanical Garden
Produced by Presented by
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
By
the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Update
ADAM LARSON QUARTET
CROSSTOWN ARTS
Last week, News of the Weird reported about mysterious QR code stickers appearing on gravestones in Munich, Germany. The denouement is much less interesting than the mystery: The New York Times reported on Feb. 20 that a local business had been contracted to clean and maintain certain graves, and workers had used the stickers to help them keep track of which graves they had worked on. “We are a large company,” said Alfred Zanker, a senior manager at the unnamed company. “Everything has to happen in an orderly manner.”
It’s Good To Have a Hobby Clem Reinkemeyer, 87, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has an unusual collection — and now he has a Guinness World Record. United Press International reported on Feb. 17 that Reinkemeyer’s collection of 8,882 bricks includes a Roman brick from 100 A.D. and a sidewalk brick made in a facility where the Pentagon now stands. “What appealed to me about bricks is they have names and you can trace them back historically to places,” he said. Some of the most valuable ones are those with misspellings. “I think Oklahoma has a history for the most misspelled bricks,” he said. “I don’t know why.”
Space Trash
Officials at Poland’s space agency POLSA are examining debris that fell onto the premises of a business in Komorniki on Feb. 19, Reuters reported, to determine whether it originated from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Later that day, a second “identical” container was found about 19 miles away in a forest. POLSA said it has been monitoring the flight of the Falcon 9, which launched on Feb. 1 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and “will verify the object with SpaceX.” News outlets in Poland reported that flashes were seen in the sky on the morning of Feb. 19.
Recent Alarming Headlines
Residents of Godstone High Street in Surrey, England, may be out of their homes for months after a huge sinkhole opened up on Feb. 17, the BBC reported. Two sections of the road caved in, causing people in 30 homes
to be evacuated. “We’ll be looking to completely rebuild the road,” said Surrey County Council’s Matt Furniss. “It’s currently stable, it isn’t growing anymore.” Local business owners are concerned about how the closure will affect them. Shane Fry of DD Services said it would be “a trialling few months for us.”
News You Can Use
The SS United States, which has been docked and deteriorating at a Philadelphia port since 1976, started its 18-day passage to Alabama on Feb. 19, NBC10-TV reported. The ocean liner, in service from 1952 to 1969, holds the record for fastest eastbound and westbound trans-Atlantic crossings, but on this final journey, it will be towed at 5 knots (or about 6 miles per hour). In Alabama, it will be stripped of its innards — furniture, engine room equipment, cables, and flooring — and then will be moved to Okaloosa County, Florida, where it will be sunk offshore and turned into a scuba-diving destination. Capt. Joseph Farrell, a ship-sinking and reef expert, said the sinking will be “a final chapter for the last all-American-made, American-flagged ocean liner.”
Saw That Coming
An unnamed 55-year-old Canadian woman lost both her hands on Feb. 7 when she “attempted to engage” with a 6-foot-long shark while snorkeling in Turks and Caicos, The New York Times reported. The tourist reportedly wanted to take photos of the animal. After she was treated in the Caribbean, she returned to Canada for further medical attention, but doctors could not save her hands. Conservationist Chris Stefanou said the shark might have mistaken the woman’s phone for a fish. “Sharks, or any predatory animal in the ocean, can confuse that as, like, a bait fish,” he said.
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
NEWS OF THE WEIRD © 2025 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): From 1501 to 1504, the artist Michelangelo worked to create a 17-feet-tall marble sculpture of the Biblical king known as David. Today it stands in Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia and is one of the most famous statues in the world. But the block of marble from which it was carved had a troubled beginning. Two other artists worked on it but ultimately abandoned their efforts, regarding the raw material as flawed. Michelangelo saw potential where they didn’t. He coaxed a masterpiece from what they rejected. Be like him in the coming weeks, dear Taurus! Look for treasure in situations that others deem unremarkable. Find the beauty hidden from the rest of the world.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Judean date palm was considered extinct for over 800 years. Then scientists germinated a 2,000-year-old seed discovered in the ancient fortress of Masada. That was 20 years ago. Today, the tree, named Methuselah, is still thriving. Let’s regard this as your metaphor of power, Gemini. You, too, are now capable of reviving a long-dormant possibility. An old dream or relationship might show unexpected signs of life. Like that old seed, something you thought was lost could flourish if you give it your love and attention.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In more than a few ancient cultures, dolphins were regarded as playful allies that would guide lost ships and assist sailors in stress. In ancient Greek myth, dolphins were sacred companions and agents of the sea god. In Maori culture, dolphins were thought to deliver important messages that were unavailable any other way. Many modern Westerners downplay stories like these. But according to my philosophy, spirit allies like dolphins are still very much available for those who are open to them. Are you, Cancerian? I’m pleased to tell you that magical helpers and divine intermediaries will offer you mysterious and useful counsel in the coming weeks — if you are receptive to the possibility.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Do you know about the Leo liberator Simón Bolívar (1783–1830)? This Venezuelan statesman and military officer accomplished a cornucopia of good works. Through his leadership, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Bolivia, and Ecuador gained independence from the Spanish Empire. He was one of history’s greatest crusaders for liberal democracy. I propose we make him one of your inspiring symbols for the next 12 months. May he inspire you, too, to be a courageous emancipator who helps create a better world.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo conductor Leonard Bernstein was a global superstar because of his stellar musi-
By Rob Brezsny
cianship, activism, philanthropy, and teaching. He transformed classical music by dissolving barriers between “high” and “low” culture, bringing elegant symphonies to popular audiences while promoting respect for jazz and pop. He wanted all kinds of music to be accessible to all kinds of listeners. I think you are currently capable of Bernstein-like synergies, Virgo. You can bridge different worlds not only for your own benefit, but also others’. You have extra power to accomplish unlikely combinations and enriching mergers. Be a unifier!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A rainbow is gorgeous, with its spectacular multi-hued arc sweeping across the sky. Here’s another element of its poetic appeal: It happens when sunlight and rain collaborate. In a sense, it’s a symbol of the sublimity that may emerge from a synergy of brightness and darkness. Let’s make the rainbow your symbol of power in the coming weeks, Libra. May it inspire you to find harmony by dealing with contrasts and paradoxes. May it encourage you to balance logic and emotion, work and rest, light and shadow, independence and partnership. I hope you will trust your ability to mediate and inspire cooperation.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You now have more power than usual to transform ordinary things into extraordinary things. Your imagination will work at peak levels as you meditate on how to repurpose existing resources in creative ways. What other people might regard as irrelevant or inconsequential could be useful tools in your hands. I invite you to give special attention to overlooked assets. They may have hidden potentials waiting for you to unlock them.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you google the term “the religion of work,” many critical references come up. They condemn the ways humans place an inordinate importance on the jobs they do, thereby sacrificing their health and soulfulness. The derogatory English term “workaholic” is a descriptor for those whose are manically devoted to “the religion of work.” But now let’s shift gears. The artist Maruja Mallo (1902–1995) conjured a different version of “the religion of work.” Her paintings celebrated, even expressed reverence for, the agricultural laborers of rural Spain. She felt their positive attitudes toward their tasks enhanced their health and soulfulness. In the coming weeks, Sagittarius, I invite you to explore Mallo’s version of the religion of work.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Astrologer Aliza Kelly likes Capricorns for their “fearless ambition, limitless resilience, and ability to keep pushing forward, even in the face of challenging adversity.” But she also praises their “secret wild side.” She
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
I am always surprised when there appears yet another authoritative article or book that implies there is one specific right approach to meditation. The truth is, however, that there are many ways. Here’s teacher Christopher Bamford: “Meditation is naturally individual, uniquely our own. There are no rules. Just as every potter will elaborate their own way of making pots, so everyone who meditates will shape their own meditation.” This is excellent counsel for you right now, Aries. The planetary alignments tell me you have extra power to define and develop your unique style of meditation. Key point: Have fun as you go deeper and deeper!
writes, “Inside every earnest Capricorn is a mischievous troublemaker” that “loves to party.” I agree with her assessments and am happy to announce that the rowdier sides of your nature are due for full expression in the coming weeks. I don’t know if that will involve you “dancing on tables,” an activity Kelly ascribes to you. But I bet it will at least include interludes we can describe as “untamed.”
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1922, Aquarian author James Joyce published Ulysses, a novel recognized as one of the masterworks of 20th-century world literature. Seventeen years later, he produced Finnegans Wake, an uproarious experimental novel that was universally reviled when it first emerged because of its wild wordplay, unusual plot, and frantic energy. In the ensuing years, though, it has also come to be regarded as a monument of brilliant creativity. It’s one of my favorite books, and I’m glad Joyce never wavered in his commitment to producing such an epic work of genius. Anyway, Aquarius, I’m guessing you have been toiling away at your own equivalent of Finnegans Wake. I beg you to maintain your faith! Keep going!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Years ago, in the early days of my infatuation with a new lover, she put a blindfold on me and ushered me around the city of Columbia, South Carolina. The goal was to enhance my nonvisual senses. The experiment worked. I heard, smelled, and felt things I would never have noticed unless my dominating eyesight had been muffled. Ever since, my nonvisual senses have operated with more alacrity. This fun project also improved the way I use my eyes. The coming days would be an excellent time for you to try a similar adventure, Pisces. If my idea isn’t exactly engaging to you, come up with your own. You will benefit profoundly from enhancing your perceptual apparatus.
FILM By Chris McCoy
Vampires of Mississippi
Michael B. Jordan does double duty ghting evil with the blues in Sinners
Ryan Coogler has proven himself to be one of the great masters of genre lms. Every time he’s tried a new kind of lm, he has mastered it and made it better. In 2015, he made the Rocky spin-o Creed, starring his friend and frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan as the son of Rocky’s frenemy Apollo Creed. It was, incredibly, better received than Sylvester Stallone’s attempt to revitalize the inspirational sports picture he had pioneered. Remember 2005’s Rocky Balboa? Of course you don’t. en Coogler moved on to the superhero space with Black Panther, the consensus choice for the best chapter of the never-ending Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Coogler saw the potential of his star Chadwick Boseman to transcend the shallow and banal crash-bang and become a hero for the people. And I’m not just talking about Black people, who were nally able to see on-screen both a hero and a culture which looked like them. T’Challa was the MCU’s moral center, the person who took time to wrestle with the right and wrongs of the situation, rather than just punching the bad guys. Marvel’s vision of good leadership is not the American President addeus Ross, a barely reformed war criminal, or Tony Stark, the technocratic billionaire. It’s T’Challa, the King of Wakanda, who prioritizes justice for all humanity and puts his nation’s (and his own) blood and treasure on the line to achieve it.
It’s going to take more than a mojo bag and a trunk full of guns to defeat the devils this time.
Now, Coogler ventures into the horror genre with Sinners. e 21stcentury superhero lm cannibalizes genres so they can be digested by the corporate body. Captain America: Winter Soldier was a ’70s paranoid thriller in colorful tights; Guardians of the Galaxy is a sci- adventure with the occasional super-heroic ourish. Even Black Panther more closely resembled e Adventures of Robin Hood than it did or: e Dark World. e horror genre gives its practitioners more freedom. row in an atmosphere of creeping dread, a few jump scares, and a little monstrosity, and you can call it horror. A er all, this is a genre that
encompasses both David Lynch’s Fire Walk With Me and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Coogler takes the opportunity to play fast and loose in Sinners, bringing in elements from all over the cinematic map. One of its biggest in uences is Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan, a decidedly not-horror psychological portrait of two deeply damaged people trying to nd themselves in the squalor of North Mississippi. Another major tributary is Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, the vampire neo-Western that provided Bill Paxton’s nest hour. If I had to pin it down, I would call Sinners folk horror. Like e Wicker Man and Midsommar, it nds terror in the inscrutable laws of pre-Christian pagan beliefs.
e lm’s animated preamble introduces us to the concept, handed down over millennia through dozens of di erent cultures, of shamanistic gures whose music-making was so powerful that it became magic and temporarily tore the veil between our world and the spirit world. We then meet Sammie Moore (Miles Caton). It’s October 1932 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and times are tough. Sammie’s a preacher’s son who quotes scripture from the pulpit on Sunday morning a er playing the blues on Charley Patton’s resonator guitar on Saturday night.
Against the wishes of his pa, who warns him against “playing music for drunkards who shirk their responsibilities,” Sammie takes a gig
at the Delta’s newest venue, Club Duke. e owners are the Smokestack twins, Smoke and Stack, both played by Jordan. ey le Clarksdale 15 years earlier to ght in World War I, then joined the Great Migration to Chicago, where they became enforcers for Al Capone’s Prohibition smuggling operation. A er years of being good soldiers, they have unexpectedly returned to the Delta, throwing cash around and sitting on enough bootleg booze to stock a juke joint for months. How they came into this good fortune is one of the lm’s early mysteries.
e twins buy a former cotton warehouse and proceed to get the band back together, Blues Brothers-style. Along with Sammie, they recruit piano pounder Delta Slim (the great Delroy Lindo) and the singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson) for opening night. It is one hell of a party. Every drunken shirker in a three-county radius packs into the run-down old building to party their butts o late into the night.
Did I mention that Sinners is also kind of a musical? And that some of the music was recorded here in Memphis by Boo Mitchell at Royal Studios? Coogler frames the big emotional moments with musical numbers performed by his cast. On Club Duke’s opening night, Sammie’s songs whip the revelers into a frenzy of ecstatic dancing. When people from other eras start to appear in the barn, from a masked San shaman of Kalahari to Eddie Hazel decked out in Parliament-Funkadelic-era Afro and
Michael B. Jordan, as both of the Smokestack twins, is a little reluctant to invite a vampire into his juke joint.
star-shaped sunglasses, we know we’re through the looking glass.
e revelers are mostly oblivious, but someone notices the magic working. Remmick (Jack O’Connell) appears, smoldering from the sunlight. He’s an Irishman of indeterminate age, who knows all the old Appalachian folk songs. When he and his little band show up at Club Duke, the door man Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) won’t let them in. Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Smoke’s ex-wife, is a secret voodoo priestess who recognizes the undead when she sees them. But it’s going to take more than a mojo bag and a trunk full of guns to defeat the devils this time.
Sinners spends a long time giving backstory to its sprawling cast, so that when the action kicks in, we feel each loss and setback. Coogler takes big swings, but not all of them connect. Jordan’s double duty as twins could have been a disaster, but he pulls it o with bravado. On the other hand, a half-assed subplot involving the Klan bogs things down in the nal reel. It hardly matters. Sinners is one of our great lmmakers exploring the outer limits of his gi s. Let Coogler cook.
Sinners
Now playing Multiple locations
Our critic picks the best films in theaters.
Neil Young: Coastal
Directed by Daryl Hannah, this tour documentary traces the maverick folk rocker Neil Young’s most recent solo tour. Yes, that Daryl Hannah. They’re married. Screening exclusively on Thursday, April 17th, at the Malco Paradiso.
Time Warp Drive-In: Future Unknown
The news that the Malco Summer DriveIn is up for sale means this is probably the last season of the Time Warp Drive-In series. It kicks off with films based on the works of Philip K. Dick. The triple feature includes Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, Blade Runner; Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 adaptation of “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” Total Recall, starring Arnold
Schwarzenegger; and Richard Linklater’s 2006 animated head trip, A Scanner Darkly. Memphis band Fake plays at 6:40 p.m., and films start at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 19th. $25 per carload.
One to One: John & Yoko
This documentary follows John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s time living in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the early 1970s. Centered around newly restored footage from Lennon’s Madison Square Garden performance at a benefit for the Willowbrook State School on Long Island, which later became the posthumously released Live in New York City album, Kevin Macdonald’s film draws connections between the couple’s musical activism and the turbulent world around them.
SHARED HOUSING
THE LAST WORD
By Tracy O’Neill
A Bad Deal
TVA is accepting public comments on the methane gas expansion at the Allen Plant until April 28th.
e people of Memphis deserve clean air, a ordable power bills, and a reliable energy system that doesn’t come at the cost of their health or future. Instead, TVA is pushing to expand the Allen gas plant in Southwest Memphis with six new methane gas-burning turbines. at means more pollution, higher bills, and more risk for the communities that have already been asked to carry too much. Let’s be clear: is is a bad deal. Memphis deserves better.
If these gas turbines are built, they will produce large amounts of air pollution that will cause and worsen serious health problems for nearby residents. Southwest Memphis residents already experience high rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and adding more pollution to the air from burning methane gas will only deepen public health impacts and worsen the climate crisis.
is project is deeply unfair for communities in Southwest Memphis, where residents already carry heavy environmental burdens from the decades of pollution from fossil fuel infrastructure: the Allen coal plant, Valero re nery, Allen gas plant, Southaven gas plant, xAI, and now TVA’s Allen plant gas expansion plan. is is what the continuation of environmental injustice looks like.
TVA claims the gas expansion is necessary to meet electricity demand, but they’ve done a poor job of seriously evaluating other options. ey haven’t conducted even basic analysis of how clean alternatives could meet power needs in a way that’s less risky and less harmful. TVA has tried to frame this as a binary choice: either build the new methane gas turbines, or do nothing and risk not meeting demand. But that’s a false choice. In reality, TVA could meet energy needs through a mix of proven, a ordable solutions — like solar, wind, battery storage, energy e ciency, and demand reduction programs — that don’t come with decades of pollution and health consequences of burning methane gas.
But TVA is still pouring money into fossil fuel infrastructure that would lock Memphis into another generation of pollution, higher bills, and increased climate risk. At this point, it feels like TVA would rather keep polluting communities than do the work of building a cleaner, more just energy future. is is the same tired playbook: rush the process, sideline the public, and pretend there are no alternatives. at’s not leadership. at’s business as usual — and people are done with it.
It’s not just about pollution — though that alone should be reason enough to stop this. It’s about the massive opportunities that TVA is choosing to ignore. TVA has a long history of underinvesting in energy e ciency — simple, low-cost solutions like sealing air leaks and adding insulation that could make homes across Memphis healthier, safer, and more a ordable to live in. ese upgrades are especially important for low-income residents, many of whom want to improve their homes but can’t a ord to do it on their own. TVA’s programs are o en too limited, too complicated, or just not designed to reach the people who need them most. And while TVA has started to show some progress, it’s unacceptable for them to ignore the lowest cost, most immediate way to reduce energy demand while trying to justify building more gas infrastructure. Instead, TVA should be expanding programs that cut energy use and ease strain on the grid because that’s how you lower bills, improve reliability, and reduce pollution without making vulnerable communities pay the price.
Memphis has thousands of megawatts of roo op solar potential, many times over what TVA says it needs from this gas expansion. at’s power from the sun, right here in the city, with no emissions and no added health risks. Shelby County also has tremendous capacity for utility-scale solar. MLGW’s own studies point to local solar as the smartest and most cost-e ective choice for meeting power needs. And wind is already being harnessed just across the state line in Tunica County. Battery energy storage makes renewable energy available around the clock, improves the reliability of the grid, and can help bring the grid back online from a power outage. e tools are here. e technology is proven. e moment is now.
As someone working alongside partners in Memphis who are organizing around this issue, I’m proud to support their leadership. e voices coming out of Southwest Memphis are powerful — and they are calling for what every community deserves: transparency, accountability, and a future built on clean energy, not more pollution.
TVA was created to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley — not corporations, not industry. Its mission was public service. But somewhere along the way, that mission got lost. Now is the time to get back to it.
TVA should invest in the communities that have powered this region for generations — not sideline them. It should make real investments in proven, available clean energy that reduces bills, creates long-term, good-paying local jobs, and keeps the lights on without poisoning the air. Southwest Memphis doesn’t need more pollution. Memphis doesn’t need more excuses. And the people of the Tennessee Valley don’t need another generation locked into dirty energy and economic inequality.
TVA can still choose to lead. If they won’t, they’ll be remembered as the ones who stood in the way. Because the future is clean. e future is just. And the future will be powered by the people.
TVA is accepting public comments on this project until April 28th. Now is the time to speak up. Tell TVA to stop the methane gas expansion at the Allen Plant and invest in a clean energy future built on energy e ciency, solar, wind, battery storage, and demand reduction. Tell TVA to do better because Memphis deserves better — and the Tennessee Valley does, too.
As the decarbonization advocacy coordinator for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), Tracy O’Neill is a passionate advocate for clean energy and community empowerment.
PHOTO: TVA WEB TEAM | CREATIVE COMMONS | VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Allen Fossil Plant
