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THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com
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I need to write something.
It should ow from ngers to keyboard automatically, no long pauses to consider the next thought or word. It’s all there, just below the surface, beginning to bubble up. at’s how it usually works. I’ll attach to an idea, a line of poetry, an encounter, or a moment, and a er a few days of simmering in the recesses of my mind, somehow unknowingly, on its own, everything comes together and spills onto the page almost e ortlessly. But not lately.
ere are too many pots boiling over at once. Especially, of course, in the political landscape. Every day a new executive order, a new hit to marginalized people, another bash to the face of democracy. e shi s are coming fast and hard, whether we like it or not. It’s too much to keep up with, let alone make sense of. e president of the United States is Willy Wonka and we’re all aboard e Wondrous Boat Ride. [* ash * icker *horrifying imagery *wild man at the helm] (He’s even o ering $5 million “golden tickets” for wealthy immigrants!) I envision the man-child and his sidekick (who is who can go either way) skulking in a darkened room, “Is this frightening enough yet? Have we confused them enough to do whatever we want?”
“ ere’s no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going! ere’s no knowing where we’re rowing, or which way the river’s owing!”
e stage is set for major bamboozling, with waves of stunned, newly unemployed federal workers, swi cuts to crucial programs, and, surely, impending lengthy legal battles over the many unconstitutional and immoral moves being made by this administration, seemingly to obfuscate the masses. We’re ghting one another in comment sections online, pulled apart between “Making America Great Again” and genuine empathy for our neighbors. Do we not care for the poor? e hungry? Humanity in general? Unfortunately, the leader of this nation is a reality TV host and we’re the forced cast, pitted against each other in a battle to … a battle to … Well, I’m not entirely sure what the desired outcome is beyond the rich getting richer while the rest of us nd side hustles to ll our fridges and gas our cars for the work commute. While we argue each other into the ground. ey don’t want us to know their desired outcome. We’re ghting the wrong people.
So sometimes, with all of those thoughts roiling the pots in my brain, nothing sticks. ere isn’t a particular thing to cling to for clear direction or inspiration. Too many things; so much noise. But I need to write something. Put it all in one place, outside of my mind. Maybe I’m not there yet.
Maybe I’ll hold onto these words from Charles Bukowski for now.
if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it.
NEWS & OPINION THE FLY-BY - 4 POLITICS - 7 AT LARGE - 8 COVER STORY “SPRING ARTS GUIDE” BY ABIGAIL MORICI - 10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WE RECOMMEND - 14 MUSIC - 15 AFTER DARK - 16 CALENDAR - 17
NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 19
WE SAW YOU - 21 FOOD - 22
METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION -25 NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 26 ASTROLOGY - 27 FILM - 28 NOW PLAYING - 29 CLASSIFIEDS - 30 LAST WORD - 31
unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth … don’t do it.
if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently.
unless it comes out of your soul like a rocket, unless being still would drive you to madness … don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don’t do it.
ere is a red-hot glowing now, a warm pit in my stomach. I’ll see you back here when it burns.
Shara Clark shara@memphis yer.com
PHOTO: MOVIECLIPS | YOUTUBE ere’s no knowing where we’re rowing …
fly-by
MEM ernet
Memphis on the internet.
AXE ATTACK
Horrifying footage captured a man attacking a car with an axe a er a fender bender weekend before last. e man, apparently fueled by road rage a er an older couple rear-ended his car, busted windows and the windshield before police arrived. e Memphis subreddit’s top comment from u/ManRahaim summed it up: “yo, wtf.”
SAD AND LOST
Memphis Reddit user u/Super_Situation_9346 poured their heart out about the state of the city last week, especially Cordova (as far as we can tell). e user was “horri ed” by litter, plummeting property values, “raggity streets,” and population loss. e sub’s moderator jumped in to say, “this is a sub for the rural Alaskan village, Cordova.”
LOCKED
University of Memphis Tigers men’s basketball players drenched coach Penny Hardaway with bottled water Sunday a er their win against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. e win ensured the team a place in the NCAA Tournament.
{WEEK THAT WAS
By Flyer staff
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
Graceland, Drag, & AMA
Fraudster pleads guilty, SCOTUS passes on drag suit, and Mayor Paul Young answers questions.
GRACELAND SCHEMER GUILTY
e woman who sought to steal Graceland from the Presley family pleaded guilty to fraud charges in court last week.
According to court documents, Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, Missouri, orchestrated a scheme to conduct a fraudulent sale of Graceland — using a fake company, forged documents, and false court lings.
Findley falsely claimed that Elvis Presley’s daughter had pledged Graceland as collateral for a loan that she failed to repay before her death. Findley threatened to foreclose on Graceland and auction it to the highest bidder if Presley’s family did not pay or settle the claim against the estate.
In court, Findley pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18th and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence.
FEAGINS FIRING: THE MUSICAL
e ring of former Memphis-Shelby County School’s (MSCS) superintendent Marie Feagins will have a theatrical retelling from the students of Ladia Yates Entertainment (L.Y.E.) Academy.
Feagins’ termination sparked public interest from parents, students, and community members alike — prompting it to be the center of social media think-pieces and fodder. Ladia Yates, owner of L.Y.E. Academy, says it all could make a good documentary, which inspired her to create School Board e Musical. e show will open on April 13th.
COTTON MUSEUM
A Cotton Museum leader said it will not be sold or managed by the state even though a bill led in the Tennessee General Assembly by state Rep. Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) and state Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) would put the Memphis museum in state hands on July 1st.
e bill’s caption reads the proposed law “requires the state to enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase of the Cotton Museum in Memphis, subject to approval by the State Building Commission.”
e full bill text says that the state would enter into negotiations to manage the museum. If approved, management would be given to the Tennessee State Museum and managed by the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission in collaboration with the Tennessee Historical Commission.
DRAG LAW STANDS
e United States Supreme Court will not review Tennessee’s controversial drag-ban law.
e court denied a petition last week to hear the lawsuit led by Memphis theater group Friends of George’s. In September, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear the suit a er allowing the law to go back into e ect. Judge Andre Mathis of the Sixth Circuit Court wrote in his dissent that part of Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) was an “unconstitutional content-based restriction on free speech.”
YOUNG’S AMA
Memphis Mayor Paul Young answered questions about wide-ranging topics in his AMA (Ask Me Anything) session in the Memphis subreddit last Monday.
Memphis Redditors wanted to know his positions on Elon Musk and his xAI supercomputer, what’s happening at the Memphis Area Transit Authority, why the road from Memphis International Airport is so bad, what he thought of the Dr. Marie Feagins/Memphis Shelby-County Schools situation, drive-out tags, and more.
Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/CARYWHIT
POSTED TO X BY MEMPHIS BASKETBALL
PHOTO: (LEFT) CITY OF MEMPHIS VIA REDDIT; (TOP) L.Y.E. ACADEMY; (ABOVE) FRIENDS OF GEORGE’S Mayor Paul Young answers questions on Reddit; L.Y.E. Academy creates musical based on the Feagins’ asco; the Supreme Court denied a petition to hear lawsuit on drag ban.
FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS | MARCH 2–MARCH 29 7PM–10PM
Turf & Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper
{CITY REPORTER
By Kailynn Johnson
Volume Rises on Grok
Dissent on Elon Musk’s Memphis supercomputer gets louder.
A
land deal approved last week by the Memphis City Council ampli ed public dissent against Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer project, though some said the city’s investment in the Colossus Water Recycle Plant could help protect the city’s drinking water.
When the xAI deal was announced, community leaders and advocates openly opposed the project due to its negative environmental impact and disproportionate e ect on minority communities. Groups such as the Southern Environmental Law Center; Young, Gi ed & Green; and Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) have written letters openly opposing the project, and these concerns have only grown.
Last week Memphis Mayor Paul Young announced a deal for land acquisition for the future Colossus Water Recycle Plant, an $80 million “investment in green infrastructure to protect our aquifer and safeguard our water for the long term.”
“ is is a big win for our entire community,” Young said.
According to the group Protect Our Aquifer, the Colossus Water Recycle Plant will be used to “reduce aquifer usage” by the Colossus supercomputer and “other nearby industries.” e plant will be placed in Southwest Memphis at the former Electrolux facility.
e mayor said environmental concerns were a “top priority” from the beginning, and that when the electrical grid is experiencing high demand, xAI will move to “100 percent battery power.”
“We have an opportunity to position Memphis as a leader in AI and technology, but we have to do it responsibly,” Young said. “Together, we’re charting a path towards a sustainable future that protects our aquifer and ensures this investment bene ts all Memphians for generations to come.”
However, many were still not satised with the city’s decision.
“ is is a very bad business decision,” Richard Faulkner said on Facebook. “ is was blatant disrespect to all Black people in this city.”
Local drag performer and community activist Moth Moth Moth encouraged people to write to leaders through an email campaign.
“As the world changes all around us, let’s future-proof Memphis against authoritarianism and environmental ruin,” Moth Moth Moth said. “ e
people of Memphis are bigger and more powerful than a lame computer will ever be. Invest instead with the incredible people of Memphis and you will see this city blossom.”
e comments came a week a er the Memphis City Council approved an $820,000 land deal for the xAI facility, which is projected to use over 10 million gallons of wastewater a day.
During that meeting, Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton said she wanted more transparency for the citizens of the city.
“We want to do good business with people,” Cooper-Sutton said. “Your boss doesn’t do good business.”
Council Chairman JB Smiley Jr. intervened, threatening to mute CooperSutton’s microphone if she continued on with “personal attacks,” which he eventually did.
“Your boss doesn’t do good business.”
“We have a situation here,” Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker said. “I say this kindly and respectfully, but there is a lot of pushback in the community. Nobody says to us as a body how we should address that or handle that.” e video, which was reposted by Memphis social media account @unapologeticallymemphis, allowed space for more users to echo these sentiments in the comments.
“Memphians, DO NOT TRUST ELON MUSHHEAD,” a user by the name @Randy.booktravel commented. “I do not remember any public information provided for this project he all of a sudden decided to put here.”
PHOTO: GREATER MEMPHIS CHAMBER A Grok-created image shows Musk as Elvis.
By Jackson Baker
The Ed Ford Matter
A commissioner’s indictment highlights the grant issue.
e news that came down late last week of the federal indictment of Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. on one count of alleged bribery and six counts of alleged tax fraud generated less public notice than might ordinarily have been expected.
A er all, it somewhat reprises media attention from 2021, when Ford came under suspicion for alleged improprieties stemming from his computer company’s sale of laptops to the nonpro t organization Junior Achievement.
An article by then-Commercial Appeal reporter Katherine Burgess had led to an investigation of the transaction by a commission-appointed special ethics committee and a probe by a special investigator for former DA Amy Weirich. She reported that Ford, though the grant sponsor, had conspicuously absented himself from a 2019 commission vote on the outlay of some $450,000 to JA, then later sold them a supply of laptops at a pro t.
Last week’s indictment enumerates several transactions involving Ford and assorted other nonpro ts between 2018 and 2022. He is accused of netting some $265,000 in kickbacks from taxpayerfunded grants in amounts totaling approximately $630,000.
as a commissioner unnecessarily taints the process and undermines the credibility of this commission program and the nonpro ts who participate.”
For his part, Republican Commissioner Mick Wright acknowledged his own participation in the grant program but suggested in an X post on Monday that there was “a need for greater transparency and accountability from Shelby County government.”
• Meanwhile, the aforementioned Reginald Milton, in a story as upli ing as the saga mentioned above is unsettling, gathered with an older brother and sister last week to celebrate the 105th birthday of their mother Ollie Mae Brown.
County Mayor Lee Harris, with whom Ford has consistently feuded over the years, has called for Ford to be prohibited, so long as he is under federal charges, from further participation in the “Shelby County Milton Community Enhancement Grants,” named a er the former commissioner who proposed them in 2019, Reginald Milton, who now serves as deputy administrator of the county’s Ofce of Educational and Youth Services.
Widely regarded as providing successful linkage between the commission’s 13 members and the constituencies they represent, these grants come from modest quadrennial allotments of $200,000 or less to each member for piecemeal allocation to entities in the districts they serve. e grants are initiated by individual commissioners and then voted on by the entire commission.
Since its creation, the program has proceeded without blemish, a circumstance underscored by Harris who in a statement Monday said, “While there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, [Ford’s] continued grant-making
Born in Mississippi in the second decade of the previous century, Ms. Brown was in her 50s when she bore the current county administrator (himself a more than sprightly 60-something today).
“My parents called me their god-child,” jests the former commissioner, “meaning, when they learned I was coming, they said to each other, ‘Oh my god!’”
His mother remains clear of mind and memory and is able to recall numerous former slaves from her own childhood. It all helps Milton realize that social deprivation is not a case of long ago, but, in e ect, was just yesterday and indeed persists.
Beyond his county duties, Milton is a community organizer in the vein of former President Obama, heading the South Memphis Alliance, a consortium of 10 neighborhood organizations pooling selfhelp resources and o ering foster services. And he provides a laundromat for his charges. He sees the enhancement grant program in that light — as a way for the government to assist underserved communities in moving themselves forward. And he welcomes any useful oversight of the process.
LENT
PREACHING
PHOTO: COURTESY REGINALD MILTON
Reginald Milton and mother last week
CHILDREN OF EDEN
AT LARGE
By
Bruce VanWyngarden
Dullards
e eternal wisdom of Seinfeld
On November 7, 2024, I cut the cord on cable punditry. I used to sit in front of the television every night, clicking back and forth between CNN and MSNBC, with occasional painful forays to Fox. But I’m done with it. No more Rachel or Chris or Anderson or Brett feeding my outrage. It was unhealthy to spend my evenings that way, so I stopped. No more going to bed with my head lled with dread and anger.
not the white. e enemy of capitalist is not communist, the enemy of homosexual is not heterosexual, the enemy of Jew is not Arab, the enemy of the young is not the old, the enemy of hip is not redneck, the enemy of Chicano is not gringo, and the enemy of women is not men. … We all have the same enemy. e enemy is the tyranny of the dull mind.”
With music from the great American composer Stephen Schwartz, who created Broadway’s biggest musical - WICKED, comes a masterpiece that sets the Book of Genesis soaring. The musical embraces the stories of creation & the great fl ood, but also explores the love between parents & children. BPACC’s older Youth Theatre, is directed by Ostrander Award winner – Emily Chateau. Don’t miss this tale of love, family, & the power of forgiveness. For Families – Theatre Lovers – Churches
Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m totally wired into the news of the day (as horri c as it may be). I subscribe to digital editions of AP, e New York Times, Reuters, e Washington Post (still, though I’m wavering), e New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and even e Wall Street Journal, and I get alerts from most of them throughout the day. And I read the local newspapers.
at hit home, and it struck me that the current great divide in this country is a result of the ascension of dull minds, or dullards, more precisely. A dullard fears books that challenge their worldview, art they don’t understand, and any sexual or gender deviation from the “norm.” A dullard fears people with di erent skin, people who speak di erent languages, people who practice a di erent religion, people from another country. A dullard thinks Fox News is, well, news.
A dullard spends his days chasing
In the evening, well, lately I’ve been watching Seinfeld reruns. Every season of the show is on Net ix and I’ve found that viewing a couple of episodes is the perfect palate cleanser to accompany dinner on the couch. No more cable news, baby, as George Costanza might say. I am once again the master of my domain. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
A er an hour of Jerry, I read — mostly ction, and mostly stu I rst read years ago, just to see how it holds up. Much of it doesn’t. J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey? Eh, mostly smoking and self-involved inner monologues. e Sun Also Rises? O -putting racism, classism, and misogyny. John Cheever? e tribulations of wealthy New Yorkers. Meh. James Salter’s work sustains, particularly A Sport and a Pastime and Solo Faces. But don’t get me started on Robert Heinlein. (Looking at my bookshelves, it’s become obvious to me that I used to read a lot of manly ction — Jim Harrison, Richard Ford, omas McGuane — so I’m trying to work in some more female writers.)
is past week, though, in tribute to the recent death of Tom Robbins, I spent several nights re-reading Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Hoo boy. What I’d remembered from my salad days as a sassy and clever ri on womanhood and sexuality was this time around an overwrought, never-ending slog, loaded with misogynist bilge, creepy sex scenes, hippie philosophizing, and self-referential smugness.
But just when I was about to give up on Cowgirls, I came across this passage deep in the book: “ e enemy of the Black is
money and power and never has enough of either. A dullard doesn’t want to travel and see the world. A dullard doesn’t think of the needs of others but is intent only on preserving his status quo. Dullards are conformists, threatened by new ideas. It’s why they react with meanness toward those who don’t conform and with cruelty toward the vulnerable.
Dullards want to control what schools can teach. Dullards don’t believe in science. Dullards let their kids get measles. Dullards think Kid Rock is an artist. Dullards think the song “Y.M.C.A.” is a patriotic anthem, not an ode to casual gay sex.
And dullards are suckers for mendacity if it comes from another dullard: When they’re told, for example, that the murderous thug Vladimir Putin is our friend and that Ukraine started a war with Russia, they’re all in. It reminds me of something George Costanza said: “Jerry, just remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it.”
PHOTO: SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT A return to Seinfeld and a step away from cable news …
Spring Arts Guide
FROM MARCH TO MAY, MEMPHIS’ ARTS SCENE IS BUSTLING.
When Groundhog Day came, I never bothered to nd out if he saw his shadow. Even now, I still haven’t bothered. All I know is that it’s time for me to write the Spring Arts Guide, and that is enough for me to know that spring is here — and so are the arts: visual, theater, dance, and otherwise.
ON DISPLAY
“Regenesis”
Johnathan Payne works at the intersection of drawing, collage, embroidery, beadwork, and painting.
Clough Hanson Gallery, through March 27
“Accessories”
Althea Murphy-Price presents arrangements of armatures and accessories inspired by beauty tools and everyday objects.
Sheet Cake Gallery, through March 29
“Tales from the Journeys”
Nelson Gutierrez’s work examines the psychological and social consequences of con ict.
Sheet Cake Gallery, through March 29
“Beyond the Surface: e Art of Handmade Paper”
Explore the shape-shi ing quality of paper.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, through April 6
“An Occasional Craving”
Chris Antemann cheekily re-envisions the concept of porcelain gurines.
Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through April 6
“House of Grace”
e Memphis debut of Floyd Newsum’s large paintings on paper and maquettes for public sculptures.
Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through April 6
“Who Is at Artist?”
Interact with Jorden Miernik-Walker’s photography-based work.
Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through April 6
“Small Spaces”
Jennifer Watson’s jewel-like paintings.
e Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through April 13
“A Journey into the Shadows”
Nelson Gutierrez’s three-dimensional
cutout drawings.
Crosstown Arts, through May 11
“Engorging Eden”
Rachel David transforms everyday furniture into fragmented expressions of life’s chaos, joy, and loss.
Metal Museum, through May 11
“From the Ashes”
Maritza Dávila-Irizarry integrates printmaking, mixed media, photography, and video to confront a studio re.
Crosstown Arts, through May 11
“Supernatural Telescope”
Danielle Sierra’s deeply poetic re ection on memory, love, and spirituality. Crosstown Arts, through May 11
“ e Colors of the Caribbean”
Juan Roberto Murat Salas’ works of bold colors and dynamic compositions.
Crosstown Arts, through May 11
“Trolls: Save the Humans” omas Dambo’s larger-than-life fairy tale, in which art and nature intertwine.
Memphis Botanic Garden, through May 21
Calida Rawles. Towner For Life, 2024. Acrylic on canvas.
Elena Urioste to play Piazzolla, Shostakovich, and Richter’s Recomposed
“Light As Air”
Explore the beauty in tension.
Metal Museum, through September 7
“Calida Rawles: Away with the Tides” Picturing water as space for Black healing.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, March 19-September 7
“Summer Art Garden: A Flash of Sun” Khara Woods’ sun-drenched shades, dazzling patterns, and geometric sculptures.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, April 17-October 20
“Colleen Couch and Dolph Smith: Walk in the Light”
Showcasing the arc of Smith’s oeuvre, new works by Couch inspired by him, and recent collaborations by the two artists. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, April 20-June 20
“with abundance we meet”
Suchitra Mattai’s installation is made of “fruit” sculptures, ripe with possibilities, conjuring wombs and fertility spirits.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, May 22
PHOTO (LEFT): COURTESY THE ARIST AND LEHMANN MAUPIN, NEW YORK, SEOUL, AND LONDON
PHOTO (ABOVE): COURTESY IRIS COLLECTIVE
ON STAGE
A Body of Water is darkly comic, existential mystery play will leave you laughing, guessing, and gasping until the very last second. eatreSouth, through March 9
12 Angry Jurors
Tempers get short, arguments grow heated as jurors convene during a murder trial. Germantown Community eatre, through March 16
Beauty and the Beast
Based on Disney’s lm, the classic story of Belle and her beastly bestie. eatre Memphis, through March 30
Orchestra Unplugged: Beethoven’s Fi h Symphony
Robert Moody explores the mind of Beethoven and his most celebrated work. Halloran Centre, March 6
Children of Eden
Follow Adam and Eve’s descendants through storms and strife.
Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, March 7-9
Recomposed: Elena Urioste
e celebrated London violinist performs Recomposed by Max Richter, an interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Crosstown eater, March 8
Dance Nation
A group of girls ght to nd themselves in the preteen competitive dance world. eatreWorks at e Evergreen, March 14-23
oughts of a Colored Man
e rst Broadway play written, directed, produced by, and starring Black men. Hattiloo eatre, March 14-April 6
R.E.S.P.E.C.T., a tribute to Aretha Franklin at the Orpheum eatre
Shakespeare in the Cemetery
Tennessee Shakespeare Company actors perform one hour of Shakespeare’s best death scenes.
Elmwood Cemetery, March 15
Variations on a eme
Opera Memphis’ curated evenings span opera, musical theater, and vocal music.
Opera Memphis, March 15-16| April 26-27
Scheherazade and Butter y Lovers
Concerto
Robert Moody leads the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (MSO).
Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, March 15 | Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, March 16
Celtic Concert: A Celebration of the Emerald Isle
e Slainte Singers bring the Irish magic. Germantown Community eatre, March 16-17
e Great Gatsby
World Ballet Company takes you back to the Roaring Twenties.
Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, March 2
Punk Rock Girl!
Rough and unapologetically authentic. Playhouse on the Square, March 21-April 13
Tick Tick BOOM!
e story of the composer of Rent eatreWorks @ e Square, March 21-30
Dance, Girl!
Celebrating Black girlhood through poetry, dance, and music.
e Green Room at Crosstown Arts, March 22
Bartlett Community Concert Band
O ering both classical masterpieces and modern movie soundtracks.
Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, March 28
continued on page 12
Women in the Arts
On Saturday, March 8th, Dixon Gallery & Gardens and eatre Memphis will co-host their fourth Women in the Arts event, a day celebrating the women shaping the arts in Memphis. As in years past, the event will have performances, demonstrations, classes, panels, and an artist market.
PHOTOS: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
e Dixon and eatre Memphis present Women in the Arts.
When the event kicked o in 2021, Kristen Rambo, the Dixon’s communications manager, says, “It was like, why is there not an event like this happening in Memphis? … Once it started, we didn’t want to stop.”
e day’s full schedule will be posted to the Dixon’s website on Friday, March 7th, with programming planned for both the Dixon and eatre Memphis campuses. Guests can take a free shuttle to and from both locations throughout the event.
“ ere’s something for everyone to do, whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert,” Rambo says, adding that the event is family-friendly. “We also have some of our community partners that are going to represent themselves and maybe have an activity, like the Memphis Public Libraries, the Metal Museum, Women in Memphis Music, Girl Scouts of [the United States of] America, and Cazateatro [Bilingual eatre Group]. … So
that’s something we always like to highlight as well — supporting all the arts communities in Memphis so we can all improve the arts.”
“Memphis is so full of amazing women, artists, and arts administrators, people who might not be artists themselves but work and thrive in the arts,” Rambo adds. “And whether that artist is a performer or visual or anything in between — we have some comedians coming — it’s just an exciting way to highlight these artists on one fun, special day. And of course, we should be celebrating women artists all throughout the year, but you can be really embedded in the Memphis art scene and still meet and see people you’ve never met or heard of before at this event, which is so exciting.”
Women in the Arts, Dixon Gallery & Gardens | eatre Memphis, Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
PHOTO: JEREMY DANIEL
Chloé Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies
A renowned touring female tap group. Germantown Performing Arts Center, March 28
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
An electrifying tribute to Aretha Franklin. Orpheum eatre, March 30
e British Isles - Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” and Grainger’s “Danny Boy”
A sweeping musical adventure. Crosstown eater, March 28 | Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, March 30
Black Violin: Full Circle Tour
Mixing classical depth and hip-hop’s pulse. Orpheum eatre, April 1
Two drag queens accidentally warp through time and must navigate history’s most iconic moments.
eatreWorks @ e Evergreen, April 4-12
Luminarus
Yvonne Bobo and a collective of artists, students, and astronomers are building a planet at O the Walls Arts (OTWA). e planet will have crochet pods, a cavern wall, and sculptural ora and fauna. “It’s a performing arts place, so we’re gonna have all kinds of events in it — music, dance, just a place for the community to explore,” Bobo says. e project began from conversations about the extraterrestrial unknown. “We started to think about it in a social situation: What would we do if we ran into aliens? What would we share with them? And if we don’t have the same language or culture, we can share through art, through music, through dance. ey’re sort of like our mediums that we can try to express who we are.”
As such, this new planet, created through these media and host to these media, is called Luminarus, Bobo says, because “we’re gonna illuminate people, shine a light on people’s talents.”
Since the rst Saturday of February, OTWA has hosted Community Build Days, inviting anyone, regardless of skill, to help construct the multimedia installation inspired by the cosmos. “We built it around an idea of community, and it’s nice to see a community forming,” Bobo says.
Lessons Learned: A Tap Concert
Hot Foot Honeys probe the human condition through dance.
Germantown Community eatre, April 4-5
Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw’s chronicle of the heroism of French army leader Joan of Arc.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company, April 4-19
e ICON, Babbie Lovett, Fashion Legend
Tennessee Ballet eater’s homage to the life and legacy of one of Memphis’ most in uential leaders.
McCoy eatre at Rhodes College, April 4-12
e River Bride
Cazateatro Bilingual eatre Group’s charming story of mystery, love, and family.
eatreWorks @ e Square, April 4-20
Some Like It Hot
Two musicians ee mobsters a er witnessing a hit in Prohibition-era
Chicago. Orpheum eatre, April 8-13
Silent Sky e story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt.
eatre Memphis, April 9-19
Homecoming
Brothers Randall and Miles Goosby return to their hometown, playing chamber music with friend and pianist Zhu Wang. Highland Capital Performance Hall at GPAC, April 10
Memphis Symphony Big Band . Joyce Cobb & Patrice Williamson
A mix of timeless classics and exciting new arrangements.
Crosstown eater, April 12
e O’Kays ree young men chase fame and fortune in Memphis’ 1970s R&B music scene. Halloran Centre, April 19, 2 p.m.
Angels in the Architecture
With Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, a grand season’s end from Ballet Memphis.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, April 25-27
Caroline, or Change
A Black maid for a Jewish family is trying to take care of her own kin at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. Playhouse on the Square, April 25-May 18
Cougars
A play set in the high-octane world of a Memphis car dealership.
eatreWorks @ e Square, April 25-May 4
Rumors
A wedding celebration turns chaotic. eatre Memphis, April 25-May 11
Orchestra Unplugged: Peter and the Wolf - More an a Children’s Story
A whimsical setting for Proko ev. Halloran Centre, May 1
e Drop at Contained the Sea e MSO with Memphis Symphony
Chorus and guests perform Tin’s gem. Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, May 4
“People seem to be really energized by the project and what they could bring or how it could kind of feed their creativity.”
People are trying their hand at carpentry, seeing their progress come to fruition at the end of the day; they’ll get a chance to learn large-scale crochet later on as the building progresses. In the meantime, 3D artists can submit their work to make up the ora and fauna in the installation. “We’re just doing a massive call,” Bobo says. “Let them be weird; let them do their thing; let’s just tell stories.”
Students from Bellevue Middle School and Crosstown High School are also participating, with some of them creating sculptures for the group exhibit and others taking part in an alien fashion show. “Everyone knows that art departments are o en not well-funded,” Bobo says. “So we like to bring in artists in the community to help to enrich their art programs.”
Also in collaboration, members of the Memphis Astronomical Society will provide their photography of galaxies and constellations. e group is also hosting an Evening AstroWatch on March 7th at 5 p.m. at OTWA to capture the imaginations of Luminarus builders.
So far, with all these partnerships (and more), Bobo says, “I feel like
I made the infrastructure, and now it’s just taking o , getting its own life. at’s what’s valuable with a collaboration. Maybe one person starts the sentence, but it keeps evolving, and then it’s way more interesting than I could have just imagined on my own.”
Luminarus will open Saturday, May 10th, 6 to 8 p.m. e rst major event following will be a free family-friendly community day on May 17th that will
include the student-led alien fashion show. Other events, both familyfriendly and adult-only, are on the horizon. To participate in the Community Build Days or to submit work, visit o hewallsarts.org.
PHOTO: COURTESY ALISON HEVERLY Luminarus’ cavern wall in progress
Cabaret
The great musical of decadence and Nazis. Germantown Community Theatre, May 9-25
Chicken & Biscuits
Can two sisters at odds set aside their differences to honor their father?
Playhouse on the Square, May 9-June 1
Buckman Dance Conservatory’s Spring Celebration of Dance
A blend of ballet and contemporary dance. Buckman Performing Arts Center, May 10-11
Symphony in the Gardens
A Mother’s Day tradition with the MSO Big Band.
Dixon Gallery & Gardens, May 11
The Boy Who Kissed the Sky
A musical inspired by the early life and influences of musical icon Jimi Hendrix. Hattiloo Theatre, May 16-June 8
Romantic Masterworks by Rachmaninoff and Saint-Saëns
The MSO’s take on the “Egyptian” Piano
Concerto and other works.
Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, May 17 | Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, May 18
La Calisto
A jewel from the golden age of Venetian opera.
Playhouse on the Square, May 21-23
A Particle of Dread: Oedipus Variations
A reimagination of the ancient Greek tale as a modern thriller.
TheatreWorks @ The Square, May 23-June 8
AROUND TOWN
SneakFest Sneaker Expo
For fans of sneakers and urban fashion.
Agricenter International, March 22, 1-11 p.m.
Metal Petals + Healing Roots
Art from disassembled gun parts collected during the Guns to Gardens initiative.
Metal Museum, March 29
10-Minute Play Festival
This April, Hattiloo Theatre will host its inaugural 10-Minute Black Theatre Festival. “Part of putting it on is to explore the hidden talent we have here in Memphis,” says Jarrod Walker, Hattiloo’s theater manager. “We’re very intentional about cultural storytelling and giving voices to those people who may need an outlet to express their voice.”
In the fall of 2024, Hattiloo opened submissions for the festival, accepting works only from Shelby County residents. “The pieces had to amplify the Black cultural experience in some way,” Walker says. “We wanted to talk about the diaspora because a lot of times, once people think about Black experience, it’s very unilateral. So we want to show the diversity in these stories. … We’re a free-standing Black theater, one of four in the nation, and part of our mission and vision is to amplify these stories.”
The chosen plays are Lele Uku by Levi Frazier Jr., Peekin’ by Velvet Gunn, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band Saved This Jewish Lesbian by Sarah Ellin Siegel, Vindication by Dabrell Thompson, Cutting Corners by Danica Wilks, and honorable mention Elderberry by Najwa Watson.
Walker hopes that the play festival will “give someone their big break. Some of these, they may workshop and go back and do some rewrites, and who knows, they may end up being developed into a full-length piece.”
Not only that but the 10-minute plays may see some directorial debuts or even acting debuts for others in the theater community. “We just did Black Odyssey, and we had an actor and it was on her bucket list. So she was like, you know, ‘I’m a seasoned woman. I’ve always wanted to try and audition.’ And she got cast in the show and did a phenomenal job on stage. So, hopefully, this may be someone else’s story with this festival.”
Auditions for the 10-Minute Black Theatre Festival will be held on March 22nd at 10 a.m. at Hattiloo Theatre. The festival will take place April 24th to 27th.
FRIDAY MARCH 7 7PM
steppin’ out
THURSDAY
MARCH 6 THE PINCH 7PM
FRIDAY MARCH 7
ALMOST ELTON JOHN 7PM GENERATION X 10PM
SATURDAY
MARCH 8
CARLOS ECOS BAND 5PM BLUFF CITY BANDITS 9PM
SUNDAY
MARCH 9
JOE RESTIVO 4 12PM
SHARA'S SONGWRITER SHOWCASE 5PM
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY BRUNCH! ALMOST E LTON JOHN
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
Earth, Wind, Fire
Earlier this year, the Pink Palace Museum & Mansion opened its “Earth Matters: Rethink the Future” exhibit, created by Scitech in Perth, Australia, and produced by Imagine Exhibitions.
“ is is a way to introduce kids to the idea of ‘we live on this one planet, how do we take care of it?’” says Sheila Noone, the Pink Palace’s marketing and communications manager. “‘Earth Matters’ is about how we interact with our planet.”
By Abigail Morici
Full of interactive elements, the exhibit engages the whole family in learning more about the connections between humans and the natural elements. Visitors can step into an immersive room that shows how weather patterns have changed over time; they can solve puzzles to learn about insects and their habitats. ey can even visualize how much energy it takes to power a town by pedaling stationary bikes. Guests can also come up with their own ideas for sustainability and hear other opinions from people around the world by (literally) putting their heads in sculptural clouds.
“It’s very kid-friendly, it’s very adult-friendly, and it talks about environmental sustainability but doesn’t beat you over the head with it, like ‘you’re doing this wrong or you’re doing that wrong,’” says Raka Nandi, director of exhibits and collections.
Admission to “Earth Matters” is included in general admission to the museum.
“EARTH MATTERS:
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES March 6th - 12th
e Right to Brew Arms: Round
Robin Arm Wrestling Tournament
Flyway Brewing Company, 598 Monroe, Saturday, March 8, noon-5 p.m., $25/register in advance, $35/ register at the door, free admission Memphis-based startup brand DND Fitness Apparel is partnering with Flyway Brewing Company and local comics Zach Williams and Tracey Jay to bring arm wrestling to the 901.
Participants will show up between 10 and 11:30 a.m. to sign in and weigh in. Wrestlers will be matched up according to their dominant hand (le or right). Each winner receives a $100 gi certi cate for Exercise Unlimited, a custom handcra ed award, and a swag bag of goodies from Flyway Brewing.
At noon, there will be two super matches: Cody “Big Country” Jackson vs. Todd Hart and Jackson Lothenore vs. Chase Childress.
Whether you’re a lifelong Mario fan or introducing the next generation to the magic of the Mushroom Kingdom, this event is fun for all ages. e day will be packed with retro arcade games, Mario Kart racing tournaments, Wii stations, Whack-A-Mole and air hockey, Mario-themed mini-golf, temporary Super Mario tattoos, live DJ, and exciting giveaway prizes.
Munch and Learn: Sit on It Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park Avenue, Wednesday, March 12, noon-1 p.m.
Local artist Jorden Miernik-Walker will discuss her photography exhibition on display in the Interactive Gallery. Visitors can explore her photog-
raphy-based work through interactive components that speak to function, loss, identity, comfort, and femininity.
If you’re attending Munch and Learn, plan ahead and place your lunch orders early for Park + Cherry. Guests are asked to bring their own food from the cafe to the auditorium. Outside food is also welcome.
Like Really Creative Collage Party
Ugly Art Co. Gallery, 635 Madison Avenue, Wednesday, March 12, 6-9 p.m.
Get, like, really creative at the inaugural Like Really Creative Collage Party in collaboration with Ugly Art Co. Listen to curated jams by Future-Everything as you ip through vintage magazines, books, and ephemera; cut; glue; and make your masterpiece alongside a creative community. Materials, water, and soda provided. Sign up at tinyurl.com/3r272ydt.
RETHINK THE FUTURE,” PINK PALACE MUSEUM & MANSION, 3050 CENTRAL AVENUE, THROUGH MAY 18TH.
PHOTO: ABIGAIL MORICI
See how the Earth’s annual average temperature has changed — and much more.
MUSIC By Alex Greene
Vivaldi’s Remake/Remodel
Elena Urioste brings Max Richter’s reinterpretation of e Four Seasons to Crosstown.
Sure, we all have our favorite composers, but who’s your favorite re-composer? If the term is not on your radar, that’s understandable: It’s typically only used in reference to the contemporary classical auteur Max Richter, who, back in 2012, turned his postmodern, post-minimalist ears to Vivaldi’s masterpiece, e Four Seasons, and created Recomposed. Structured, like Vivaldi’s celebrated 18th-century string concerti, with three movements for each season, plus additional “electronic soundscapes” on the Deutsche Grammophon album where it premiered, Richter’s reimagining of the canonical work won critical acclaim for its mix of inventiveness and historical relevance.
Indeed, it quickly became almost as omnipresent as Vivaldi’s original, used to soundtrack television series as disparate as My Brilliant Friend, Bridgerton, and Chef’s Table. But, as it turned out, Richter wasn’t nished with his time-traveling. In 2022, he released a new album, e New Four Seasons - Vivaldi Recomposed, which had a slightly di erent approach. is Saturday, March 8th, Memphians will be able to hear this latest take on Vivaldi in person, with a live performance by Iris Collective at the Crosstown eater, led by Elena Urioste, the virtuoso violinist featured in Richter’s most recent recording of Recomposed
Urioste, a Philadelphia native, is one of the nest violinists of her generation, having won the Sphinx Competition for young players of minority backgrounds at an early age, then making her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2004. In 2012, she was named a BBC New Generation Artist. And so it was no great surprise when she was recruited to play on Richter’s New Four Seasons album two years ago. But it wasn’t your typical classical recording session.
“ e rst recording [of Recomposed] that Max released was with Daniel Hope as the violin soloist, and it’s just been so unbelievably successful,” she notes, speaking from her current home in London. “It’s performed all the time around the world in all sorts of di erent settings. And I think it’s such a powerful piece, and I think it also attracts a lot of di erent types of listeners. But anyway, the rst recording was so successful that for
its 10th anniversary, Max wanted to re-record the piece with everyone playing on gut strings and using period bows. So he enlisted me for that project, and we all came together and made this recording in December of 2021, with him playing a vintage synthesizer. I don’t know a whole lot about synthesizers, but he spoke very passionately about this one that he used for the project.”
For Memphis gearheads, the internet reveals that Richter used a vintage Moog keyboard, though the model is not speci ed. More to the
Using violins that could have been made in Vivaldi’s era took the piece back to an edgier time.
point, using violins that could have been made in Vivaldi’s era took the piece back to an edgier time. “All of us were on gut strings, using Baroque bows. So it was cool to combine looking backwards and implementing historical performance techniques, feeling the purity of sound that gut strings a orded us, but also combined with what Max spoke of as a punk aesthetic. He really enjoyed the grittiness of using this sort of equipment. So I think it all came together in a really cool way, and we’re very proud of the recording.”
Indeed, the new version seems to loom large in the composer’s own view. As he told writer Clemency BurtonHill, “I see this as a multidimensional project. It’s a new trip through this
text using Vivaldi’s own colors, so you have di erent eras talking to one another.” He further re ected on using the ethnically diverse Chineke! Orchestra to back Urioste. “It’s also recomposing the social structure of our classical music culture to some extent, and focusing on di erent perspectives, which is really exciting and important to me,” he said. “I don’t see this as a replacement, but it is another way of looking at the material. It’s like shining a light through something from a fresh angle … as if a layer of dust has been blown o .”
It was a profound experience for Urioste. “Since we made the recording, I’ve performed it in a lot of di erent scenarios, sometimes with Max. We played it in Berlin and in a pavilion in London for Earth Day, using ampli cation. And then I’ve also played it really bare bones, just acoustically, even without the synthesizer. So this Iris performance will be the latter. ere won’t be synthesizer. We won’t be ampli ed. It’ll just be the strings, just the music itself. But I think it works so beautifully in all of these di erent forms.”
e show will also be a homecoming of sorts for Urioste, who’s been associated with what is now the Iris Collective for years, culminating in her appearance as a featured soloist with them on a violin concerto by Korngold. “I did so many concerts with the Iris Orchestra in my early 20s,” she says, “and when I went back to play the Korngold seven years ago, there was a real sense of returning to a very healthy place, and I’m hoping to see some familiar faces there on this visit. I hope I see people who I knew back in the day.”
Beyond that, she looks forward to bringing the Richter work she knows so well to the land of her birth. “I mean, I am American,” she says, “and it’s always nice to return to home turf. Although, to be honest, the home turf is kind of terrifying for me at the moment.”
PHOTO: CHRIS GLOAG Elena Urioste
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule March 6 - 12
John Williams & the A440 Band
$10. ursday, March 6, 8 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Ashton Riker & The Memphis Royals
ursday, March 6, 8 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Blind Mississippi Morris
ursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Brad Birkedahl
Wednesday, March 12, 7 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Earl “The Pearl” Banks
Tuesday, March 11, 7 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Flic’s Pics Band
Led by the legendary Leroy “Flic” Hodges of Hi Rhythm.
Saturday, March 8, 4 p.m. |
Sunday, March 9, 2 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB FreeWorld
Sunday, March 9, 8 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Ghost Town Blues Band
Friday, March 7, 8 p.m. |
Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Memphis Jones
Friday, March 7, 4 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Memphis Soul Factory
ursday, March 6, 4:30 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
The B.B. King’s Blues Club Allstar Band
Friday, March 7, 8 p.m. |
Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m. |
Monday, March 10, 8 p.m. |
Tuesday, March 11, 8 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Vince Johnson
Monday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. |
Tuesday, March 11, 6:30 p.m.
RUM BOOGIE CAFE
The Orchestra
Unplugged: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Join music director Robert Moody of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as he takes you into the mind of Beethoven and into his most famous score. $50.75.
ursday, March 6, 7:30-9:30
p.m.
HALLORAN CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS & EDUCATION
5 Fridays of Jazz
Deborah Swiney kicks o this month of great jazz at the library.
Friday, March 7, 6:30 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL
LIBRARY - MEMPHIS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Almost Famous
Saturday, March 8, 10 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Full Metal Racket
Sunday, March 9, 7 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Julia Cruz Magness
Tuesday, March 11, 9 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)
Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Luke Smith Band
ursday, March 6, 9 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Memphis Rhythm Revue
Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.
HUEY’S POPLAR
Mid-South Jazz Trio
Saturday, March 8, 6 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Open Mic Night with Rooster’s Jam Band
Monday, March 10, 9 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
The Deb Jam Band
Tuesday, March 11, 6 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
The Mixers
Sunday, March 9, 4 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
The Super 5Anniversary Show
Friday, March 7, 10 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Thumpdaddy
Friday, March 7, 8 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Trouble No More
(Allman Bros. Tribute)
Wednesday, March 12, 9 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Van Duren
e singer-songwriter, a pioneer of indie pop in Memphis, performs solo. ursday, March 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
MORTIMER’S
Almost Elton John & the Rocketmen
Friday, March 7, 7 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
American Motors With Cherry Smoke, Jadewick [Small Room-Downstairs]. Monday, March 10, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Autumn Nicholas
Acclaimed Americana artist Autumn Nicholas is a gi ed songwriter and performer. She is one of Music Forward Foundation’s Emerging LGBTQ+ Artists for 2023.
$20. Saturday, March 8, 7:3010 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Beethoven Club
Concert: Roy Brewer, Flamenco Guitar e performance will include a amenco guitar performance and a discussion of the art form. Sunday, March 9, 3-4:15 p.m.
BEETHOVEN CLUB
COURTESY HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
Rachel Is Kozi
Bird and Byron
With Kenny Sharp, Walt Phelan Band [Big RoomUpstairs]. Friday, March 7, 9 p.m.
HI TONE
Bluff City Bandits
Saturday, March 8, 9 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Carlos Ecos Band
Saturday, March 8, 5 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Daisychain With Joybomb, e Storyline [Small Room-Downstairs]. Sunday, March 9, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Devil Train
Bluegrass, roots, country, Delta, and ski e. ursday, March 6, 9 p.m.
B-SIDE
Generation X Friday, March 7, 10 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Girls Night Out Women in the Arts Networking Mixer
Presented by Women in Memphis Music (WiMM). Wednesday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.
B-SIDE
Heartbreak Hill Trio
Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.
HUEY’S MIDTOWN
Ignominious With Grave Lurker, Axcromancer [Small RoomDownstairs]. Tuesday, March 11, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
JD Westmoreland Band
Monday, March 10, 10 p.m.
B-SIDE
Jimmy Davis & the Tennessee Screamers
Saturday, March 8, 3-6 p.m.
B-SIDE
Joe Restivo 4
Guitarist Restivo leads one of the city’s nest jazz quartets.
Sunday, March 9, noon.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Jon Hart & the Vollintines Album Release Show
Founding member of e Sultana has released a solo album entitled Ready Williams. With Magik Hours, Recent Future. Friday, March 7, 8 p.m.
B-SIDE
L.J. Cates
Tuesday, March 11, 10 p.m.
B-SIDE
Memphis Dance Music Association
Sunday, March 9, 10 p.m.
B-SIDE
Mothcat
With Skorts, San Salida. Sunday, March 9, 8 p.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
Mystrio
Sunday, March 9, 7 p.m.
B-SIDE
Proving Ground (Widespread Panic Tribute)
Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m.
GROWLERS
R&B Only Live
A DJ-driven event where audiences can sing, dance, and enjoy a nostalgic journey through R&B music’s greatest hits and modern favorites. $56.81/general admission. Friday, March 7, 7:45 p.m.-1 a.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Recomposed: Elena Urioste & Iris Collective Violinist Elena Urioste returns to Iris as soloist and leader for Recomposed, Max Richter’s take on Vivaldi. $30/general admission. Saturday, March 8, 7:30 p.m.
CROSSTOWN THEATER
Shara’s Songwriter Showcase
Sunday, March 9, 5 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Speaker Girl
With Soultru, Avon Park, Radar Blips. Saturday, March 8, 7 p.m.
B-SIDE
PHOTO: COURTESY CROSSTOWN ARTS
Autumn Nicholas
The Amity Affliction
Since 2020, the band has returned to their heavier side, with a global stream tally surpassing 460 million and counting. $32.50/general admission. ursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
The Dirty Nil
With Grumpster, MX Lonely. Sunday, March 9, 7 p.m.
GROWLERS
The Pinch ursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Toska
With Fuck You, Joe!, Window Dinosauria. 21+. Friday, March 7, 8 p.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
Traitors - Phobias Tour
With Crown Magnetar, Yosemite In Black, rosary, Divisive. Friday, March 7, 7 p.m.
GROWLERS
Trend The World Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Will Graves and Soul
Reunion
A concert and birthday celebration. A er nearly a decade of absence, Will Graves and Soul are reuniting. Will has long been recognized as a premier vocal talent in Memphis, including winning the Grammy showcase sponsored by the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy. Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
2025 Night Train Gala
With the vibrant theme “Rock the Red,” this unforgettable evening will take you on a journey through Black music history, featuring live performances, themed food and drinks, and more. Free. Saturday, March 8, 7-11 p.m.
STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC
Best of Elvis: The Greatest Hits e Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Weekend continues with this concert featuring Elvis’ greatest hits. $42/ reserved seating. Saturday, March 8, 7 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
Eras of Elvis: All Shook
Up e Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Weekend starts with this concert, featuring the Elvis songs that made us all get up and dance. $42/ reserved seating. Friday, March 7, 7 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
Jacob Paul Allen
Friday, March 7, 7 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Rachel Is Kozi is St. Louis singersongwriter writes deeply personal and inspiring songs drawing from her experiences as a yoga teacher, hiker, and global traveler. With Fearless Dave and the Tsunamis, Screamer. $10. Saturday, March 8, 7 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY
Rice Drewry Collective With Drew Skills Grew.
Saturday, March 8, 4-6 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
The Double D’s Sunday, March 9, 6 p.m.
HUEY’S SOUTHAVEN
Victoria Pride With Donna Leggett. ursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Memphis Symphony Orchestra: The Stories of Scheherazade Lunchbreak Concert
Skillful musicians whisk you away to the fantasy world of 1001 Arabian Nights with selections from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade Suite, along with live storytelling. $10/general admission. Friday, March 7, noon-1 p.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
The Java Trio Sunday, March 9, 6 p.m.
HUEY’S MILLINGTON
The Pretty Boys Sunday, March 9, 6 p.m.
HUEY’S OLIVE BRANCH
CALENDAR of EVENTS: March 6 - 12
ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“2024 Accessions to the Permanent Collection” is series honors the new additions to the museum’s permanent collection throughout each calendar year. Tuesday- Sunday, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. rough Nov. 2.
METAL MUSEUM
42nd Juried Student
Exhibition is year, Rose Smith, photography curator at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, was selected to choose the artworks featured in the 2025 show by students from the U of M art and design department. rough March 7.
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
“A Journey into the Shadows”: Nelson Gutierrez
Colombian-born artist Gutierrez confronts the realities of migration and displacement through a striking visual language of shadow and movement, using threedimensional cutout drawings. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
“All Rise: Memphis Bar Association at 150” rough arresting objects and powerful images, the exhibition will showcase the Memphis Bar Association’s historical signi cance and continuing relevance. rough March 29.
MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
“Beasts Abound”: A Figurative Group
Exhibition
Inspired by the hungry spirit Bukowski describes in “Beasts Abound in Time,” this exhibit captures a moment when it’s exciting to be a gurative artist. Friday, March 7-March 21.
MARSHALL ARTS GALLERY
Bob McCabe:
“Discovering Painting: It’s Never Too Late!”
Join the artist’s journey exploring watercolor, then acrylic, and most recently oil painting. rough March 8.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Carlyle Wolfe Lee:
“Wonder” is artist’s practice is devoted to a deeper connection with her natural environment, especially the exchange of color and light that occurs in her surroundings. rough March 22.
DAVID LUSK GALLERY
Chris Antemann: “An Occasional Craving” Antemann re-envisions the concept of porcelain gural groupings with cheeky ceramic sculptures that parody the dynamics between men and women. rough April 6. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
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.
“The Colors of the Caribbean”: Juan
Roberto Murat Salas
Murat Salas, a Cuban-born painter trained at the San Alejandro Academy of Arts in Havana, brings the rich visual traditions of his homeland to life through bold colors and dynamic compositions. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
Thomas Dambo’s “Trolls: Save the Humans”
International Paper presents this larger-than-life fairy tale, in which art and nature intertwine. rough May 21.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Thomas Jackson: “Chaotic Equilibrium” Jackson harnesses the wind to create ethereal works that blur the boundaries between landscape photography, sculpture, and kinetic art. rough April 28.
“Double Vision: Abstract vs. Realism” –Works by Sandra Horton and Becky McRae is exhibition combines Sandra Horton’s vibrant and colorful abstract paintings and Becky McRae’s photographs, many taken while traveling abroad. Free. ursday, March 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Friday, March 7, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Monday, March 10, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Tuesday, March 11, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Wednesday, March 12, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. rough March 28.
WKNO
“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.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY AT THE PINK PALACE
“Faster Than Light: The Dream of Interstellar Flight”
Visit the planetarium to take virtual rides aboard spacecra of the future, based on whole new technologies, designed to achieve ultra-high speeds, using exotic next generation rocket fuels. rough May 23.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY AT THE PINK PALACE
Floyd Newsum: “House of Grace”
Large paintings on paper and maquettes for public sculptures that represent the artist’s interest in social practice. rough April 6.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
“From the Ashes:” Maritza Dávila-Irizarry
Featuring both new and salvaged works, “From the
Ashes” integrates printmaking, mixed media, photography, video, and remnants from the re that destroyed the artist’s studio. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
Jennifer Watson: “Small Spaces”
e artist incorporates three-dimensional enameled copper sculpture into highly designed, jewel-like paintings that mix overlapping and colliding geometries with animal and plant imagery. rough April 13.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Johnathan Payne: “Regenesis”
e artist works at the abstract intersection of drawing, collage, embroidery, beadwork, and painting. rough March 22.
CLOUGH-HANSON GALLERY
“Let’s Eat!” An Exhibition by Carolyn Moss and Georgia Smith Hospitality is over owing and interwoven through paintings created collaboratively by the artists. Each brings a unique style and ambience to the table. rough March 8.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Memphis Camera Club: Best of 2024 Exhibition
e Memphis Camera Club (MCC), one of the oldest and most active photography organizations in the region, is proud to present the nest photographic works created by MCC members over the past year. rough March 28.
ANF ARCHITECTS
“Memphis Skies: What’s That in Our Night Sky?” Hop through constellations, learn cool star names, and groove to planetarium space music in this full dome audio-
Spring Break Camp activities take place throughout the city during the week of March 10th.
visual experience. rough May 23.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY AT THE PINK PALACE
“Opposites Abstract”: A Mo Willems Exhibit is exhibit gives children the opportunity to “make some silliness and take art seriously at the same time.” – Mo Willems. Free. rough May 18.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS
“Pompeii: The Exhibition”
In a media-rich, object-based immersive experience, discover the bustling commercial port and strategic military and trading center that was Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius erupted. rough April 13.
GRACELAND EXHIBITION CENTER
Sisters of the Brush and a Brother: “Paint Their Dreams” Exhibition
Featuring works by Phyllis
Boger, Patrick McGee, Barrie Foster, Ann Brown omason, and Jana Jones. rough March 31.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
“Spirit of ’74, Fire and Water”
An exhibit uniting two St. Mary’s Class of ’74 alums, Mary Hills Baker Powell and Katie Dann. Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. rough April 3.
BUCKMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
“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
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Tributaries: Rachel David’s “Engorging Eden”
A solo exhibition by Rachel David that transforms everyday furniture into fragmented expressions of life’s chaos, joy, and loss. rough May 11.
METAL MUSEUM
“Who Is That Artist?”
Jorden Miernik-Walker Explore photography-based work through interactive components, created speci cally for the exhibit, that speaks to function, loss, identity, comfort, and femininity. rough April 6.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
ART HAPPENINGS
“Beasts Abound”: A Figurative Group Exhibition - Opening Inspired by the hungry spirit Bukowski describes in “Beasts Abound in Time,” “Beasts Abound” is a distinct moment in space and time, an instant where it’s exciting to be a gurative artist. Friday, March 7, 7-9 p.m.
MARSHALL ARTS GALLERY
Temple of Souls Art & Vintage Shoppe
Jana Wilson, the artist behind Vintagia Memphis, presents this well-curated art sale. Friday, March 7, noon-5 p.m. | Saturday, March 8, noon-5 p.m. | Sunday, March 9, noon5 p.m.
VINTAGIA MEMPHIS
Yas Ma’am Iconic Art Show
e Crown Her Iconic Creative Club’s unique experience centered around art and music with a feminine touch, with
continued on page 20
PHOTO: COURTESY WKNO GALLERY
“Double Vision” pairs the photography of Becky McRae (le ) with paintings by Sandra Horton (right).
PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
continued from page 19
interactive art, affirmation walls, and Caribbean music. Sunday, March 9, 6-9 p.m.
MEDICINE FACTORY
BOOK EVENTS
Catherine Coleman Flowers: Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope
The author will speak with state Representative Justin J. Pearson about her inspiring collection of essays, both personal and political. Tuesday, March 11, 6 p.m.
NOVEL
CLASS / WORKSHOP
Birding Basics Course
Fields Falcone and Malle Carrasco-Harris will teach you how to categorize and identify birds by sight and sound. The course will include class time and field work. $45. Tuesday, March 11, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
Bookbinding for People Who Are Lazy and Cheap
Learn to make your own one-of-a-kind journal using simplified techniques and inexpensive materials. Wednesday, March 12, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
CASEY’S ARTBOX
Community Build Day
Calling all space cadets, ETs, and star-seeds! Help create an otherworldly space. Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
OFF THE WALLS ARTS
Enamel: Scratch it and Pack it
A fine metals and jewelry class focused on specific projects while students learn metalworking techniques, ideal for those interested in creating small-scale or finer pieces. Saturday, March 8, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
METAL MUSEUM
Epicenter’s Innovate Xcelerate Hackathon
This hackathon focuses on innovative solutions in climate tech, clean energy, cybersecurity, logistics, medtech, and other unique creative solutions that drive positive change in local communities. Friday, March 7-March 9.
EPICENTER MEMPHIS
Evening Astro-Watch
A night of stargazing with Memphis Astronomical Society with views of the luminaries, planets, galaxies, and constellations that continue to capture our imaginations. Family-friendly! Free. Friday, March 7, 5-7:30 p.m.
OFF THE WALLS ARTS
Export 101: Money
Flow
Memphis musicians and artists: It’s time to get your stuff in order. This workshop is designed to help you prep for tax season and beyond.
CALENDAR: MARCH 6 - 12
Flower Tots: Storytime at the Garden
The book of the week will be In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer. Thursday, March 6, 10 a.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Hattiloo’s School’s Out Spring Break Camp
The perfect place for kids in grades 1 to 8 to explore acting, dancing, and storytelling! Kids will unlock their self-expression and creativity while making new friends. $200. Monday, March 10-March 14.
HATTILOO THEATRE
Memphis Parks Spring Break Camp Campers ages 5-15 will enjoy arts and crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, and a St. Patrick’s Day party. Box lunches are included. Monday, March 10-March 14.
ORANGE MOUND COMMUNITY CENTER
Memphis Parks Spring Break Camp Campers ages 5 to 15 will enjoy arts and crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, and a St. Patrick’s Day party! Box lunches are included. Monday, March 10-March 14.
ED RICE COMMUNITY CENTER
Free. Tuesday, March 11, 6-7:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Figure Drawing (Nude Model)
Figure Drawing is back by popular demand. Artists of all levels can practice and increase their skills drawing the human form at Memphis’ art museum. $18/general admission. Thursday, March 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Lunchtime Meditations
Visit the Dixon for free meditation sessions every Friday. Friday, March 7, noon-12:30 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
MIG Welding I
MIG welding joins two pieces of similar metals using high heat. These welding classes are designed for students with little to no prior experience. Saturday, March 8, 9 a.m.-noon. | 1- 4 p.m.
METAL MUSEUM
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation offers a powerful way to cultivate clarity and presence, allowing us to live more fully and compassionately. Thursday, March 6, 5:15-6:15 p.m.
DELTA GROOVE YOGA
Super Saturday - Still Lifes
Celebrate Women’s History
Month at Super Saturday by creating a vibrant mixedmedia still life inspired by the works of iconic artists Mary Sims and Florine Stettheimer. Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-noon.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Vegetable Seed Starting
Take the first steps towards growing a garden. $25/general admission. Sunday, March 9, 1-3 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Watercolor Basics Class by Rhonda Grammar
Create a breathtaking watercolor painting under the guidance of Tupelo, Mississippi, watercolor artist Rhonda Grammar. $35/per person. Tuesday, March 11, 6-8 p.m.
CASEY’S ARTBOX
COMEDY
Bluff City Liars Improv
One of the city’s greatest comedy ensembles. [Small Room-Downstairs]. Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m.
HI TONE
Comedy Night with Ben Pierce
A hilarious open mic experience. Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Loudmouth Comedy
A comedy storytelling show [Small Room-Downstairs]. Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.
HI TONE
Open Mic Comedy Night
A hilarious Midtown tradition. Tuesday, March 11, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Small Room Improv
It’s improv comedy in the small room of the HiTone! $10/general admission. Thursday, March 6, 7:30-9 p.m.
HI TONE
COMMUNITY
Girls’ Night Out: Women in the Arts Networking Mixer
The perfect space to share ideas, spark new opportunities, and build your creative community. Free and open to all women creatives. Wednesday, March 12, 6:308:30 p.m.
B-SIDE AT MINGLEWOOD HALL
Health Screenings
Customers are encouraged to come to Whitehaven for a free health screening and medical checkup. Friday, March 7, 10 a.m.-noon.
WHITEHAVEN BRANCH LIBRARY
Memphis Habitat Procurement Bid Meeting
Memphis Habitat extends this Invitation to Bid on certain items and services for new home construction in 2025. Wednesday, March 12, 11 a.m.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER MEMPHIS
Weed Wrangle
Help remove invasive species from the woodland. Free. Friday, March 7, 9 a.m.noon.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Women in the Arts
Demonstrations, classes, an artist market, and two dynamic panel discussions. All ages welcome. Free. Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
DANCE
Dancing with the Stars America’s favorite dance show. $50-$137. Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m.
ORPHEUM THEATRE
EXPO/SALES
Mid-South Military & Civil War Show
Everything a collector could ask for. You’ll find quality relics from the American Revolution through the Vietnam era. See historical documents, antique weapons, artifacts, and historians. Friday, March 7, 1 p.m. | Saturday, March 8, 9 a.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Second Saturdays Vendor Market
Support local businesses and discover a variety of unique goods, art, crafts, and more.! Sunday, March 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
DRU’S BAR
Spring Market
Over 200 vendors, with food, home decor, and trendy fashion and accessories to help you get ready for the spring. Friday, March 7-March 9.
AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL
FAMILY
CodeCrew Spring Break Camp 2025
An exciting and educational way for your middle schooler to spend spring break: A week of tech fun! $250/ camper. Monday, March 10-March 14.
SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Enchanted Forest Day
A day full of magical foliage, enchanting crafts, and a whimsical scavenger hunt. Wednesday, March 12, 1-3 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Memphis Parks Spring Break Camp Campers ages 5 to 15 will enjoy arts and crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, and a St. Patrick’s Day party. Box lunches are included. Monday, March 10-March 14.
BERT FERGUSON COMMUNITY CENTER
Memphis Parks Spring Break Camp Campers ages 5 to 15 will enjoy arts and crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, and a St. Patrick’s Day party! Box lunches are included. Monday, March 10-March 14.
GASTON COMMUNITY CENTER
Memphis Parks Spring Break Camp Campers ages 5 to 15 will enjoy arts and crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, and a St. Patrick’s Day party. Box lunches are included. Monday, March 10-March 14.
HICKORY HILL COMMUNITY CENTER
Memphis Parks Spring Break Camp Campers ages 5 to 15 will enjoy arts and crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, and a St. Patrick’s Day party! Box lunches are included. Monday, March 10-March 14.
GAISMAN PARK
Pre-School Story Time Enjoy stories, songs, art activities, and creative play that connect with Collierville history. Friday, March 7, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
Spring Break Camp Campers will fuel curiosity through hands-on activities, experiments, games, and more. Participants should bring a sack lunch and water bottle. $175. Monday, March
PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Now is the time to start your vegetable seeds. Learn how at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
10-March 14.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Spring Break Community Book Fair
Free books for all ages, story explorations, and chances to meet amazing authors all aimed to get children and families reading. Tuesday, March 11, 3-7 p.m. THE GALLERY
Story Time at Novel
Recommended for children up to 5 years, Story Time at Novel includes songs and stories, featuring brand-new books in addition to wellloved favorites. Saturday, March 8, 10:30 a.m. | Wednesday, March 12, 10:30 a.m. NOVEL
Trolls & Trowels: Family Play Day at the Garden Spring activities at the Garden! Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
FILM
A Wider Angle Film Series: My Little Sister
A 2020 film written and directed by the Swiss “twin-engine” duo Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond. Tuesday, March 11, 6 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Cities of the Future 3D
Imagine stepping 50 years into the future and finding smart cities designed to be totally sustainable. Renewable energy is our primary power source, and space-based solar power provides energy. Through May 23.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Oceans: Our Blue Planet 3D
A global odyssey to discover the largest and least explored habitat on earth. New ocean science and technology has allowed us to go further into the unknown than we ever thought possible. Through May 23.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Space: The New Frontier 2D
From self-assembling habitats, commercial space stations, and rockets without fuel to the Lunar Gateway to deep space. Through May 23.
MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
The Films of Stan Brakhage with an original live score by Cloudland Canyon
Featuring a curated collection of the film pioneer’s short works, scored by electronic-psychedelic band Cloudland Canyon, accompanied by a septet of players from the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
CROSSTOWN THEATER
FOOD AND DRINK
Memphis Black Restaurant Week KickOff Tasting
Memphis is rich in diversity, and we want to celebrate the wealth. New Memphis is excited to host the Black Restaurant Week Kick-Off Tasting! Free. Wednesday, March 12, 6-8 p.m.
MUD ISLAND RIVER PARK
Memphis Whiskey Warmer
Bundle up in a whiskey wonderland benefiting Volunteer Memphis, with 50+ types of whiskey, bourbon, and scotch from around the world — plus cigars and tasty food. Presented by Crown Royal. Friday, March 7, 6 p.m.
THE KENT
Memphis Wine Society Grand Tasting: Burgundy
Experience the elegance of Burgundy at this grand tasting event hosted by the Memphis Wine Society. Immerse yourself in the iconic wines of this famed French region with an exceptional selection. $75. Thursday, March 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Midwives & Mimosas: Women Who Deliver CHOICES is hosting a Midwives & Mimosas Brunch: a Celebration of the Women Who Deliver — incredible midwives and the families they care for. Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Women’s Day Mixer
In honor of International Women’s Day, grab your ladies for interactive games, intimate discussions, dinner, and dessert. $60. Sunday, March 9, 2-4 p.m.
SUFI’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL & BAR
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Taijiquan with Milan Vigil
This Chinese martial art promotes relaxation, improves balance, and provides no-impact aerobic benefits. Ages 16 and older. Free. Saturday, March 8, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Wednesday Walks
Take a casual stroll around the Old Forest paved road. Wednesday, March 12, 4-5 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
LECTURE
Munch and Learn: Sit on It
A lecture by Jorden Miernik-Walker, Interactive Gallery featured artist. Wednesday, March 12,
noon-1 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
PERFORMING ARTS
Slayful Sundays Delicious drinks, amazing music, tasty food, and your favorite performers. Sunday, March 9, 6 p.m.
DRU’S PLACE
SPORTS
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Phoenix Suns Monday, March 10, 7 p.m.
FEDEXFORUM
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz Wednesday, March 12, 7 p.m. FEDEXFORUM
Memphis Hustle vs. Salt Lake City Stars
The G-League Affiliate of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. Sunday, March 9, 1 p.m. | Tuesday, March 11, 7 p.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Memphis Hustle vs. South Bay Lakers Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Demanding 6 Who said “A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting” 10 Croque-monsieur ingredient
___ View (streaming site)
“Dies ___”
Beer purchase 16 Kind of alcohol
“The Twits” author
Nike rival
Ornately decorated money? 22 Perfervid
Snowcapped, say
March meant to end a drought? 30 Oven handle? 31 Adamant refusal 32 Mistake indicator
Yellow card displayers 36 Lists of commands 37 Building site code?
38 AC/DC single with the lyric “Watch me explode” 39 Israeli president who was the author of 11 books
Commotion 41 Bumper version of a cart?
Fireplace receptacle 46 Beginnings 47 What the trees by Walden Pond provided? 51 Frequently cosplayed scifi character
52 Socially aware, modernly 53 Yellowish color 57 Bend over backward
Some 59 Member of an early 20th-century French art movement 60 Pick up 61 [Been there, done that] 62 Let go DOWN 1 A word before you go
“I’m trying to work here”
Vegan source of
Mischievous trick
Modern locale of ancient Sumer 8 Home to Interstates H-1, H-2 and H-3
Takes
Morrighan’s Bluff, Amtgard of Memphis Medieval/fantasy live action roleplay game. Join the adventure. Saturday, March 8, noon W. J. FREEMAN PARK
THEATER
BPACC Youth Theatre: Children of Eden
The musical from Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked) and John Caird (Les Miserables) follows Adam and Eve’s descendants and examines how a family’s bond can withstand storms and strife. $20/adult, $15/youth. Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, March 9, 2 p.m.
BARTLETT PERFORMING ARTS AND CONFERENCE CENTER
Twelve Angry Jurors
Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and the participants become twelve angry jurors. The jurors’ final verdict and how they reach it will keep you on the edge of your seat! $26/adults, $21/seniors 60+, $16/students, $16/teachers, $16/military, $10/sensory friendly. Friday, March 7, 7:30-9:30 p.m. | Saturday, March 8, 7:30-9:30 p.m. | Sunday, March 9, 2:30-4:30 p.m. GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
Whether they were talking about it or eating it, “gumbo” was on everybody’s lips at the Tennessee Equality Project Gumbo Contest, held February 16th at the Memphis Sports and Events Center.
More than 200 people turned out for the event, which featured 11 teams, says Dabney Ring, an event committee member.
It was the project’s 12th gumbo contest, Ring says. “It went well,” she says. “We had a bigger crowd and raised more money than last year. It’s important because the money raised goes for state and local advocacy for the LGBTQ community.”
And, she says, “Not only do we talk with our state reps and senators, but we also do outreach and education all over the state, including — and probably most importantly — the rural areas that don’t really have a lot of resources. So, we try and provide everything that we can.”
As for how much money they raised, Ring says, “We raised above expectations.”
AD and the Vibe played music to eat gumbo by.
below: (le to right) Tammy Ackers, Trinita Williams, Khalil Carey, and Crystal Turner; Stephanie Wilson and Pat McCooter; Sister Squeegee Jubilee of Blue Suede Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence bottom row: (le to right) Alex Jamerson, Anthony Perez, and Michael Pohlman; Scott Haynes and Nico Ozment
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE above: Deedee Johnson, Meetesh Patel, Brie Gri th, Cory Redwine, and Marisa Gri th circle: Dabney Ring
above: June West, Jim Cole, and Anne Barriere circle: Bruno Farris
below: (le to right) Eli Townsend and Ashley Moore; Laura Elliott; Joy Borbolla and Maniae Valentine; Christian Assandria
right row: (top and below) Amanda Hicks and Geo Knowlton; Austin Rowe and Sage Cotten bottom le : Arnold Medal, Savannah Je rey, and Kristie Je rey
FOOD By Michael Donahue
The Proof Is in the (Banana) Pudding
What you didn’t know about that yellow dessert.
Except for a few years when I was little, I’ve never met a banana pudding I didn’t like. Growing up, I went from liking bananas to hating them. I couldn’t stand the taste or the texture. But tastes change. As time went on, I still preferred the custard to the bananas in the pudding, but I gradually became more accepting of the other half of the dessert’s name.
Over the years, I’ve taken banana pudding for granted. But now I want to know more about it. And I knew if anybody could tell me about banana pudding and its place in Southern cooking, it would be the James Beard Award-winning author and chef Martha Foose, whose cookbooks include Screen Doors and Sweet Tea. Plus, she lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Foose told me that Gulfport, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast, is a “super major” banana port. “If it’s got ‘Chiquita’ on it, it’s coming up from the coast,” she says.
As for the origin of banana pudding, Foose says, “Once bananas got their stronghold, and polite society gured out ways to put them in their mouth without it looking like a banana, that’s kind of how banana pudding started gaining popularity.”
She believes banana pudding originally was a “back of the vanilla wafers box” recipe. But banana pudding recipes changed over time, like when the “ u y dairy topping” products like Cool Whip and Dream Whip were introduced. is enabled dairy toppings to stay whipped instead of dissolving in desserts like banana pudding.
“Banana pudding is one of those things that keep evolving. ere’s a big whipped cream vs. meringue school. I’m a total meringue school. I like meringue.
You’ve already got extra egg whites from putting the yolks in the custard if you’re making it homemade.”
Plus, she adds, “I don’t like dairy on top of dairy. e custard is dairy enough.”
en there’s the “controversy” over vanilla wafers in banana puddings. “ ere are two schools of thought on the whole Nilla Wafer vs. vanilla wafer.”
Nilla Wafers are the Nabisco brand.
e “common man’s” wafers are Jack’s Vanilla Wafers and the cheap generic food service type of vanilla wafers, she says. e food service varieties were the ones used in banana puddings in elementary school cafeterias. ey’re “a little more yellow and squishy, where Nilla Wafers have got a little more snap to them.”
ere are other options than just using vanilla wafers in banana puddings, Foose says. “If you want to go completely crazy at anksgiving, use ginger snaps.”
She adds, “Now the big in-vogue thing is for you to use those little Pepperidge Farm Chessmen.”
ese domino-shaped short bread cookies, which are imprinted with chess gures, can be arranged on top of a banana pudding “like a little chessboard.”
Another controversy is the “sweetened condensed milk school of thought” as in “It needs to be in banana pudding,” Foose says. “I think, ‘No.’ Banana pudding should be like it is.”
Foose also isn’t a fan of big pans of banana pudding. She likes the individual serving dishes. Otherwise people are going to pick out the cookies or pick out the bananas. en you just “end up with a swamp.”
As for the bananas themselves, Foose says the Cavendish banana is the most
popular commercial variety. “It’s the quality that makes it shipped the most,” she says. “It’s one that can be shipped green. And its skin is sturdy enough. All those things.”
But Cavendish bananas might not be so prevalent in banana pudding as in the past. “ ey’re having problems with blight,” says Foose. “ ey’re trying to nd a replacement mass market banana. ey’re trying di erent varieties.”
If you want to whip up your own banana pudding, Foose includes a banana pudding recipe in her Screen Doors and Sweet Tea cookbook.
As for me, I’ve personally never made a banana pudding. I rely on restaurants to do that.
Also, banana puddings, to me, are like barbecue. ey all have their nuances that make them di erent.
Here are my impressions of just a few (there are plenty more) made-fromscratch banana puddings in and around Memphis.
One & Only BBQ: I think Millie’s Banana Pudding is“magni cent.” It’s an over-the-top banana pudding, which is almost like a pie. Everything, from the bananas to the vanilla wafers, tastes fresh. According to the menu, it’s “house-made daily with fresh meringue.”
e menu also states that “last year alone, our guests devoured over 8,000 half-pans of Millie’s Banana Pudding.”
e banana pudding at Mortimer’s reminds me of eggnog at the holidays.
ere’s no bourbon in it, but I conjure up a taste of that brown water when I eat this delightfully delicious banana pudding. It makes me wonder what banana liqueur would taste like in a banana pudding. I’m sure that’s been done a billion times. e closest I’ve
come to that is probably in bananas Foster.
Tyler Clancy, owner of Clancy’s Cafe in Red Banks, Mississippi, says his “secret ingredient” in his banana pudding is sour cream. “We put sour cream in it to kind of give it that cheesecake richness,” Clancy says. And it’s so delicious. Perfection. is is where I began topping his banana pudding with vanilla ice cream. Believe me, it doesn’t need it. It’s great as it is.
Central BBQ: I love the crushed vanilla wafers on top of this delicious, creamy banana pudding. Something about it made me recall the taste of the old banana- avored popsicles I used to love back in the 1950s.
Makeda’s Homemade Cookies: Of course, this cookie palace isn’t going to use vanilla wafers in its banana pudding. is super creamy pudding is topped with yummy butter cookies. On the bottom is a “crust” made of crushed butter cookies.
e Cupboard Restaurant: is is the banana-iest pudding I’ve run across. It’s loaded with bananas. I think there are more bananas than vanilla wafers in this banana pudding, which is only available on Fridays and Sundays.
I remarked to my server Leodis Williams about the amount of bananas in e Cupboard’s pudding. He replied, “You’ve got to have a lot of bananas, or it wouldn’t be banana pudding.”
Nate Renner delivered the nal word — for now — on banana pudding. He told me about the banana pudding at a Tennessee potluck he recently attended. He asked me with more than a trace of disgust in his voice, “Would you believe people would serve you warm banana pudding?”
Banana pudding should be cold, he said. “It should never be warm. Ever.”
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE; (CIRCLE) COURTESY MARTHA FOOSE
(le to right) Raven Winton (Makeda’s Homemade Cookies Downtown), Cole Hix (One & Only BBQ), Ashley Anderson (Mortimer’s); (circle) Martha Foose
By Sarai Bennett
Dance Like a Cupcake
is vegan, allergy-friendly bakery will have you busting moves.
rowing up, Alannah Williams watched her younger brother Joshua struggle with many food allergies that prevented him from eating certain foods her family and friends enjoyed. is devastated her — having to constantly watch her brother being le out.
Now, Alannah has her very own business, Dance Like a Cupcake, which provides her customers with sweet treats, including her popular gourmet cookies, that don’t contain eggs, dairy, sesame oil, or nuts for those with food sensitivities — or those who are living a healthier lifestyle.
And she’s doing it all at the age of 18.
Alannah comes from a military family, and for a while they lived in Seoul, South Korea. In Korea, they make most of their food with sesame and peanut oil, two of her brother’s allergens. So, at 10, she was determined to bake something allergenfree, and that is how Dance Like a Cupcake originated overseas. Once her family moved back to the States, speci cally to Memphis, she revived her business.
ALANNAH WILLIAMS
ough Joshua is the biggest motivation behind Alannah’s business, its quirky and catchy name was inspired by her childhood friend. “I started when I was 10 and one of my friends came to an event that I was selling at. She had food allergies, too. She asked for a cupcake, and I gave her one. She was so happy because it didn’t have any allergens that she started dancing,” Alannah says. “So, anytime anyone eats my dessert, I tell them to dance like a cupcake because of how good it tastes.”
Alannah’s bakery has been in business since 2016, but she faced a few hardships in the beginning. “I think the biggest [challenge] would be my age because people don’t take me seriously, or they
didn’t take me seriously when I started,” says Alannah. “And the second [challenge] would be the stigma around vegan desserts. ey think it doesn’t taste as good or it’s too healthy.”
She did not let the criticism stop her because Dance Like a Cupcake has made a huge impact in her customers’ lives — especially those who have food allergies.
“Just listening to her story about her little brother, I think that there’s de nitely a population of individuals who would like to enjoy those type of sweets, but not have to worry about this type of ingredient that [they] can’t eat,” says Brian Ford, a loyal Dance Like a Cupcake customer who lives in Colorado. “My wife and daughter have food allergies, so that’s another thing that kind of drew me to her because they can’t eat certain things with di erent ingredients in them.”
Most of Alannah’s customers see her business as not only providing people with healthier treats, but also educating and making more individuals aware of people who have food sensitivities.
“When businesses like this come and bring things to the table that we aren’t used to, we should embrace that. We should embrace the information, the knowledge that businesses like Alannah’s have because they are willing to share,” says Jasmen Richmond, a Dance Like a Cupcake customer and nutrition educator. “Not only is she selling a product, but she’s also giving back and supporting the growth of our community.”
For young bakers, ages 8 to 22, wanting to learn how to master vegan desserts, Alannah even o ers an internship program. “It’s really [about] being creative, helping out Dance Like a Cupcake, and getting to know other people in the community,” says Alannah.
Right now, Alannah does not have a physical location, so she sells her desserts at events and several restaurants around Memphis, like City Silo and Cx eeblack. And she ships her gourmet cookies nationwide through her website (dancelikeacupcake.org). She plans to branch out soon.
Alannah’s most supportive customer is, of course, her brother Joshua, the one who inspired it all. “I really like the fact that my older sister created a business in my image, thinking about me and my allergies. And about all the other kids around the world who can’t really eat desserts like me,” says Joshua.
His favorite cookie, he says, “has to be oatmeal raisin. I love the oatmeal raisin cookie, especially with the glaze on it.”
February 1-May 21
May 16 – 18, 2025
PHOTOS:
Photo courtesy Atlanta Botanical Garden
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INTO ROUTINES
New year, new possibilities! More than one-third of our community is at higher risk of life-threatening conditions due to obesity. Whether you want to lose some extra weight, try healthier recipes or live a more active lifestyle, Healthier 901 is here to help. Join us in the 1,000,000-pound challenge and help build a healthier Mid-South. Download our free wellness app to track your progress, find events, access discounts and more – all at no cost. Make 2025 your year and join the movement today.
The Depths of Pisces
arch is here and that means we’re halfway through Pisces season, a time we’re encouraged to shi our focus inward, as water signs like to do. Mysticism and dreaminess are at the core of tender-hearted Pisces, a mutable water sign. eir emotions ow and shi constantly, making it di cult for them to settle on a permanent decision. Pisces are incredibly imaginative and o en nd themselves daydreaming. But don’t underestimate them, once they commit to a feeling or idea, they can swi ly break free from anything that holds them back. As the last sign of the zodiac, they carry the wisdom of an “old soul” and have much to share.
our wild side blends with our tame side. is theme of unity can also be found in the towers, which symbolize the practical life most of us lead, while the path between them reminds us of the more meaningful life we desire. is is true to the nature of Pisces, who are always dreaming of something more fantastic than what is in front of them. e water on this card symbolizes the subconscious. e crustacean emerging from it represents “coming into consciousness” and the possession of psychic abilities, which is o en true of those born under Pisces.
When e Moon card appears, it can indicate a time of emotional and mental trial for the querent. ey may act on impulses that seem logical at the time, only to later question their actions with confusion. It’s a period when their mind plays tricks on them, making it an unsuitable time for decisions that require rational thought and clarity.
A sensitive water sign, Pisces is represented by two sh, o en called “the shes with wishes” due to their powerful imagination and creative spirit. If you’re seeking kindness and empathy, look no further — Pisces is the most compassionate sign of the zodiac. Ruled by Neptune, the God of the Sea, these dreamy sh are spiritual and intuitive.
With this mutable water energy, it’s no wonder that the tarot card associated with Pisces is e Moon. With Pisces as its ruling sign, this card represents visions and illusions, madness, genius, and poetry. At its darkest, this card can be daunting, warning of hidden enemies, mental illness, and addiction issues. However, at its best, e Moon signi es genius, mental breakthroughs, astonishing creativity, powerful magic, and intuition. I o en refer to it as my “Van Gogh card.”
Like Pisces, e Moon card is associated with the subconscious and o en highlights idealism, suggesting that things are not as they may appear. It also represents our secretive side or “shadow self.” e dog and wolf on the card represent how
e Moon card can also signal a tumultuous period for relationships, marked by whirlwind romances that are intense but unreliable. For families and friends, it’s a time of emotional ups and downs. is card represents the eerie, dreamy realm where the most powerful and dark magic and artistic talents reside. It symbolizes the extreme personalities who walk the ne line between artistic genius and madness. Here we nd the wild, unpredictable individuals who create groundbreaking works with pen or paintbrush. ese are the musicians with intense mood swings, battling dark depressions and charming manic episodes. ey have no inhibitions and o en disregard societal norms, resulting in behavior that can be both inspiring and unsettling, even sometimes dangerous. Yet, the art, poetry, and music they produce is nothing short of magic. e Moon is certainly a double-edged sword. e realm of this card is where seers, mediums, and spiritual leaders nd themselves a er extensive fasting, prayers, and meditation — nally achieving that holy vision. It is the enchanted forest of fairy tales, the mythic wasteland where heroes encounter spirits, oracles, sphinxes, and their own shadow selves. is otherworldly domain is unpredictable, and its in uence on us is profound and transformative. Don’t be afraid of e Moon, but tread intentionally through its waters. 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.
PHOTO: VVICTORI | DREAMSTIME.COM
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Animal Antics
A Starbucks employee in Mobile, Alabama, had to have stitches and rabies vaccinations on Jan. 10 after a pet Aotus monkey jumped out of a car at the drive-thru window and into the restaurant, according to Lagniappe . The monkey ran up the employee’s arm to her head and started biting her until a co-worker grabbed it and threw it back out of the window. Mobile Police Department public information officer Blake Brown said the monkey’s owner Tammy Elaine Gardner drove away from the restaurant before police arrived. The wounded employee said Gardner, who had another monkey in the car, later returned to the restaurant to check on her but wouldn’t give her name. “The owner of the animal could face charges,” Brown said. The Starbucks location has banned Gardner and her monkeys from the drive-thru. “She’s welcome to come inside if she leaves them in the car,” the employee said.
Wait, What?
Jose Israel Teran Jr., 21, was taken into custody on Jan. 19 in connection with a road rage incident in San Antonio, KSAT-TV reported. In that confrontation, Teran allegedly shot a man in a semitruck while driving north on I-35. But it was Teran’s earlier criminal activity, on Dec. 30, that really had law enforcement’s attention. He was accidentally added to a family group text string that day, in which members were discussing a 9-month-old baby’s upcoming baptism. Teran replied to the text, “That’s a nice Caucasian baby how much you want?” He went on to ask, “Are you not interested in selling? I’m willing to start the bid at 500k.”
The baby’s father called Teran, who explained that he purchases babies for their organs and could pay in cash or bitcoin. Teran told police he thought the group thread was spam, but he was charged with the purchase and sale of human organs.
Truth Is Stranger Than Netflix
A 3-year-old girl who was visiting Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia, on Jan. 17 was bitten by a dingo, ABC reported. The Queensland Park and Wildlife Service said the girl was bitten on the back of a leg as her family strolled the beach. The family said they
were regular visitors and had scanned the beach for dingoes, but “dingoes are quick and it happened suddenly,” said head ranger Linda Behrendorff. Other people came to assist in fighting the dingo off using a kayak paddle. The toddler didn’t go to the hospital and is expected to recover.
Questionable Judgment
A housekeeping crew on a P&O Cruises Australia ship took passengers by surprise in December when they paraded by the ship’s swimming pool wearing their all-white uniforms with pointy white hoods, News.com reported on Jan. 22. The eight crew were dressed as upside-down snow cones, but passengers were horrified and were quick to document the incident on social media. “We were like, ‘Are we seeing this correctly?’ It was so bizarre,” said one cruiser from Melbourne. Lynne Scrivens, communications director for the cruise line, said the housekeeping crew are from all over the world and had never heard of the Ku Klux Klan. “They are limited with what resources they have on ships,” she said, explaining that they make do with what they can find for costumes. P&O Cruises Australia issued an apology following the event: “The crew members were horrified.”
Recent Alarming Headline
A plastic surgeon in Taipei City, Taiwan, is being called the “bravest man in Taiwan” after he shared on social media that he had performed his own vasectomy, Oddity Central reported. Chen Wei-nong recorded the surgery for educational purposes and presented the 11 steps necessary to complete the procedure. “It was a strange feeling to touch and suture my own urethra,” he wrote. He reassured followers that the surgery was performed outside of work hours and under the supervision of a urologist, and while he experienced some discomfort following the vasectomy, he felt fine the next day.
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The world’s darkest material is Vantablack. This superblack coating absorbs 99.96% of visible light, creating a visual void. It has many practical applications, like improving the operation of telescopes, infrared cameras, and solar panels. I propose we make Vantablack your symbol of power in the coming weeks. It will signify that an apparent void or absence in your life might actually be a fertile opportunity. An ostensible emptiness may be full of potential.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Among their many sensational qualities, rivers have the power to create through demolition and revision. Over the centuries, they erode rock and earth, making canyons and valleys. Their slow and steady transformative energy can be an inspiration to you in the coming months, Taurus. You, too, will be able to accomplish wonders through the strength of your relentless persistence — and through your resolute insistence that some old approaches will need to be eliminated to make way for new dispensations.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Centuries before European sailors ventured across the seas, Polynesians were making wideranging voyages around the South Pacific. Their navigations didn’t use compasses or sextants, but relied on analyzing ocean swells, star configurations, cloud formations, bird movements, and wind patterns. I bring their genius to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are gaining access to new ways to read and understand your environment. Subtleties that weren’t previously clear to you are becoming so. Your perceptual powers seem to be growing, and so is your sensitivity to clues from below the visible surface of things. Your intuition is synergizing with your logical mind.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): The Maeslant Barrier is a gigantic, movable barricade designed to prevent the flooding of the Dutch port of Rotterdam. It’s deployed when storms generate surges that need to be repelled. I think we all need metaphorical versions of this protective fortification, with its balance of unstinting vigilance and timely flexibility. Do you have such psychic structures in place, Cancerian? Now would be a good time to ensure that you have them and they’re working properly. A key factor, as you mull over the prospect I’m suggesting, is knowing that you don’t need to keep all your defenses raised to the max at all times. Rather, you need to sense when it’s crucial to assert limits and boundaries — and when it’s safe and right to allow the flow of connection and opportunity.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The authentic alchemists of medieval times were not foolishly hoping to transmute literal
Rob Brezsny
lead and other cheap metals into literal gold. In fact, their goal was to change the wounded, ignorant, unripe qualities of their psyches into beautiful, radiant aspects. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to do such magic. Life will provide you with help and inspiration as you try to brighten your shadows. We all need to do this challenging work, Leo! Now is one of your periodic chances to do it really well.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Cosmic rhythms are authorizing you to be extra demanding in the coming days — as long as you are not frivolous, rude, or unreasonable. You have permission to ask for bigger and better privileges that you have previously felt were beyond your grasp. You should assume you have finally earned rights you had not fully earned before now. My advice is to be discerning about how you wield this extra power. Don’t waste it on trivial or petty matters. Use it to generate significant adjustments that will change your life for the better.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In North America, starlings are an invasive species introduced from Europe in the 19th century. They are problematic, competing with native species for resources. They can damage crops and spread diseases that affect livestock. Yet starlings also create the breathtakingly beautiful marvel known as a murmuration. They make mesmerizing, ever-shifting patterns in the sky while moving as one cohesive unit. We all have starling-like phenomena in our lives — people, situations, and experiences that arouse deeply paradoxical responses, that we both enjoy and disapprove of. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be prime time to transform and evolve your relationships with these things. It’s unwise to sustain the status quo. I’m not necessarily advising you to banish them — simply to change your connection.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Buildings and walls in the old Incan city of Machu Picchu feature monumental stone blocks that fit together precisely. You can’t slip a piece of paper between them. Most are irregularly shaped and weigh many tons. Whoever constructed these prodigious structures benefited from massive amounts of ingenuity and patience. I invite you to summon some of the same blend of diligence and brilliance as you work on your growing masterpiece in the coming weeks and months. My prediction: What you create in 2025 will last a very long time.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Bioluminescence is light emitted from living creatures. They don’t reflect the light of the sun or moon, but produce it themselves. Fireflies do it, and so do glow-worms
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): No cars drove through London’s streets in 1868. That invention was still years away. But the roads were crammed with pedestrians and horses. To improve safety amidst the heavy traffic, a mechanical traffic light was installed — the first in the world. But it had a breakdown a month later, injured a police officer, and was discontinued. Traffic lights didn’t become common for 50 years after that. I believe your imminent innovations will have better luck and good timing, Pisces. Unlike the premature traffic signal, your creations and improvements will have the right context to succeed. Don’t be shy about pushing your good ideas! They could revamp the daily routine.
and certain fungi. If you go to Puerto Rico’s Mosquito Bay, you may also spy the glimmer of marine plankton known as dinoflagellates. The best time to see them show what they can do is on a cloudy night during a new moon, when the deep murk reveals their full power. I believe their glory is a good metaphor for you in the coming days. Your beauty will be most visible and your illumination most valuable when the darkness is at a peak.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn-born Shah Jahan I was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 to 1658. During his reign, he commissioned the Taj Mahal, a magnificent garden and building complex to honor his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This spectacular “jewel of Islamic art” is still a major tourist attraction. In the spirit of Shah Jahan’s adoration, I invite you to dream and scheme about expressing your devotion to what you love. What stirs your heart and nourishes your soul? Find tangible ways to celebrate and fortify your deepest passions.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Over 2,100 years ago, Greek scientists created an analog computer that could track astronomical movements and events decades in advance. Referred to now as the Antikythera mechanism, it was a unique, groundbreaking invention. Similar machines didn’t appear again until Europe in the 14th century. If it’s okay with you, I will compare you with the Antikythera mechanism. Why? You are often ahead of your time with your innovative approaches. People may regard you as complex, inscrutable, or unusual, when in fact you are simply alert for and homing in on future developments. These qualities of yours will be especially needed in the coming weeks and months.
FILM By Chris McCoy
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Global power politics and American jazz greats collide in this Oscar-nominated documentary.
Last weekend’s Academy Awards ceremony saw many rsts. Sean Baker became the rst person to win four Oscars for a single lm, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Screenplay (previous record holder: Walt Disney). Best Supporting Actress Zoe Saldana became the rst DominicanAmerican to win an Oscar. Paul Tazewell’s work on Wicked made him the rst Black man to win Best Costume Design. Best Animated Feature Flow became the rst movie from Latvia to win an Academy Award. In the documentary category, No Other Land’s co-director Basel Adra became the rst Palestinian lmmaker to win an Oscar. e lm has another, more dubious distinction: It is the rst feature in recent memory to win without securing a distribution deal in the United States.
pean colonial empires collapsed. Meanwhile, the United States and the Soviet Union had begun the 50-year nuclear stando known as the Cold War. e
e fact that no distributor would touch a documentary co-directed by a Jewish Israeli (journalist Yuval Abraham) and a Palestinian which calls for peaceful coexistence between the two peoples is a shocking state of a airs, one that hopefully an Oscar statuette will soon change. But our information environment has always been more subject to manipulation than we would like to admit.
at’s one of the themes of Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, the Oscar-nominated documentary by Johan Grimonprez. Of all of the lms about international diplomacy, this one sounds the grooviest.
In the 1950s, fallout from the end of World War II meant that waves of new countries were being created as Euro-
“First World” of the capitalist West saw the communist East as dead set on expanding their economic and social revolutions. Meanwhile the “Second World” of the communist Eastern Bloc saw a capitalist West that was actively seeking their downfall. Both sides were, in their own way, correct.
e emerging nations were caught in the middle. Collectively, they became known as the ird World.
By 1960, the emerging nations, which included India, threatened to outnumber the First and Second worlds in the United Nations. e two blocs competed for the allegiance of the third world nations in a variety of ways.
Sometimes, that meant fomenting an actual rebellion led by ideologically simpatico local politicians. But more o en, it was by so power. e previ-
ously colonized peoples of Central Africa were hungry for American music. So the State Department decided to give it to them. Louis Armstrong became America’s jazz ambassador and embarked on a series of goodwill tours through Africa. At one stop in what was then the Belgian Congo, he was mobbed at the airport and played an impromptu show to tens of thousands of people, backed by a local marching band who was on hand to greet him. More government sponsored tours followed, including such jazz luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Nina Simone, and Abbey Lincoln. Not coincidentally, around this time the Belgian Congo became just Congo, declaring independence in January 1960. Patrice Lumumba won the rst election as prime minister, despite the fact that he was in a Belgian jail at the
time for inciting an anti-colonial riot. Lumumba was a savvy politician who understood that the emerging nations of Central Africa could play both sides of the Cold War o the other. He dreamed of creating a United States of Africa that would consolidate the peoples and resources of the central continent into a powerful nation. When he visited the U.S., he was rebu ed by President Eisenhower but welcomed in Harlem by Malcolm X and John Coltrane.
Grimonprez crosscuts the complex story of Lumumba’s rise and fall with the musicians and artists who were sucked into the intrigue. Armstrong realized he was being used and threatened to immigrate to Ghana. Roach and Lincoln led a protest that turned into a brawl in the United Nations Security Council. Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev, who ought to know, said that Lumumba was not a communist. CIA chief Allen Dulles, who appears smoking a pipe and dripping evil, admitted that he may have overreacted when the CIA assisted the counterrevolution led by now-infamous dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’s stylish use of memoirs by people who were there, as well as copious archival footage, seeks to tame the sprawling Congo Crisis. But you can be forgiven if you end the lm with your head spinning from all the details. It’s the expertly curated playlist of mid-century jazz and R&B that keeps things on track and provides the lm’s beating heart.
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is now available on VOD via Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.
PHOTO: COURTESY KINO LORBER Patrice Lumumba
Our critic picks the best films in theaters.
Mickey 17
Director Bong Joon-ho’s long-awaited follow-up to Parasite stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, a down-on-his-luck everyman who signs up for a job as an expendable employee on the deep space colony Nilfheim without reading the fine print. He’s sent into impossible situations and monitored as he dies, so the colonists can learn from his demise. Then, his body is fed into the recycler and his clone is reincarnated for the next mission. This goes fine until he is accidentally cloned twice, and Mickey 17 meets Mickey 18.
Anora
After the historic Oscar sweep for director Sean Baker and star Mikey Madison, the
Best Picture winner returns for a victory lap at Malco Ridgeway. Ani Mikheeva (Madison) meets Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn) in a Brighton Beach strip joint. She immediately starts trying to take the son of a Russian oligarch for all he’s worth, but then, when he sweeps her off her feet for a Las Vegas wedding, she dares to believe the dream could be real.
Queen of the Ring Arrow’s Emily Bett Rickards stars in this biopic of Mildred Burke, the first female professional wrestler in American history. The Kansan broke into the sport in the 1930s, wrestling 200 men and only losing once. Josh Lucas stars as Billy Wolfe, her trainer/husband who became her bitterest rival. American Satan creator Ash Avildsen directs.
Investing Wisely
A uni ed vision for healthcare and public safety.
Our city and county face a di cult yet pivotal decision: how to allocate our limited resources in a manner that not only meets urgent needs but also sets the stage for long-term prosperity and safety. With mounting pressure to build both a new jail and a new hospital, it is imperative that we evaluate every option to maximize public bene t without burdening taxpayers or risking unnecessary expenditures.
Jeffrey Warren
At the heart of the hospital debate is the existence of a private, not-for-pro t facility — Methodist University Hospital — which currently operates under capacity. Meanwhile, plans for the new community trauma center, Regional One Health Medical Center, call for development on the site of the former Commercial Appeal building. is site is also a potential toxic waste dump that would require extensive and expensive environmental remediation. With these realities in mind, one must ask: Is constructing an entirely new hospital the wisest use of public funds, or is there a more strategic, scally responsible alternative available?
A promising and forward-thinking solution is to merge the proposed Regional One Medical Center with Methodist University Hospital to create a single, robust University Medical Center. is uni ed entity would leverage the signi cant strengths of each institution. e UT Health Science Center — our largest state medical school — already plays a vital role in the operation of both hospitals. By consolidating these institutions, we can enhance medical training, streamline services, and ultimately ensure that residents receive the highest standard of care. A uni ed system would facilitate better coordination of specialized services, reduce redundant administrative overhead, and eliminate unnecessary duplication of costly infrastructure.
Adding to the strength of this proposal is the fact that I have received an overwhelming number of supportive comments from multiple medical administrators and physicians. ese experts, with rsthand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities in our healthcare system, have commended the wisdom of merging our resources. eir endorsements underline a shared vision for a more e cient, responsive, and innovative healthcare delivery model that can better serve our community’s needs.
Moreover, this strategic merger would free up funds by avoiding the exorbitant costs associated with building a new hospital on a contaminated site. e savings could then be redirected to another critical area: modernizing our county jail at 201 Poplar Avenue. e current jail facility is not only outdated but also fails to meet the operational requirements of both law enforcement agencies and the broader justice system. A modern, secure, and e cient jail would not only bolster public safety but also facilitate improved rehabilitation and support programs, bene ting both inmates and the community as a whole.
Relocating the jail would also bring signi cant economic and developmental advantages to Downtown Memphis. e existing facility, along with its aging adjacent structures, has long sti ed the potential of our central business district. By moving the jail to a more suitable location, we would unlock new avenues for economic growth and revitalization. is move could attract fresh investments, stimulate local businesses, and create a more vibrant and welcoming urban environment for residents and visitors alike.
Before any irreversible decisions or costly demolitions — such as tearing down the old newspaper o ce — are made, it is crucial that a thorough investigation is conducted. To that end, I urge the County Commission, the hospitals involved, and the university administration to form a dedicated committee. is committee would be tasked with a comprehensive review of the merger proposal, weighing the bene ts against potential risks, and ensuring that every aspect is carefully considered. Such a measured approach would prevent hasty expenditures and safeguard our community’s nancial health while ensuring that we are investing in solutions that o er the greatest long-term returns.
In addition, this proposed committee would serve as a platform for ongoing dialogue between policymakers, medical experts, and community stakeholders. By fostering collaboration and transparent discussion, we can re ne our strategy to ensure that the uni ed medical center not only meets current healthcare demands but is also well-positioned to adapt to future challenges. It is essential that every step of this process be guided by evidence-based insights and a clear understanding of the scal and societal impacts involved.
Ultimately, the merger of Methodist University Hospital with the proposed Regional One Medical Center is not merely a consolidation of facilities; it is an investment in a visionary approach to healthcare and public safety. It represents a commitment to scal prudence, operational e ciency, and the well-being of our community. By thoughtfully balancing the immediate need for improved medical and correctional facilities with long-term strategic planning, we can create a model of integrated public service that bene ts everyone.
Now is the time to think strategically, collaborate extensively, and invest wisely in a future that strengthens our healthcare system, revitalizes our Downtown, and secures a safer environment for all citizens — without imposing new tax burdens. Let us move forward with a plan that re ects both our immediate needs and our commitment to sustainable growth.
Je ery Warren is a member of the Memphis City Council, representing Super District 9 Position 3. THE LAST WORD By
PHOTO: (LEFT) MEMPHISTN.GOV; (BELOW) THOMAS R MACHNITZKI | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Memphis City Council member Je rey Warren; (below) 201 Poplar
