PHOTO
Robert Petko as Harold Zidler and the cast of the North American tour of Moulin Rouge!
THE ROYAL HELLO
SHARA CLARK Editor-in-Chief
ABIGAIL MORICI Managing Editor
JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors
TOBY SELLS Associate Editor
KAILYNN JOHNSON News Reporter
CHRIS MCCOY
Film and TV Editor
ALEX GREENE Music Editor
MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers
GENE GARD, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, PATRICIA LOCKHART, FRANK MURTAUGH
Contributing Columnists
SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER Grizzlies Reporters
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KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher
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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Fall Arts Guide
This season brings us visual arts, dance, theater, opera, and so much more.
PHOTO: MATTHEW MURPHY
“I’m Flying.” (from left) Reed Epley as Michael, Hawa Kamara as Wendy, Nolan Almeida as Peter Pan
Drew Holcomb’s Homecoming
The Bluff City native brings it all back home to the Mempho Music Festival. p18
PHOTO: ASHTIN PAIGE
The Return of Zinnie’s
The iconic Midtown bar reopens October 3rd. p24
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE
& OPINION
FLY-BY - 4 POLITICS - 8 AT LARGE - 9 FINANCE - 11 COVER STORY
“FALL ARTS GUIDE” BY ABIGAIL MORICI - 12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WE RECOMMEND - 17 MUSIC - 18
AFTER DARK - 19 CALENDAR - 20 NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 21 WE SAW YOU - 23 FOOD - 24
NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 26 ASTROLOGY - 27 FILM - 28 CLASSIFIEDS - 30 LAST WORD - 31
THE fly-by
MEM ernet
Memphis on the internet.
PREACHING POLITICS
Federal law says churches could lose their tax-exempt status if they preach politics from the pulpit. at didn’t stop Alton R. Williams from unleashing a sermon called “Seeing the Election rough God’s Eyes” last week.
In it, Williams painted Kamala Harris (and mispronounced her rst name like Trump does) as a socialist, said the government is coming for people’s guns, that one political party (wink, wink) is letting immigrants in (including from the Middle East, which is “nothing but terrorists”), that “they” are setting the stage for a race war between Black and brown people, with abortion “they’ll kill a baby in a minute,” and just so much more.
Maybe he mentioned Donald Trump over the hour-long sermon. We just couldn’t hang around that long to nd out. But the “Why Trump?” section of the church’s website will tell you all you need to know.
Any cops out there enforcing the Johnson Amendment?
MONONEON GOLD
MonoNeon gave Trump his unique treatment a couple of weeks ago and it’s simply amazing. e Memphis musician overdubs viral video clips with his bass. For example, Trump’s debate screed about immigrants eating pets transforms into a funky R&B thing with soaring background vocals.
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
{ ENVIRONMENT
By Kailynn Johnson
xAI and Environmental Justice
Groups slam deal to bring supercomputer here without public comment.
Community leaders and advocacy groups here called for more transparency surrounding Elon Musk’s xAI project, a project they openly oppose because of its negative environmental impact and disproportionate e ect on minority communities.
ese leaders gathered in front of the Downtown Memphis Commission o ce before a planned private meeting between xAI representative Brent Mayo and the Greater Memphis Chamber. O cials from Protect Our Aquifer, Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), and Young, Gi ed & Green released a joint statement saying Mayo has “ignored requests for dialogue and demands for transparency from the community.”
our children’s children, and the future of our children’s children’s children,” Cooper-Sutton said.
In July, the groups asked city leaders to deny an electricity deal for the project and demanded a public review of the project by signing onto a public letter from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). at letter said Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) requested the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provide 150 megawatts of power to xAI. SELC said this demand is enough to power 100,000 homes.
Many condemned the Chamber for its lack of transparency, speci cally to those in the Black community. LaTricea D. Adams, founder, CEO, and president of Young, Gi ed & Green, said the Chamber exhibited exclusionary, experimental, and racist practices.
“As a Memphian by choice and birthright I am deeply troubled by the decision made by the [Greater Memphis Chamber] to bring xAI to a Black community with absolutely no community engagement, particularly from the Black residents who will be directly impacted,” Adams said.
Memphis City Councilwoman Yolanda CooperSutton, representative of District 3, called the company “monstrous” and said it was disappointing to nd this out through the media. She said taxpayers deserve to have a seat at the table like the elite of the city.
“We as a people here in Memphis — a predominantly Black city, the poorest of the poorest — have not been allowed to be engaged in this [issue] that is going to impact our lives, the future of our children, the future of
Paul Klein, co-chair of the Memphis and Mid-South chapter of the Climate Reality Project, further outlined how minority communities and those living in South Memphis are disproportionately a ected by climate change. He said South Memphis has four times the cancer rate compared to the rest of the city and there were 17 toxic release facilities prior to xAI’s announcement.
“We feel that it is imperative to require that xAI put their promises in writing, such as their commitments to enlarge our wastewater treatment plants and then to use only treated wastewater for cooling,” Klein said. “It needs to be in a legally enforceable community bene t agreement.”
KeShaun Pearson, president of MCAP, said the best case scenario is that the Chamber uses its in uence to change how xAI operates in the community and to include the community to in uence more sustainable operation. But he said city leaders making decisions without community input is “business as usual.”
“We can no longer do business as usual in the city of Memphis, Tennessee,” Pearson said. “ is way of moving does not move us forward. It continuously connects us to fossil fuels. It continuously oppresses the family and communities that need the most support and help.”
Advocates said they will continue to call out organizations that aided in bringing the project to Memphis without the community’s input.
Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for a fuller version of this story and more local news.
POSTED TO YOUTUBE BY WORLD OVERCOMERS CHURCH
POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY MONONEON
PHOTO: FRÉDÉRIC LEGRAND | DREAMSTIME.COM
Elon Musk’s project to bring the supercomputer to Memphis has still seen very little public scrutiny. Groups want to see promises in writing.
Oct 4th & 19th
The Buffet just got better with an all-you-can-eat crab legs spectacular! Join us for mouth watering snow crab legs plus all your southern favorites for this limited time only!
Oct 4 | 4pm - 10pm Oct 19 | 11am - 11pm $36.99 per person
{ STATE WATCH
By Toby Sells
Carmack to Crockett
State replacing a statue of a Memphis segregationist editor with a West Tennessee pioneer at the Tennessee State Capitol.
The statue of a historic West Tennessean is planned to rise at the Tennessee State Capitol where the statue of another historic but controversial West Tennessean recently fell.
State lawmakers agreed to erect a statue of David Crockett on the capitol grounds in 2021. Public e orts to do this go back as early as 2012. e idea caught on but was tabled by the legislature in the 2020 session.
nalist, editor, and businesswoman Ida B. Wells. e mob destroyed her newspaper o ce. She was away and stayed away, all according to the Tennessee State Museum.
Carmack was shot and killed by political rivals in Nashville, near where his statue was erected in 1927. It was installed, however, by a prohibition group (Carmack was also a staunch prohibitionist) that thought his big-pro le death could further their cause.
STEVEN M c MAHON’S DRACULA
A Ballet Memphis favorite, this spine-tingling fantasy explores the line between good and evil, life and death, love and madness.
Since the approval of the legislation in 2021, the process has moved along slowly and quietly. e State Building Commission approved the project during its meeting earlier this month. Even that vote was wrapped in a procedure that needed no debate, only the approval of the commission’s sta , which it had. at vote, however, only allowed for the commission of an artist to design, fabricate, and install the monument.
Legislation in 2012 created the David Crockett Commission. at board’s job was to nd the ways and means necessary to create a statue of Crockett on the capitol grounds. Commission members were not to be paid nor reimbursed for travel.
e group was also supposed to nd private backers. e law reads, “No state funds shall [be] expended for such project.” at changed with the 2021 bill. Taxpayers will now foot the $1 million bill for the Crockett statue.
With this, the GOP-led legislature must have faced a quandary in 2020 and 2021. How could they remove a huge historical marker from the capitol as they were ghting to keep so many others (like a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest)?
History, it seems, took care of that. Protestors tore down Carmack’s statue in 2020 during the turmoil following the police killing of George Floyd.
State o cials said at the time the statue had been removed to another location. State law said it had to be replaced. But it’s unclear if it ever was.
Orpheum Theatre | Oct 25 + 26 + 27
Tickets @ balletmemphis.org
HALLOWEEN PARTY
Featuring DJ Zac Ives, gourmet bites and specialty Alma del Jaguar Tequila cocktails. Tickets $80 each or $150 for two. Ticket includes 20% discount off Dracula.
Another notable di erence between the commission law and the new law is the location of the statue. Back in 2012, lawmakers just wanted it on the grounds of the capitol. But that changed in 2018, lawmakers had a more speci c site for the statue: the pedestal above the Motlow Tunnel on Charlotte Avenue on the south steps of the Capitol Building. ere was only one problem. When that legislation was introduced, another statue already sat at the location — the statue of racist, segregationist newspaper editor and politician Edward Carmack. e 2018 bill detailed the fact the Crockett statue was to be “in lieu of the Senator Edward Carmack statue” — that is, removing it and replacing it.
But the suggestion that the statue had to be replaced by state law drew the (10-tweet) ire of pop star Taylor Swi .
Mollie Fontaine Lounge | Oct 19
Tickets @ balletmemphis.org
In his 1800s attire, curly, windswept hair and broad mustache, many who wandered by Carmack’s statue wondered aloud, “Why is there a statue of Mark Twain at the Tennessee capitol?”
But Carmack could not have been more di erent from Twain. For example, Carmack, as editor of the Memphis Commercial newspaper at the time, incited a mob against anti-lynching activist, jour-
“FYI, [Carmack] was a white supremacist newspaper editor who published prolynching editorials and incited the arson of the o ce of Ida B. Wells (who actually deserves a hero’s statue for her pioneering work in journalism and civil rights),” Swi tweeted at the time. “Replacing his statue is a waste of state funds and a waste of an opportunity to do the right thing.”
One of the 2021 bill’s sponsors, Sen. Steve Southerland (R-Morristown), even told e Chattanooga Times Free Press at the time, he “didn’t think it would be possible to remove Carmack.”
e newspaper story said, Southerland “then smiled and then added: ‘Someone removed it for us, so they did us a favor.’”
PHOTO: TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM
An archival photo of the statue of Edward Carmack
For the kid in all of us.
Join us for all the activities and cultural experiences geared toward youth which entertains us all. It is an allday, pay-what-you-can / FREE event with vendors, food trucks, drop-in classes, immersive experiences and unique performances that the entire family will love. Youthcentric, kids of all ages will be amazed by the talents of organizations and young performers alike.
POLITICS By Jackson Baker
Major Changes Pending
Prominent on the ballot will be several referenda aimed at city voters.
Election coverage and various polls keep emphasizing the dead-heat aspects of the national presidential election, but the fact is that, for voters in Memphis and Shelby County, there is minimal suspense associated with the presidential race.
e assumption is that — population demographics, past election performances, and partisan loyalties being what they are — the Republican Trump-Vance ticket should win easily statewide, and the Democratic HarrisWalz ticket should romp locally.
Which is not to suggest that the presidential race won’t a ect other options on the November 5th ballot.
ere will undoubtedly be a carryover e ect from the anticipated heavier turnout of voters expressing their preferences for president.
Clearly, this e ect could be all-important in some races on the Shelby County ballot — especially the showdown in the District 97 race for state representative between GOP incumbent John Gillespie and Democratic challenger Jesse Huseth. is race, for the right to represent Memphis’ upscale Poplar Corridor, is being closely watched for its potential future implications regarding the statewide voter mainstream.
But in the long as well as the short run, the key portions of the local ballot could be four referenda directed at Memphis voters, the outcome of which could be more than usually signi cant.
e most highly publicized of these is City of Memphis Referendum Ordinance No. 5908, a three-parter couched in pollster-like terms that could serve as a potential trigger mechanism for enacting local gun safety measures in the future.
e referendum would serve to measure city voters’ sentiment for reinstatement of carry permits for forearms, for banning the local sale of assault ri es, and for enabling judges to issue extreme-risk (“red ag”) protection orders prohibiting gun ownership by certi ably risky persons.
Ordinance No. 5908, authorized by the city council in light of citizen alarm concerning violent crimes locally, ignited a back-and-forth legal
and rhetorical struggle between city and state authorities, resolved nally by Chancellor Melanie Taylor Je erson in favor of allowing the referendum on the local ballot in the face of threats by state o cials to withhold shared state tax revenues from the city.
Also on the ballot are several provisions involving the city charter that would have direct impact on the conduct of Memphis elections and city government at large.
City of Memphis Referendum Ordinance No. 5884 would strike down the ban of runo s in mayoral and atlarge city races that was established in 1991. e ban was imposed by the late federal Judge Jerome Turner as a safeguard against organized blanket voting against Blacks, then (but no longer) a racial minority.
City of Memphis Referendum
Ordinance No. 5913 would impose a requirement that candidates for Memphis mayor would have to establish legal residence in the city for two years prior to election. is referendum, if passed, would resolve a legal dispute that arose in the mayoral election of 2023 — one that saw the viability of several prominent candidates come under question.
And City of Memphis Referendum Ordinance No. 5893 would “authorize the City Council by ordinance to x and determine the salaries of the Mayor, City Council, Chief Administrative O cer, and Appointed Directors and Deputy Directors.”
This referendum, authorized by the council in light of several recent disputes between itself and the current mayoral administration, would tilt the weight of authority in favor of the council.
The Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation
PHOTO: CITY OF MEMPHIS
Bruce VanWyngarden
Hurricane Blues
“Prayers and Fasting” — a bold new plan for addressing climate change.
Someone created a meme that went viral last Friday, as Hurricane Helene was proceeding to devastate portions of six states. It was a photo of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on a cell phone standing near some trailers and overturned chairs. e caption read: “Hello, President Biden, it’s Ron! May I please have some socialism?”
e meme was being enacted in real life as Helene churned relentlessly across the Gulf of Mexico toward the southeastern U.S. e governors of ve of the soonto-be a ected states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina) had declared a state of emergency two or three days in advance of the storm, asked for federal help, and quickly got it approved by President Biden.
e sixth state? at would be Tennessee, where our cosplaying Christian governor, Bill Lee, decided to take a bold alternative course of action. None of that damn socialism for Bill, nosiree. Last Friday morning — the day the Category 4 hurricane made landfall — Lee asked Tennesseans to participate in a “day of prayer and fasting.” Give me a G—damn break. What criminal incompetence! Friday a ernoon, a er ood waters in eastern Tennessee had destroyed several towns, threatened dams, and put tens of thousands of people out of their homes, 54 patients and sta huddled atop a hospital in rural Unicoi County, Tennessee, awaiting help. Fortunately for them, Virginia and North Carolina rescue workers were able to provide lifeboats and helicopters and get them to safety. Good ol’ Rocky Top? Not so much. Governor Lee nally got around to declaring a state of emergency Friday night. Guess he was hungry from fasting all day?
On Saturday, Lee and GOP Senator Marsha Blackburn surveyed the damage and destruction from an airplane. (Blackburn had spent the day of the hurricane in Michigan, “interviewing” Donald
Trump at a rally.) We can only presume she was also fasting and praying a er voting to shut down the government earlier in the week.
As the remnants of Helene began to dissipate, millions of Americans were le without power, water, and phone service across the Southeast. Roads, homes, businesses, bridges, and other pieces of the infrastructure were ushed downstream. As I write this, the storm has been blamed for at least 120 deaths across ve states, with that total expected to rise as waters recede.
Asheville, North Carolina, which was absolutely destroyed, is 500 miles from the Florida coastline where Helene made landfall and sits at an elevation of 2,134 feet. For reference, Memphis is 325 miles from the gulf and sits at an elevation of 338 feet.
Climate change is here, and all the fasting and prayers in the world aren’t going to x it. We need credible research and forecasting, and science-based information about what we’re dealing with.
e National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the National Weather Service, FEMA, O ce of Ocean and Atmospheric Research (OAR), and other climatological agencies, is responsible for keeping state and local o cials and the public aware of severe weather and other climate-based threats. Without the updates and forecasts from NOAA, Americans would be, well, up a creek. at much would seem obvious … unless you’re a devotee of Project 2025, the GOP’s 920-page policy blueprint for the next administration. Candidate Trump has disavowed it, but it was written by several former Trump administration o cials. Project 2025 devotes a whole four pages to NOAA and the National Weather Service. e section was written by omas F. Gilman, an o cial in Trump’s Commerce Department. e document calls the NOAA a “primary component of the climate-change alarm industry” and says it “should be broken up and downsized.” Project 2025 also says the National Weather Service “should focus on its data-gathering services” and “should fully commercialize its forecasting operations.”
Yeah, that damn climate-change alarm industry is just more socialism! Wake up and smell the ozone, sheeple! ere’s money to be made on the weather! Fox News or X or Newsmax will take over hurricane forecasts and monetize ’em. It will be like fasting and praying about weather emergencies, only with opinions and ads. What could go wrong?
PHOTO: NCDOTCOMMUNICATIONS | CREATIVE COMMONS | VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Henderson County, North Carolina on September 27th
When this year’s Biscuit is baked...
SPEND SUNDAY, OCTober 13TH IN CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI
(Just 27 miles from Cherry Street in Helena) Clarksdale festival, club, and restaurant events at:
• Bluesberry Cafe (8:30am-5:30pm)
• Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art (9am-4pm)
• Ground Zero Blues Club (11am-2pm)
• Hambone Gallery (1pm-3pm)
• Shack Up Inn (2pm-8pm)
• Hooker Grocer + Eatery (6pm)
• Auberge Hostel (7pm)
• Red's Juke Joint (8pm)
• Hopson Commissary (2pm-8pm)
• AND MORE!
HELOC for College?
Think twice before using home equity to fund your child’s college education.
The cost of a college education has risen significantly over the last few decades. The average cost of college tuition and fees at public four-year universities has risen by 179.2 percent over the last 20 years. That’s an average annual increase of 9 percent! At the same time, financial aid has decreased at a rate of 6 percent, need-based grants are down 15 percent, and scholarship awards have declined by 24 percent. If you’re struggling to pay for a child’s college education, you may be tempted to tap into your home’s equity with a home equity line of credit (HELOC). While using a HELOC to pay for college offers some benefits, including the potential for lower interest rates compared to student loans, there are also significant risks. Below are seven reasons to think twice before taking out a HELOC to pay for college.
1. Variable interest rates
Most HELOCs have adjustable interest rates, so the rate you’re paying now may not be the rate you pay in the future. If interest rates rise in the future, your monthly payment could increase significantly. This makes it difficult to plan — and virtually impossible to estimate how much you’ll pay in interest over time.
2. Risk of foreclosure
When you use your home as collateral, you risk foreclosure if you can’t fulfill your debt obligations. If an unexpected financial emergency arises and you’re not able to make payments on your loan, you could lose your home. Before committing to a HELOC, make sure you fully understand the risks and have enough emergency savings elsewhere to protect your home should something unexpected occur.
3. Minimum monthly interest payments
There are two primary time frames associated with a HELOC — a draw period and a repayment period. The draw period refers to the amount of time you have to borrow funds and is typically between five and 10 years. During this period, you don’t need to make principal payments, but you’re responsible for paying interest on your loan. The repayment period is the time frame during which you must make monthly payments to both principal and interest. As noted above, the monthly payment amount will likely fluctuate, based on variable interest
rates. Repayment periods typically vary between 20 and 30 years.
Remember that you’re paying interest throughout the entire life of the loan, during both the draw and repayment periods. The interest can add up to a significant sum over time.
4. Equity becomes unavailable for other purposes
Your home’s equity is a valuable asset. You can use it to purchase a new home, cover the cost of end-of-life care such as a nursing home, or pass it along to your heirs after your death as a financial legacy. Tapping into your home’s equity to pay for college means those assets aren’t available for other purposes, which can put your other future financial commitments at risk.
5. Prepayment penalties
Many lenders charge a penalty for paying back a HELOC faster than your established repayment terms. That’s because paying off your loan early means the lender receives less in interest over time. Before committing to a HELOC, make sure you fully understand all associated fees and potential penalties.
6. Closing costs
HELOCs often carry closing costs, which can quickly add up. Again, it’s important to fully understand all potential fees to determine whether a HELOC makes sense for your particular situation.
7. Ineligible for tax deductions
When used to pay for home improvements, the interest paid on a HELOC is typically tax-deductible. However, it’s important to know that using the money to pay for college doesn’t result in a tax deduction. In contrast, saving in a state 529 plan could both reduce your state income tax at the time of your contribution and offer tax-exempt investment growth.
Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.
Fall Arts Guide
THIS SEASON BRINGS US VISUAL ARTS, DANCE, THEATER, OPERA,
AND SO MUCH MORE.
As the temperatures are cooling down, the Memphis arts scene is heating up — with exhibitions, performances, and unique experiences. See for yourself in our Fall Arts Guide.
ON DISPLAY
“Dear Grandmother”
Heather Howle explores themes of nostalgia and familial connection. ANF Architects, through Oct. 17
“Troubling the Line: New Dimensions in Drawing”
e works of Melissa Dunn, Terri Jones, Paula Kovarik, Mary Reid Kelley, and Patrick Kelley complicate the idea of drawing. Clough-Hanson Gallery, through Nov. 9
“Beyond the Surface: e Art of Handmade Paper”
Handmade paper creations explore the shape-shi ing quality of paper.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, through Dec. 15
“Bracelets, Bangles, & Cu s” is collection of contemporary bracelets reveals the wideranging creativity of artists working in the form.
Metal Museum, through November 17
“A Hidden Culture”
Master Metalsmith Preston Jackson who gives voice to those overlooked in the history books.
“I Saw the Light in Your Eyes” Ceramic sculptors Renata Cassiano Alvarez and Anthony Sonnenberg work through complex ideas of identity through abstraction.
Sheet Cake Gallery, Oct. 12Nov. 23
overlooked a
Metal Museum, through Jan. 26
“ANA•LOG”
Lester Merriweather examines the concept of agency over Black visualization within American popular culture.
Crosstown Arts, fall
“Size Matters”
Alex Paulus’ current series focuses on the juxtaposition of small gures within expansive landscapes. Crosstown Arts, fall
“Our Love Is a Shady Garden” Yanira Vissepó studies the ecosystems between her birthplace in Puerto Rico and adopted home in Tennessee.
Sheet Cake Gallery, Oct. 12-Nov. 23
ON STAGE
“Still”
Michelle Fair’s latest works delve into the process of painting. Crosstown Arts, fall
“Two Rivers” Huger Foote captures the moments when day slowly turns to night from Memphis and the Mississippi Delta to the Hudson River Valley.
David Lusk Gallery, Oct. 8-Nov. 16
e 8th Annual Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: e Comedy of Errors is 90-minute, madcap romp is performed outdoors throughout Memphis. Various locations and dates, through Oct. 20
e Mousetrap
eatre Memphis presents this murder mystery.
eatre Memphis, October 11-27
PHOTO (LEFT): COURTESY GRANT HALVERSON Pilobolus re:Creation
PHOTO (BELOW): COURTESY CROSSTOWN ARTS Lester Merriweather, “ANA•LOG”
PHOTO (BOTTOM): COURTESY METAL MUSEUM Marjorie Schick, Up and Around
Lizzie: e Lizzie Borden Musical
New Moon eatre’s Lizzie is American mythology set to a blistering rock score. eatreWorks@ e Square, Oct. 18Nov.3
e Smell of the Kill is tantalizing dark comedy has malicious housewives and miserable husbands. Germantown Community eatre, Oct. 18-Nov. 3
Amadeus: e Music and the Myth Opera Memphis explores Mozart through the lens of music from the award-winning movie Amadeus. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Michael Feinstein featuring the Carnegie Hall Ensemble
Michael Feinstein pays a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Tony Bennett. Germantown Performing Arts Center, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.
Dracula
Ballet Memphis’ original production builds from Bram Stoker’s novel.
Orpheum eatre, Oct. 25-27
Firebird
Kevin omas boldly reimagines e Firebird
Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Oct. 25-27
Pilobolus re:Creation
Imagination knows no limits with this experimental dance company.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
Variations on a eme: e Tell-Tale Heart & Other Tales to Terrify Opera Memphis, in collaboration with Iris Collective, presents these evenings of music and one-act operas.
Opera Memphis Headquarters, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m. | Oct. 27, 3 p.m.
Rumpelstiltskin
A young girl is locked away until she spins straw into gold.
Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, Oct. 26, 2 p.m.
Moulin Rouge! e Musical
Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary lm comes to life.
Orpheum eatre, Oct. 29-Nov.3
e ree Bs: Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven
Memphis Symphony Orchestra presents.
Crosstown eater, Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m. |
Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Nov. 3, 2:30 p.m.
Iris Collective Orchestra: Transformations
Memphis-native Randall Goosby and conductor and Iris founder Michael
Stern will be joined by the Germantown Youth Symphony.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Taikoproject
Taikoproject traces the history and lore of the ancient Japanese drums.
Buckman Performing Arts Center, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
e Orchestra Unplugged: Leonard Bernstein
Music director Robert Moody of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra guides audiences through the life and legacy of the American Maestro.
Halloran Centre, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.
Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder is family-friendly show takes audiences on a humorous journey of growing up with Junie B. Jones. e Circuit Playhouse, Nov. 8-Dec. 22
Parallel Lives
ARTSassist
In August, ARTSmemphis announced the inaugural distribution of ARTSassist grants to 22 individual artists, providing these artists in dance and visual arts an unrestricted $5,000. is makes it the only unrestricted grant program supporting individual artists in Shelby County.
e program comes as an expansion of a pre-pandemic grant program for visual artists, known as ArtsAccelerator. As ARTSmemphis CEO and president Elizabeth Rouse says, “About 10 years ago, thanks to some local artists in the community who asked questions of us, we began a grant program to support visual artists. … We started with visual artists because at the time, they had fewer other networks of support and fewer other opportunities to be hired.
“But that really, thankfully, put us in a position to launch an artist emergency fund for individual artists in 2020 as artists of all di erent types immediately lost work during the pandemic. And we supported about 800 artists during the pandemic with emergency funding totaling almost a million, right around $900,000. From 2020 through 2023, we focused on emergency and recovery funding, so coming out of 2023 we wanted to reintroduce an unrestricted grant for artists and expand it rather extensively.” at meant bringing on an artist advisory committee made up of Memphis artists to make sure artists’ needs were met, and out-of-town jurors to select the grantees without local bias. at also meant, in addition to supporting the 22 selected grantees, partnering with Indie Memphis to support a lmmaker through Indie Memphis’ Black Creators Forum and partnering with Music Export Memphis (MEM) to support three musicians through its Ambassador Access program.
Two actresses play men and women struggling through the common rituals of modernity. eatre Memphis, Nov. 8-23
e Wizard of Oz
Dorothy isn’t in Kansas anymore.
Playhouse on the Square, Nov. 15-Dec. 22
e Rake’s Progress
Opera Memphis presents Igor Stravinsky’s neoclassical opera.
Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. | Nov. 24, 3 p.m.
NutRemix
New Ballet Ensemble sets e Nutcracker on Memphis’ iconic Beale Street. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 23-24
Peter Pan is high- ying musical comes to Memphis.
Orpheum eatre, Nov. 26-Dec. 1
A Motown Christmas
Celebrate the holiday season with this musical of all your favorite Motown tunes. Hattiloo eatre, Nov. 22-Dec. 22
Twel h Night
Shakespeare’s most charming comedy nds itself on the Tabor Stage.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Dec. 6-22
Bright Star
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s bluegrass
“It was a way for us to be e cient and not create something new, but to support and complement,” Rouse says. “We hope, long-term, to be supporting even more types of artists. But it makes sense, just based on the makeup of artists in our community, that we start out with visual, dance, music, and lm.”
is rst cohort will use their grants in a variety of ways, Rouse says. errious Davis, an illustrator, comic book artist, and occasional muralist, has used his grant money to buy a new computer and tablet. “I had this laptop for close to 10 years now,” Davis says. “It was starting to show signs of its age.” Davis has been developing a comic project called Exodus of Love, premised on the question, “What if Cupid didn’t know what love was?” But not having reliable or capable equipment has been holding him back from making headway. “ e goal will be to make more videos following the development of the comic book project and to give people a chance to follow it from the ground up,” he says. (You can follow Davis’ progress on Instagram @therrothekid.)
Meanwhile, choreographer Dorian Rhea plans to use his grant to fund future movement-based programming at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. “It’s going to be jazz. It’s going to be social dance, known as hip-hop styles, accompanied by excerpts and texts to contextualize the history,” he says. e classes will be for young kids and their parents, an experience that Rhea, as a new dad himself, hopes will “sow the seeds for much more later down the road.”
Rhea will also use his grant to attain a technique certi cation in Giordano dance, a style of jazz that originated in Chicago. “I’m hoping that with bringing that style to Memphis, we elevate the cultural exchange that I think is already taking place [between Chicago and Memphis],” he says. “Knowledge is power. Art is all about telling a story and communicating the narrative, sharing an experience, and so as someone who believes in art activism — using arts as a vehicle for creating change and sparking the catalyst for evolution, growth, progress — the more grounded my work is in the history of those who’ve come before, the richer I can articulate lessons.”
No matter their personal goal, Rouse says, “We know how important it is to have a strong community of artists and to be a city that is a city of choice for artists. ey’re just so critical to our culture and our economy, so … we intend for this to be an annual grant.”
On Monday, in alignment with this goal, ARTSmemphis, in partnership with Music Export Memphis, also announced a new, rst-ever Artist Emergency Fund for local artists, which will support artists in times of unexpected and catastrophic emergency. For more information on both of these grants, visit artsmemphis.org.
COURTESY ARTSMEMPHIS
(top) Dorian Rhea; (bottom) errious Davis continued on page 15
PHOTOS:
continued from page 13
musical tells a story of love and redemption in 1920s and ’40s North Carolina. Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, Dec. 6-8
AROUND TOWN
Come as ou Art
Guests will don their most imaginative attire, either inspired by the night’s theme — the world of Tim Burton — or the spirit of a designer. e evening will be capped o with a fashion show by Sonin Lee. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Oct. 18, 8 p.m.
Art on Fire
Enjoy tastings from local restaurants, live music, thrilling re dancers, and a vibrant art sale — all set around a roaring bon re. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Oct. 19, 7-11 p.m.
Repair Days
Bring your metal items to have them restored their former glory at the Metal Museum’s largest fundraiser, which also includes the Dinner + Auction and Family Fun Day, where visitors can participate in hands-on activities, explore the galleries, and watch metalsmith demonstrations. Metal Museum, Oct. 17-20
RiverArtsFest
e region’s largest and longest running ne arts festival showcasing works from 200+ participating local and national artists returns with an artist market, artists-at-work demonstration station, hands-on artist station, performances, and plenty of food and beverages. Riverside Drive, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
continued on page 16
Andrea Morales: “Roll Down Like Water”
Andrea Morales has been making photographs since she was a child, and yes, “making photographs” is the right phrase here. Not taking photographs, capturing, or shooting. For Morales, these words are too aggressive to describe a process that is about building trust and intimacy between the photographer and the photographed individuals, or, as Morales calls them, her collaborators.
She’s been working in Memphis as a photojournalist for a decade now, making photographs of the community. You probably recognize her name from her work as the visuals director at MLK50: Justice rough Journalism, but she’s also been featured in e Atlantic, e Wall Street
Journal, Rolling Stone, and TIME Magazine, among many others.
Now, to add to her impressive resume, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has opened an exhibit of 65 of her photographs of Memphis and the surrounding region, titled “Roll Down Like Water.”
Taking its name from Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s nal speech in Memphis, in which he said, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” the exhibit, says its curator Rosamund Garrett, is “a portrait of America through Memphis.”
“ ere are some tremendously famous photographers from this area,” Garrett says, “but I really feel that Andrea looks at things through a very fresh lens, and she looks at this region very directly, very earnestly, in a way that still allows the magic of this place to come through.”
But in this exhibit, not appearing in a publication with someone else’s byline, a headline she didn’t choose, or quotes she didn’t pull, the photos can stand alone. “It does feel like something’s being restored, I guess,” Morales says. “I’m struggling with identifying exactly what, but it feels like something’s restored. It’s like back to that feeling of the moment [of making the photo] because you have that moment and then you kind of have to tuck it away because this photo has to exist in this one context [of an article]. But this is all existing in the context of me and Memphis right now.”
“Roll Down Like Water,” Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, on display through January 2025.
PHOTO: COURTESY ANDREA MORALES
Andrea Morales, Southern Heritage, 2017
Asleep at the Wheel, this legendary band brings their toe-tapping music with songs like “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” & “Miles and Miles of Texas.” Always a Blast… ALMOST GONE!
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
OCT. 12 / 7:30P.M.
We All We Got
Binghampton is putting on a play. e actors are young and old, some seasoned and many freshly-minted to the spotlight. Kids at Carpenter Art Garden are building scenic elements, and community members are tuning their instruments for a show their stories helped create.
It all started over a year ago when the Orpheum eatre Group launched its Neighborhood Play Program. A er working with the Refugee Empowerment Program in Binghampton, making original plays out of participants’ stories, Orpheum sta “realized one of their favorite moments in it was when they got to step out of their story and play the characters that were in other people’s stories,” says Taylor St. John, Orpheum’s director of education and engagement. “ ere’s something powerful about telling your own story, but there’s also something powerful about participating as a community in a ctional story.”
So came the Neighborhood Play Program, through which the Orpheum partnered with various organizations and formed “story circles” to create a neighborhood play. “For six months or so, we got people in a circle and asked them questions about their community, things that they found beautiful, things that they found challenging,” St. John says.
ese stories, in turn, would be the inspiration for the ctional story that playwright Ann Perry Wallace, author of the one-woman play Live Rich Die Poor, would weave. ey then presented this ctional story in another round of story circles for feedback.
JOHN MCEUEN & THE CIRCLE BAND
“May the Circle Be Unbroken”
NOV. 16 / 7:30P.M.
Founding member of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. John McEuen’s concert includes old time music to John’s original & Nitty Gritty songs to a “Circle” album tribute. Acoustic music on overdrive!
CHAPEL HART CHRISTMAS
NOV. 22 - 23 / 7:30P.M.
Chapel Hart returns with their signature upbeat country, plus original & traditional holiday songs. Seen on America’s Got Talent & Grand Ol’ Opry. A vocal powerhouse...watch these rising stars!
BRIGHT
STAR
By Steve Martin & Edie Brickell
DEC. 6, 7 / 7:30P.M. — DEC. 8 / 2:00P.M.
“Bright Star,” a bluegrass musical, tells a true story of love & redemption set in 1940’s American South. With beautiful songs BRIGHT STAR is genuine & daringly hopeful. Not to be missed!
Bollinger
“I felt like I had a lot of responsibility to deliver something that was representative of what I had heard,” Wallace says. “You are responsible for these stories that have been told, you are responsible for putting out this image of the people, and so that is a weight that I carry with honor and take seriously. ere’s nuance. And so I’m having to hold all of that in a way that gives dignity where dignity is due and have to show the complex struggles where they are present. It is a dynamic place, and I hope for people to see the intricacies, or just a snapshot of those intricacies come out.”
As for the plot of the play, titled We All We Got, St. John says, “ e story itself centers on two young Black girls living in the neighborhood, one from a generational home and one living in the apartments who’s a refugee, and how they navigate the world and encounter all of the various characters of Binghampton.”
e hope, both St. John and Wallace point out, is to highlight the di erent experiences within Binghampton. “It’s one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Memphis,” St. John says. “ ere’s over 20 languages spoken there, and so we really tried to honor the stories that do not otherwise get highlighted.”
With all those di erences, St. John adds, “It’s been exciting, in the last couple weeks, to see all those people from all those di erent groups that do di erent things and have very di erent beliefs and sometimes cultures now all be in the same room, and we’re all working on this thing together, and it just feels like a great exercise in community.
“We think it’s so important that the people in Binghampton can hopefully see themselves in this play, or see re ections of their ideas and other stories in this play. But it’s also really important that as a city, we’re able to come together [by seeing the play].”
e play is set to premiere in November, with community members acting both in the scenes and behind the scenes. Already, just watching rehearsals has Wallace “thrilled.” “You are seeing people who have pride in the neighborhood come out to be a part of it and really stretch themselves in creative and artistic ways,” she says. “Not all of them are normally doing this in their day-to-day life, and then we do have some actors who are in it, but particularly the community members, them showing up and performing best, to me, that’s pride, and that’s dedication, and that’s belief in their community.”
All three performances, which will take place at First Baptist Broad Church in Binghampton, will be free to attend, and Backbeat Tours will provide free transportation at designated locations.
We All We Got: A Binghampton Play, First Baptist Broad Church, Friday, November 1, 7 p.m. | Saturday, November 2, 1 p.m. | Sunday, November 3, 2 p.m.
PHOTO: COURTESY ORPHEUM THEATRE Ann Perry Wallace
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
Hoop That Trick
By Abigail Morici
“Hula hooping is a gateway prop,” says Ellen Phillips, co-founder of Grind City Flow Arts. “It’s usually the rst prop that you pick up, but then you start learning all these other ow arts. It’s a whole culture.”
Flow arts combines movement and dance with the manipulation of some prop involved — like hula hooping, juggling, fan dance, or re dance. “I got into it from the festival culture,” Phillips says. “It’s a little addicting learning new tricks. I didn’t know how to use my athleticism in a way that was fun. is I could do in my backyard with music that I love. And it was challenging because there are tricks that you can do, like hula hooping on your foot, on your leg, taking your leg out, doing multiple hula hoops at one time, so that’s what got me into it.
“What keeps me in it now, though, is de nitely the community. It is the nicest community of people, always helpful, always willing to go out on a Sunday to the park if it’s a nice day and just hang out and hula hoop.” is Saturday, as part of World Hoop Day, Grind City Flow Arts invites Memphis to be a part of that community — experienced and beginner hoopers alike — at the third-ever 901 World Hoop Day festival, this year at Memphis Made Brewery in the Ravine. “It’s a community, all-ages event,” Phillips says. “ ere will be food trucks, and you can grab a beer and sit out on the patio and watch a bunch of people play with hula hoops and pole dance and do aerial. So that part is all free to come to.”
From 3 to 6 p.m., there will also be workshops in hoop taught by local and regional instructors, in pole taught by the Bendy Beast Fitness, and in aerial taught by High Expectations Aerial Arts. A donation of $15 is recommended, and that $15 covers all nine workshops being o ered. (RSVP at tinyurl.com/44ytpb8p.)
As for why there’s pole dancing and aerial mixed in with hooping during World Hoop Day, Phillips says there’s a lot of overlap in the communities. Grind City Flow Arts even recently started teaching hula hoop at the pole dance studio Bendy Beast. “I would say they’re all kind of a very similar art in terms of like movement and performance,” Phillips adds. “ ey all have di erent bene ts, but we’re kind of all under the same umbrella of performance.”
In the evening, there will be a ra e giveaway and music by DJs. “And we’ll do what we call a re ow jam [at around 7 p.m.],” Phillips says. “ e rst half hour, we’re going to bring in some professional re dancers, but then a er that, we’re going to open up the re circle to anyone who wants to spin re.” ere will be safety precautions in place, Phillips says, and you can check out Grind City Flow Arts’ Instagram and Facebook page for FAQs regarding this and other details. “But re is very much a part of the hula hoop community,” Phillips adds, “so it kind of goes hand in hand. So people who get in their hoop for the rst time when it’s on re, you feel an auditory connection to your hula hoop. It’s wild. It’s an adrenaline rush.”
901 WORLD HOOP DAY, MEMPHIS MADE BREWERY, 16 S. LAUDERDALE STREET, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2-10 P.M.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES October 3rd - 9th
Hi Tone’s 25th Anniversary
Hi Tone, 282-284 N. Cleveland, Friday-Sunday, October 4-6
Hi Tone is turning 25. WHAT???!!!!! And owner Brian “Skinny” McCabe is throwing a three-day festival to commemorate the occasion. Fi een bands plus special secret guests will perform. Among the bands are Lucero, Dead Soldiers, and Heels, who will perform Friday, with Sweet Knives, Pezz, and Subteens performing on Saturday. Jadewick, Autolith, Vermin Fate, Pressed, Mammoth Caravan, Korroded, Seeing Hell, Anemoia, and Deaf Revival are on the lineup for Sunday.
Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show begins at 9 p.m. October 4th and 5th. Doors open at 3 p.m. and the show begins at 4 p.m. October 6th. Admission is $20 in advance and $25 the day of the show. Tickets and more information at hitonecafe.com.
Cars on Main
Beale St. Landing, 251 Riverside Dr., Saturday, October 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free
Cars on Main is back for 2024 and it’ll be even bigger and better. Cars on Main is still the same formula, with the best cars individually invited to create an event like none other. About 150200 cars are expected to be on display. e event is totally free to attend, but bring your wallet since Cars on Main is raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
12th Annual V&E Greenline Artwalk
Kirby Stationhouse Grounds, 1625 Tutwiler Ave., Saturday, October 5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. is year’s artwalk features more than 50 artists and cra speople from across the local area, with exceptional creations in a variety of media
including painting, sculpture, jewelry design, ne glass, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media, photography, ber arts, and more, with something to nd in everyone’s budget. e community event also features food trucks; a full bar with beer, wine, and cocktails; a silent auction; V&E Greenline merchandise; a kids activity area; and a lineup of local-favorite music throughout the day.
Wine on the River
Tom Lee Park, Saturday, October 5, 5-9 p.m., $28.42-$91.72
Travel through di erent regions spanning the globe, all in Tom Lee Park. Sample wine from national and international vineyards, hear live music, and have lots of fun to bene t Door of Hope, whose mission is to end homelessness for Memphis’ most vulnerable populations by providing housing and supportive services.
PHOTO: DANNY WILSON
MUSIC By Alex Greene
Drew Holcomb’s Homecoming
e Blu City-native brings it all back home to the Mempho Music Festival.
It’s a hopeful tale for any aspiring singer-songwriters out there, one that starts as any typical troubadour’s would: “I was doing a lot of shows at the P&H Cafe, and those Flying Saucer songwriter nights.” A couple of decades ago, that was Drew Holcomb’s life, pounding the pavement, chasing gigs, and honing his cra . Soon, this being Memphis, he was rubbing shoulders with like-minded artists. “Cory Branan was incredibly gracious to me,” Holcomb says, “and sort of invited me into his world a little bit and let me open up a bunch of his shows. en later the Hi Tone was kind of my home for a lot of years.”
As he recruited bands to perform his songs, Holcomb hit it o with one local player in particular. “His name is Nathan Dugger. He was in his senior year at Houston High School when he started playing with me,” Holcomb recalls. “ en he moved to Nashville to go to Belmont and stayed with me on the weekends when he was playing around town.” e fact that Dugger is still playing with Holcomb over 20 years later is proof
positive that they had stumbled onto some great musical chemistry. So is the musical legacy of Holcomb, Dugger, and Rich Brins eld, the core of the band that eventually coalesced as Holcomb too made the leap to Nashville.
Holcomb’s mixed feelings about moving to the “Athens of the South” revealed his Blu City roots. “As a Memphian,” he confesses, “I felt very reluctant to move to Nashville. I felt like I was sort of a traitor, in a way. But I married a Nashville woman, and this was where she wanted to live.”
Put another way, in “I Like to Be With Me When I’m With You,” Holcomb sings, “If I could live on the moon, I would rather stay in Tennessee with you.”
“So we were looking for neighborhoods 20 years ago,” he goes on, “and I came to East Nashville. It’s the only neighborhood in Nashville that reminded me of home, you know? It had this sort of loyalty culture, and it was a little gritty. It was, like, hardworking. It had a chip on its shoulder about the rest of the city. And I was like, ‘Yeah, this is my spot. ese are my people.’”
As it turned out, the entire band, including Holcomb’s wife Ellie (who’s since gone on to a solo career) wound up in East Nashville, and thus settled on the name Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. at moniker is especially apt given Holcomb’s songs, which so o en address the ties that bind, the friends we lean on, and the embrace of family, conveyed with a soulful, folk-infused pop sensibility. e inclusive message, bolstered by inclusive music, capped o by the disarming frankness of Holcomb’s heartfelt voice, has since resonated with millions, and the band’s trajectory is an object lesson in the rewards of simply honing your cra and staying true to your vision without selling out. at certainly holds true for last year’s Strangers No More and the new Strangers No More, Vol. 2.
“With both of these records,” he says, “if anybody wants to hear a band having fun in the studio, they can listen to these
records. We had the time of our lives. We weren’t worried about commercial stu . We weren’t worried about the radio. We just were like, ‘Hey, we love making music as a band.’
“I’ve got to be myself,” adds Holcomb. “ at’s what I learned from the music I loved growing up in Memphis — you know, bands like Lucero, who are just so incredibly original. It was important for me to be my own version of that. But, I mean, I was in uenced as much by U2 as I was by Bob Dylan or Bob Seger or Tom Petty, so some of my songwriting has a sort of broad universality to it, like a U2 song, and I’ve grown to embrace that instead of apologizing for it. And I think that that’s part of the Memphis in me, too: being unapologetically myself and not trying to be somebody I’m not.”
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors perform at the Mempho Music Festival Sunday, October 6th, at 4:30 p.m. on the Bud Light Stage. For details and a full schedule of bands, visit memphofest.com.
HALEY REINHART
SOUTHERN AVENUE
ARIELLA
LIVING COLOUR
PHOTO: ASHTIN PAIGE
Drew Holcomb
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule
October 3 - 9
PHOTO: COURTESY CENTRAL
STATION HOTEL
Rivka Ruth
Rivka Ruth
ursday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
EIGHT & SAND
Wendell Wells
Sunday, Oct. 6, 9 p.m.
WESTY’S
Mempho Music Festival
Featuring Jack White, Trey Anastasio, Cody Jinks, the Roots, and many more. See memphofest.com. Friday, Oct.4-Oct. 6.
RADIANS AMPHITHEATER AT MEM-
PHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Van Duren
ursday, Oct. 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
MORTIMER’S
Alice Hasen Record Release Show
e violinist and singer celebrates the release of her Dream of Rain EP. With Savannah Brister. Friday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Almost Elton John & the RocketMen
Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Community Concert and Open Rehearsal at Overton Park
Join the Bartlett Community Concert Band for an a ernoon of making music. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2-3:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
Da MTown Band
Friday, Oct. 4, 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Frank Foster
$33.55. Friday, Oct. 4, 7-9 a.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Harvest (Neil Young Tribute)
Saturday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
Hi Tone 25th
Anniversary Day 1: Lucero
With Dead Soldiers, Heels
[Big Room-Upstairs]. Friday, Oct. 4, 9 p.m.
HI TONE
Hi Tone 25th
Anniversary Day 2: Pezz
With Subteens [Big Room-Upstairs]. Saturday, Oct. 5, 9 p.m.
HI TONE
Hi Tone 25th
Anniversary Day 3:
Mammoth Caravan
With Jadewick, Autolith, Vermin Fate, Pressed, Korroded, Seeing Hell, Anemoia, and Deaf Revival [Big Room-Upstairs]. Sunday, Oct. 6, 9 p.m.
HI TONE
Jazz Jam Session
Hosted by the Alex Upton Quartet. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Jazz Saturdays with the Memphis Jazz Workshop
$18/adult, $15/adult 55+, $15/student, $8/youth. Saturday, Oct. 5, noon.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Jivebomb
With Taraneh, Gumm. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m. GROWLERS
Joe Restivo 4 Sunday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Los Yesterdays Overton Shell Orion Free Concert Series
Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
Mahogany Chamber
Music Series: Sanctuary Music and poetry exploring themes of identity, sisterhood, love, and redemption. Sunday, Oct. 6, 2:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Memphis Knights Big Band
e 17-piece orchestra (plus two popular vocalists) features standards and popular hits in driving arrangements.
Monday, Oct. 7, 6 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Modern Masters Jazz Series: Bruce Forman and The Ted Ludwig Trio
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Sam Donald
ursday, Oct. 3, 8 p.m.
GROWLERS
Sounds of Memphis: Club House Zen with Future-Everything
Join DJ Strooly and other members of local label FutureEverything for a party on the Brooks Museum plaza with drinks, food, and a closing celebration of your museum’s latest Summer Art Garden.
ursday, Oct. 3, 6-8 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Stephen Lee Trio
Featuring Talibah Sa ya and South Memphis Je . Saturday, Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Tab Benoit
Renowned for his distinctive guitar tone and Otis-Redding-esque voice, Benoit has been a captivating gure in the roots music world for over 30 years. Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Tre Loaded With Choppa Tee, Tev0003. Sunday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.
GROWLERS
TRSH
With Grandma’s Chandelier. Saturday, Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m.
GROWLERS
2 Shadows - Dark Nation Tour
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
A Night with Bobby Rush
Bring a lawn chair and your dancing shoes down to Tunica. Food trucks on site. Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6-8 p.m.
GATEWAY TO THE BLUES MUSEUM & VISITOR CENTER
PJ & The Bear
With e Eastwoods. Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Todd Rundgren
$55. Friday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
A Dizzle & the Fo
Shizzles feat. DJ A.D.
Concerts in the Grove presents Memphis’ own DJ A.D. $9. ursday, Oct. 3, 6:30-8 p.m.
THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Richard Wilson Soulful Jazz and Bossanova
ursday, Oct. 3, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. | Friday, Oct. 4, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
JACKIE MAE’S PLACE
CALENDAR of EVENTS: October 3 - 9
ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“All Rise: Memphis Bar Association at 150” rough arresting objects and powerful images, the exhibition showcases the Memphis Bar Association’s historical signicance and continuing relevance. rough Nov. 10.
MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
“An Artist’s Eye & Emotion:” Watercolors by Carol Caughey
Caughey paints “with arbitrary colors, lines, or shapes – whatever seems appropriate” to the mood of the moment. rough Oct. 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
“Bracelets, Bangles, and Cuffs: 1948-2024”
A remarkable collection of contemporary bracelets. rough Nov. 17.
METAL MUSEUM
Southern Heritage Classic Exhibit
Celebrating 35 years of an HBCU Memphis tradition, the exhibition tells the story of Fred Jones Jr., the founder of the Southern Heritage Classic.
rough Feb. 28.
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
Master Metalsmith
Preston Jackson: “A Hidden Culture” is exhibition “reveals history that has been buried, forgotten, or deemed unimportant by society.” rough Jan. 26.
METAL MUSEUM
ART HAPPENINGS
Artist Meet & Greet ~ Connect With Other Creatives at The Memphis Art Salon
Learn about upcoming events and opportunities to showcase your work, connect with other creatives, and how to get involved at the Memphis Art Salon. Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6:308:30 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Artist Reception — Cat Lencke’s “Light Between the Leaves”
Evocative, atmospheric, and photorealistic pieces inspired by a great love of the outdoors. Free. Friday, Oct. 4, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
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.
“Chromatic”
An exploration of color, sound, and mood ursday, Oct. 3, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
ARROW CREATIVE
Super Saturday - Paper Flowers and Frida Kahlo Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the Brooks. Free. Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Trick or Treat on Broad
- First Fridays on Broad Ave
Kick o Halloween season on Broad Ave. Friday, Oct. 4, 5-8 p.m.
BROAD AVENUE ARTS DISTRICT
CLASS / WORKSHOP
Art Class: Pumpkin Paint Night Celebrate fall by creating
vibrant pumpkin designs using watercolors, ink, and mixed media techniques. $35. ursday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
MEMPHIS ART SALON AT MINGLEWOOD HALL
Dried Flower Broom Workshop
Create your own dried ower broom. $45. ursday, Oct. 3, 6 p.m.
MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM
PHOTO: COURTESY METAL MUSEUM
e Metal Museum’s latest exhibit honors its 38th Master Metalsmith Preston Jackson.
Figure Drawing (Clothed Model)
Learn about gure drawing. $12/member, $18/general admission. Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-noon
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART Flower Academy: Grow Your Own Cutting Garden
Do you dream of walking out into your garden and cutting a fresh bunch of owers for your table? Or gathering a few stems to gi to a friend? $100. Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6 p.m.
MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM Succulent Pumpkin Workshop
Create your own pumpkin centerpiece with live succulents. $55. Sunday, Oct. 6, 2 p.m.
MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM Tree Identification Course at Overton Park
Learn to identify trees by
leaves, fruit, bark, and buds. Saturday, Oct. 5, 9
a.m.-1:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK GOLF CLUBHOUSE
Useable & Wearable Art Mini Makers
Workshop (3rd-5th Grade)
A fun and creative Saturday afternoon workshop to learn about making functional art. $35. Saturday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
ARROW CREATIVE
COMEDY
Comedian Geoffrey Asmus (Comedy Cellar; JFL Montreal) headlines at the Hi Tone
Nationally touring comedian Geoffrey Asmus headlines an unmissable night of stand-up, hosted by Charlie Vergos. $20. Thursday, Oct. 3, 8-9:45 p.m.
HI TONE
Corey Holcomb
Corey Holcomb brings his new comedy tour
“The Joke King” to Graceland Live. $35.50/reserved seating. Saturday, Oct. 5, 8-10:30 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
Saturday Night Showcase
This underground comedy show, hosted by Tylon Monger, boasts a diverse and interesting lineup each week that cracks smiles, shakes heads, and causes uproarious laughter. $15. Saturday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.
MEMPHIS CLOVER CLUB
COMMUNITY
Memphis Reads 2024 (Valeria Luiselli)
Author Valeria Luiselli will be in Memphis for speaking engagements at CBU on Oct. 2nd and Rhodes College on Oct. 3rd. All events are free and open to the public. Free. Thursday, Oct. 3.
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY THEATER
FAMILY
East Shelby Branch Library’s 2nd
Annual Trunk-or-Treat
A spooky good time. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2-4 p.m. EAST SHELBY LIBRARY
Family Yoga at the Garden
A fun way for parents to bond with their kids. Bring a mat and water. Free with MBG admission. Monday, Oct. 7, 10-11 a.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at CMOM
From pinatas to maracas to exploding volcanoes, delve into the culture of Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia and Puerto Rico during National Hispanic Heritage Month with daily activities. Through October.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS
FESTIVAL
Artoberfest 2024
Fall is in the air, and that means Artoberfest 2024 is right around the corner. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2-10 p.m.
OFF THE WALLS ARTS
Fall Fest at The Shops at Carriage Crossing
Bring your friends and family for a festive fall celebration in Collierville. Saturday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
THE SHOPS AT CARRIAGE CROSSING
VE Greenline Artwalk
Artwalk features local artists and craftspeople selling their items along the trail at Kirby Station on the corner of Tutwiler and Avalon. Saturday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
VE GREENLINE’S KIRBY STATION HOUSE GROUNDS
FILM
Appetite for the Arts
Enjoy food truck fare while feasting your senses on music and dance films on the big screen. Free. Wednesday, Oct. 9, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Hispanic Film Festival 2024
The Dept. of World Languages & Literatures at the University of Memphis presents Home is Somewhere Else/Mi casa está en otra parte, by Carlos Hagerman and Jorge Villalobos, Thursday, Oct. 3, 6 p.m.; and La hembrita/Babygirl by Laura Amelia Guzmán, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m.
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS, UNIVERSITY CENTER THEATER
You’re the Life of Me
Documentary. $5. Thursday, Oct. 3, 5-7 p.m.
CROSSTOWN THEATER
PERFORMING ARTS
Soul of the City Tour Preview Performance: Love Stories
Have a seat. Enjoy Memphis’ history. $25. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 6-7 p.m.
ELMWOOD CEMETERY
Rocky Horror Picture Show Hosted by Brenda Newport
A special event during Nightmare on Union Avenue at Cameo. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m.midnight.
CAMEO
THEATER
De Aqui y de Alla: The Adventure Presentado en ingles y espanol. $25. Friday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m.
HALLORAN CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS & EDUCATION
Paradise Blue
Dominique Morisseau’s tale of Blue, a gifted trumpeter who contemplates selling his oncevibrant jazz club in Detroit’s Blackbottom neighborhood to shake free the demons of his past. Through October 6.
HATTILOO THEATRE
Quark Theatre presents Through The Looking Screen
A comic one-woman operetta, examining the world online $20. Friday, Oct. 4, 8 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 6, 2 p.m.
THEATRESOUTH
What the Constitution Means to Me Playwright Heidi Schreck skillfully breathes new life into the U.S. constitution through this innovative play. Through Oct. 6.
CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE
TOURS
City Brew Tours Memphis Oktoberfest Tours
ACROSS
1 Preceder of Kitts, Lucia and Vincent in country names
6 Inexpensive sneakers brand
10 ___ tea
14 Sleeping problem
15 Showy peacock feature
16 ___-Lago (presidential retreat)
17 Clearly visible
19 Overly proper
20 Belt out a tune
21 Mother sheep
22 Major event in golf or tennis
24 Iran’s capital
26 Like two-weekold bread
27 Uncle in patriotic posters
28 Hoity-toity
31 Sgts.’ superiors
34 Holders for emergency supplies
36 Fey of “Baby Mama”
37 Alternative to Chicago’s Midway
39 Reagan ___ (1981-89)
40 Particulars, in slang
41 Follower of Lovers’ or Lois
42 Eating outing
44 “Not impressed”
45 Sets lofty goals
47 Preceder of com or org
49 Sharp, as pain
50 Unauthorized drawings of favorite characters
53 Bits of parsley
55 “That was stupid of me!”
Girl From The North Country
“Bob Dylan’s songs have never sounded so heartbreakingly personal and universal.” — The New York Times. $29-$130. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. | Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
ORPHEUM THEATRE
An unforgettable, all-inclusive Oktoberfest tour, showcasing some of the best breweries Memphis has to offer. $69. Through Oct. 13.
CROSSTOWN BREWING COMPANY
The Plagues of Memphis: Part 1
Everything old is new again. $20/general admission. Sunday, Oct. 6, 2-3 p.m.
ELMWOOD CEMETERY
by Will Shortz No.
56 What an emoji depicts
58 Lena of “Chocolat”
59 What egotists use instead of “I”
62 Affectionate, as a farewell
63 Force from office
64 Funny DeGeneres
65 “Terrible” years for kids
66 Chinese lap dog, informally
67 What strawberries have on the outside that most fruits have on the inside DOWN
1 Gullible sorts
2 High-level H.S. English subject
3 Totally silly
4 Sounds from a stable
5 Light brown
6 Neighborhood to get kimchi and bibimbap, informally
7 Simplicity
8 Go “pfft”
9 Detectives
10 Ill-mannered
11 Latin motto for a go-getter
12 Lake that feeds the Niagara River
13 “___ the torpedoes
Sentiment from a Latino
Conifer that loses its needles in the autumn
___ browns (side dish)
1970 hit for the
PHOTO: COURTESY THE GUEST HOUSE AT GRACELAND
Corey Holcomb brings his “The Joke King” tour to Memphis this Saturday.
SHELBY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PUBLIC HEARING
FOR:
PRO Housing Grant Application Public
Comment Period
Shelby County Department of Housing (SCDH) will hold public hearings to provide feedback on the proposed plan and application for Pathways to Removing Obstacles for Housing (PRO Housing) Grant Application offered as a competitive grant application process by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM and provide both in-person and virtual attendance options.
In Person Attendance Option: Shelby County Code Enforcement building, 6465 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, TN 38134. Attendees should enter the Code Enforcement Building through the front entrance facing Mullins Station Rd and the Greenline; upon walking up to the building, attendees will need to follow the signage that leads to the PRO Housing Public Hearing.
Virtual Attendance Option: A virtual option to join is also provided, and participants can join the meeting with a computer, tablet, or smartphone at https://www.gotomeet.me/ DanaSjostrom or dialing in from a phone +1 (224) 501-3412, Access Code 169-900-933 at the above noted meeting time.
If you plan to attend the public hearing and have special needs, please contact the Department of Housing at (901) 222-7600 by 4:30 p.m. Monday, October 7, 2024 and we will work to accommodate you. Resident input and public participation are strongly encouraged.
The PRO Housing grant application and subsequent implementation will serve to address locally identified barriers to the production of affordable housing units. Shelby County Government in coordination with the City of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development will utilize these funds to support land activation efforts, incentivize the development of new affordable units, improve agency coordination in addressing under-utilized and vacant parcels, and support efforts to make the Housing Policy Plan more actionable for our residents. The focus for this project centers on equitable solutions for low- to moderate-income residents supporting the development of new housing units.
The proposed application will be available for public review from September 27, 2024 through October 13, 2024 online at https://www.develop901.com/housing/planningReporting
Persons wishing to comment on the PRO Housing Grant Application may do so by writing to Dana Sjostrom via email (dana.sjostrom@shelbycountytn.gov), or written comment via mail to Shelby County Department of Housing, 6465 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, TN 38134. In order to include comments in the application any comments must be received prior to October 14, 2024. For additional information contact the Department of Housing at 901-222-7600 or TTY at 901222-2300.
The Shelby County Department of Housing does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision of services. Equal opportunity/equal access provider.
Para mas información en Español, por favor llame Dana Sjostrom al 901-222-7601.
Lee Harris
Mayor
Scott Walkup, Administrator Shelby County Department of Housing
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
People still wore animal print out ts to the Zoo Rendezvous, but pink de nitely was the color of choice at the Memphis Zoo fundraiser.
“Barbie” was the theme of this year’s event, which was held September 7th and drew more than 3,000 people.
People were invited “to dress as their own Barbie,” says Erica Kelsey, Memphis Zoo special events and corporate sponsorship manager. ey were encouraged to express themselves “in Barbie form.”
e event featured 50 restaurants, 15 food trucks, 17 specialty bars, and ve full bars.
Paula & Raiford’s Disco was a new addition. e downtown hotspot replaced Blind Bear, which had been a staple at the event until it recently closed. When thinking of what would be a good replacement for Blind Bear, Kelsey thought, “ e party is at Raiford’s.”
“It was a great addition to the Zoo Rendezvous this year,” Kelsey says. She says owner Paula Raiford told her, “I’m locked in for years to come.”
What makes the Zoo Rendezvous so special? “I think Memphians have a special love in their heart for the zoo. Everyone wants to support the zoo in some capacity.”
above: (le to right) Maddie Caldwell and Andrew Geraci; Greg and Dory Gaston below: (le to right) Charlie and Emily Sullivan; Patrick Morris, Kimberly Morris, Brenda Morris, and Herman Morris; Jade and Marcus McCall; Savannah Je rey and Arnold Medal bottom row: Katy, Susan, and Tripp ompson
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE
FOOD By Michael Donahue
The Return of Zinnie’s
e iconic Midtown bar reopens October 3rd.
innie’s, which will reopen October 3rd, is not your father’s Zinnie’s.
But, then again, it still is.
e iconic Midtown dining and drinking spot, which opened in 1973 at 1688 Madison Avenue, now has a baby grand piano as well as a new menu and new decor, says Tony Westmoreland, who, along with his wife Stephanie, runs Tandem Restaurant Group, which owns Zinnie’s. And, he says, patrons can no longer smoke inside Zinnie’s.
But Zinnie’s still feels like Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says. “Zinnie’s has always just been a cool hangout space,” he says.
Zinnie’s previously closed in December 2018, but a er a faceli it reopened on Halloween of 2019.
A lot had to be done to the place at that time, Westmoreland says. ey added a new jukebox, new ceiling fans, new toilets, a new ice maker, more beer taps behind the bar, and a lock to the women’s bathroom door.
Zinnie’s closed again last spring because of a liquor license renewal issue. “Like other people are experiencing now.”
e reopened Zinnie’s is “going to be a little di erent, for sure. We’re wanting to put more of a focus on the cocktails and the food.”
Zinnie’s “needed to be a little bit cleaned up and modernized. We didn’t do a whole lot. Just painting, cleaning up, getting some smell out, which took a long time. We are taking smoking away from Zinnie’s. I just feel like it’s time now. People are trending away from smoking. And a lot of people don’t appreciate the aroma.”
As for the look, Westmoreland says, “We changed the oor plan up completely.”
e bar remains the same, but they’ve added half-moon and circular booths. “We painted a little bit just to help cover some smell, but it’s still the burgundy. And we put some grays in it, and a little cream color to kind of brighten it up a little bit. When you dim the lights, turn them down, it looks really good.”
Also, he says, “Some old decor is back on the walls with some new stu .” ey added memorabilia about Zinnie’s history to go along with “a lot of Memphis memorabilia, liquor tins,
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE
Tony Westmoreland has added a baby grand piano and a menu focused on Philly cheesesteaks.
beer tins.”
And, he says, “We added some bull horns over the jukebox.” ey also added the piano. “ e baby grand is going to be there for patrons and some musicians to come in.”
Win Bonner donated the George Steck baby grand piano, which belonged to his bother, the late Lex Bonner, a professional pianist who played around town.
ey’ve also added two dart boards, a Golden Tee golf game, and three big screen TVs “for watching all the Grizzlies and Tigers games.”
Zinnie’s food is changing, too, Westmoreland says. A lot of the changes they made to the menu a er they reopened in 2019 “didn’t do too well. We didn’t have a lot of food sales.”
Most items, including the thick-cut barbecued bologna sandwich known as the “Zinnieloney,” are gone. “ at’s retired.”
e new food concept focuses on Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. “Really good authentic Phillies with shaved steak and Cheese Whiz.”
ey’re starting o with the Steak Philly, Chicken Philly, and the Veggie Philly. e “Philly-based” menu, which was created by chef Duncan Aiken, also includes Philly cheese fries, and, possibly, Philly cheese nachos. “It’s a simple menu. We’re trying to just make it simple and good.”
And “Phillies” practically rhymes with “Zinnie’s,” Westmoreland adds
with a laugh.
e idea behind their cra cocktail bar is “just to add something di erent to what’s around town.”
But their cra cocktails aren’t “crazy cra cocktails. We want to keep the speed and e ciency at the bar.”
e “Zinnierita,” which is their take on the margarita, is a cherry margarita made with Luxardo cherries. ( is reporter suggested adding a “Zinnitini” to the list, an idea Westmoreland liked.)
But, again, Zinnie’s is still Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says. “One of the things we tried to keep was the nostalgia of Zinnie’s. … So, initially, we just tried to keep it the same.”
Zinnie’s is “not too nice, but nicer than
it was before.”
Westmoreland, who doesn’t know the meaning of or why the place was called “Zinne’s,” refers to it as a “restaurant dive bar.” ey’re keeping their little cherub logo with the Zinnie’s slogan: “Best Neighborhood Bar in the Universe.”
Zinnie’s always “seemed calmer and quieter than the nightclubs that were more prominent back in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” Westmoreland says.
As for the newly reopened Zinnie’s, Westmoreland says, “ e feel in the bar hasn’t changed. I don’t think it needs to change. ere’s a nice atmosphere in the bar.”
But, he says, “It doesn’t smell like an ashtray any more. So, that’s good.”
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Compelling Explanation
STEPHEN LEE TRIO
CROSSTOWN ARTS
Dontcha hate it when you throw your husband a party and he’s just not grateful enough? Kinda makes you want to poison him — or at least that’s how 47-year-old Michelle Peters of Lebanon, Missouri, reacted, according to The Kansas City Star. On June 24, Peters was held for questioning by the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office after her husband notified police that he became “afraid for his life” after noticing that the Mountain Dew in the garage fridge “tasted weird” and he started experiencing sore throat, vomiting, and “coughing up brown/yellow thick mucus,” authorities said. He looked at video footage from his garage and saw his wife take the soda bottle and a Roundup bottle into the house. Peters initially told officers that she mixed the liquids “to use as a weed killer that she saw on Pinterest,” but eventually confessed, saying she “was mad … because she had thrown him a 50th birthday and he was not appreciative,” police said. She was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. [KC Star, 6/26/2024]
But Was It Unhappy?
In the apparent first case of robotic suicide, an administrative officer robot at Gumi City Council in South Korea threw itself down a 6-and-a-half-foot-long flight of steps, France24 reported on June 26. Witnesses saw the robot, which could travel between floors on the elevator and had its own civil servant officer badge, “circling in one spot as if something was there” before the fall, but it wasn’t clear what caused the mishap. “It was … one of us,” an official said. “It worked diligently.” [France24, 6/26/2024]
Low Expectations
On July 29, Michael Patrick Fleming, 41, entered the Chase bank branch in Lady Lake, Florida, and handed the teller a withdrawal slip, The Smoking Gun reported. Fleming did not have an account at the bank and requested just 1 cent; he later told officers his plan was to get the penny, then “sit in the chair and wait for law enforcement.” His goal was to be arrested — and it worked. Fleming was charged with felony robbery and held on $5,000 bond. [The Smoking Gun, 7/3/2024]
Awesome!
Betcha didn’t know about the Merlympics in Geneva, Switzerland. The event,
in existence since 2015, is designed to “prove athleticism” among mermaid competitors, KSL-TV reported. At the May games, Mia Sim, 22, of Provo, Utah, secured her title as the fastest mermaid in the world. Sim has been mermaiding for 10 years; at the Merlympics, athletes must compete in five categories, including ecology (diving to the bottom and picking up trash); underwater posing for photographs; and rescue (swimming to “save” a submerged dummy) — all while wearing full mermaid or merman gear. “It’s not a skill that’s easily learned,” Sim said of mermaiding. “This type of restriction on your body is very difficult for people to understand.” She has now been inducted into Team USA and hopes other Utah mermaids will aspire to such heights. [KSL-TV, 7/7/2024]
Keep Digging
During a court hearing on July 2 in Crown Point, Indiana, defendant Devontae Harris, 26, just couldn’t keep his shovel quiet, the Chicago Tribune reported. Lake Superior Court Judge Gina Jones was hearing Harris’ argument for a plea deal in a stalking and battery case from November 2022, but when she denied the deal, Harris called her names and said, “… you think you know about stuff. I done killed [people]. I got bodies under my belt. Go solve them.” He also threatened to throw his chair at the judge and asked her to perform a sex act on him. Jones added 210 days to Harris’ jail term, increasing it to 13 months. [Chicago Tribune, 7/5/2024]
Weird in the Wild
Bigfoot walks among us — or at least among campers in Louisiana, MSN reported. On June 28, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for help from a group of campers, high school graduates from Houma, Louisiana, who were celebrating their matriculation. The kids were camping in Kisatchie National Forest and told officers they heard growling and saw a 5-foot-tall animal with glowing eyes. Officers were unable to locate the creature, but they escorted the campers back to their vehicle. [MSN, 7/2/2024]
NEWS OF THE WEIRD © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During some Wiccan rituals, participants are asked, “What binds you? And what will you do to free yourself from what binds you?” I recommend this exercise to you right now, Aries. Here’s a third question: Will you replace your shackles with a weaving that inspires and empowers you? In other words, will you shed what binds you and, in its stead, create a bond that links you to an influence you treasure?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If I had to name the zodiac sign that other signs are most likely to underestimate, I would say Taurus. Why? Well, many of you Bulls are rather modest and humble. You prefer to let your practical actions speak louder than fine words. Your well-grounded strength is diligent and poised, not flashy. People may misread your resilience and dependability as signs of passivity. But here’s good news, dear Taurus: In the coming weeks, you will be less likely to be undervalued and overlooked. Even those who have been ignorant of your appeal may tune in to the fullness of your tender power and earthy wisdom.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the coming days, I invite you to work on writing an essay called “People and Things I Never Knew I Liked and Loved Until Now.” To get the project started, visit places that have previously been off your radar. Wander around in uncharted territory, inviting life to surprise you. Call on every trick you know to stimulate your imagination and break out of habitual ruts of thinking. A key practice will be to experiment and improvise as you open your heart and your eyes wide. Here’s my prophecy: In the frontiers, you will encounter unruly delights that inspire you to grow wiser.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now is an excellent time to search for new teachers, mentors, and role models. Please cooperate with life’s intention to connect you with people and animals who can inspire your journey for the months and years ahead. A good way to prepare yourself for this onslaught of grace is to contemplate the history of your educational experiences. Who are the heroes, helpers, and villains who have taught you crucial lessons? Another strategy to get ready is to think about what’s most vital for you to learn right now. What are the gaps in your understanding that need to be filled?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The English language has more synonyms than any other language. That’s in part because it’s like a magpie. It steals words from many tongues, including German, French, Old Norse, Latin, and Greek, as well as from Algonquin, Chinese, Hindi, Basque, and Tagalog. Japanese may be the next most magpie-like language. It borrows from English, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch,
By Rob Brezsny
French, and German. In accordance with astrological possibilities, I invite you to adopt the spirit of the English and Japanese languages in the coming weeks. Freely borrow and steal influences. Be a collector of sundry inspirations, a scavenger of fun ideas, a gatherer of rich cultural diversity.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Here are my bold decrees: You are entitled to extra bonuses and special privileges in the coming weeks. The biggest piece of every cake and pie should go to you, as should the freshest wonders, the most provocative revelations, and the wildest breakthroughs. I invite you to give and take extravagant amounts of everything you regard as sweet, rich, and nourishing. I hope you will begin cultivating a skill you are destined to master. I trust you will receive clear and direct answers to at least two nagging questions.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I knew a Scorpio performance artist who did a splashy public show about private matters. She stationed herself on the rooftop of an apartment building and for 12 hours loudly described everything she felt guilty about. (She was an ex-Catholic who had been raised to regard some normal behavior as sinful.) If you, dear Scorpio, have ever felt an urge to engage in a purge of remorse, now would be an excellent time. I suggest an alternate approach, though. Spend a half hour writing your regrets on paper, then burn the paper in the kitchen sink as you chant something like the following: “With love and compassion for myself, I apologize for my shortcomings and frailties. I declare myself free of shame and guilt. I forgive myself forever.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be HEARTY, POTENT, and DYNAMIC, Sagittarius. Don’t worry about decorum and propriety. Be in quest of lively twists that excite the adventurer in you. Avoid anyone who seems to like you best when you are anxious or tightly controlled. Don’t proceed as if you have nothing to lose; instead, act as if you have everything to win. Finally, my dear, ask life to bring you a steady stream of marvels that make you overjoyed to be alive. If you’re feeling extra bold (and I believe you will), request the delivery of a miracle or two.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Nineteenth-century Capricorn author Anne Brontë wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which many critics regard as the first feminist novel. It challenged contemporary social customs. The main character, Helen, leaves her husband because he’s a bad influence on their son. She goes into hiding, becoming a single mother who supports her family by creating art. Unfortunately, after the author’s death at a young age, her older sister Charlotte suppressed the publication of The Tenant
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
On those infrequent occasions when I buy a new gadget, I never read the instructions. I drop the booklet in the recycling bin immediately, despite the fact that I may not know all the fine points of using my new vacuum cleaner, air purifier, or hair dryer. Research reveals that I am typical. Ninety-two percent of all instructions get thrown away. I don’t recommend this approach to you in the coming weeks, however, whether you’re dealing with gadgets or more intangible things. You really should call on guidance to help you navigate your way through introductory phases and new experiences.
of Wildfell Hall. It’s not well-known today. I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, so as to inspire you to action. I believe the coming months will be a favorable time to get the attention and recognition you’ve been denied but thoroughly deserve. Start now! Liberate, express, and disseminate whatever has been suppressed.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): What is the most important question you want to find an answer for during the next year? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to formulate that inquiry clearly and concisely. I urge you to write it out in longhand and place it in a prominent place in your home. Ponder it lightly and lovingly for two minutes every morning upon awakening and each night before sleep. (Key descriptors: “lightly and lovingly.”) As new insights float into your awareness, jot them down. One further suggestion: Create or acquire a symbolic representation of the primal question.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Scientific research suggests that some foods are more addictive than cocaine. They include pizza, chocolate, potato chips, and ice cream. The good news is that they are not as problematic for long-term health as cocaine. The bad news is that they are not exactly healthy. (The sugar in chocolate neutralizes its modest health benefits.) With these facts in mind, Pisces, I invite you to reorder your priorities about addictive things. Now is a favorable time to figure out what substances and activities might be tonifying, invigorating addictions — and then retrain yourself to focus your addictive energy on them. Maybe you could encourage an addiction to juices that blend spinach, cucumber, kale, celery, and apple. Perhaps you could cultivate an addiction to doing a pleasurable form of exercise or reading books that thrill your imagination.
FILM By Chris McCoy
When in Rome …
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
It is beyond dispute that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest lmmakers of all time. at would still be true if he had retired in 1972 a er e Godfather won Best Picture. Coppola semi-retired from lmmaking in the 21st century to concentrate on his other love, winemaking. e one idea that he was never able to convince any studio to nance was Megalopolis. A few years ago, Coppola, now 85, sold some of his Sonoma County winery land and put $120 million of his own money on the line to make his dream project real.
Megalopolis opens with a shot of the Chrysler Building bathed in golden light. But in this near-future world, it’s in New Rome. Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) is on the roof, and it looks like he’s going to jump. As he steps over the ledge, he says, “Time, stop!” — and it
does! e artist, Laurence Fishburne’s voice-over tells us, has the power to control time.
Catilina has a Nobel Prize for inventing Megalon, a material with miraculous properties. He wants to use it to transform New Rome into a utopia. His rival is New Rome’s mayor,
Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who calls Catilina a “reckless dreamer who will destroy this world before we can build a better one.” Catilina’s mistress is a TV presenter named Wow
Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), and the only thing bigger than her love for him is her ambition. When he refuses to marry her, she takes up with his uncle Crassus (Jon Voight), an elderly banker who has backed his nephew’s work but doesn’t approve of his hedonistic lifestyle.
But it’s New Rome, and hedonism is the order of the day. e mayor’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) seems to be a creature of decadence until she meets Catilina. At rst she’s attracted to him just to piss o her father, but then she discovers the depth of his imaginings and makes it her mission to unite the two warring houses. Meanwhile, Crassus’ son Clodio (Shia LaBeouf) is assembling a fascist movement to take power for himself. e old master can still toss o stunning visual ri s at will, and since
Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza in a future lled with stunning visual ri s
he doesn’t have to answer to cowardly studio execs, Coppola has created a visual feast of a film that is completely unlike anything else coming out of Hollywood this century. Coppola’s problem is the writing. This is an art film, not a plot-heavy blockbuster, but a little more coherence would have gone a long way. And yet, the language is frequently beautiful and profound.
The cast is so happy to be working with a legend that they’re game for anything. Adam Driver flawlessly delivers the entire “To be or not to be” speech from Hamlet. Aubrey Plaza’s seduction of Shia LaBeouf will be the stuff of legend. Giancarlo Esposito switches freely between Latin and English without breaking a sweat. Other performers are adrift, like the
hapless Nathalie Emmanuel.
Megalopolis is not for anyone except Coppola, who no longer cares what you think. It’s up to you to get on his level, and that may be a daunting task. This is poetry, with all the obscurity and difficulty that implies. It’s a meditation on the role of the art in the world, made by an artist who is deeply ambivalent about the whole idea. It’s self-indulgent semi-autobiography. It’s a political manifesto against fascism delivered at this critical juncture in the American experiment. You can’t say they don’t make ’em like Megalopolis anymore, because they never did.
Megalopolis
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FILM By Chris McCoy
THE LAST WORD By
Patricia Lockhart
Enjoying the Mortgage
In this edition of Memphis Is My Boyfriend, we stay home.
We are a family that absolutely loves Memphis! But sometimes it’s best to just enjoy our mortgage. I know that might sound a bit unusual, but it’s really quite straightforward. “Enjoying your mortgage” is a Gen Alpha way of saying “appreciate your space” and embrace the joys of home. is particular weekend, I woke up early, lit some soothing incense, opened the blinds, and poured myself a steaming cup of black co ee with a touch of honey. I cherished the peaceful moments before the kids woke up and my husband returned from his 16-mile run. But with kids aged 11, 12, 12, and 16, that quiet wouldn’t last long!
Laundry Day
Like most families, Saturdays are o en reserved for chores (thankfully, now without the scent of bleach and old-school music blaring from ancient speakers). Each tween and teenager is responsible for tidying their own space, catching up on chores, and tackling laundry. And oh, laundry— what a beast it can be! Our kids have been doing their own laundry for the past three years, but we’re still very much in the learning phase.
As adults, we might think laundry is simple, but just ask a tween or teenager and you’ll hear a di erent story. “How many clothes make a full load?” “Do I really have to separate my whites from my colors?” “What temperature should the water be?” “Do detergent sheets work better than liquid?”
Honestly, those questions are valid! I stick to the basics: ll the machine two-thirds full and don’t forget the detergent. While washing and drying are straightforward, the real challenge is folding and hanging everything up. My husband enjoys putting on a good show and folding clothes until his heart’s content. Me? I’m more of a laundry mole, diving into the basket each morning to iron what’s needed. But with my husband’s high standards, the kids and I engage in a productive struggle every Saturday.
Grocery Shopping
Once the laundry is in a steady rhythm — wash, dry, fold/hang, and repeat six times — it’s time to tackle grocery shopping. In our family of six, everyone gets a night to cook dinner each week. On Fridays, we either cook together or indulge in oven pizza. To kick things o , we project our computer screen onto the TV so everyone can see the plan. With a grocery budget of $200 a week, we aim to make the most of it, enjoying a little bit of everything. We start by sharing our dinner ideas, keeping everyone’s preferences in mind. My 16-year-old has been a vegetarian since he was six, while the younger twin prefers meat in every meal. Our 11-year-old isn’t fond of cheesy dishes, and I’m lactose intolerant. ankfully, my husband and the oldest twin are pretty exible with their choices. Next, we take turns adding ingredients to the Kroger Pickup list, ensuring we check what we already have on hand. At least once a month, we do a grocery inventory, which usually uncovers forgotten treasures like dried beans and random cans of tomato sauce. A er nalizing our dinner items, we move on to breakfast and then lunch. If there’s any budget le , we treat ourselves to snacks, though that’s usually a rare delight!
Chilling Together
As adults, it’s easy for weekends to morph into extended workdays lled with tasks we didn’t have time for during our regular work hours. I want to teach my kids the importance of nding a healthy balance — not just by telling them, but by showing them. Chores can demonstrate appreciation for our space and future selves, but they aren’t the only way we enjoy our mortgage. Here are some fun activities we love to do together while “enjoying our mortgage”:
• Napping
• Playing video games
• Watching TV
• Baking delicious treats
• Playing library with my books (just me)
• Gardening and reviving my plants
• Building forts in the living room
• Movie marathon nights
• Doing absolutely nothing together
One twin typically engages in a social-battery recharge. Being at school all week takes a lot out of him, so he’ll o en keep to himself most of the weekend. My daughter, on the other hand, is a social butter y. She wants someone to enjoy all of her “chilling activities” with. My oldest bounces between baking and getting ahead of his studies. e other twin plays hard all day. As for me, I sit quietly with one child, do an activity with another, bounce ideas with the eldest, and play with the other twin. Sometimes I do none of the above and don’t feel guilty about it.
So enjoy your mortgage or rent, Memphis! Seek out activities with your tweens and teens that bring you closer together, foster relaxation, and spark creativity. Or recharge your own battery. Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. By day, she’s an assistant principal and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @memphisismyboyfriend
PHOTO: PATRICIA LOCKHART
Sharing the cooking, sharing the shopping
