Vol. 2, Issue 19 - May 12, 2016

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At Cars & Coffee, you’ll never know who—or what—you’ll meet by coury turczyn

NEWS

The Mayors Unveil Their (Not Dissimilar) Budget Proposals for 2017

JACK NEELY

The Bluegrass Legends Who Made Their First Records on Gay Street

MUSIC

The CrumbSnatchers’ Patience Pays Off on Their Debut Album

STEPHANIE PIPER

Longing for an Unremarkable World During Times of Crisis

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

May 12, 2016 Volume 02 / Issue 19 knoxmercury.com

CONTENTS

“ An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.” —Edwin Land

12 G athering of the Tribes

COVER STORY

NEWS

Car shows are nothing new—owners have wanted to show off their beloved rides since they were invented.

But Cars & Coffee is something different. Rather than devoting itself to a particular car model or type like most shows (say, the Corvette Expo or the Street Rod Nationals), it is a democratic assembly of every sort of vehicle: Come one, come all. There are no restrictions or fees or requirements. Just drive in, park your car, and you’re part of the show. On one bright Sunday morning in April, about 4,000 cars, trucks, and motorcycles converged in West Town Mall’s parking lot—here are just a few of the characters that Coury Turczyn and Tricia Bateman met.

Press Forward 2016

Our annual fundraising campaign is on! Donate to the paper: gofundme.com/pressforward2016.

Buy an ad: sales@knoxmercury.com. Tax-deductible donations to KHP: knoxmercury.com/KHP. DEPARTMENTS

OPINION

A&E

4 Letters to the Editor 6 Howdy

8 Perspectives

18 Program Notes: Contemporary

Start Here: By the Numbers, Public Affairs, Quote Factory PLUS: “Photo Recollection: Knoxville Streets,” a new photo series by Holly Rainey.

38 ’Bye

Finish There: At This Point by Stephanie Piper, Crooked Street Crossword by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely, Spirit of the Staircase

by Matthew Foltz-Gray

Joe Sullivan reports on BlueCross BlueShield’s proposed rate hike for 2017’s Obamacare participants.

9 Scruffy Citizen

Jack Neely recounts the tale of Flatt & Scruggs’ first foray into a recording studio—on Gay Street.

10 A Tale of Two Budgets

Although Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett have very different political philosophies—one a champion of workers, the environment and redevelopment, the other a champion of cost savings and private investment—aspects of their proposed budgets are surprisingly similar this year. S. Heather Duncan compares and contrasts.

CALENDAR Focus opens at the Knoxville Museum of Art.

19 Shelf Life: Chris Barrett searches

23 Spotlights: Nashville band All Them Witches, Marble City Opera’s Sweets by Kate

the Knox County Public Library’s shelves for noteworthy newspaper films.

20 Music: Matthew Everett reports on the smashing debut by Knoxville’s CrumbSnatchers.

21 Movies: April Snellings takes no

sides in Captain America: Civil War.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 3

LETTERS Delivering Fine Journalism Since 2015

LOCAL ISSUES AND CONNECTIONS

This afternoon I had the misfortune to read Jon Shefner’s gloomy criticism of Jack Neely and his contributions to our outstanding local newspaper, the Knoxville Mercury (and Metro Pulse beforehand). [“Jack Neely: Stay Out of Cuba, Mercury,” Letters, May 5, 2016] Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but he focuses on one contentious issue and overlooks many years of excellent journalism. A weekly column is hardly “over-reliance.”

As a visitor to Knoxville, having lived and worked here for the past five years, I have been nothing less than delighted to learn about this great and underrated city, with all the notable connections and contributions to literature, film, music, radio, theatre, the wider arts, and so much more. In terms of journalism, the Mercury is not afraid to highlight concerns that are routinely ignored in other streams of local reporting.

As I see it, the Mercury is a local newspaper emphasizing local issues and connections. What better way to encourage further investigation and interest in wider historical, national, and political contexts than by using local historical links and perspectives?

For those interested in Cuba, I would encourage a greater reading of the history of the ebb and very complicated flow of Russian Cuban relationships, post Cuban independence in 1902.

And regarding Cuba and the Cold War, on a point of history, far from being “Cold War nonsense” as Jon Shefner claims, it was U.S. investments in Cuba prior to the Cuban revolution of 1959, and the heavy handed attempts to protect these assets when Fidel Castro came to power and placed U.S. holdings under Cuban control, that were the source of Cuba’s greater dependency and political alignment with Russia and Russian interests. Russia, wanting greater influence in the West, and due to the political climate, took advantage of this. Khrushchev signed very favorable trade and loan agreements in the 1960s that indeed dominated the Cuban economy. It was the actions and measures of the U.S. government 4

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

at the time that most certainly forced greater dependency on Russia.

Please keep up the good work, Jack, and all of the exceptional and inspirational Knoxville Mercury team.

We are grateful for you, and very proud of all that you do to promote the good things about this wonderful Scruffy City, keeping us informed and entertained each week. THANK YOU! J David Clifton Knoxville

A NOTE FROM JACK NEELY:

The column in question was about James Agee’s brief and little-known experience with Havana in 1937, plus an irony about an old bar. It had no political intent. I have no opinion of whether Cuba’s right-wing dictatorship was any better than Cuba’s left-wing dictatorship. Seeing no need to refer by name to the Batista and Castro regimes, I alluded to both, using the same cliche “brutal dictatorship” twice to suggest the dramatic travails of Havana in the 79 years since Agee’s visit.

It was all to point out that despite such crises, the bar Agee described is still recognizably there. Havana has bars Agee knew. Knoxville, Agee’s relatively stable hometown, doesn’t.

To me, that’s an interesting irony.

Such dusty trivia may be beneath Mr. Shefner’s geopolitical perspective.

But it is heartening that Shefner, despite the fact that he finds an emphasis on obscure Knoxville lore “tiresome,” keeps reading my column.

There are a lot of other columns out there.

Shefner’s theory that Cuba was never subject to Soviet domination may get a better hearing in other forums.

But I did want to point out an error in his perspective.

Shefner had alleged that, compared to Metro Pulse, the Mercury was marred by an “overreliance” on my work, and that my “footprint on this weekly is too large.”

I’d be proud to own up to a disproportional contribution to the

Mercury, if only it were mathematically plausible. The Mercury just won a lot more journalistic awards than Metro Pulse typically did. However, I have contributed fewer than half as many features and news articles per year than I did for Metro Pulse.

I’m writing less for weekly publication because I now work mainly for the Knoxville History Project, most of whose projects are not associated with the Mercury. I’m doing more administrative and fundraising work than ever before.

By the way, the Knoxville History Project does buy an educational History Page, identified as such, in each issue of the Mercury. It’s a 700-word thematic presentation of facts about this city’s little-known history. As a paid advertisement, the History Page is not suggested or edited by the Mercury staff, and does not reflect the Mercury editorially.

I appreciate the kind thoughts of the other readers who responded.

EDITORIAL EDITOR Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITERS S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com Clay Duda clay@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS

Chris Barrett Donna Johnson Ian Blackburn Rose Kennedy Brian Canever Dennis Perkins Patrice Cole Stephanie Piper Eric Dawson Ryan Reed George Dodds Eleanor Scott Lee Gardner Alan Sherrod Mike Gibson April Snellings Carey Hodges Joe Sullivan Nick Huinker Kim Trevathan Chris Wohlwend INTERNS

Hannah Hunnicutt Kevin Ridder

DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Tricia Bateman tricia@knoxmercury.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Charlie Finch Corey McPherson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

David Luttrell Shawn Poynter Justin Fee Tyler Oxendine CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Ben Adams Matthew Foltz-Gray

ADVERTISING

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES

• Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number.

We do not print anonymous letters.

• We much prefer letters that address issues that pertain specifically to Knoxville or to stories we’ve published.

• We don’t publish letters about personal disputes or how you didn’t like your waiter at that restaurant.

• Letters are usually published in the order that we receive them.

Send your letters to: Our Dear Editor Knoxville Mercury 706 Walnut St., Suite 404 Knoxville, TN 37920 Send an email to: editor@knoxmercury.com

PUBLISHER & DIRECTOR OF SALES Charlie Vogel charlie@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Hamstead scott@knoxmercury.com Stacey Pastor stacey@knoxmercury.com

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY 706 Walnut St., Suite 404, Knoxville, Tenn. 37902 knoxmercury.com • 865-313-2059 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & PRESS RELEASES editor@knoxmercury.com CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS calendar@knoxmercury.com SALES QUERIES sales@knoxmercury.com DISTRIBUTION distribution@knoxmercury.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terry Hummel Joe Sullivan Jack Neely Coury Turczyn Charlie Vogel The Knoxville Mercury is an independent weekly news magazine devoted to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. It is a taxable, not-for-profit company governed by the Knoxville History Project, a non-profit organization devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville’s unique cultural heritage. It publishes 25,000 copies per week, available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. © 2016 The Knoxville Mercury

Salute to Central Central Street is the focus of this Sunday’s “Open Streets” festival, when the street turns pedestrians-only for a few hours.

One of Knoxville’s oldest streets, it hasn’t always been called Central. South Central was previously known as Water Street. It was the street nearest to First Creek, and often flooded. It was also known as Race Street, likely a reference to the millraces on the creek.

North Central, a long road that led from the Broadway intersection into the countryside, was known as “Central Avenue” by the early 1880s, before the word was ever applied to any street in downtown Knoxville. But around 1890, old Crozier Street became known as Central.

In 1892, the city standardized its addresses for the first time, with Central as the northsouth axis. That standard would eventually be applied to numbering in the entire county.

Today, addresses on the eastern and western fringes of Knox County are in the five digits because they indicate their distance from Central.

The Great Flood of March,1867, was the worst flood in Knoxville history, and it was a horror. Bodies of the drowned had to be removed from trees along the street later known as Central.

Downtown once hosted two river wharves, the Prince Street Wharf, which was around the main plaza of Volunteer Landing, just west of Calhoun’s, and the Central Street Wharf, which was on the western bank of First Creek, near Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The Central Street Wharf was known as the more industrial of the two wharves, more concerned with cargo than passengers. Riverboatmen who had been on the river for long periods would often come up Central to shop for basic necessities, usually inexpensive ones, to take home to their families. Often they’d also be looking for liquor or women.

Crozier Street, soon to be known as Central, from an 1886 bird’s eye view. Few buildings in this image are still standing, but one is the White Lily Flour factory, labeled “21.” (The original Lawson McGhee Library, then new, is now known as the Rebori Building. It’s labeled “E.”)

By the 1890s, Central was a street of saloons, and was known as the Bowery because of its resemblance to the street by that name in Manhattan. South Central hosted more saloons than any other street in East Tennessee.

Central forms the eastern boundary of downtown, roughly, and Henley/Broadway Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Geography forms the western boundary. They are destined and Map Division. www.loc.gov. to confuse visitors for years to come, because they swap places on the northern edge of downtown. In North Knoxville, Central frames the western edge, while During a flood in the 1890s, a steamboat once sailed a few blocks up Central, Broadway lies more on the eastern side. and moored at a store at the corner of Cumberland Avenue.

Central keeps its name as it runs northwest to Sharp’s Ridge. Then it turns into Bruhin Road, and after a confusing turn, it becomes Central Avenue Pike, Circuses sometimes performed on the Crozier Street Grounds, in the a mostly rural road that leads out of the county, eventually turning into Heiskell. vicinity of what’s now the Greyhound station. Years later, circuses set up at another place about a mile northeast, the North Central Circus Grounds.

Central was the address of some of Knoxville’s most important businesses, including White Lily Flour, whose 1886 factory produced light white flours for Around 1870, Water Street became known as Crozier Street, in honor of a national and even international market for 120 years.

Congressman John Crozier, father of feminist educator Lizzie Crozier French.

Central was also the address of Knoxville’s second Catholic church, Holy Ghost.

The name had already been applied to a short extension of Water Street north Central was the address of one of Knoxville’s first large “suburban” stores, of the railroad tracks.

Sears, which located on Central with a large free parking lot–then a novelty in Knoxville–in 1946. It replaced a park that had hosted local baseball games for In 1888, developers in partnership with the city built the Central Market, a decades before. farmers’ market to compete with older Market Square. Forming a bent rectangle, it fronted both North Central and Broadway. The Central Market lasted for about a decade, but eventually failed, after charges of unfair collusion. However, it created a pleasant space, and attracted several major businesses, including the Walla Walla Chewing Gum factory. The market site was renamed Emory Park, in memory of Rev. Isaac Emory, who had been killed in the famous New Market Train Wreck of 1904. Knoxville first downtown park, it’s now known as Emory Place.

The low part of North Central, between Baxter and Scott Avenues, was known by the 1930s as Happy Holler. It got that name because it was a pocket business district that offered multiple varieties of entertainment for working people, especially those who worked long hours at nearby Brookside Mill.

Happy Holler supported a small movie theater, restaurants, and several bars.

Source: The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection

The Knoxville History Project, a new nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of and education about the history of Knoxville, presents this page each week to raise awareness of the themes, personalities, and stories of our unique city.

Learn more on www.facebook.com/knoxvillehistoryproject • email jack@knoxhistoryproject.org May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 5

thinkstock

HOWDY

BY THE NUMBERS

Monkeying Around

711

Animals living at Zoo Knoxville (with a few new hatchlings and births expected soon!), including 189 species in 20 different habitats.

108

Endangered red pandas born at Zoo Knoxville, more than any other zoo in the world.

Truck full on Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville, Tennessee PHOTO RECOLLECTION: KNOXVILLE STREETS by Holly Rainey (loveh865.com)

2

Endangered western lowland gorillas birthed in 2015, a first for Knoxville and the first for Tennessee in more than 30 years.

$9.9M QUOTE FACTORY

Annual operating budget, about 14 percent of which comes from municipal sources like the city of Knoxville and Knox County.

“ What purpose is served by introducing lessons of social injustice to our young children via a course assignment in Reading?”

2.4M

—State Rep. Martin Daniel, R-Knoxville, in a letter to the Knox County Board of Education (cc’ing Gov. Bill Haslam) complaining about a fourth-grade reading exercise. Daniel raised the alarm to local and state education officials when his daughter at Sequoyah Elementary School brought home the exercise, which describes a scenario where students in a black community received older, damaged textbooks in contrast to schools in a more affluent neighborhood. He said he is concerned that the lesson “injects a dose of ‘social justice’ into our impressionable youth.”

Pounds of poop shoveled out annually.

The main culprit? Elephants. Each one drops about 200 pounds of manure each pit stop.

#1

largest attraction in Knoxville proper with an estimated economic impact of more than $30 million annually. About 53 percent of visitors are tourists.

—Clay Duda Source: Zoo Knoxville

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

5/12 MEETING: NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC 5/13 FUNDRAISER: PAWS AMONG THE SAFETY BLOOMS

5/14 2016 INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL

5:30-7 p.m., O’Connor Senior Center (611 Winona St.). Free.

Do cars barrel through your neighborhood like it’s the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Do you ever consider banning your kids from riding their bikes around the block? Then this is the meeting for you. The city of Knoxville is developing a traffic safety program that includes enforcement, education, and/or the use of speed bumps and traffic circles. Info: knoxvilletn.gov/trafficsafety.

9 a.m.–4 p.m., Downtown. $10.

In just seven years, Biscuit Fest has become a signature Knoxville festival renowned in the world of foodies.

Yes, bona fide food tourists are coming to Knoxville— and you can join them with a cruise along Biscuit Boulevard. For the more adventurous, there’s also the Biscuit Bash ($75) on Friday, May 13, from 6-10 p.m. Info: biscuitfest.com.

THURSDAY

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

FRIDAY

5:30-7:30 p.m., Stanley’s Greenhouse (3029 Davenport Rd,). $30.

The Knoxville-Knox County CAC Office on Aging has partnered with Young-Williams Animal Center to match low-income seniors with homeless pets. Perfect! Amid Stanley’s beautiful setting, you can enjoy live music by Y’uns Jug Band featuring Michael Crawley, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. And bring your dog!

SATURDAY

5/15 OPEN STREETS KNOXVILLE SUNDAY

1-6 p.m., Central Street. Free.

Automobile drivers, throw down your shackles and join the pedestrian revolution! This second open-streets event presented by Bike Walk Knoxville shuts Central Street to cars, leaving its wide-open spaces to the people—where they can walk, ride bicycles, hula hoop, and Zumba to their hearts’ content. Info: openstreetsknoxville.com.

Earning a master’s degree in public administration opens the doors to a wide range of public service careers, including government administration, community or nonprofit management, and government relations.

Master of Public Administration (MPA) Designed for working professionals with online and evening classes.

Available in Knoxville, classes held at the LMU-Duncan School of Law.

AHSS@LMUnet.edu

www.LMUnet.edu

1.800.325.0900, ext. 6203 May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 7

PERSPECTIVES

Rate-Hike Blues The Obamacare health exchange in Tennessee is sickening

BY JOE SULLIVAN

A

fter raising its premiums for coverage on the Obamacare exchange by 36.3 percent for 2016, the state’s dominant health insurer is heralding another increase of the “same order of magnitude” for 2017.

BlueCross BlueShield, which covers 162,423 of the 268,867 Tennesseans enrolled in the government-run exchange (aka the Marketplace) claims it lost more than $150 million on that coverage in 2015 when its rates were among the lowest in the land. But the 36.3 percent increase for 2016, the largest of any state, brings Tennessee rates to just about the national average, which went up about 10 percent this year.

According to data compiled by an investment banking firm, BlueCross’ “premiums earned” on the exchange last year came to $866 million when it had just about the same number of enrollees. So a 36.3 percent rate increase would seemingly yield more than $300 million in additional revenue. Plug in another 36.3 percent increase on top of that for 2017, and you’ve got another $400 million coming in. So how on Earth can costs be going up so exponentially to justify such a rate increase on the part of a nonprofit insurance company whose rates are regulated by the state?

When I posed this question to BlueCross spokesperson Mary Danielson, she responded as follows: “Marketplace members are sicker than expected and our current rates

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

aren’t covering the cost of their medical claims. When we priced for 2016 we anticipated healthier individuals would enroll. Instead, new entrants coming on board had higher claims than expected…. And we continue to see similar losses this year to what we’ve experienced in the past two years.”

In Obamacare’s early going starting in 2014 it was thoroughly predictable that older, sicker people, many of whom were previously uninsurable, would be a lot quicker to sign up than younger, healthier ones.

All the more so for those with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty line who qualify for subsidies in the form of tax credits and other cost reductions.

Yet by 2016 one might suppose the population would have stabilized and that competition among insurers would have also contributed to price stability. As the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Senior Vice President for Special Initiatives Larry Levitt observed in a recent posting on the American Medical Association’s JAMA Forum, “The Marketplace has proven to be much more price competitive than anyone fully anticipated. Most consumers—who are generally lower-income and receiving government premium subsidies—enroll in 1 of the 2 lowest-cost plans in the Marketplace. And as insurers raise and lower premiums to jockey for market share, consumers have shown a remarkable propensity for

switching to lower premium plans to save money.”

But in Tennessee, BlueCross’ aggressive (I didn’t say predatory) pricing in the early going has contributed to a dearth of competition. After dropouts, BlueCross will be the sole insurer offering health plans on the exchange next year in 57 of the state’s 95 counties, and in 24 others it will be one of only two. Only in the Memphis and Nashville markets will there be three carriers.

Two is a magic number because premium tax credits are predicated on the cost of the second-lowest silver plan in each market (silver being one of four classes of plans that also include bronze, gold, and platinum).

So BlueCross is virtually assured of getting the designation in most parts of the state. And once having done so, the workings of the tax credits is such that they will go up by the full amount of any premium increase for people whose income stays the same.

For most types of health insurance, premium increases of the magnitude that BlueCross is propounding would lead to what’s known as a death spiral wherein all but the worst risks vamoose and leave the insurer to founder. But instead of a death spiral, the workings of Obamacare can beget a subsidy spiral in which the only thing that goes up is the cost to the taxpayers. This is borne out by Kaiser data showing that the cost of second-lowest silver plans after tax credits in Tennessee this year went up only 1.5 percent.

It’s tempting to accuse BlueCross of gaming the system, but I’ve concluded that would be an overreach.

The company has stood too tall and served the state well in too many other ways for that. Its CEO, J.D. Hickey, is highly regarded in both industry and governmental circles, and he appears to have pre-sold

Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak on the need for the 2017 rate increase, which is due to be submitted to the state within the next few weeks.

To some extent, BlueCross may be a victim of gaming rather than a perpetrator. Anecdotally, one hears a lot about people who enroll on the exchange when they need a costly surgery or other expensive treatment and then drop their coverage.

While BlueCross’ enrollees at the beginning of 2016 numbered just about the same as a year before, 48 percent of them were new to the exchange, which connotes a very high turnover rate. And there was a 23 percent enrollment drop during the course of 2015 before it rose again when the enrollment window reopened last fall.

All of this is according to authoritative postings by Louise Norris on the website healthinsurance.org.

This churning may well have contributed to a worsening of the risk pool. And along with adverse selection, perverse non-enrollment by the healthy remains a problem.

For many, paying the penalty for not adhering to Obamacare’s much-maligned individual mandate is preferable to paying premiums. The penalty, which is the greater of $695 or 2.5 percent of income, may need to be raised or better enforced.

Little is known at this point about prospective 2017 exchange rates in other states. While another year of significant increases is widely anticipated, Tennessee will almost certainly be an outlier.

The public deserves a better explanation than BlueCross has furnished so far as to why this is the case. And while the federal government, not the state, will bear the brunt of the higher costs, it’s also incumbent on McPeak to fully justify that any rate increase she approves is reasonable. ◆

So how on Earth can costs be going up so exponentially to justify such a rate increase on the part of a nonprofit insurance company whose rates are regulated by the state?

SCRUFFY CITIZEN

A Bluegrass Launchpad The legends who made their first records on Gay Street

BY JACK NEELY

T

he Knoxville Sessions box-set release of 1929 and 1930 recordings—celebrated with a frequently surprising festival this past weekend—is remarkable for several reasons, nationally or even internationally. It’s a pretty fascinating echo of an underdocumented era from the beginnings of popular music.

Knoxville has been known as a place where famous musicians learned to play, where they first performed before audiences, where they first broadcast on the radio, and, infamously, where they gave their final performances. Knoxville isn’t much known as a place to record. That’s another reason the St. James Hotel sessions were such an interesting anomaly.

But the St. James recordings were not the only significant recording ever made here. Just when you think you know everything about Knoxville, there’s always something else. I learned about this just last year, thanks to Charlie Lutz, the gentleman scholar who hosts bluegrass shows on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons on WDVX. Built in 1912, the tall, white Holston Building at Gay and Clinch is one of downtown Knoxville’s architectural landmarks. In photographs of the city from a century ago it pops out at you, impossible to mistake. In 1948, when it was known as the Hamilton Bank Building, it was one of Knoxville’s most respectable addresses, attracting doctors, lawyers, bankers, and coal executives. On the fifth floor were the regional headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The

men who walked through its doors daily were serious, respectable, no-nonsense sorts. They wore their hats flat on their heads.

The five fellows who showed up with instrument cases looked a little different. They were younger than most of the building’s 9-5 denizens, and wore their hats at an angle which, if it were not precisely rakish, it was a good deal more rakish than any banker would dare.

Of course, the folks who got off the elevator on the third floor always looked a little different. It was the radio studios of WROL, which daily hosted live country music, especially the still-new form known as bluegrass. WROL differentiated itself from the more mainstream WNOX by its frequent adventures down that unproven road. Millionaire grocer Cas Walker sponsored a live-music show on WROL, and Cas liked bluegrass.

Among the newcomers that day were four former members of Bill Monroe’s famous Bluegrass Boys, the Nashville-based band that had introduced the genre to the world.

They included 27-year-old fiddler Jim Schumate and stand-up bassist Howard Watts, 35, who was better known to some for his comic stage persona of Cedric Rainwater. The youngest was Mac Wiseman, a 23-year-old singer and guitarist.

The other two were Lester Flatt, then 34, and Earl Scruggs, 24. Until they’d mutinied earlier in the year, they’d been the white-hot core of Bill Monroe’s band, Flatt with his guitar and distinctive tenor vocal, Scruggs

with his unusual finger-picking style on banjo. They’d never before made a record as a duo, but it would become a habit.

In the soundproof studio at WROL, they cut four sides, all songs written by Flatt and Scruggs. Two religious tunes, “God Loves His Children” and “I’m Going to Make Heaven My Home.” Then a couple of high-octane love songs, “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart” and “My Cabin in Caroline.” Mac Wiseman’s high voice cuts through the atmosphere in a couple of cuts.

They all feature more notes per second than nearly anything else in popular music at the time. Flatt and Scruggs’ version of bluegrass turned Monroe’s idea up a notch.

They walked out of the Hamilton Bank Building as recording artists.

The four singles were released on Mercury. Over the next few years, with mostly different sidemen, they recorded dozens more singles in other studios in other cities.

Neither Flatt nor Scruggs was from East Tennessee. Flatt was from Overton County, in Middle Tennessee, Scruggs from Western North Carolina. Scruggs was more familiar with Knoxville than Flatt was; he’d lived and worked in radio here a few years earlier. As if making a geographical compromise, they were about to adopt Knoxville as a part-time home, while they did work in several other cities, from Cincinnati to Tampa. They’d be familiar faces on Gay Street for about seven years, regulars at Harold’s Deli, and among Knoxville’s first live-television performers. They were here so often that by 1950 they were listed as Knoxville residents, living with their wives at the same address on Rutledge Pike.

Flatt and Scruggs may have done more to popularize bluegrass music than even Monroe did, and became a

phenomenon of their own. Recognizable by name in the 1950s, they became extremely famous later through their unlikely influence in very different media. One of television’s most popular sitcoms, The Beverly Hillbillies, for which they not only composed and performed the theme, but also made occasional guest appearances as their gentlemanly selves; and on their own national TV show, on Saturday evenings, where they touted their sponsor, Martha White Self-Rising Flour.

As a kid, I studied them. In the era of the dramatic gesture, they stood coolly apart. These were two guys who knew what they were doing, were confident it was going to come out exactly, jaw-droppingly right. Only their fingers moved. They reminded me of NASA engineers, doing amazing things with their instruments without making a big deal of it. On stage they were polite, low key, smiling but never grinning, as if maybe they were hoping maybe you’d serve them a slice of pie when they were done.

Then, startlingly, their music underscored the ultraviolent (or so it seemed at the time) 1967 movie, Bonnie and Clyde, if anachronistically.

When Bonnie and Clyde died in a hail of gunfire in 1934, bluegrass was hardly a twinkle in Bill Monroe’s eye, but no fussy historian can deny that, as chase-scene music, it’s unbeatable.

By 1967, everyone in the western world, even those who claimed to despise country music, could recognize “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” the tune Flatt and Scruggs had been working on since the late ‘40s.

Those first four recordings from 1948 are available on a couple of compilations and online.

There are lots of spots in Knoxville that I think deserve plaques, and that’s one. ◆

They all feature more notes per second than nearly anything else in popular music at the time.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 9

A Tale of Two Budgets The mayors unveil their budget proposals for 2017— and they’re not dissimilar

BY S. HEATHER DUNCAN

A

lthough Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett have very different political philosophies—one a champion of workers, the environment and redevelopment, the other a champion of cost savings and private investment—aspects of their proposed budgets have been surprisingly similar this year.

Both included no tax increase and focus funds on encouraging business growth and improving roads.

And in an unusual twist, both emphasize Zoo Knoxville.

In other aspects, they diverge.

Besides creating and retaining jobs, Mayor Rogero’s budget emphasizes living and working “green,” and energizing downtown—both areas in which Knox County has little interest—as well as “strong and safe neighborhoods.”

That last goal covers a lot of ground. To address it, Rogero’s budget would put money toward historic preservation, reducing blight, redevelopment of the Five Points area, funding the Save Our Sons and Change Center initiatives to combat inner-city violence, upgrading parks, extending greenways, and expanding the operating hours of bus and trolley service. Burchett put extra emphasis on public safety, which takes up about 10 percent of his budget.

If these two budgets pass, expect paving companies to be sitting pretty—and even more of those orange cones Rogero calls the city’s unofficial “flower.” Rogero’s budget includes $2.7 million for sidewalks and crosswalks (including, by popular demand, sidewalks in areas so near schools that kids aren’t eligible to ride buses). She also proposed $5.8 million for the city’s paving program, plus $5.6 million more for specific major road improvements and $200,000 for traffic calming measures like speed bumps and roundabouts in neighborhoods.

Burchett’s budget, which he unveiled Monday before a marathon of presentations to the public over the following days, calls for $3 million in local funds

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

for paving, $4.4 million for the Schaad Road project, and more than $4 million for safety and capacity improvements at some of the county’s most dangerous roads and intersections.

Sometimes pay raises and social services are viewed as the expendable “bells and whistles,” but the proposed county and city budgets both look favorably upon them.

Burchett’s would cover a 3 percent increase in teacher wages, as well as a “step plus 1 percent” increase for other county employees that will cost about $2.1 million. Rogero’s budget included a 2.5 percent pay increase for employees, plus increases to starting salary levels for jobs in lower pay grades.

Rogero’s budget offers a 72 percent increase in funding for community and social service agencies, with a particular emphasis on groups seeking to support at-risk young black men. However, the city’s investment in nonprofits is in the same ball park as what the county proposes to provide for similar services.

Burchett spends less breath on this than Rogero, but to be fair, the county’s bigger budget means the investments are a smaller share of the total.

Incidentally, despite his cultivated stingy reputation, Burchett’s proposed budget generally fulfills most of the requests of departments that handle social services like women’s health, senior centers, veterans’ services, and indigent assistance.

And he spent a significant portion of his presentation to County Commission Monday discussing the need for a Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center to treat those suffering from mental illness and addiction who might otherwise end up in jail. The county set aside $1 million three years ago toward the cost such a facility, but had banked on the state contributing, too. Local leaders were surprised the funding wasn’t included in Gov. Bill Haslam’s 2017 budget.

Nonetheless, both mayors are budgeting $200,000 to cover a few months of operating such a center if it should somehow be built this year.

THE BIG PICTURE

Burchett’s proposed budget totals $771.2 million, an increase of 2.4 percent over the previous year. The bulk of the budget—and its growth—goes toward the $453.5 cost of operating Knox County schools. (Of the proposed $18 million county budget increase, $15.5 million is for schools.)

Rogero’s proposal would increase the city’s budget by almost the same amount of money, for a total of $407 million.

Although both local governments are avoiding a tax increase, that’s not because they are bounding ahead financially.

Burchett said that although tax collections are up somewhat, challenges remain: Rising employee health care costs, and the state’s reduction of the Hall Income Tax. (The Legislature voted this spring to eventually sunset this, the only state income tax in Tennessee—triggering an increasing county budget gap).

Burchett acknowledged that he won’t be able to achieve his goal of reducing Knox County’s debt by $100 million by the end of 2017. Instead, he predicted the county will get just halfway to that goal by 2019. But he noted that the trade-off has been the county’s ability to build four new schools, a new senior center, and a forensic center.

In the city, as in the county, good revenue news is balanced by bad.

Rogero’s budget is based on the assumption that property tax collections will remain flat and property values won’t grow much except in the commercial sector. However, for the city this is partly offset by growth in other income, particularly payments in lieu of taxes by the Knoxville Utilities Board. These are expected to climb by more than 10 percent due to KUB’s increased property ownership and revenue growth.

In his speech Monday, Burchett credited economic development with enabling the county to responsibly avoid

a tax increase, defending himself against accusations that he’s irresponsible for refusing to ever propose one. He touted his successful efforts to move forward with the controversial Midway Business Park in East Knox County.

Burchett says the county attracted more than 2,000 new jobs and upwards of $215 million in capital investment last year, and his budget includes another $1.1 million for economic development agencies.

Rogero’s budget encourages job creation with $400,000 for the Innovation Valley campaign as well as funding for the Chamber Partnership and the city’s Office of Business Support and business liaison.

Both mayors appear to have bought into the idea that Zoo Knoxville is a key economic driver, too. While Rogero didn’t include extra zoo funding in her budget, she held her budget presentation there (complete with a tête-à-tête with Einstein the parrot) and touted the city’s agreed-upon contribution of $10 million over the next five years to fund the zoo’s capital campaign, which will pay for a new tiger exhibit and reptile house.

But the zoo property is owned by the city, which has contributed to its operations for years, unlike the county. Nevertheless, Burchett plans to allocate about $530,000 from hotel/ motel tax funds this year to the zoo, says his communications director Michael Grider. And Burchett announced Monday that he will ask County Commission to approve an agreement to supply $5 million for the zoo capital campaign over the next five years.

A county budget hearing will be held Monday at 4 p.m., followed by a public hearing on the budget at 6:30 p.m. City budget hearings will run all day Tuesday, followed by a public hearing at 5 p.m. All will take place in the main assembly room of the City County Building at 400 Main St. ◆

Although both local governments are avoiding a tax increase, that’s not because they are bounding ahead financially.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 11

E At Cars &

Cars & Coffee, you’ll never know Coffee,Atyou’ll never know who—or what—you’ll who—or what—you’ll meet

very so often, a primordial roar reverberates throughout the parking lot of West Town Mall, stunning the senses anew each time.

After its initial impact on your eardrums, you can feel it thrum through your chest and go down to your toes, causing a momentary instinctual panic. It’s a sound that’s both familiar and hard to place— you’ve heard it before, probably at a movie theater, but not out in the wild.

You don’t know whether to jump out of the way or seek out its source.

These brutal blasts of unmuffled V8 ferocity have been all but engineered out of contemporary automobiles. But here at Cars & Coffee, a seasonal gathering of motor tribes, they are both a frequent reminder of

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

by Coury Turczyn • photos by tricia bateman an era when cars were more than just appliances and a personal proclamation: My car’s a badass.

Car shows are nothing new— owners have wanted to show off their beloved rides since they were invented. But Cars & Coffee is something different. Rather than devoting itself to a particular car model or type like most shows (say, the Corvette Expo or the Street Rod Nationals), it is a democratic assembly of every sort of vehicle: Come one, come all. There are no restrictions or fees or require-

ments. Just drive in, park your car, and you’re part of the show.

On this bright Sunday morning in April, about 4,000 cars, trucks, and motorcycles have converged in West Town’s parking lot, stretching from the mall’s west entrance off Montvue Road around to its front lot along Kingston Pike. Presented (and paid for) by Harper Auto Square once every spring, summer, and fall, this particular Cars & Coffee event has become a phenomenon in itself—one of the biggest C&C meetups in the U.S.,

meet

according to the fellow responsible for orchestrating the event, Harper’s marketing manager, Bill Johnson.

“There’s everything—there’s antique cars, there’s street rods, there’s muscle cars, then there’s an absolute cross section of every kind of new or late-model car that’s available today,” Johnson enthuses. “We’ll have Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McClarens. We’ve had a couple of military vehicles. And in the summer of 2014 we actually had a Formula 1 race car, which is of course one of the most exotic cars in the entire world. A gentleman who lives here in Knoxville has a couple of them, and he was kind enough to bring one.”

The origins of Cars & Coffee are difficult to pin down—the name’s original trademark holder claims to

have started the first C&C in Atlanta in 2001; meanwhile, the now defunct Irvine (Calif.) Cars and Coffee also claimed to be the first, with weekly meetups that became nationally famous. A trademarked logo currently appears to be owned by a Newport Beach, Calif., company named Cars and Coffee, Inc. Regardless, everyone from car manufacturers to car collectors have glommed onto the name and its self-explanatory invitation: Park your car at a local establishment, drink some coffee, meet some fellow gearheads.

While West Knoxville’s European Auto Garage claims the oldest Cars & Coffee meetup in the area, Harper started its edition in 2012 with about 400 cars. Now it rents West Town’s parking lot from 8 to 11 a.m., before the mall opens on Sunday, for a shockand-awe invasion of thousands.

Within that three-hour span, a mid-sized village suddenly rises out of the morning fog, gathering unique vehicles and their owners, before dissipating with the noon-time sun.

Many of the participants mix and mingle, but others park their cars in tribal circles according to their belief systems. One row contains the Volkswagen GTI faithful, their hot hatches suspiciously low to the ground and adorned with discreet decals of aftermarket parts suppliers; another row unites the original VW Bugs in all their ovoid glory, boxer engines dryly rasping for breath. A couple of rows over, advocates of 1960s muscle cars create a gleaming wall of chrome and metal-flake paint. (And they are most likely the ones who will rev their engines to ear-blasting levels.)

In the middle of one lot, a group of monster trucks confer, their cabs jacked up to the heavens for no particular reason other than the fact that it’s mechanically possible and what the hey. Off to the side, a bevy of rusting rat rods encrusted with odds and ends from a variety of makes huddle together, possibly whispering dark secrets. Near a contingent of British roadsters, the smells of oil and gas perfume the air as ancient SU carburetors flex their pistons, a reminder that cars were once machines with a life of their own.

Harper’s next Cars & Coffee event is July 10, back at West Town Mall, starting at 8 a.m. Who knows who you’ll meet? Until then, here are some dossiers on just a few of the likely characters and their loved ones.

LARRY HENEGAR

1971 FORD RANCHERO SQUIRE What Kind of Custom Work Have You Done on It?

“Front bumper’s gone, back bumper’s gone, everything’s molded in. Threeinch chop on the top. It’s a ’71 351 Cleveland motor, 671 blower, two 600 Holley carburetors, just built! It gets a lot of attention.”

How Did You Acquire It?

“I’ve owned it 42 years. I traded a ’69 [Mustang] Mach 1 for it. Drove it for

five years to work and then decided to put it up and start working on it and showing it. It was originally the Squire model—had woodgrain on it like a station wagon. Had a little wreck in ’97—it had fiberglass trim around the woodgrain, and it was impossible to find so we took it all off.”

Why Did You Trade a Mach 1 for a Ranchero With Fake Wood Paneling?

“I just liked it. They were different—

you didn’t see any of them. In fact, in the 42 years I’ve had it, I’ve only seen five or six of them that had woodgrain on them. They only made 5,000 that year, I believe.”

Why Is This Car the One for You?

“When I start something and build it, I’m not one of those sellers—I don’t like to sell. I like to keep. A lot has come and gone. That one has always stayed.”

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 13

WAYNE MCMAHAN

1966 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE SUPERSPORT Consumer Alert:

“It’s pretty rare. A lot of SS Chevelles are Malibus that people clone and put all the SS stuff on it. So you have to watch out for that if you’re buying one—make sure it’s a matching numbers car. You have to know where to look for the numbers.”

Why Is This the Car for You?

“I looked for this particular car probably for a year. I wanted to find a true SuperSport car with matching numbers, but it was the color I was looking for—the Marina Blue—and the four-speed with bucket seats.

“I had some of these here when I was young. Growing up I probably had two or three of them and let ’em go— didn’t realize they would get to the point where they are now in price.

“I actually bought this from a guy I’ve known 25 years—he deals in them. I put a little bit into it: I put different wheels on it and put a carburetor on it, and done a little exhaust work. Hadn’t done a whole lot to it, but I wanted to make it my own.”

Will You Ever Sell It?

“A lot of people have asked about buying it, and I don’t want to sell it.

But everything’s for sale. When people have asked me to put a price on it, one thing I told them was: ‘Put a wheelbarrow next to me and start dumpin’ money in it, and I’ll tell ’em when to quit.’”

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

BETH HOUSLEY

1978 MGB ROADSTER How Did You Find Yourself in an MGB?

“My husband—right over there in his 1967 MGB GT. When we first met each other and were talking about getting married, we went over to his friend’s house, where he had been working on restoring the MGB. And I told him that when I was younger, I had wanted a car like this when I was in high school but my dad wouldn’t let me have one—where I lived I would’ve gone over a mountain or been run over by a coal truck. So the next thing I knew I came home and he said he’d gotten me something—it was the car.

And it came with a ring.”

sometimes, but it’s running great now.

You have to stay on top of them.”

Is It Worth It?

“Yeah! It’s fun, it’s something my husband and I do together. We’ve met great people who enjoy it as well—we joined a club and it’s fun just getting together with them, going to shows or just hanging out. It gets lots of smiles.

And a lot of people will stop and say, ‘When I was younger, I had one of those.’ I think it brings back a lot of good memories for a lot of people.”

So, Are Those Stories About British Sports Car Reliability True?

“Yes, there have been a couple of times that I’ve been sitting on the side of the road. Lucas Electrical is known as ‘the prince of darkness’ because all of your electrical stuff stops working. So that’s happened a couple of times. And then just trying to get carbeurators adjusted and everything—it’s sort of a job

THOMAS FOSTER

2010 DODGE CHALLENGER R/T CLASSIC So Why Did You Go With a Big Retro Hemi Car? “I’m a muscle car fan, and to me they really captured the feeling, the size, the whole picture of a muscle car. It’s big, it’s bulky, it’s got great power—it feels like a real muscle car. I’ve got many dream cars, but it’s definitely a car I’ve wanted to have ever since it debuted. I finally found my perfect car—I wanted the sunroof, black leather, six-speed, and it fell right into my hands for the right price.”

So What’s Your Ultimate Dream Car?

“A ’59 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. A totally different car, but I like every-

thing from lowered trucks to rat rods—no matter what it is, I love it all.”

Why Is This Car the One for You?

“It’s just a thrill to drive. It only gets driven on good days but, man, I love it. It’s like bliss—ultimate enjoyment.

I never thought I’d feel that way about a car, but it’s the one, man, it really is.

I’ll probably die with it. And I’ve had 60-some cars, a little bit of everything from imports, your Hondas, luxury cars. I don’t have a drug habit, I have a car habit. I’m all about horsepower and speed, that’s what I like: Anything that makes good power is good with me.”

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 15

THE OWEN FAMILY 1965 FORD COUNTRY SQUIRE WAGON—TOWING A FEATHERCRAFT SPEEDBOAT ONCE PILOTED

BY A MEMBER OF KNOXVILLE’S FLYING BOATMEN 1969 FORD TORINO 1968 MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE 1967 SHELBY MUSTANG COBRA KIT CAR

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

How Did You Come to Be a Car Family?

Penny Owen (mom) “We’ve got generations

of cars and stories and great friends.

Grandad Ted, the original, he had a service station and they just loved cars.

They have always loved cars. And my grandchildren, they love the cars. Dogs and cars—that’s what we’re about. We were part of the original Mustang club, the Volunteer Regional Group. We had a national car show at the World’s Fair—we were the first thing the World’s Fair booked.”

What’s Your Go-To Car?

Doug Owen (dad) “My favorite is probably

the Shelby. Found it in the Coalfield Times News in Wise, Va., 35 years ago.

It was about $4,500. That one right

there is now worth about $100,000. The car was actually a friend’s of mine—I was with him when he bought it. And he had some issues at home and he said, ‘I’m afraid somebody’s going to come and get my car. It might get stolen, so do you mind if I put it in your basement?’

And then he passed away. His wife said ‘I wouldn’t want anybody else to have that car because you’ve kept it and maintained it. I want you to have it.’”

Brad Owen (son) “Because it’s cool. That’s

Do You Have a Dream Car Not in Your Collection?

right—it’s the only one here! I had an old truck that the wife and I would ride in, but when you have kids they don’t fit into the truck, so we found the wagon to haul everybody and then we got the boat to go along with it. We try to go out in the fall and spring—it doesn’t have air conditioning, so it’s just better to drive in those two seasons. We go all over—we’ve been as far as Champagne, Ill., but mostly it’s to the mountains or to the lake or the Dogwood Trails.”

age, everything’s fine.”

Do the Kids Really Like It?

Why Did You Decide on Getting a Country Squire Wagon Instead of an SUV?

ice cream or not. If we have ice cream, we’re good.”

Doug Owen (dad) “No, not really. At my

Brad Owen (son) “Depends on if we have

TODD HUDSON

1989 NISSAN SILVIA How Did You Legally Buy a JapaneseMarket Nissan With Right-Hand Drive?

“I imported it through Japanese Classics in Richmond, Va. We brought it over October 2014, just after it turned 25 years old, which makes it federally legal—it’s titled with the actual Japanese VIN number. It’s been a real pain in the neck getting and keeping insurance because the VIN number is really, really short—the insurance company kept sending me letters saying ‘Your VIN number is incorrect.’”

So What Makes This Different From the U.S. Version, the 240SX?

“For one thing, in the U.S. market they used the same motor they put in Nissan trucks, a 2.4 liter naturally aspirated engine. In Japan, they most always had a turbocharged motor. This one has a

ONLINE GALLERY For more cool and quirky cars, visit knoxmercury.com

dual-cam 1.8 liter with a turbo on it from the factory. It’s got power folding mirrors—streets are small in Japan so they need the ability to fold the mirrors in—and right-hand drive, obviously.”

It’s Got Rear-Wheel Drive. Have You Done Any Drifting?

“I have—it does get sideways on occasion. I don’t beat it to death because it’s a pretty rare car, still to this day. I don’t drive it much, it stays in the garage most of the time.”

Why Is This Car the One for You?

“It’s often under the radar because it’s kind of subtle and people don’t know what it is. But when you see people who do know what it is, you get a crowd. I really enjoy that—that’s why I got the car and why I bring it out.”

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 17

A&E

P rogram Notes

Time and Space UT sculptor John Douglas Powers shows his large-scale works in rare KMA solo show

I

installation that wouldn’t really be viable in a group setting.”

Powers makes complex, largescale sculptures, many of them with moving parts and many accompanied by video, film, or music. Three new pieces are on display at the KMA show—a large marble piece with feathers, a mechanized wooden sculpture, and a two-channel video projection—but Powers says they all work together.

“While they are three discrete works, I see them as intermingling for a cohesive multi-sensory experience in the gallery,” he says.

The size and scale of Powers’ work—“Locus,” the wooden sculpture in his Contemporary Focus exhibit, is four and a half feet tall and 22 feet wide, with an electric motor and hundreds of individual pieces—is a big part of the reason he could use a year off from UT.

Year of the Dog BURT REYNOLDS HEADS TO KNOXVILLE FOR FILM PRODUCTION

A

ttention Deliverance fans: Your lifelong dream of meeting Burt Reynolds in the flesh may soon come true. This week, the Visit Knoxville Film Office announced that Reynolds (plus a cast and crew) will be arriving in Knoxville next month to shoot Dog Years.

This breaks a seven-year drought of “big” film productions in the Knoxville area—the last one we recall was That Evening Sun (2009), starring Hal Holbrook, though University of Tennessee prof Paul Harrill’s locally produced Something, Anything, in 2014, got some national attention. Other productions that caused a local fuss include Asia Argento’s The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004), October Sky (1999), and Box of Moonlight (1996).

Not much info on Dog Years can be found on the Internet as of yet, though there have been a couple of previous films by that same title.

Writer/director Adam Rifkin may be best known for the 1999 coming-ofage comedy Detroit Rock City; his most recent directorial effort was Director’s Cut, a horror movie (comedy?) written by Penn Jillette.

According to Visit Knoxville, the production is still looking for actors and locations. For more information, email dogyearsmovie@gmail.com.

—Coury Turczyn

Photo by John Douglas Powers

t’s already been a big spring for John Douglas Powers. Powers, an assistant professor of art at the University of Tennessee since 2013, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in early April that will allow him to take a year off from his teaching duties to focus on his own sculpture projects. And last week, Powers’ new solo exhibit at the Knoxville Museum of Art opened—one of the few solo shows at KMA by a local or regional artist in the museum’s history.

Over the last several years, the Contemporary Focus series at KMA has showcased work by a trio of young East Tennessee artists. Powers is the first Contemporary Focus artist to get his own show. “[KMA curator] Stephen Wicks reached out to me last fall with the invitation and I couldn’t jump at it fast enough,” Powers says. “It’s really exciting to be included in this series of exhibitions and to show at the KMA. … As I understood it they are moving to a more flexible format that will allow also for one-person shows. That opens the door for things like this

“The large kinetic pieces pretty consistently eat up a lot of resources,” he says. “They require a lot of time to design and construct and are material intensive. They may be on the drawing board for months and can take a year to build. I have only worked with a studio assistant on a couple of commission projects; it’s mostly just me in the studio.”

His Guggenheim proposal was titled “Time and Space”—a reference to two things almost any working artist could use more of, but also to his work in particular, with its massive size (“space”) and emphasis on motion and video (“time”). Over the next year, Powers says, he will work on several projects at once, of varying size and complexity.

“Having dedicated time to work will allow me to have several large projects going at once without as much concern for meeting a deadline,” he says. “I’m aiming to tackle some big pieces but also pursue some experimentation that I simply haven’t had time for.”

Contemporary Focus is on display at KMA through Aug. 7. Visit knoxart. org for more information.

—Matthew Everett

19 18

Shelf Life: Hollywood Newsrooms

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

20

Music: The CrumbSnatchers

21

Movies: Captain America: Civil War

Shelf Life

Don’t Stop the Presses Why Hollywood loves the newsroom

BY CHRIS BARRETT

K

nox County Public Library’s DVD shelves abound with lives—both fictional and real—that have been improved, maybe even saved, by a competent press. And almost anyone who walks these stacks can name a Knoxvillian who has benefited in some way from unbiased reporting.

Be pleased and proud that you are served by this independent newspaper striving merely to be solvent, local, and lasting rather than profitable and easily flipped to the next absentee corporate owner.

SPOTLIGHT (2015)

It was considered unusual when Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture with no other awards won for on-screen talent or production. Typically, there is a performance—before or behind the camera—that makes one film seem better than others. (Spotlight did win a second Oscar: Best Screenplay, for McCarthy and Josh Singer.)

So the film won for its story and the manner in which that story was told by the collective cast and creative crew.

The story is, unfortunately, true.

It details the widespread sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and the subsequent cover-up. The investigative team of reporters and editors for whom the film is named reported for The Boston Globe at the turn of this century, and it’s the Archdiocese of Boston that most concerns them. For a successful mainstream film of this epoch, Spotlight is surprisingly quiet and patient. There is no snapping of pencils or pounding of tables, and there are precious few raised voices.

Instead there is the somber harvesting of damning testimonies and the painful conversations necessary to confirm them. Micheal Keaton is superb as a senior editor forced to acknowledge that he passed on the

story earlier in his career, who must then compensate. Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo are supremely convincing as the stout reporters who must earn the trust of damaged victims and then ask them terrible questions. Having chronicled the failings of bad priests, they find themselves listening and occasionally offering counsel—like good priests.

Spotlight presents journalism as an institution both good and fallible.

THE PAPER (1994)

Ron Howard directed Michael Keaton as an editor 20 years ago in The Paper. Keaton’s Henry Hackett is dealing with understaffing, shrinking budgets, and an issue on the press containing significant errors. With nothing so grave as child abuse in play, The Paper nicely demonstrates how journalism makes an ideal mechanism for clear-cut conflict. The complete truth and its champions must prevail, and any person or circumstance that might interfere deserves our full scorn. It’s a comfortable self-righteousness, especially if you’ve been on that spot—or spend your days on that spot. The Paper holds up, and the role allows Keaton— acting opposite Glenn Close, Randy Quaid, Spalding Gray, and Robert Duvall, all in fine form—full use of his facial and physical comic palette.

A&E

PARK ROW (1952)

Believe it or not, Samuel Fuller’s paean to newspapers is more saccharine than Howard’s. Maybe it’s because Fuller came to film after a stint in print news and funded this film himself. It’s the late 19th century and editor Phineas Mitchell (Gene Evans) is starting a New York daily to compete with the one that just fired him. Park Row is true to the form, with the addition of violence and bullying from the established paper and the patient explanation of dated copy-shop slang, like hellbox and printer’s devil.

HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) AND THE FRONT PAGE (1974)

Rehabilitated reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur wrote The Front Page for the stage. It premiered in 1928 and is revived by just about every generation. It has been adapted for the screen numerous times, most notably

by Howard Hawks, as His Girl Friday, in 1940 and by Billy Wilder in 1974.

Both films focus on a desperate editor named Walter Burns conniving to retain his star reporter, Hildy Johnson.

Wilder stayed truer to the original casting by pitting Walter Matthau against Jack Lemmon. Hawks added romance to the mix by having reporter Rosalind Russell attempting to shed Cary Grant, both as editor and ex.

Both classic comedies are mandatory viewing and depict a bygone culture in which chain-smoking, heavy-drinking troops from multiple daily print outlets spar for a scoop—none are above sabotage—and tinker with the truth along the way for maximum sensationalism. ◆

For a successful mainstream film of this epoch, Spotlight is surprisingly quiet and patient.

There is no snapping of pencils or pounding of tables, and there are precious few raised voices.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 19

A&E

Music

Photo by Saul Young

In the Big House The CrumbSnatchers’ patience pays off on the band’s debut album

BY MATTHEW EVERETT

I

t sounds like a scene from a National Lampoon movie—500 college kids, crammed into a backyard in Fort Sanders in late winter, are waiting for the CrumbSnatchers to start playing, but the band’s bass player, Sam Burchfield, is still looking for a place to park.

“He got frustrated and left,” says CrumbSnatchers guitarist and singer Sam “Guetts” Guetterman. “We were like, ‘What do we do?’ It’s the biggest house party I’ve ever played.”

As luck would have it, J. Niles Haury, the bass player for local jam/R&B band Grandpa’s Stash, was in the crowd and offered his services.

After a quick consultation, he joined the rest of the CrumbSnatchers— Guetterman, guitarist Philip Mosteller, and drummer Rylan Bledsoe— on stage.

“In between songs, I’d lean over and be like, ‘It goes like this,’” Guetterman says. “Thank goodness the cops shut it down after five songs, because we’d played the five simplest songs we had. The cops came and I was like, ‘Oh, boo!’ But inside I was like, ‘Thank god they showed up!’

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

That’s the only time I’ve ever said that sentence to myself.”

That show was one of several recent turning points for the CrumbSnatchers, a scrappy local indie/punk band known for its riotous live shows and intricate musicianship.

The band finished recording its first album, Big House, earlier this year.

Burchfield, whom Guetterman describes as “an awesome bass player and a big part of what our sound was,” would never return, leaving Haury as an interim bassist for the band’s upcoming CD release show and a two-week June tour through Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania that will end with four shows in New York.

“There are certain things that Sam did, certain nuances, that made him over-the-top good,” Guetterman says. “But Niles’ style is just different.

As long as everything’s tight and you play together, that’s what’s important.

His attitude has been great. But going on this tour is a stretch for him, so I don’t know if he’ll want to do things like that in the future.”

Big House promises to be a revelation. The CrumbSnatchers

released an EP, Reckless Breakfast, in 2014; it was the first time any of them had spent significant time in a studio, and it shows—the band’s live energy translates onto disc, but the sound quality is basic. Big House, on the other hand, recorded with the Kelly brothers at Knoxville’s Famous London Recording Studio, demonstrates a (slightly) bigger budget and more studio experience. The group’s big shout-along choruses and tightknit ensemble playing come together without sacrificing the immediacy of the band’s live performance.

“We didn’t do that many overdubs,” Guetterman says. “I think I can count on one hand the things that wouldn’t be done live—there’s one track that has a bass harmonica in it, but you don’t know it’s there. There’s a piano overdub on a song, a couple of things like that.”

The band started planning for Big House more than a year ago. They launched a Kickstarter campaign in early 2015 to raise $6,000 for studio time and CD production, but the effort fell short. Instead of trying another round of crowdfunding, Guetterman

just got a second job.

“I just decided I’ll work hard for it and we’ll do it that way,” he says.

“Because the money’s been coming in that way, that’s why it’s taken so long.

We were only able to be in there every so often. But I think it may be that it turned out better. We’ve written a lot of songs that are on the album that wouldn’t be, and it’s because we had time. We recorded 18 tracks total, and there are 13 on the album. So that was nice, to be able to take the weak links out, and that probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d gotten the money all at once and recorded what we had at the time. I’m really happy about it, and I think I will be happy about it later.”

Still, there’s a little uncertainty in the CrumbSnatchers’ future. The loss of a founding member and Haury’s tentative position in the lineup mean that the band going out to support Big House—in Knoxville and on the road—isn’t quite the same one that made the record.

“It’s just going to be what it’s going to be,” Guetterman says. “It may turn out to be better. I may end up having more fun with whoever ends up running with us. I’m not worried about it. It’s going to be fine, whatever happens.” ◆

WHO

The CrumbSnatchers with Baby Baby and the Tom Pappas Collection

WHERE

Scruffy City Hall (32 Market Square)

WHEN

Friday, May 20, at 10 p.m.

HOW MUCH $5

INFO

scruffycity.com

Movies

A&E

Avengers Disassemble Marvel surpasses expectations again with Captain America: Civil War

BY APRIL SNELLINGS

S

urely there’s some sort of esoteric algebra at work in the business of superhero ensemble movies— some fateful tipping point where x equals too much backstory to wrangle and y equals a cast that’s too unwieldy to juggle. Toss in too many of these screen-hogging punchbots and they just become collections of facile traits stuffed into digitally augmented costumes, right?

At least, that’s how it seemed to work out for DC and Warner Bros., who found that y apparently equals three—the tally that turned Batman into a sadistic checkbook with dead parents and reduced Wonder Woman to excellent timing in a slinky outfit.

Marvel must be cooking the books, though, because Captain America: Civil War ropes in no less than a dozen costumed characters—each of whom has, will, or could carry his or her own movie—and yet it somehow manages to give them all plenty of room. New characters join the fray, but never at the expense of the ones who’ve already staked out their territory in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In fact, some of Civil War’s best moments come from the interplay

between veteran Avengers and the newcomers who are vying for a spot on the playing field. The plot centers on the tension and eventual conflict that arise when Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) disagree about whether they and other “U.S.-based enhanced humans” should submit to government oversight. But the movie really shimmers and pops when it introduces its two new characters: Chadwick Boseman’s regal and immensely appealing Black Panther and Tom Holland’s energetic, wide-eyed (and also immensely appealing) Spider-Man. It’s an embarrassment of superheroes and somehow, improbably, it works.

There are a lot of reasons for the film’s success. Besides an uncanny knack for casting characters rather than filling out suits, Civil War showcases Marvel’s ability to break down potentially chaotic action sequences into clear, character-centric beats that are simultaneously spectacular and intimate. Never has that been more evident than in Civil War’s pivotal set piece, a six-on-six melee that, for my money, is the greatest superhero action scene ever

committed to film. It’s a master class in the art of comic-book moviemaking—a gobsmackingly entertaining cinematic splash page that balances wit and spectacle in equal measure, and pretty much represents everything that’s appealing about superheroes in the first place.

With more than a dozen titles in the can and nearly as many officially in development, the MCU has reached the point where its directors must be tempted to simply assume stewardship of a franchise rather than attempt any real auteur business. Endless credit, then, to Civil War team Joe and Anthony Russo for aiming higher than just not screwing anything up. Civil War is their second Captain America film (the brothers also directed the excellent Winter Soldier), but for all intents and purposes it’s their first Avengers movie—they’ll be taking the reins of that franchise with the Infinity War two-parter slated for 2018 and 2019. Those movies will present the Russos with a task that seemed almost insurmountable to me a few days ago, as they’ll presumably be the point where the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises

converge. It’s hard to imagine how such a sprawling cast and storyline could be managed without crumbling under its own weight, but Civil War proves that Marvel’s dream teams are in the best hands imaginable.

Forgive me if my praise teeters on the brink of hyperbole. To be honest, my enthusiasm for super-team movies had begun to wane a little in the wake of Age of Ultron—not a bad movie by any means, but certainly not an elegant one, and arguably the closest Marvel Studios has come to a wrong step—and the bleak, assaultive depress-a-thon that was Batman v Superman. But Civil War has brought that excitement back in full force. A deftly orchestrated ensemble adventure that manages to be weighty in theme, breezy in tone, and nimble in execution, it stands shoulder-to-muscled-shoulder with the very finest superhero flicks ever made, and it’s a reminder that a comic-book movie can still make me feel like a kid while thinking like a grown-up. It’s fastpaced, funny, and affecting, and it’s unwaveringly devoted to fulfilling, rather than subverting, the most satisfying pleasures of its genre. ◆ May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 21

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

MUSIC

Thursday, May 12 THE NEW 76ERS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE WARREN PINEDA AND JON MASON • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM HALEY MCGINNIS AND STAN GIBERT • The Orangery • 6PM OTEP WITH SEPTEMBER MOURNING, THROUGH FIRE, AND DOLL SKIN • The Concourse • 7PM • Otep Shamaya’s music is formed from the poetic marrow of creative intercourse.

Art for art’s sake. 18 and up. • $20-$22 JACOB THOMAS JR. • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • In a world full of wanna-be good guys, Jacob Thomas Jr is content to be a villain... at least as far as his debut album, Original Sin, is concerned. Over the course of 11 songs, he shines a light on the darker side of human nature, playing the sort of crooked crooner you’d want to keep far away from your mother. • FREE KITTY WAMPUS • The Rocks Tavern • 7PM • Classic rock, blues, and R&B. KELSEY’S WOODS • Market Square • 7PM • Combining equal parts of roots, country, folk and a little rock and roll, Kelsey’s Woods boasts four-part harmonies, interchangeable lead singers and all original songs. • FREE WILL CARTER • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM DYLAN SCOTT • Cotton Eyed Joe • 9PM • A native of the small northeastern Louisiana town of Bastrop, Dylan Scott grew up with a passion for music in general, and country music in particular, and a deep and profound love and respect for the outdoors. More than anything else, those two traits define who Dylan Scott is and what gives him direction and purpose in life. Dylan’s father, a former guitar player for country legends Freddy Fender and Freddy Hart, taught Dylan at an early age the basics of singing and playing guitar and thus introduced him to the world of music. • $10 THE NEW 76ERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • The New 76ers are an acoustic folk “family” trio. Our sound comes from a collective respect for acoustic and electric music. • FREE YAK STRANGLER • Scruffy City Hall • 6PM DEVON JONES • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM Friday, May 13 LACY GREEN • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE ALIVE AFTER FIVE: THE STACY MITCHHART BAND • Knoxville Museum of Art • 6PM • The Stacy Mitchhart Band is widely recognized as the best show in Nashville, as the house band for the famed Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar on historic Printer’s Alley for many years and also frequent appearances at B.B. King’s Blues Club. • $15 WENDEL WERNER • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM DAVID CHILDERS AND THE SERPENTS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Throughout his 20-year career as a singer, songwriter and bandleader, Childers has written about the tension between secular and religious impulses. His albums have always included songs of wild hedonism and uplifting faith but, as his new album, Serpents of Reformation,evolved, he found himself drawn to themes of salvation and repentance. • FREE

MS. NIKKI • The Alley • 7PM • Enjoy the sultry sounds of Ms. Nikki and her jamming band.

SHAUN ABBOTT • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY: ‘WISH YOU WERE HERE’ • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • The Black Jacket Symphony offers a unique concert experience by recreating classic albums in a live performance setting with a first class lighting and video production. A selected album is performed in its entirety by a group of hand-picked musicians specifically selected for each album. With no sonic detail being overlooked, the musicians do whatever it takes to musically reproduce the album. Following the album and a brief intermission, the Black Jacket Symphony returns to the stage to perform a collection of greatest hits by the evening’s artist. The Black Jacket Symphony returns to perform Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here “ live--note for note, sound for sound. • $28 SHIMMY AND THE BURNS • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up. • FREE BULLETVILLE WITH TINDERBOX CIRCUS SIDESHOW, LA BASURA DEL DIABLO, AND THE BILLY WIDGETS • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Things are gonna get spooky Friday the 13th. The night will feature an album release by Bulletville and a real sword-swallowing, fire-eating circus sideshow act. All ages. • $5 FRIGHTENED RABBIT WITH CAVEMAN • The International • 9PM • Frightened Rabbit are proudly Scottish, and adored on native soil, but their songs also seem to take on greater resonance and power the further from home they travel. Ideas might have come on any one of the ten or so US tours undertaken by the band, each bigger, noisier, rowdier, more special than the last – there aren’t many British bands who can match Frightened Rabbit, formed by this thoughtful former art student nine years ago, for the level and intensity of their American success. 18 and up. • $15-$18 COUNTY-WIDE • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM PLANKEYE PEGGY WITH SWINGBOOTY • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM JEANINE FULLER • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz.

• $0 SOULFINGER • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM WILL BOYD • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM • $5 CAUTION • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Caution gives audiences the ultimate jam music experience, covering legendary jam bands like the Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic. Since 1996, Caution has been turning crowds on to jam music with a mass appealing, in-your-face approach to the jam band style. • $5 ANGELA PERLEY AND THE HOWLIN’ MOONS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE ANNABELLE’S CURSE WITH THE MCLOVINS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 MATTHEW HICKEY • Barley’s (Maryville) • 10PM THE NICK RANDLES BAND • Last Days of Autumn Brewery • 7PM Saturday, May 14 COMMUNITY CENTER WITH SCOTT SOUTHWORTH • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-aweek lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE DOYLE LAWSON AND QUICKSILVER WITH LARRY CORDLE AND LONESOME STANDARD TIME • Bijou Theatre • 7PM •

CALENDAR

WDVX’s World Class Bluegrass concert series presents two of East Tennessee’s most beloved bluegrass bands.

For more information, visit WDVX.com.

TERRAPLANE DRIFTERS • Last Days of Autumn Brewery • 7PM THE NEW APOLOGETIC • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE JAZZSPIRATIONS • Red Piano Lounge • 7:30PM KNOXVILLE HYDROCEPHALUS AWARENESS ROCK CONCERT • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • We are going to rock the night away in support of people with a condition called Hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus aka, water on the brain, is a condition where too much cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the membrane that protects the brain. Visit hydroangelsoveramerica.org.

COMMUNITY CENTER • Preservation Pub • 8PM • Community Center’s live show has been winning over diverse audiences with storytelling songwriting and a live set that features saxophone, accordion, cello, clarinet, violin, and highly-arranged vocals. We have performed at large music festivals and two singles from

our most recent album have been in rotation on many national radio stations. 21 and up. • FREE EXIT 60 • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM THE CHUCK MULLICAN JAZZ BONANZA • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE THE JOEY PIERCE PROJECT • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM ALL THEM WITCHES • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Heavy, heady and hypnotic, All Them Witches concoct a powerful and potent psychedelic sound that fuses bluesy soul, Southern swagger and thunderous hard rock. With their transfixing releases, 2012’s Our Mother Electricity and 2014’s Lightning At The Door, and a jam-filled live show where no two shows are the same, the band has amassed a devoted following and have become something of a sensation in the underground rock scene. • $5 • See Spotlight THE VIBRASLAPS • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM THE BURNIN’ HERMANS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $5 MILES NIELSEN AND THE RUSTED HEARTS • Boyd’s Jig and

ALL THEM WITCHES Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (200 E. Jackson Ave.) • Saturday, May 14 • 10 p.m. • $5 • barleysknoxville.com or allthemwitches.org

The Nashville band All Them Witches has been heading toward something big since forming back in 2012. With Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, recorded last year in Pigeon Forge, they’ve nailed it—their third album (following Our Mother Electricity and Lightning at the Door) is a heady chunk of psychedelic existentialism, inspired by the Allman Brothers, Sticky Fingers, Ennio Morricone, and Physical Graffiti. Unlike their peers in Nashville’s garage rock scene, All Them Witches steer clear of beer-soaked ’70s FM rock revivalism, opting instead for a brooding backwoods head trip that might serve as a soundtrack for a film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, as directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Dark, elemental, magisterial stuff. (Matthew Everett)

27

Spotlight: Marble City Opera: Sweets by Kate May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 23

CALENDAR Reel • 10PM • FREE PARTY THIEVES WITH FALSE PANIC • The Concourse • 10PM • 18 and up. • $10-$15 MOJO: FLOW • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 10PM THE LONESOME COYOTES • Spicy’s • 6PM COLIN ELMORE • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE Sunday, May 15 SHIFFLETT’S JAZZ BENEDICT • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery • 12:45PM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE PALE ROOT • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Aaron Freeman’s taste for contemporary songwriters like Ryan Adams and Darrel Scott provides a balance to Jordan Burris’ penchant for bluegrass and traditional folk. As Pale Root, they’ve quietly settled into their own spot in Knoxville’s crowded Americana scene.

TREETOPS WITH WAYSIDE SHAKEDOWN AND JUBAL • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM Monday, May 16 KIM LOGAN WITH LOWELL LEVINGER • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE VIENNA COFFEE HOUSE JAZZ TRIO • Vienna Coffee House • 5PM • FREE

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

JARED DECK WITH RYAN SHELEY AND SCOTT MCMAHAN • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • All of the songs on Jared Deck’s new self-titled album reflect a sense of wry understanding of life and an indomitable spirit, from the fractured family in “Wrong Side Of The Night,” to the working-man’s fight in “The American Dream.” Deck’s songs illustrate life in the rural heartland.

All ages. • $8-$10 MAJOR AND THE MONBACKS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM ST. CINDER WITH JON HATCHETT • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

Tuesday, May 17 THE JON HATCHETT BAND WITH LYAL STRICKLAND • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-aweek lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE BRIAN CLAY • Red Piano Lounge • 7PM VICTOR AND PENNY • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Celebrating a time when style mattered and class was king, Victor and Penny and their Loose Change Orchestra feature tight harmonies, dazzling guitar work, soaring horns and a fiery ukulele. This corset-tight quartet crafts clever original tunes and brings a modern voice to prohibition era jazz with charm and hot licks. • FREE MARBLE CITY 5 • Market Square • 8PM • Live jazz every Tuesday from May 3-Aug. 30. • FREE THE HOOTEN HOLLERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria •

10PM RADIO BIRDS AND STRANGETOWNE • Preservation Pub • 10PM • Undiscovered and on the road, Atlanta, Georgia’s, Radio Birds, and Amarillo, Texas’, Strangetowne, have been touring avidly on their own for the past year, each sharing a grassroots approach to building fans. The bands found a kindred spirit and instant success when they paired up last December for a run to Wisconsin.

Rooms filled with a roar as crowds packed in. Loud and raucous, every night had folks on their feet and up front.

21 and up. • $3 Wednesday, May 18 DAN AND FAITH WITH NAKED BLUE AND JASON HARROD • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 6:30PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE GROOVE THERAPY • Red Piano Lounge • 7PM TENNESSEE SHINES: BILL AND THE BELLES • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7PM • With striking three-part harmonies and masterful instrumentation, Bill and the Belles skillfully breathe new life into the sounds of early country music.

At the foothills of the Blue Ridge and the forefront of old time music, Bill and the Belles (Kris Truelsen, Grace Van’t Hof, Kalia Yeagle, and Karl Zerfas) continue to further the music traditions of their region. From sentimental Southern ballads to the popular songs of Tin Pan Alley to

regional fiddle breakdowns, a Bill and the Belles show is a celebration of the diversity country music once represented. • $10 NAKED BLUE • Mind Yer Ps and Qs Craft Beer and Wine Lounge • 7PM THE HARMED BROTHERS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • The Harmed Brothers are an indie-Americana group based out of Portland, Oregon.

Captained by guitarist/vocalist Ray Vietti and banjoist/ vocalist Alex Salcido, The Harmed Brothers’ ambitious songs run an emotional gauntlet of love, loss, heartbreak, hope and redemption, often drawing comparisons to Wilco, Uncle Tupelo and The Avett Brothers. Their most recent release, Better Days, is available on Fluff and Gravy Records. • FREE GUTTED ALIVE WITH CEMETERY FILTH AND BLED TO SUBMISSION • Pilot Light • 9PM • Death metal from Rochester, N.Y., Johnson City, and Nashville. 18 and up. • $7 JOSIAH ATCHLEY AND THE GREATER GOOD • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 Thursday, May 19 ZACK MILES • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE WARREN PINEDA AND JON MASON • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM DEEDEE BROGAN • The Orangery • 6PM JACK HERRANEN AND THE LITTLE RED BAND • Scruffy City Hall • 6PM

o i ! d A r e g e l l o c T r o p sUp

long sleeve: orange.

short sleeve: grey, black, and white.

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SECULAR MINISTER AND AUTHOR OF “HOPE AFTER FAITH” Non-believers Can Still Help Save The World.

How humanistic motivations draw people to religion and how love still works to help others after religious faith dies.

Saturday, May 15, 2-4 PM Goins Auditorium, Pellissippi State Community College 10915 Hardin Valley Road

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

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CALENDAR THE JON HATCHETT BAND • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • The New Orleans based Jon Hatchett Band combines many elements of American Roots music, including honky tonk, swing, jump blues and bluegrass, to make original songs and play standards that are both danceable and reflective.

THE SCRUFFY CITY SYNCOPATORS • Market Square • 7PM • Go back in time as the Scruffy City Syncopaters play music from the late swing area, featuring post-World War II tunes. • FREE KATHY MATTEA AND BILL COOLEY • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • Grammy Award winning singer Kathy Mattea and her longtime collaborator, guitarist Bill Cooley, have shared one of Nashville’s most musically rich partnerships for over two decades. The duo meets as old friends, welcoming you into The Acoustic Living Room to share songs and stories near and dear to their hearts — including Kathy’s beloved classics such as “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “Where’ve You Been?,” and many other hits.

• $23.50 BIG SHOALS • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM BEN DONOVAN AND THE CONGREGATION • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM THE HARMED BROTHERS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

Friday, May 20 THE BANKSTERS WITH MATT CAMPBELL • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE ALIVE AFTER FIVE: SOULFINGER • Knoxville Museum of Art • 6PM • The spring series concludes with one of our favorite bands at AA5, a super tight group with a smoldering hot horn section. Led by vocalist and keyboard/harmonica player, Tim Spencer, Soulfinger is groovin’ in the 21st century with 20th century Old School R&B, Soul, Funk, and Blues, playing songs made famous

by Otis Redding, James Brown, Sam Cooke, B.B. King, and many more. • $10 WENDEL WERNER • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM JIM BUTTERWORTH AND JOHN THOMAS OAKS • Vienna Coffee House • 7PM • FREE THE JOEY PIERCE DUO • Last Days of Autumn Brewery • 7PM DAN BLAKESLEE • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • With a suitcase of songs, Maine folk troubadour Dan Blakeslee ventured into the subways of Boston in 1995 to practice his craft. He has been making music and art throughout New England ever since, leading him to tour the U.S. performing with The Low Anthem, David Wax Museum, Lydia Loveless, The Lumineers, Liam Finn, Brown Bird, Joe Fletcher, Death Vessel and Kimya Dawson among others. • FREE TOMMY EMMANUEL • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • It’s Emmanuel’s integrity that makes It’s Never Too Late a guitar album that’s believable to both studied guitarists and everyday music fans. • $36-$49 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • FREE STURGILL SIMPSON • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth is the rare album that traverses the entire world, both musically and lyrically.

It’s dizzyingly diverse, jumping from one style to the next, with ports of call in Motor City and Music Row, Harlem and Stax, Berlin and London, yet it never leaves Simpson’s very specific point of view. • $35.50-$45.50 THE DAMNED ANGELS WITH TRACTORHEAD AND RED AS BLOOD • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Loud,

gritty, American-made rock ‘n’ roll. All ages. • $7 THE CRUMBSNATCHERS WITH BABY BABY AND THE TOM PAPPAS COLLECTION • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM • Full of brain-scrambling jumps between punk assaults and catchy indie-rock choruses, the band’s sound is equal parts chaotic and contrived. • See story on page 20.

AVENUE C • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM PAMELA KLICKA • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz.

• FREE VANCE THOMPSON • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM • $5 PISTOL CREEK • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM IAN THOMAS AND THE BAND OF DRIFTERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM BLAIR CRIMMINS AND THE HOOKERS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE THE KAYA PROJECT WITH PSYCHONAUT, SLOW NASTY, AND P3RIPH3RAL • The Concourse • 10PM • 18 and up. • $7-$10 THE DEAD RINGERS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

Saturday, May 21 DUANE RUTTER WITH PHOURIST AND THE PHOTONS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE KATY FREE • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM LUCY ROSE GEORGE • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE THE DIRTY DOUGS • Last Days of Autumn Brewery • 7PM TOMMY EMMANUEL • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • It’s Emmanuel’s integrity that makes It’s Never Too Late a guitar album that’s believable to both studied guitarists and everyday music fans. • $36-$49 DEMON WAFFLE WITH THE BILLY WIDGETS, FINAL FIGHT, AND MENACE FROM EARTH • Longbranch Saloon • 8PM • A high-energy blend of reggae, rock, punk, soul, ska, and funk. • $5 C. VAUGHN LESLIE AND BOYS’ NIGHT OUT • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Playing authentic R&B and beach music. • $10-$15 YEAR OF OCTOBER • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up.

K-TOWN MUSIC • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM JANA KRAMER • Cotton Eyed Joe • 9PM • Jana is no stranger to the bright lights with her impressive string of movie and television roles, but she credits her recent break into the music industry as her most important accomplishment to date. • $10 THE WILL YAGER TRIO • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE KENNETH BROWN • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM • $5 HUDOST • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM THE JUKE JOINT DRIFTERS • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM DEVAN JONES AND THE UPTOWN STOMP • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE THE COSMIC SITUATION • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

MAIL THE HORSE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • The story begins years prior to Mail the Horse, when a ragtag group of musicians and artists gathered weekly in woodsheds, kitchens or wherever they could find space in coastal New Hampshire to share their work and collectively scratch an artistic itch none of them could reach on his own. In this setting, they discovered they shared substantial common ground in their musical tastes, and bonded over a love for timeless rock’ n’ roll, the short-fiction of Raymond Carver, and outsider folk music.

Sunday, May 22 May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 25

CALENDAR THE MALIBU DIAMOND BAND • Last Days of Autumn Brewery • 11AM SHIFFLETT’S JAZZ BENEDICT • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery • 12:45PM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE JAMES ARMSTRONG • Star of Knoxville Riverboat • 4PM • Come join the Smoky Mountain Blues Society as they present some of the best known regional Blues Music artists performing on specialty cruises on the Tennessee River. From April through October, blues lovers will convene to celebrate this truly American art-form during a 3 hour Sunday afternoon cruise on the Star of Knoxville Tennessee Riverboat. Visit smokymountainblues.org. • $16-$20 HELLYEAH WITH ESCAPE THE FATE, NEW YEAR’S DAY, AND FROM ASHES TO NEW • The International • 7PM • Headbangers, take note! Don’t waste time concerning yourself with the band members’ impressive resumes or with dwelling on their previous work. On Blood for Blood, Hellyeah lives in the here and now. 18 and up. • $19.99-$24.99 SAM LEWIS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • With his compelling songs, stirring melodies, and preternaturally soulful voice, Sam Lewis has quickly established himself as one of Nashville’s most talented new tunesmiths.

DAPHNE LEE MARTIN WITH GEORGIA ENGLISH AND THE JUKEBOX KIDS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

OPEN MIC AND SONGWRITER NIGHTS

Thursday, May 12 VIENNA COFFEE HOUSE OPEN MIC NIGHT • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • Visit viennacoffeehouse.net. • FREE SCOTTISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

• FREE Sunday, May 15 FAMILY FRIENDLY DRUM CIRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 3:30PM • Drumming for kids of all ages on the third Sunday of the month. Bring a drum or share one of ours.

Bring a blanket or chair. Open to drummers of all ages and levels. Free and fun. • FREE Tuesday, May 17 PRESERVATION PUB SINGER/SONGWRITER NIGHT • Preservation Pub • 7PM OLD-TIME JAM SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Hosted by Sarah Pickle. • FREE Wednesday, May 18 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OLD-TIME JAM • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM • Regular speed old-time/fiddle jam every Wednesday. All instruments and skill levels welcome.

BRACKINS BLUES JAM • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM • A weekly open session hosted by Tommie John. •

FREE ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT • Asia Cafe West • 7PM • Bring an acoustic guitar and a few songs every Wednesday.

Sign-up sheet available 30 minutes prior to 7 p.m. start.

Three songs or 10 minutes per performer. • FREE

afternoon tunage in the company of this city’s most dedicated loafers. We’ll be serving our normal brunch in all it’s glory, courtesy of Localmotive. Musical accompaniment by the likes of Slow Nasty, Psychonaut, and a rotating list of special guests. All ages. • FREE

Thursday, May 19 VIENNA COFFEE HOUSE OPEN MIC NIGHT • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • Visit viennacoffeehouse.net. • FREE IRISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. • FREE

Saturday, May 21 TEMPLE DANCE NIGHT • The Concourse • 9PM • Knoxville’s long-running alternative once night. 18 and up. • $5

Saturday, May 21 OLD-TIME SLOW JAM • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 4PM • A monthly old-time music session, held on the third Saturday of each month. • FREE

CLASSICAL MUSIC

DJ AND DANCE NIGHTS

Friday, May 13 HOUSE IS WHERE THE HEART IS • The Concourse • 7:30PM • A monthly community-oriented event consisting of yoga, flow, dance, and play, with music by Gregory Alan Tarrants and J Mo and yoga by Meryl Kerns.

Sunday, May 15 LAYOVER SUNDAY BRUNCH • The Concourse • 12PM • Enjoy good eats, refreshing libations, and the most appropriate

Coming in Spring 2016 RIVER’S EDGE APARTMENT HOMES RIVERSEDGEKNOX.COM

Coming in Spring 2016: the Urban Wilderness’s newest Class A apartment complex, located in the heart of the upcoming Rail Trail along the banks of the Tennessee River.

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LEASING OFFICE OPENS MAY 16, 2016 26

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

865-225-9838 | M-Fri. 9am-5pm | Sat. 10am-12pm 1701 Island Home Avenue Knoxville, TN 37920 Virtual Tours and more information at riversedgeknox.com

Sunday, May 22 LAYOVER SUNDAY BRUNCH • The Concourse • 12PM. • FREE

Thursday, May 12 KSO MASTERWORKS SERIES: RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • The KSO’s 80th season concludes with one of Richard Wagner’s best known works, Ride of the Valkyries. James Fellenbaum conducts the orchestra in Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, followed by the Tennessee premiere of a new Christopher Theofandis piece. The KSO joined the New Music for American consortium of American orchestras to commission this work. The program concludes with highlights from Wagner’s The Ring.

Friday, May 13 KSO MASTERWORKS SERIES: RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • The KSO’s 80th season concludes with one of Richard Wagner’s best known

OP

M E M AY N H AY 13 T O 14 T H ( US H 1 (1 2-7) E 15)

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

CALENDAR

works, Ride of the Valkyries.

6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12

Sunday, May 15 MARBLE CITY OPERA: ‘SWEETS BY KATE’ • Knoxville Museum of Art • 3PM • Sweets by Kate, a new opera by Griffin Candey, is a story of love, friendship, acceptance, and new beginnings. This 80-minute opera will pull at the heart strings of a modern audience while keeping them entertained through comedy and drama. This story is for anyone who dared to love wholeheartedly and stepped into their dreams boldly and without apology.

Visit marblecityopera.com. • $20 • See Spotlight.

Sunday, May 22 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12

COMEDY AND

SPOKEN WORD

Thursday, May 12 PIZZA HAS • Pizza Hoss • 8PM • On the second Thursday of the month, Pizza Hoss in Powell hosts a showcase featuring sets from some of the best comedians in East Tennessee along with selected up-and-coming talent. • FREE FULL DISCLOSURE COMEDY • Open Chord Brewhouse and

Monday, May 16 MARBLE CITY OPERA: ‘SWEETS BY KATE’ • Sugar Mama’s Bakery • 8PM • Visit marblecityopera.com. • $40 • See Spotlight.

100’S OF BEERS

THEATER AND DANCE

LIVE MUSIC

Thursday, May 12 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • The play’s subtitle is “Prince Ferris’ Day Off,” because the play is a witty and clever mashup of the Grimm fairy tales of Snow White and Rose Red, as well as the iconic 1980s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12

FOOD TRUCKS

Friday, May 13 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 Saturday, May 14 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM a nd 5PM • May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 BROADWAY AT THE TENNESSEE: RAGTIME • Tennessee Theatre • 3PM and 8PM • At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing…and anything is possible. The stories of an upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician unfold - set in turn-of-the-century New York - all three united by their desire and belief in a brighter tomorrow. • $37-$77 Sunday, May 15 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 BROADWAY AT THE TENNESSEE: RAGTIME • Tennessee Theatre • 1:30PM • At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing…and anything is possible. The stories of an upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician unfold - set in turn-of-the-century New York - all three united by their desire and belief in a brighter tomorrow. • $37-$77 Thursday, May 19 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 Friday, May 20 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • May 6-22. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 Saturday, May 21 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM a nd 5PM • May

SATURDAY JUNE 18

EARLY BIRD TICKETS

MARBLE CITY OPERA: SWEETS BY KATE Knoxville Museum of Art (1050 World’s Fair Park Drive) • Sunday, May 15 • 3 p.m. • $20 • knoxart.org Sugar Mama’s Bakery (135 S. Gay St.) • Monday, May 16 • 8 p.m. • $40 • sugarmamasbakeryknoxville.com

It seems that those who claim Knoxville lacks contemporary opera just haven’t been paying attention.

This month, Marble City Opera completes its third year of life, having produced chamber operas ranging from mid-century classics like Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors to new works like Larry Delinger’s Amelia Lost. The company’s 10th major production (in its eighth different venue) will be the professional premiere of Sweets by Kate, by the contemporary American composer Griffin Candey. The work was commissioned by the Midwest Institute of Opera and received an educational workshop premiere in Illinois in July of 2015.

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Sweets by Kate blends realism and fantasy, telling the story of two women who, upon inheriting a candy shop, are confronted by both gossipy townspeople and the devil, who is determined to own the shop himself.

The cast includes Marble City Opera artistic director Kathryn Frady Marvel singing the role of Kate and Brooke Larimer as her partner, Elizabeth, with Brandon Evans, Michael Gonzalez, Jonathan Ten Brink, Ryan Colbert, and several singers familiar to audiences of UT Opera Theatre productions.

Sweets by Kate, scored for string quartet and piano, will feature Knoxville’s Inner Voices String Quartet and pianist Bernadette Lo. The stage director is Scott Skiba; Peter Leonard is conducting.

Visit marblecityopera.com. (Alan Sherrod)

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 27

CALENDAR Stage • 8PM • Full Disclosure Comedy is Knoxville’s long-form improvisational troupe, bringing together community members for laughs and overall general merriment.

Friday, May 13 QUICHENIGHT • Pilot Light • 10PM • Featuring a spoken word performance by Nashville’s Daniel Pujol. 18 and up.

• $5 Sunday, May 15 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic.

BILLY WAYNE DAVIS • Pilot Light • 8PM • Originally from Crossville, Billy Wayne Davis is a stand-up and writer who has performed in 41 states, four countries and Texas.

He has appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, WTF with Marc Maron, hosted a Morgan Spurlock produced feature-length documentary for CMT, named a 2015 Fresh Face of Comedy by the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and just finished opening for country artist Sturgill Simpson’s Living the Dream Tour. 18 and up. • $10 Monday, May 16 QED COMEDY LABORATORY • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • QED ComedyLaboratory is a weekly show with different theme every week that combines stand-up, improv, sketch, music and other types of performance and features some of the funniest people in Knoxville and parts unknown. Free, but donations are accepted. • FREE Tuesday, May 17

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

EINSTEIN SIMPLIFIED • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM • Einstein Simplified Comedy performs live comedy improv at Scruffy City Hall. It’s just like Whose Line Is It Anyway, but you get to make the suggestions. Show starts at 8:15, get there early for the best seats. No cover. • FREE OPEN MIC STAND-UP COMEDY • Longbranch Saloon • 8PM • Doors open at 8:30, first comic at 9. No cover charge, all are welcome. Aspiring or experienced comics interested in joining in the fun email us at long branch.info@gmail. com to learn more, or simply come to the show a few minutes early. • FREE Thursday, May 19 THIRD THURSDAY COMEDY OPEN MIC • Big Fatty’s Catering Kitchen • 7:30PM • We will showcase local and touring talent in a curated open mic of 6 to 8 comics. The event starts at 7:30, and there is no charge for admission. The kitchen will be open as well as their full bar. • FREE Friday, May 20 THE FIFTH WOMAN POETRY SLAM • The Birdhouse • 6:30PM • The 5th Woman Poetry slam is place where all poets can come and share their words of love, respect, passion, and expression. It is not dedicated solely women but is a place where women poets are celebrated and honored. Check out our Facebook pages for the challenge of the month and focus for our poetry every month.

Saturday, May 21 SILLY SATURDAYS: A COMEDY SHOW • The Square Room • 9PM • Hosted by Lawrence Owens with DJ Stearl the Pearl. Headliner Dave Martin from HBO Badboys of

comedy and also featuring The Carolina Queen of Comedy, Sweet Baby Kita. • $22.50-$25

FESTIVALS

Friday, May 13 INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL • Downtown Knoxville • 6PM • The International Biscuit Festival was begun in 2009 by a group of local Biscuit lovers who wanted to share Knoxville’s Biscuit heritage with the world. What started as a fun gathering for friends and family has grown into a nationally recognized food festival. In 2012, the Southern Food Writing Conference was added to the schedule to bring together authors, chefs, publishers, publicists and others who love Southern food and those who write about it. Each year, the Conference brings together a stellar group of speakers in an intimate setting to share their passion for writing about food in the South.

Visit biscuitfest.com for info and a complete schedule.

Saturday, May 14 ST. BRENDAN’S DAY ORTHODOX CELTIC FESTIVAL • St. Anne Orthodox Church (Oak Ridge) • 11AM • This will be a free community festival ($3 suggested donation), featuring food from St. Andrews Square, Big O’s BBQ, and Razzleberries; music and dance performances by Red Haired Mary and the Rowena Ryan Irish Dance Academy; vendors selling handmade Celtic jewelry and crafts, chainmail designs, and Orthodox icons and books; kids’ activities; presentations by St. Anne Orthodox rector Father Stephen Freeman and syndicated columnist Terry

Business

Mattingly; and Celtic games and church tours. Visit stanneorthodoxchurch.com. • FREE INTERNATIONAL BISCUIT FESTIVAL • Downtown Knoxville • 9AM • The International Biscuit Festival was begun in 2009 by a group of local Biscuit lovers who wanted to share Knoxville’s Biscuit heritage with the world. What started as a fun gathering for friends and family has grown into a nationally recognized food festival. In 2012, the Southern Food Writing Conference was added to the schedule to bring together authors, chefs, publishers, publicists and others who love Southern food and those who write about it. Each year, the Conference brings together a stellar group of speakers in an intimate setting to share their passion for writing about food in the South.

Visit biscuitfest.com for info and a complete schedule.

TENNESSEE MEDIEVAL FAIRE • Tennessee Medieval Faire • 10AM • The festival will come to life on May 14 and run the last three weekends in May, including Memorial Day. This year’s festival is portraying the historical year of 500 after the fall of the Roman Empire. Visitors can cheer on their favorite knight at the live-action jousts, laugh with comedic characters and thrill to warriors’ chess. For more information, please visit www.TMFaire.com or like them on Facebook. • $16.95 SPRINGTIME IN THE SMOKIES CAR SHOW • Townsend • 11AM • The 29th annual Springtime in the Smokies car show is open to all British and European cars and motorcycles with proceeds contributed to charity.

ROCK TO BACH MUSIC FESTIVAL • Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church • 10AM • As the name suggests, Rock to Bach features performances by artists from a wide

Product awareness

Company goodwill

There’s never been a better time to “go public.”

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016 WUOT_Ad_5.5x4.25_WhyWUOT_KnoxMerc.indd 1

9/7/15 9:52 AM

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

variety of genres and from across East Tennessee. Doors open at 10:00 AM and over 18 acts will be presented on two stages throughout the day. The 2016 line-up includes the Mt. LeConte Jug Band, Concord Brass, Kukuly Uriarte, Kelle Jolle, Arte Musica, Silver Winds, and many more.

More information is available online at www.ORCMA.org or by calling (865) 483-5569. • $12-$30 Sunday, May 15 OPEN STREETS KNOXVILLE • 1PM • Open Streets Knoxville turns a mile of Central St. between the Old City and Happy Holler into a mile-long pop-up park, where you can walk, skateboard, and bike in a traffic-free environment. Enjoy free games, demo classes, and activities. From yoga and pickleball to live music and kids play zones; there’s something for everyone! For more info, including how to get there, where to park (for free), and the schedule of activities, go to www.openstreetsknoxville.com. • FREE TENNESSEE MEDIEVAL FAIRE • Tennessee Medieval Faire • 10AM • For more information, please visit www.TMFaire. com or like them on Facebook. • $16.95 Friday, May 20 BLOUNT MANSION STATEHOOD DAY GARDEN PARTY • Blount Mansion • 6:30PM • Join us for our annual Statehood Celebration. There will be a cocktail supper, live music, and a silent auction. To RSVP call (865)525-2375 or go to www. blountmansion.org.

BLOOMIN’ BBQ AND BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL • This May 20 and 21, downtown Sevierville blooms for the 12th annual Bloomin’ BBQ & Bluegrass festival. With more than 40 cook teams battling it out for $17,500 in cash and prizes during the Bush’s Best Tennessee State Championship Cook Off, you know there’s going to be plenty of great BBQ. • FREE Saturday, May 21 SMOKY MOUNTAIN SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND GAMES • Maryville College • You don’t have to be Scottish in order to enjoy this festival! Originally founded in 1981, this is now one of the oldest Scottish Festivals in the country, with dozens of pipe and drum bands filling the air with colorful sounds, vibrantly attired dancers performing traditional highland dances, sheepdog demonstrations, and a plethora of traditional Celtic food vendors.

BLOOMIN’ BBQ AND BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL • This May 20 and 21, downtown Sevierville blooms for the 12th annual Bloomin’ BBQ & Bluegrass festival. With more than 40 cook teams battling it out for $17,500 in cash and prizes during the Bush’s Best Tennessee State Championship Cook Off, you know there’s going to be plenty of great BBQ. • FREE TENNESSEE MEDIEVAL FAIRE • Tennessee Medieval Faire • 10AM • For more information, please visit www.TMFaire. com or like them on Facebook. • $16.95 Sunday, May 22 SMOKY MOUNTAIN SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND GAMES • Maryville College • You don’t have to be Scottish in order to enjoy this festival! Originally founded in 1981, this is now one of the oldest Scottish Festivals in the country, with dozens of pipe and drum bands filling the air with colorful sounds, vibrantly attired dancers performing traditional highland dances, sheepdog demonstrations, and a plethora of traditional Celtic food vendors.

TENNESSEE MEDIEVAL FAIRE • Tennessee Medieval Faire • 10AM • For more information, please visit www.TMFaire. com or like them on Facebook. • $16.95

CALENDAR

FILM SCREENINGS

Monday, May 16 THE BIRDHOUSE WALK-IN THEATER • The Birdhouse • 8:15PM • A weekly free movie screening. • FREE Tuesday, May 17 ‘WHITE LIKE ME’ • The Birdhouse • 7:30PM • White Like Me, based on the work of acclaimed anti-racist educator and author Tim Wise, explores race and racism in the U.S. through the lens of whiteness and white privilege.

Features Tim Wise, Michelle Alexander, Charles Ogletree, Imani Perry, Martin Gilens, John H. Bracey, Jr., and Nilanjana Dasgupta. Film is just over an hour. Some discussion likely to follow after film. • FREE Sunday, May 22 NOKNO CINEMATHEQUE: ‘THE SANDLOT’ • Central Collective • 2PM • A new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his team in this coming of age movie set in the summer of 1962. Together, they get themselves into many adventures involving rival teams, lifeguards, and a vicious dog. • FREE

SPORTS AND RECREATION

Thursday, May 12 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • Join Cycology Bicycles every Thursday morning for a road ride with two group options. A Group does a 2 to 3 hour ride at 20+ pace; B group does an intermediate ride at 15/18 mph average. Weather permitting. cycologybicycles.com. • FREE FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • Join us every Thursday night at our store for a fun group run/walk. We have all levels come out, so no matter what your speed you’ll have someone to keep you company.

Our 30 - 60 minute route varies week by week in the various neighborhoods and greenways around the store, so be sure to show up on time so you can join up with the group. All levels welcome. fleetfeetknoxville.com. • FREE NORTH KNOXVILLE BEER RUNNERS • Central Flats and Taps • 6PM • Meet us at Central Flats and Taps every Thursday night for a fun and easy run leading us right through Saw Works for a midway beer. • FREE RIVER SPORTS THURSDAY EVENING GREENWAY BIKE RIDE • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Every Thursday night from 6 to 7:30 join River Sports Outfitters on an easy paced, beginner friendly Greenway Ride. Bring your own bike or rent one for $15. Lights are mandatory on your bikes from September through March. After ride join us at the store for $2 pints. riversportsoutfitters.com/events. • FREE KNOXVILLE BICYCLE COMPANY THURSDAY GRAVEL GRINDER • North Boundary Trails • 6:30PM • Join Knoxville Bicycle Company every Thursday evening for their gravel grinder.

Meets at 6:30 pm at North Boundary in Oak Ridge, park at the guard shack. Cross bikes and hardtails are perfect.

Bring lights. Regroups as necessary. Call shop for more details. Weather permitting - call the store if weather is questionable. knoxvillebicycleco.com. • CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • Join us every Thursday evening for a greenway ride at an intermediate pace of 14-15 mph. Must have lights. Weather permitting. cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Friday, May 13 RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River

Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Greenway run from the store every Friday evening from 6-7:30 pm. Work up a thirst then join us for $2 pints in the store afterwards. riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE Saturday, May 14 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: CUMBERLAND TRAIL • 7:30AM • The best way to explore this long and beautiful section of the Cumberland Trail is a hike using a key swap. One part of our group will start at Rock Creek Campground near Nemo Bridge, while the other will begin at the trailhead near Devil’s Breakfast Table at Daddy’s Creek. We’ll exchange car keys mid-hike. Hike: 14 miles, rated difficult. Meet at Oak Ridge Books-a-Million, 310 South Illinois Avenue, at 7:30am. Leaders: Hiram Rogers, hiramrogers@yahoo.com, & Mark Shipley, mark. shipley@townoffarragut.org. • FREE

Knoxville’s BEST live music venue 6 nights a week!

Happy Hour 3pm to 8pm Huge selection of Craft, Import & Local beer Locally roasted coffee

Sunday, May 15 KNOXVILLE HARDCOURT BIKE POLO • Sam Duff Memorial Park • 1PM • Don’t know how to play? Just bring your bike — we have mallets to share and will teach you the game.

• FREE Monday, May 16 KTC GROUP RUN • Mellow Mushroom • 6PM • Visit ktc.org.

• FREE BEARDEN BEER MARKET FUN RUN • Bearden Beer Market • 6:30PM • Visit beardenbeermarket.com. • FREE TVB MONDAY NIGHT ROAD RIDE • Tennessee Valley Bikes • 6PM • The soon to be famous Monday night road ride happens every Monday. We usually split into two groups according to speed. Both groups are no-drop groups. The faster group averages over 17mph and the B group averages around 14mph. • FREE Tuesday, May 17 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES TUESDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10:30AM • cycologybicycles.com. • FREE HARD KNOX TUESDAY FUN RUN • Hard Knox Pizzeria • 6:30PM • Join Hard Knox Pizzeria every Tuesday evening (rain or shine) for a 2-3 mile fun run. Burn calories. Devour pizza.

Quench thirst. Follow us on Facebook. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES TUESDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Wednesday, May 18 KTC GROUP RUN • Runner’s Market • 5:30PM • Visit ktc.org.

• FREE FOUNTAIN CITY PEDALERS SHARPS RIDGE MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Fountain City Pedaler • 6PM • Visit fcpedaler.com. • FREE SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: RICH MOUNTAIN LOOP • 8AM • This hike will follow the Rich Mountain Loop, including the Crooked Arm Ridge Trail, Indian Grave Gap Trail and Rich Mountain Loop Trail. Hike: 8.5 miles, rated moderate. Meet at Alcoa Food City, 121 North Hall Road, at 8:00 AM. Leader: David Grab, digrab@aol.com • FREE TVB EASY RIDER MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Tennessee Valley Bikes • 6PM • On Wednesday nights we hit the local trails for an easy-paced mountain bike ride. Riders of all skill levels are welcome, and if you would like to demo a mountain bike from our shop this is a great opportunity to do so. Rides are weather permitting. If the trails are too wet, we do not ride. Check out our Facebook page or give us a call at 865-540-9979 for more info. • FREE Thursday, May 19 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • cycologybicycles.com. • FREE FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville •

thurs may 12 • 8pm free • all ages

Full disclosure comedy long-form improv ( comedy )

fri may 13 • 8pm $5 • All Ages

bulletville album release w/ tinderbox circus, la basura del diablo, & more ( rock )

Sat. May 14 • 4 PM $8 • All ages

Hydrocephalus awareness Rock Concert w/indie lagone, annandale, Belfast 6 pack, & more ( rock )

mon may 16 • 8pm $8 adv | $10 day of all ages Jared Deck w/ Ryan Sheley Scott McMahan ( country )

"Coolest venue in town! Not too big, not too small. Great sound system and audio engineers. Lights show, good food, cold beer and a music store in the back. Oh, and they give lessons, too. Seriously? I still can't believe this place is real."

-Austin Hall of Sam Killed The Bear

Knoxville’s Best Musical Instrument Store

8502 KINGSTON PIKE • (865) 281-5874 openchordmusic.com

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 29

CALENDAR 6PM • fleetfeetknoxville.com. • FREE NORTH KNOXVILLE BEER RUNNERS • Central Flats and Taps • 6PM • FREE RIVER SPORTS THURSDAY EVENING GREENWAY BIKE RIDE • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • riversportsoutfitters.com/ events. • FREE KNOXVILLE BICYCLE COMPANY THURSDAY GRAVEL GRINDER • North Boundary Trails • 6:30PM • knoxvillebicycleco. com. • CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • Join us every Thursday evening for a greenway ride at an intermediate pace of 14-15 mph. Must have lights. Weather permitting. cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Friday, May 20 RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE Saturday, May 21 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: DEEP CREEK TRIPLE WATERFALL LOOP • 7:30AM • We will hike sections of the Deep Creek, Martins Gap and Sunkota Ridge Trails. After climbing to and descending from Martins Gap, we will finish by walking alongside Deep Creek. This hike is rated difficult due to the 14-mile length, including a 3.5 mile climb to Martins Gap. Meet at Comcast, 5720 Asheville Hwy at 7:30 AM, and expect to arrive back at Comcast by 8 PM. Leaders: Steve Madden, smadden@aaasouth.com & Steve Dunkin, jsdunkin@roaneschools.com. • FREE Sunday, May 22 KNOXVILLE HARDCOURT BIKE POLO • Sam Duff Memorial

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

Park • 1PM • Don’t know how to play? Just bring your bike — we have mallets to share and will teach you the game.

• FREE RUN AND WALK FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS • University of Tennessee • 9AM • Join us in our race to raise awareness and end the stigma behind mental health illnesses. Proceeds will go to the Helen Ross McNabb Center, a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide mental health care to individuals who would otherwise have no options. Register at eventbrite.com. For more information visit globalserviceprojects.com/mha/.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: JUDGE BRANCH WILDFLOWERS • 1PM • This will be an easy 3-mile hike to see the late season wildflowers on the Judge Branch Trail in Frozen Head State Park. Meet at the Oak Ridge Books-aMillion, 310 South Illinois Avenue, at 1:00 pm. Leader: Don Dunning, dedz1@aol.com. • FREE

ART

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 556 Parkway (Gatlinburg) MARCH 19-MAY 14: Not to Scale, artwork by Arrowmont artists in residence Charlie Ryland, Drew Davis Johnson, Julia Gartrell, Sarah Rachel Brown, and Skye Livingston.

APRIL 27-JUNE 25: Arrowmont staff exhibit, featuring artwork by Jeda Barr, Nick DeFord, Kelly Sullivan, Vickie Bradshaw, Bill Griffith, Kelly Hider, Jennifer Blackburn, Ernie Schultz, Heather Ashworth, Laura Tuttle, Bob

Biddlestone and Jason Burnett.

Art Market Gallery 422 S. Gay St. MAY 3-28: An exhibit by the Tennessee Watercolor Society.

Bliss Home 24 Market Square MAY 6-31: Artwork for the International Biscuit Festival

by Hannah Holder.

Broadway Studios and Gallery 1127 Broadway MAY 6-31: Body as Art, featuring clay figure work by Annamaria Gundlach.

The District Gallery 5113 Kingston Pike APRIL 22-MAY 31: Along the Way, oil paintings by Kathie Odom.

Downtown Gallery 106 S. Gay St. MAY 6-28: Artsource 2016, featuring artwork by Knox County art educators.

East Tennessee History Center 601 S. Gay St. APRIL 16-OCT. 30: Come to Make Records, a selection of artifacts, audio and video recordings, and photographs celebrating Knoxville’s music heritage and the 1929-30 St. James Hotel recording sessions.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

Emporium Center for Arts and Culture 100 S. Gay St. MAY 6-27: Recessive, photographs by Abigail Malone; photography by Rachel Quammie; and International Latino Art Exhibition.

Envision Art Gallery 4050 Sutherland Ave. APRIL 22-MAY 20: Find Ourselves, paintings and drawings by Sarah Moore.

Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive MAY 6-AUG. 7: Full Stop, a large-scale installation by painter Tom Burkhardt, and Contemporary Focus 2016, with artwork by installation/video/sound artist John Douglas Powers. ONGOING: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in Tennessee; Currents: Recent Art From East Tennessee and Beyond; and Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass.

Liz-Beth and Co. 7240 Kingston Pike APRIL 28-MAY 21: Paintings and photography by Ursula Brenner, Elaine Clark Thomas, Jillie Eves, Ted Borman, and Ann Allison-Cote.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture 1327 Circle Park Drive JAN. 23-MAY 22: Maya: Lords of Time. ONGOING: The Flora

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

CALENDAR

and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon and Life on the Roman Frontier.

Gay Men’s Chorus. More info can be found at http://www. youthpridefest.weebly.com. • FREE

LECTURES, READINGS, AND BOOK SIGNINGS

Saturday, May 21 CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL OF READING • World’s Fair Park • 10AM • The Spy Guy, a not so secret agent, is joining Danny Dragonbreath and the very curious Ladybug Girl in World’s Fair Park to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer. This year’s Festival will host some of the most popular and acclaimed children’s authors and illustrators in the country. Headlining the day are David Soman, illustrator of the very popular Ladybug Girl picture book series and Ursula Vernon of the Dragonbreath graphic novel series. R. • FREE

Thursday, May 12 SCOTT MCCREERY: ‘GO BIG OR GO HOME’ • LifeWay Christian Store • 6PM • ACM, BMI and CMT Award winning country music singer/songwriter Scotty McCreery, who first captured America’s hearts when he won “American Idol” Season 10 five years ago at age 17, is now an author.

The multi-Platinum-selling sensation will be appearing locally as part of his 14-city tour for his new book Go Big or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream. More details on the tour can be found at ScottyMcCreery.com/Tour. • FREE Sunday, May 15 RHETA GRIMSLEY JOHNSON: ‘DOGS BURIED OVER THE BRIDGE’ • Union Ave Books • 2PM • Book signing with Rheta Grimsley Johnson reading from her new book, Dogs Buried over the Bridge : A Memoir in Dog Years. • FREE Wednesday, May 18 PAMELA REEVES: ‘SISTERS IN LAW: HOW SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR AND RUTH BADER GINSBERG WENT TO THE SUPREME COURT AND CHANGED THE WORLD’ • East Tennessee History Center • 12PM • Knox County Public Library invites you to join Pamela Reeves, United States District Judge, for a discussion of Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman, Sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library. • FREE Friday, May 20 KNOX HERITAGE LOST AND FOUND LUNCHEON • Knox Heritage • 11:30AM • Jack Neely and Kim Trent will discuss the history of preservation in Knoxville. Space is limited and advance reservations are required. To make reservations, call Hollie Cook at 865-523-8008 or email hcook@knoxheritage.org.

Saturday, May 21 MANNY SETHI: ‘THE AMERICAN DREAM IN TENNESSEE’ • Union Ave Books • 5PM • Book signing with Manny Sethi, The American Dream in Tennessee: Stories of Faith, Struggle, and Survival. • FREE

FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS

Saturday, May 14 EAST TENNESSEE YOUTH PRIDE FEST • First Presbyterian Church (Oak Ridge) • 12PM • All youth ages 12-20 (and their families) are invited to the third annual East Tennessee Youth Pride Festival. Students from Oak Ridge High School GSTA (Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance) and members of Oak Ridge PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) are leading the planning of the Youth Pride Fest. Youth, parents, and guests will have the opportunity to participate in a rotation of life-enhancing seminars, as well as outdoor games, music, and informational booths. The event will end with an open mic coffee house and a performance by the Knoxville

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Thursday, May 12 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 PORTRAIT AND LIFE DRAWING SESSIONS • Historic Candoro Marble Company • 2PM • Portrait and life drawing practice at Candoro Art & Heritage Center. $10. Call Brad Selph for more information (865-573-0709). • $10 KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • This class is an hour of student-led training and review of Capoeira skills and exercises.

Come prepared to sweat. Visit knoxvillecapoeira.org. • $10 AARP DRIVER SAFETY SMART DRIVER CLASS • East Tennessee Medical Group • 8AM • Call (865) 382-5822.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY SMART DRIVER CLASS • Halls Senior Center • 12PM • Call (865) 382-5822.

CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: HEALING THROUGH ART • Cancer Support Community • 1PM • No experience necessary. RSVP. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: GROW VEGGIES ANYWHERE • Humana Guidance Center • 3:15PM • Join Master Gardener Amy Haun to learn how you can grow organic herbs and vegetables in containers - finding space on your deck, patio or even a windowsill. Call 865-329-8892. • FREE THIRSTY (FOR KNOWLEDGE) THURSDAY • Old City Wine Bar • 6PM • Join our sommelier, Matt Burke, every Thursday in the cellar of the Old City Wine Bar for our ongoing wine education series. Free to listen and only $20 to partake in the libations.

BEGINNER’S ACROYOGA • Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio • 7PM • The class is set up in a series format with each week building on the last. However, each class will be beginner friendly, incorporating intermediate options for more experienced fliers. New content is explored each week while reviewing components taught in previous classes, providing a space for students to form a strong foundation of skills. Please bring a yoga mat if you have one, close fitting long pants (no zippers or buttons), and water. No partner needed. • $15 Friday, May 13 AARP DRIVER SAFETY SMART DRIVER CLASS • Halls Senior Center • 12PM • Call (865) 382-5822.

Saturday, May 14 IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10:30AM • A weekly improv comedy class. • FREE KNOX HERITAGE PRESERVATION NETWORK • Knox Heritage • 10AM • Preservation Network is a series of free workshops held once every month on the second Saturday. The monthly workshops feature guest speakers who are specialists in windows, flooring, roofing, stained glass, tile, plumbing, electrical, and more. Other guest speakers have included those in real estate sales and appraisals, or city codes and zoning officials discussing historic overlays and building requirements. Knox Heritage preserves, restores and transforms historic places. For everyone. Forever. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1974 and now serves the entire 16-county Knoxville region. For more information visit www. knoxheritage.org. • FREE KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: GROW VEGGIES ANYWHERE • Bearden Branch Public Library • 1:30PM • Join Master Gardener Amy Haun to learn how you can grow organic herbs and vegetables in containers - finding space on your deck, patio or even a windowsill. Call 865-588-8813 or knoxlib.org. • FREE Sunday, May 15 YOGA AT NARROW RIDGE • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9:30AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us every Sunday morning for yoga instruction from Angela Gibson. This class can be tailored to each individual’s ability level. For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE I BIKE KNX OPEN HOUSE BIKE CLASSES • Earth Fare (Bearden) • 2PM • At our Open House sessions, you can choose from: Biking for Beginners, Getting Back on a Bicycle, Learning to Ride: Adults, and Freedom from Training Wheels: Children. Classes will be held on March 6, April 3, May 1, May 15, and June 5. Meet us at Third Creek Greenway trailhead near Earth Fare in Bearden.

Adults are $20; kids are $10. (Your kids are welcome to come ride around while you are in class, even if they aren’t taking a class. There is a parking lot behind the shopping center with no traffic.)• $20 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE BALLET BARRE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 1PM • This open-level barre class is designed to help students build and maintain strength, flexibility, and coordination for ballet technique.

This is a great class for beginning and experienced students alike. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 2PM • This class is open to all. Teachers cover basic technique and vocabulary for modern and contemporary dance. The class includes floor and standing work to build proficiency in alignment, balance, initiation and articulation of movement, weight shift, elevation and landing, and fall and recovery. Instruction is adjusted to meet the experience and ability of those in attendance. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE IMPROVISATION CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 3:30PM • Our improv classes offer an introduction to dance improvisation as a movement practice, performance technique, and a tool for creating choreography. Class involves both structured and free improvisations aimed at developing creativity, spontaneous decision-making, freedom of movement, and confidence in performance.

No dance experience is necessary—only the desire to move. • $10 ROOFTOP YOGA • Central Collective • 6:30PM • With May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 31

CALENDAR Jennifer Beyt Coffin. Visit exploreyourcore.co. • $10 Monday, May 16 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 5:30PM • Call 865-5772021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

NIA CARDIO-DANCE WORKOUT TECHNIQUE CLASS • Broadway Academy of Performing Arts • 10AM • Email emilybryant24@yahoo.com. Blending dance arts, martial arts, yoga and healing arts in a 55-minute mindful fitness fusion.

KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: GROW VEGGIES ANYWHERE • Davis Family YMCA • 1PM • Join Master Gardener Amy Haun to learn how you can grow organic herbs and vegetables in containers - finding space on your deck, patio or even a windowsill. Call 865-777-9622.

• FREE Tuesday, May 17 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • Capoeira originated in Brazil and is a dynamic expression of Afro-Brazilian culture. It is an art form that encompasses martial arts, dance, and acrobatic movements as well as its own philosophy, history, culture, music, and songs. Visit capoeiraknoxville.org. • $10 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: LEARNING ABOUT PALLIATIVE CARE • Cancer Support Community • 12PM •

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

Led by Lynn Osterlund, MD, of University Palliative Care at University of Tennessee Medical Center. Learn the what, when and why of palliative care, including quality of life concerns throughout the cancer care continuum. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

GENERATIONS GENEALOGY RESEARCH GROUP • Beck Cultural Exchange Center • 5:30PM • Generations Genealogy Research Group is open to people of all ages interested in genealogy and family history.

ACROYOGA • Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio • 7PM • The class is set up in a series format with each week building on the last. However, each class will be beginner friendly, incorporating intermediate options for more experienced fliers. New content is explored each week while reviewing components taught in previous classes, providing a space for students to form a strong foundation of skills. Please bring a yoga mat if you have one, close fitting long pants (no zippers or buttons), and water. No partner needed. • $15 Wednesday, May 18 NIA CARDIO-DANCE WORKOUT TECHNIQUE CLASS • Broadway Academy of Performing Arts • 6PM • Email emilybryant24@yahoo.com. Blending dance arts, martial arts, yoga and healing arts in a 55-minute mindful fitness fusion.

CIRCLE MODERN DANCE INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • A rotation of core members and guest

and Culture • 6PM • Visit knoxvillecapoeira.org. • $10 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: KNIT YOUR WAY TO WELLNESS • Cancer Support Community • 1PM • Whether you are a novice knitter or an old pro, you are invited to bring your own project or join others in learning a new one. Special attention will be provided to beginners interested in learning how to knit and experience the meditative quality of knitting. Supplies provided. Call 865-546-4661. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

PORTRAIT AND LIFE DRAWING SESSIONS • Historic Candoro Marble Company • 2PM • Portrait and life drawing practice at Candoro Art & Heritage Center. $10. Call Brad Selph for more information (865-573-0709). • $10 THIRSTY (FOR KNOWLEDGE) THURSDAY • Old City Wine Bar • 6PM BEGINNER’S ACROYOGA • Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio • 7PM • $15

artists of Circle Modern Dance teach this class. They present a variety of modern and contemporary styles, including Bartenieff and release-based techniques. This class is primarily designed for students with a basic knowledge of modern dance technique and vocabulary, but is open to any mover who is willing to be challenged.

CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL BALLET CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 7:30PM • This is a basic ballet class open to students of all levels of experience and ability. Students will learn new steps, build coordination and flexibility, and learn choreography.

• $10 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: DRUMMING FOR FUN • Cancer Support Community • 6PM • Led by Helene Vachon of the Luv Muffins. Looking for some “good vibrations”? Recent studies have shown that drumming can lower both blood pressure and stress hormones. Join others in this universal language that is both meditative and just plain fun. No rhythmic or musical ability is needed. Drums will be provided. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

Saturday, May 21 IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10:30AM • A weekly improv comedy class. • FREE OUTDOOR WRITING WORKSHOP: “I’M NOT FISHING, I’M WORKING!” • Central United Methodist Church • 10AM • Outdoor writer and columnist for the Knoxville Mercury Kim Trevathan will teach an outdoor writing workshop to outdoor enthusiasts on May 21. Writers will learn how to construct adventures with compelling content and how to multipurpose it for different genres. To register for the workshop, visit http://knoxvillewritersguild.org/events/ outdoor-writing-workshop-im-not-fishing-im-working or

Thursday, May 19 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts

2nd Anniversary Thank you Knoxville for all of your love and support.

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32

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

send your check to KWG Workshops, P.O. Box 10326, Knoxville, TN, 37939-0326. • $35 RAIN BARREL WORKSHOP • Farragut Town Hall • 10AM • Would you like free water for your gardens? Come make your own rain barrel. The rain barrel workshop is brought to you by the Water Quality Forum. Cost is $40 per barrel, and advanced registration is required. To register, please contact Kellie Caughor at the UT Water Resources Research Center at kcaughor@utk.edu or (865) 974-2151. • $40 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: MINDFULNESS IN EVERYDAY LIFE • Cancer Support Community • 10AM • Life is full of challenges. What can we do when our lives feel out of control? A practice of mindfulness can help. RSVP. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

FIRST TIME 411 • Trotta Montgomery Real Estate • 12PM • This is a class for first time home buyers instructing attendees about the whole process of home buying. What will be offered: The opportunity to speak to agents, lenders, title specialists, and inspectors. Also, there will be free coffee and snacks. It will last 3 hours but the attendees can come and go as they please. Totally free. • FREE Sunday, May 22 YOGA AT NARROW RIDGE • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9:30AM • For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE CIRCLE MODERN DANCE BALLET BARRE CLASS • Emporium

Center for Arts and Culture • 1PM • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 2PM • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE IMPROVISATION CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 3:30PM • $10 ROOFTOP YOGA • Central Collective • 6:30PM • With Jennifer Beyt Coffin. Visit exploreyourcore.co. • $10

MEETINGS

Thursday, May 12 SCRUFFY CITY ORCHESTRA • First Baptist Church • 7PM • A new venue for musicians from the greater Knoxville metropolitan area, Scruffy City Orchestra, kicks off with regular rehearsals on Thursdays. Conductors are Matt Wilkinson and Ace Edewards. Prospective members, especially string players, are encouraged to contact Alicia Meryweather at ScruffyCityOrchestra@gmail.com for more information. • FREE CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY LEUKEMIA, LYMPHOMA, AND MYELOMA NETWORKER • Cancer Support Community • 6PM • This drop-in group is open for those with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and myeloproliferative disorders and their support persons. Participants will be able to exchange information, discuss concerns and share experiences. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

Saturday, May 14 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Al-Anon’s

CALENDAR

purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org. • FREE CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY PROSTATE CANCER NETWORKER • Cancer Support Community • 10AM • This drop-in group is an opportunity for men to network with other men about their experiences with prostate cancer.

Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

Sunday, May 15 NARROW RIDGE SILENT MEDITATION GATHERING • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us for our Silent Meditation Gathering on Sundays. The gatherings are intended to be inclusive of people of all faiths as well as those who do not align themselves with a particular religious denomination. For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@ narrowridge.org. • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 7PM • Three Rivers! Earth First! is the local dirt worshiping, tree hugging, anarchist collective that meets every Sunday night on the second floor of Barley’s in the back room (when its available) to organize against strip mining, counter protest the KKK and Nazis, to clean up Third Creek and to fight evil corporations in general. Open meeting, rotating facilitation, collective model. Y’all come. Call (865) 257-4029 for more information. • FREE

RATIONALISTS OF EAST TENNESSEE • Pellissippi State Community College • 10:30AM • The Rationalists of East Tennessee focus on the real or natural universe. The group exists so that we can benefit emotionally and intellectually through meeting together to expand our awareness and understanding through shared experience, knowledge, and ideas as well as enrich our lives and the lives of others. The Rationalists do not endorse or condemn members’ thoughts or actions.

Rather it hopefully encourages honest dialogue, analytic discussion, and responsible action based on reason, compassion, and factual accuracy. Visit rationalists.org. • FREE SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS • Mabry-Hazen House • 2PM Monday, May 16 GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • We hold facilitated discussions on topics and issues relevant to local gay men in a safe and open environment. Visit gaygroupknoxville.org.

Tuesday, May 17 ATHEISTS SOCIETY OF KNOXVILLE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 5:30PM • Weekly atheists meetup and happy hour. Come join us for food, drink and great conversation.

Everyone welcome. • FREE Wednesday, May 18 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY WOMEN WITH ADVANCED CANCER NETWORKER • Cancer Support Community •

BIKE TO WORK AND WIN BIG!

May is Bike Month, and Smart Trips wants our members to win big! Members who log the most bike commutes and the longest bike commutes on the Smart Trips website will be eligible to win great prizes.* Don’t forget to come out for Bike to Work Day from 7:30-8:30 a.m. May 20 at Market Square! Grab a biscuit from Pete’s and some coffee from Trio Café before heading to work. More information on Bike Month can be found at www.ibikeknx.com. Not a member of Smart Trips?

Join our free program at www.knoxsmarttrips.org. *One prize per person. All logs must be completed by June 3.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 33

CALENDAR 1:30PM • Join other women who are living with cancer as a chronic illness to discuss feelings and experiences that are unique to women with advanced cancer. Please call before your first visit. Call 865-546- 4661 for more info.

All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

THE SOUTHERN LITERATURE BOOK CLUB • Union Ave Books • 6PM • Union Ave Books’ monthly discussion group about Southern books and writers. Visit unionavebooks.com. • FREE ORION ASTRONOMY CLUB • The Grove Theater (Oak Ridge) • 7PM • ORION is an amateur science and astronomy club centered in Oak Ridge that was founded in April 1974 by a group of scientists at the United States Department of Energy facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We serve Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and the counties of Anderson, Knox, and Roane.We meet on the third Wednesday of each month for coffee and conversation, and our program begins 15 minutes thereafter. • FREE Thursday, May 19 SCRUFFY CITY ORCHESTRA • First Baptist Church • 7PM • FREE CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT GROUP • Cancer Support Community • 4:30PM • CSC is committed to providing bereavement services to those who have lost a loved one to cancer. Please contact our clinical staff before attending. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

Saturday, May 21

Thursday, May 12 - Sunday, May 22

AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org. • FREE 100 BLACK MEN OF GREATER KNOXVILLE • Beck Cultural Exchange Center • 10AM • The 100 Black Men of Greater Knoxville’s purpose is to serve as a catalyst to empower African-American and other minority youth to individually and collectively reach their full potential through maximizing their resources that foster and enhance achievement in education and community and economic development. To accomplish this objective, we partner with primary and secondary schools and community organizations engaged in similar activities.

Sunday, May 22 NARROW RIDGE SILENT MEDITATION GATHERING • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 7PM • Call (865) 257-4029 for more information.

• FREE SUNDAY ASSEMBLY • The Concourse • 10:30AM • Sunday Assembly is a secular congregation without deity, dogma, or doctrine. Our motto: Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More. Our monthly celebrations feature a different theme every month, with inspiring speakers and lively sing-alongs. To find out more, visit our web page (http:// knoxville-tn.sundayassembly.com) or email saknoxville. info@gmail.com. • FREE

ETC.

Thursday, May 12 KNOXVILLE SQUARE DANCE • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Jubilee Community Arts presents Knoxville Square Dance with live old-time music by The Helgramites and calling

by Stan Sharp, Ruth Simmons and Leo Collins. No experience or partner is necessary and the atmosphere is casual. (No taps, please.) • $7 Friday, May 13 PAWS AMONG THE BLOOMS • Stanley’s Greenhouse • 5:30PM • The sixth annual fundraiser for Knox PAWS (Placing Animals With Seniors). Join us for a relaxing evening of flowers, plants, hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, and live music from the Y’uns Jug Band featuring Michael Crawley. Dogs on leashes are welcome. More about Knox PAWS at knoxseniors.org. More info at 524-2786. • $30 Saturday, May 14 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • The MSFM, a project of Nourish Knoxville, is an open-air farmers’ market located on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM COMMUNITY WORKDAY • Beardsley Community Farm • 9AM • We ask that volunteers come dressed for working outside, wear closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle. Wearing layers is a good idea this time of year. Our Saturday Workdays are open to the community, so there is no need

to sign up in advance. Come for the whole morning or just come for an hour. We look forward to working with you! If you have any questions email us at beardsleyfarm@gmail.com. • FREE Wednesday, May 18 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 11AM • The MSFM, a project of Nourish Knoxville, is an open-air farmers’ market located on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE UT FARMERS MARKET • University of Tennessee • 4PM • Since 2010, the UT Farmers Market has provided a venue for area producers to sell healthful, local food to the greater Knoxville area. This year the market is expanding its community offerings. The UT Farmers Market is free and open to the public every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. in the UT Gardens off Neyland Drive. Market activities will be scheduled through Oct. 19. For more information about the UT Farmers’ Market you can visit the market website: vegetables.tennessee.edu/utfm.html or find it on Facebook. • FREE 2016 RIDE OF SILENCE • Blount County Courthouse • 7PM • Bicyclists assembling at the Blount County Courthouse in Maryville, Tennessee, will roll-out for the annual Ride of Silence in memory of their friends, family, and associates killed or injured by motor vehicle operators. Over 700 cyclists are killed each year while riding. With this ride, The Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation hopes to educate motorists that cyclists have the legal right to the road and to watch out for cyclists whenever they see them.

Tour the final resting place of Civil War soldiers and statesmen, scholars, and spirits.

Old Gray Cemetery Tour

SUNDAY MAY 15, 3PM Ticket sales benefit the Old Gray Cemetery Association.

Other tours this weekend: Civil War • Ghost • Literary • Musical History For more information, and to make your reservations, call 865-309-4522 or visit KnoxvilleWalkingTours.com 34

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

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CALENDAR

Friday, May 20 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE ANNUAL GALA • Jackson Avenue Terminal • 7PM • Illinois native and University of Tennessee alumna Paula Pell will be awarded the CBT Artistic Achievement Award at the Clarence Brown Theatre’s annual Gala. The CBT Gala benefits the Clarence Brown Theatre Artists Endowment, which helps bring professional guest artists from across the United States to the CBT to engage and teach undergraduate and graduate students, all while creating the world-class, professional theatre experiences Greater Knoxville audiences have come to expect.

Saturday, May 21 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • The MSFM, a project of Nourish Knoxville, is an open-air farmers’ market located on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE STOP TRAFFIC FASHION SHOW • Awaken Coffee • 7PM • Join Lox Salon for a fashion show to raise money and awareness for the local charity, Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Fashion by Bula Boutique, hair and makeup by Lox Salon, entertainment by DJ Wigs, and hosted by Awaken Coffee. Pre-sale tickets are available at Lox Salon, Bula Boutique and Awaken Coffee for $7, or $10 at the door. Drinks will be served. • $7-$10 BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM COMMUNITY WORKDAY • Beardsley Community Farm • 9AM • We ask that volunteers come dressed for working outside, wear closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle. Wearing layers is a good idea this time of year. Our Saturday Workdays are open to the community, so there is no need to sign up in advance. Come for the whole morning or just come for an hour. We look forward to working with you! If you have any questions email us at beardsleyfarm@gmail.com. • FREE GOOD SPORT NIGHT • Central Collective • 5PM • Here’s the deal. You purchase a ticket to a mystery event. Show up to the Central Collective at the specified date and time, and be ready for anything. Worried that you won’t be able to participate because of food/alcohol restrictions, physical ability or other preferences? We’ll do our best to give you the information you need to decide if this month’s Good Sport Night is right for you. If you show up and cannot participate for an unforeseen reason, we’re

Sunday, May 22 FEAST FOR THE FARMERS • The Old City • 6PM • Join Chef Tim Love in celebration and support of Knoxville’s local agriculture. Love will host an outdoor five-course dinner benefitting surrounding farms. Tickets cost $200 per person and include a five-course dinner with beverage pairings. Feast for the Farmers will take place on N. Central Street between Jackson and Willow. For an official invitation, please complete the online form here: http://cheftimlove.com/feast/. • $200 MABRY-HAZEN HOUSE TEA AND TATTLE • Mabry-Hazen House • 3PM • Join us for a short Tea Talk, and travel through the inns and alleys and elegant drawing rooms of London to learn about this fascinating chapter in the history of a beverage we love. Nina Martyris is a freelance journalist who moved to Knoxville from Mumbai in 2009. Tickets for Tea & Tattle are $40 and may be purchased online by visiting www.mabryhazen. com/tea or calling 865-522-8661. A tour of Mabry-Hazen House will be offered after the tea. The event will take place rain or shine. • $40 FIRST CREEK CLEAN SWEEP AND PADDLEBOARD DEMO • Volunteer Landing • 1PM • Keep Knoxville Beautiful and Billy Lush Board Shop are cleaning up first creek at Volunteer Landing. Adventure Board Company will host a board demo from 1-3pm (free). Clean sweep is 3-4:30pm.

Terrapin Beer Co. pint night to follow at the Beer Porch (inside the board shop). All beer proceeds will benefit the Legacy Parks Foundation. During the pint night, we will be raffling off a brand new 2016 Adventure Board, an Osprey pack, paddling coupons, and more. Food will also be available for purchase. Come for a part or for all of it.

The thrill is gone A tribute to but not forgotten: B.B. King

Send your events to calendar@knoxmercury.com

Thursday may 19 8:00pm ( doors open at 7:00pm ) with

Devan Jones & The Uptown Stomp and special guests:

ity Blues ual

Kn

TN

Thursday, May 19 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE SPRING CELEBRATION FUNDRAISER • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • A live performance and silent auction featuring local artists and vendors, plus refreshments from Blackhorse Pub and Brewery and Bistro at the Bijou. Your support can keep us dancing for another 25 years. • $20 MARBLE SPRINGS SHOPPING AT THE FARM FARMER’S MARKET • Marble Springs State Historic Site • 3PM • Marble Springs State Historic Site is proud to present the sixtth season of Shopping at the Farm, the Marble Springs Farmer’s Market for our South Knoxville community. The market will be held Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. beginning on May 19 and continuing weekly through Sept. 22. All vendors will be selling fresh, locally-produced products, and artisan crafts. This year we will be allowing the addition of antiques vendors. • FREE

happy to give you a credit for a future Good Sport Night.

Light snacks, garden party attire optional (don’t wear heels). Physical activity includes a bit of walking. No kids.

• $25

Q

Helmets are required, front and rear lights are strongly recommended. Additional information about the ride can be obtained on the Foundation’s website (http://www. jeffrothcyclingfoundation.org) or by contacting The Jeff Roth Cycling Foundation @ (865) 309-5723. • FREE

ox v i l l e

Proceeds to benefit Tennessee Valley Jazz and Blues Foundation

Jenna Jefferson, Blair, Jody, & Cal Robbinz

Relix Theatre 1208 N. Central Street, Knoxville Admission: $12 at the door, $10 for KMA, SMBS, and KSDA members Brought to you by:

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 35

UNCING

Art & Antiques COME CHECK OUT OUR NEW GARDEN DECOR!

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THURSDAY Whiskey Night $1 off all

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DANE KRISTOF, The popular Nashville psychic and clairvoyant that the tabloids call,” the Seer of Music Row,” is accepting appts. for when he is in Knoxville this month.

One Nashville paper said, “This guy’s the real deal.

He starts by telling you little known things that only you could know not to impress you but to add validation to the reading.” Call (615)4294053 for a Knoxville appt.

– www.DaneKristof.com.

PLACE YOUR AD AT STORE.KNOXMERCURY.COM

BONES - is a 1 year old unique Boxer/mix. He’s a spunky little fella who needs some extra TLC & a caring home. He loves treats and toys. Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-2156599 for more information.

SOPHIA - is a 2 year old DLH absolute sweetheart.

As soon as you walk into her room all she wants to do is be petted. She would be good in any home including one with kids.

Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-215-6599 for more information.

CHLOE - is a 5 year old Domestic Long hair mix available at our Village Location. She is so sweet & truly loves to cuddle/ snuggle with anyone.

Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-215-6599 for more information.

LAVERNE - is a 2 year old Hound/ mix. Small, compact, & hardy. She is merry and fun loving & would be an active companion for kids & adults alike. Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-215-6599 for more information.

12th Annual Knoxville Croquet Tournament Saturday May 21, 2016

Help support Knoxville’s best alternative to corporate news media and keep our city moving forward REGIST RATIO BEGINS N AT 10:3 0 A.M.

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Join us for a croquet competition to benefit local arts organizations at UT RecSports Field Complex across from Dead End BBQ on Sutherland Ave. Participation is open to the public, and no experience is necessary to enjoy the event’s relaxed, easy-to-learn game of croquet. Participants can register to play solo or with a partner, or may choose to simply attend and mingle in support of Knoxville Opera.

Vist www.knoxvilleopera.com/croquet-tournament or call Audrey Duncan at 865.588.8371 for additional details, tickets, and the schedule of events.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 37

’BYE

Spir it of the Staircase

BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY

38

KNOXVILLE MERCURY May 12, 2016

www.thespiritofthestaircase.com

At This Point

Ordinary Time Reaching for here and now

BY STEPHANIE PIPER

A

ll I want is one ordinary day, a friend told me recently. A series of family crises had left her shaky and exhausted, and she longed for a spell of plain, predictable living. No pealing cell phone bearing another unwelcome bulletin. No pinging text message from the emergency room.

Just 24 hours of uneventful calm.

Ordinary time is underrated. In the liturgical year, it describes the intervals between the big, Technicolor feasts like Christmas and Easter. It’s 32 weeks of monotonous green vestments, an absence of incense, and an invitation to seek the holy in the everyday, same old-same old world most of us inhabit.

Yet it is this unremarkable world I long for when trouble breaks through the veneer of routine. I remember navigating a dark passage one winter some years ago. I would sit at my desk and look out the window and fantasize—not about an ocean voyage or an escape to a sunny island somewhere, but about the luxury of a quiet heart. I would imagine an hour of hard work untainted by fear and worry—or a

conversation in which I was fully present, actually laughing at some silly office joke or outrageous bit of gossip. I would idealize something as mundane as folding laundry with nothing more on my mind than new towels or lavender sachets for the linen closet, or nights of untroubled sleep and mornings that arrived without dread. I vowed that if I came through this valley, I would never, as long as I lived, complain about boredom again.

The darkness receded, and my resolution waned. I am not a thrill-seeker by nature, and a little adrenalin goes a long way. But the daily round, crisis-free at last, soon lost its luster. I didn’t want to go back to the valley. I just wanted a bit more scenery on the smoother path I’d finally reached.

It’s there, of course. Sometimes I can actually see it: the red flight of a cardinal, the spring light picking out the myriad shades of green in the woods behind my house. There are whole minutes when I master the art of stillness and focus on the stories

unfolding in front of me: the man in the next pew wiping his eyes at the opening bars of “Abide with Me,” the little girl in the supermarket line examining the candy display, extending a tentative hand, withdrawing it quickly. A texted photo of my 6-yearold granddaughter wearing a bright blue sweater and a shy smile and a bronze medal proclaiming her Student of the Month.

Emily, a character in Thornton Wilder’s iconic American play Our Town, seizes the chance to return briefly to Earth after dying in childbirth. Choose an unimportant day, she is told. Choose the least important day of your life. It will be important enough.

Invisible to her beloved family, she begs them to see her. Just for a moment we’re all together, she cries to her mother. Just for a moment, we’re

’BYE

happy. Let’s really look at one another.

She discovers the truth of what saints and poets have always told us. It goes so fast. We miss so much.

It goes fast, and the scenery blurs. Too often, I catch myself on a pointless commute between past and future, second-guessing decisions that are ancient history now, straining to see what comes next. Consumed with worldly cares, I shrug off the present and drown out the quiet, repetitive chords of daily life. I look ahead to distant feasts, drawing me with their light and color, their scent of pine boughs and lilies.

And then a friend brings me up short with a simple wish for an ordinary day. I listen to her story and nod and tell her that I know just what she means. I sit at my desk and look out the window and breathe, reaching for here and now. ◆

BY IAN BLACKBURN AND JACK NEELY

I vowed that if I came through this valley, I would never, as long as I lived, complain about boredom again.

May 12, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 39

New and Improved

Downtown FREE Trolley Routes starting May2nd!

WW W. K A T B U S . C O M

Now serving many fun and unique destinations including:

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To the Old City

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U.S. Post Office

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History Center

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To the Coliseum

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Tennessee Theater

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Downtown Library

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Theater

First Tennessee Bank BB&T Bank

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Dwight Kessel Garage

Andrew Johnson Building

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Hampton Inn

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Hilton

To UT and University Commons

VE NA State Street Parking Garage

Charles Krutch Park

Elevator access to Worlds Fair Park

Knoxville Convention Center

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UT Conference Center

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Walnut Street Parking Garage

Holiday Inn

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Market Square

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Summit Towers

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Mast General Store

TVA Towers

Johnson

Take a look at our map and plan a Park FREE trip with us starting May 2nd.

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Visitors Center

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Upgraded and extended service hours that include weekday service until 8pm and Friday and Saturday service running until 10pm!

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• The Old City • Worlds Fair Park •The University of Tennessee

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City-County Building

Blount Mansion