Calendar of Events

It is hard to believe that at 36 years old Jonny Lang has already had a successful career for two decades. Easier to believe when you learn he released his first platinum record at 15 -- an age when many young people are just beginning to play music. Lie to Me revealed a talent that transcended the crop of blues prodigies floating around in the late Nineties. No flashy re-hasher of classic blues licks, even at that early age Lang was a full-blown artist with a style of his own. Also, setting Lang apart from the wunderkind crowd was a 15-year-old voice that sounded like a weathered soul shouter. Actual life experience was yet to come, and has been subsequently chronicled in a series of five uniformly excellent recordings. "I got married, had kids, and that arc has been recorded on albums along the way," says Lang. "There is a lot of personal history in there, and also some things that relate to world events." www.jonnylang.com

At Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Guest artist recital; featuring piano music by Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and Liszt. Yang received his doctorate in piano performance at the University of Houston under the instruction of Abbey Simon, and is currently faculty at Xiamen Institute of Technology.

Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

Unless otherwise noted, concerts are FREE and open to the public. The Natalie Haslam Music Center is located at 1741 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, and the Alumni Memorial Building is located at 1408 Middle Drive on the UT campus. *For individual or small group performances, please check the web site or call the day of the event for updates or cancellations: 865-974-5678, www.music.utk.edu/events

Performance takes place in the Clayton Performing Arts Center.

Free and inexpensive theatre and musical productions, art exhibits and faculty lectures. All events take place on the Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 10-6:30. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

Jan 30, Feb 27, and Mar 27 at 6:00 PM
At Candoro Marble, 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee 37920

Welcome knitters and crocheters of Knoxville! We're excited to host an evening of knitting and crochet for folks of all ages and experience levels at the historic Candoro Marble. Come learn about knitting, and meet others who are interested in or passionate about it! We will have people on site to show you how to start, and will be teaching each other skills and tricks each month. Mostly it will be to sit around and work on projects and chat while working!

This first meeting will be a meet and greet as well as learning the basics of casting on and basic knitting so come even if you've never picked up a knitting needle before! Treats will be provided but food and beverages will be potluck style. Bring your own supplies or supplies to share! We will have yarn and extra needles on hand for those who want to learn and do not have their own materials.

This is a free event, but we will be accepting donations for our building at the event.

Tours of the building will begin at 5PM if you're interested in learning about the history of Candoro Marble before hand.
https://www.facebook.com/events/146544656136855/

Knox County Director and Extension Agent, Neal Denton, a face familiar to TV viewers in East Tennessee, will present a program on caring for winter plants, “Winter care for your plants, shrubs and trees: how to protect, care for and minimize weather damage to your landscape during the winter season.”

This free program, offered by the UT Arboretum Society, will take place at the UT Arboretum Auditorium at 901 S. Illinois Road in Oak Ridge. Denton, the County Director and Extension Agent with UT/TSU Extension-Knox County, is a weekly horticulture commentator on WBIR’s morning show as well as the afternoon show, “Live at Five at Four.” Born and raised in Cocke County, Denton earned a BA in Biology/Secondary Education from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky and an MS in Plant and Soil Science from UT Knoxville. He has been in his current position since 1994.

To learn more about this program or the UT Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the program, call 483-7277.

Details TBA!

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

I would like to warmly invite you to attend the closing reception for Figured at Maryville College this Friday, February 23, from 6:00-8:00 PM. This art exhibition showcases a glimpse of a very important contemporary figurative art movement including the paintings and drawings of four regional, accomplished artists: John Woodrow Kelley, Melanie Norris, Seth Haverkamp, and Denise Stewart-Sanabria.
Closing Reception is Friday, February 23, 6-8pm and the last full day of the exhibition is Tuesday, February 27.

Gallery Hours: 10-5 Monday - Thursday and for evening events
Blackberry Farm Gallery and William "Ed" Harmon Gallery, Clayton Center for the Arts in the smaller of the two buildings
502 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy
Maryville, TN 37804
865-981-8590
https://www.claytonartscenter.com/

By: christopher oscar peña

Transcending 20th-century notions of race and culture, peña’s work succeeds in simultaneously touching our hearts, stimulating our minds, and examining our society. Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang

In this CBT-commissioned World Premiere, Cris returns to a place he once used to know, only to find a world he no longer recognizes. As he connects with a new stranger tasked to show him around town, an unexpected spark challenges all of Cris' preconceived notions. the strangers is a modern day reimagining of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, depicting a contemporary American world thrown into chaos.
This production contains adult content and language.

Carousel Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

We have a full event calendar that grows by the day!

Monday - Singer/songwriter night (open sign-up)
Tuesday - Open mic night (open sign-up)
Wed through Sun - Various Americana/Folk artists from Knoxville and across the country

The Troubadour Roadhouse and Performance Hall located in Bearden, 4705 Old Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919
Information: 865-851-8650, www.troubadourroadhouse.com
www.facebook.com/troubadourroadhouse

“Ancestors” is a body of work that celebrates the founders of the present. Sean Clark explores a personal narrative of the forerunners that brought him to this very moment. Some of the works in the show are inspired by the legacy of Sammie Nicely and his lifelong friendship with Sean’s father Dr. Robert J Clark. This exhibit is part of the 30th annual From Africa to Appalachia celebration at Rose Center.

The Rose Center, 442 West Second North St., Morristown, TN, 37814. Hours: M-F 9-5. Information: 423-581-4330, www.rosecenter.org

"Daring Greatly" is part of "Reading Close to Home," an ongoing series focusing on the lives and works of southern writers. Join Professor Edward Francisco in discussion of Eudora Welty's selected short stories: "A Worn Path," "Why I Live at the P.O.," and "Where is the Voice Coming From?" Schedule:

February 13: "A Worn Path"
On a cold December day, an elderly woman named Phoenix makes her way along a remote path, narrating the journey to herself as she goes.

February 20: "Why I Live at the P.O."
Sister explains how she came to leave the family home in China Grove, Mississippi. In the process, she reveals her own character and a good many family secrets.

February 27
"Where is the Voice Coming From?"
A narrator recalls recent conversations with his wife as well as his role in the death of Roland Summers, an African American civil rights leader in the small town of Thermopylae.

At Lawson McGhee Library. http://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs

Reception Friday, February 16, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Alyssa Johnson
There is a power in lines on maps, in three feet of fencing full of holes, in a velvet rope or a cement block. In this power, there are also rules. This wall is okay to climb over—that wall is not. You can paint on that wall, but you cannot touch this one. These are rules Johnson wants to define—to climb into, to push until she meets an edge, to make room for one or two or more people. She hopes to set the groundwork for this delineation by isolating the walls she interacts with daily, to draw them out of their repeated normalcy and question their necessity. There are two sides to every stance—therefore, she uses both realism and abstraction. Abolishing dividers leans toward naivety, yet holding all trust in borders rings with paranoia. Her primary hope is that a wide expression of style will allow for an exploration of both ends of the spectrum, prompting us to locate where our own feet stand in relation to either ignorance or distrust.

In December of 2017, Alyssa graduated from the University of Tennessee’s School of Art with a BFA in Studio Art and a psychology minor. Her past work has been featured in Phoenix Literary Magazine and included in group exhibitions in Tennessee; most recently, she has been displaying in New Jersey. While her focus is primarily on painting and drawing, Alyssa is also serving as studio manager to a local potter in Nashville while still maintaining her own practice in her studio at home.

Brandon McBath
McBath digs for treasure -- the images -- then makes the map to it. He compares this to viewing a cluster of clouds: the mind connects it with an image, and then one sees that image in the clouds. He wants viewers to discover hidden images and be observant of his clouds. He makes large-scale scroll-esque drawings that fill the field of vision from up close or afar. Intuitive gestural lines and ink-pours create a unique matrix or “sky.” Then, as he finds images, he reinforces them and makes them more readily available to the viewer.

Brandon McBath graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2016 with a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in drawing and a minor in art history. He was raised in East Tennessee by Tammy McBath, of Tammy’s Fish and Fried Green Tomatoes, and a loving older brother. After his father’s death in 1997, his mother worked hard to support her two children. During this time, Brandon was highly influenced by the art within television, anime, and video games. This later accompanied his faith in Jesus Christ which has shaped his worldview alongside his church family at Beech Grove Baptist Church. He teaches middle school art at Concord Christian School in Farragut.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org