Calendar of Events

Marble City Opera will present an immersive, site-specific production of The Human Voice on April 3, 4, and 5, 2025 at Historic Westwood, 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville.

The Human Voice was composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. It is a one-act monodrama based on a play by Jean Cocteau. Marble City Opera’s production will be sung in English. The only character is a woman on the phone with her former lover who abandoned her for another woman.

Historic Westwood is a Queen Anne style home completed in 1890. It was the residence and studio of artist Adelia Armstrong Lutz and her husband John. Westwood has served as the headquarters for Knox Heritage since 2013.

Soprano Kathryn Frady will sing the part of Elle, accompanied by Brandon Coffer on piano. Marya Barry will be the stage director for the production.

Marble City Opera: 865-226-9756, www.marblecityopera.com

TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN WRITERS PRESENTS THE 36TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE,
April 3-5, 2025, at the Double Tree Hotel, Oak Ridge, TN

The conference will include Workshops, Networking, Publishers, Book Signings, Bookstore, Vendors and Manuscript Evaluations!

Deadline for MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION ENTRIES is MARCH 1, 2025.

Workshop Leaders include JANISSE RAY - Banquet Speaker and Nonfiction; CHARLES DODD WHITE - Fiction and General Session; CAMERON L. MITCHELL - Poetry; KRISTIN O’DONNELL TUBB - Young People’s Literature.

Specialty Sessions include JENNIE IVEY – Inspirational Writing; KELLE JOLLY – Writing a Blues Song; TERRY SHAW, JENNIE IVEY, KRISTIN O’DONNELL TUBB – Fitting a Writing Practice Into Your Busy Life; KEITH STEWART – Humor Writing; LARRY D. THACKER – Writing Short Stories.

Early Conference Registration Rate ends March 21, 2025.
For complete information on all of this and to register, go to our website, tmwi.org

JEFF ARCURI: WHOLE WIDE WORLD TOUR
THURSDAY, APRIL 3 | 7PM

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com

Thursday, April 3, 8:00 PM at the Bijou Theatre. Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld is bringing An Open Book: I Laugh At Myself to the Bijou. This one-man show will take you on a deeply personal journey through Furstenfeld’s life, music, and creative evolution. The I Laugh At Myself tour is an all-new, evolved experience from his previous Open Book shows. It features completely fresh stories, songs, and insights, offering fans a rare glimpse into the man behind the music and the stories that have shaped his career. This unique blend of acoustic performances, heartfelt storytelling, and intimate audience interaction makes the I Laugh At Myself show a must-see event.

Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B006184E06D6201

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, https://knoxbijou.org/

Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. | TICKETS
Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. | TICKETS
Knoxville Museum of Art

Concertmaster William Shaub rounds out the Merchant & Gould Concertmaster & Friends Series season with an exuberant program featuring Sarasate’s spirited Zapateado, Djiwadi’s theme from HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” Wallen’s “Five Postcards” and Schoenberg’s unique and powerful String Quartet No. 2.

PABLO DE SARASATE: Zapateado
RAMIN DJAWADI: Theme from “Game of Thrones” for Violin and Piano
ERROLLYN WALLEN: Five Postcards for Violin and Viola
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG: String Quartet No. 2

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

BY PHILIP DAWKINS
LAB THEATRE

A magical fable with music. This exciting new play tells the story of the Fail family and their seemingly difficult challenge to just stay alive around blunt objects, disappearances and the odd case of consumption. Sometimes you just never see death coming. In this upbeat, tuneful, magical fable you can either worry about the ever-impending death or you can live, love, and sing some songs along the way.

Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information/tickets: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com

Kite Symphony is a multidisciplinary exhibition by Roberto Carlos Lange and Kristi Sword. The project features a series of drawings called Radio Telescope. Two films, one experimental piece called Star Scores, will be scored live during the Big Ears festival, and a film documenting sculptural interventions during their time in Marfa, Texas. Sound is the throughline between these diverse elements of this long-term project. Lange is a musician (widely known as Helado Negro), Sword is a visual artist, and Kite Symphony is an extension of their collaborative practice where they create work at the intersection of music, performance, and visual art. Lange, as Helado Negro, also joins us for a musical performance.

*A Big Ears 2025 Exhibition (one of four very special exhibitions of visual art on display during the festival weekend (Mar 27-30) and during the month leading up to it. Extended hours TBA

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sa 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, https://downtown.utk.edu

Presented by The Standford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School

Violins of Hope is a collection of over 50 violins that survived the Holocaust, played by Jewish musicians in ghettos, concentration camps, and even as symbols of resistance. Each violin, lovingly restored by Israeli master violin maker Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, carries a powerful story of resilience and survival. These instruments bear witness to the indomitable spirit of their owners, whose music defied the darkness of one of history’s most tragic periods. The Violins of Hope project will feature performances, exhibitions, and educational programs that celebrate the enduring power of music and the human spirit. Through these events, communities will come together to reflect on the past and inspire a future rooted in hope, acceptance, and unity. Join us as we honor these extraordinary instruments and the stories they tell.

*A Big Ears 2025 Exhibition (one of four very special exhibitions of visual art on display during the festival weekend (Mar 27-30) and during the month leading up to it. Extended hours TBA.

Digital Motif, 108 S Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. (865) 214-6367 or https://digitalmotif.com/

Knoxville artist Jean Hess offers a kaleidoscopic selection of work that ranges from celestial, to playful, to poignant. Starry skies and planetary motion. Plants, animals and gems. Appalachian coal miners, lost cultures and maps of lost lands. Hess works with socio-historical data, found artifacts and ephemera that enable her to invoke complex stories.

Westminster Presbyterian Church Schilling Gallery, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-12. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

Fountain City Art Center is celebrating 20 years of art education. Join us for an exhibit of students' works.

Opening Feb 21, 6:30-8 PM

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Mondays @ 6:30 PM Adult Tap Dance (Adv Beg)
Mondays @ 7:30 PM Adult Tap Dance (Int-Adv)
Tuesdays @ 6:30 PM Adult Jazz Chair Dance (Open Level)
Wednesdays @ 6:30 PM Adult Tap Dance (Beginners)
Thursdays @ 6:30 PM Adult Ballet Barre & Center

Classes held at The Follies Girls Dance & Performing Arts Center, located inside the 1400 Building at 1400 N. 6th Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865.888.0341 or www.thefolliesgirls.org

The Smithsonian’s National Collection of Fishes X-rays represent more than 70 percent of the world’s fish specimens and is the largest and most diverse collection of its kind in the world. Although the X-rays featured in the national collection were made for research purposes, the strikingly elegant images demonstrate the natural union of science and art and are a visual retelling of the evolution of fish. X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out, an exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), showcases these dramatic prints exposing the inner workings of the fish.

The exhibition features 32 black-and-white digital prints of different species of fish. Arranged in evolutionary sequence, these X-rays give a tour through the long stream of fish evolution. The X-rays have allowed Smithsonian and other scientists to study the skeleton of a fish without altering the specimen, making it easier for scientists to build a comprehensive picture of fish diversity.

The exhibition also includes specimens from the collections of the McClung Museum, the Etnier Ichthyological Collection, and the Vertebrate Osteology Collection to highlight research happening with fish specimens at the University of Tennessee.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Tu-Sa 9-5, Sun 12-4. Information: 865-974-2144, https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/