Calendar of Events

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: Live at Lucille's with Rudresh Mahanthappa

Category: Music

7:30 pm at Regas Square, 333 West Depot Avenue Knoxville, TN 37917

Live at Lucille’s brings the tradition of exciting and innovative PBS music programming right here to East Tennessee. Featuring acclaimed jazz artists performing in an intimate setting, these shows aretaped in front of a live audience at the new, state-of-the-art Regas Square Events space in downtown Knoxville. The shows are later broadcast on PBS stations across the state.

Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa began making waves on the international jazz scene in the mid 90's while still living in Chicago. Since moving to New York City in 1997, Mahanthappa's profile has only risen. He has topped the Downbeat Critics Poll nine times, headlined at major festivals around the globe and received a number of prestigious awards including a Guggenheim fellowship. Don't special performance for Live at Lucille's.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-at-lucilles-rudresh-mahanthappa-tickets-978316510017

Dogwood Arts: Dogwood Arts Festival

Category: Culinary arts, food, Exhibitions, visual art, Festivals, special events, Fine Crafts, Free event, Kids, family and Meetup

World's Fair Park, 963 World's Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916

Established in 1961, the Dogwood Arts Festival is one of the most celebrated cultural events in Knoxville! The festival is held on the beautifully redesigned Performance Lawn at World’s Fair Park and features over 100 fine art vendors, live music, entertainment, children's activities, food & beverage vendors, and more.

Friday & Saturday: 10AM - 7PM
Sunday: 10AM - 5PM

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

River & Rail Theatre Company: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grille

Category: Music and Theatre

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill is a play with music featuring several of Billie Holiday's most famous songs. The play was written by Lanie Robertson and recounts some events in the life of Holiday.

River & Rail Theatre, 111 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com

Clarence Brown Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong

Category: Comedy and Theatre

BY JONATHAN SAYER, HENRY SHIELDS, AND HENRY LEWIS

Welcome to the opening night of 'The Murder at Haversham Manor', where things go from not very good to an utter disaster. 'The Play That Goes Wrong' is an ill-fated play-within-a-play, set on the opening night of the Cornley Drama Society’s newest production. The troupe’s ambitious whodunit has everything you never want in a show: falling props, collapsing scenery, an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything…including their lines. Come see why this show has been called “the funniest play Broadway has ever seen!” (Huffington Post)

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

Tri-Star Arts: Featuring Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi & Meg White

  • April 4, 2025 — June 21, 2025

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

MAIN GALLERY
Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi — Apr. 4 - Jun. 21, 2025 / reception Apr. 4, 2025

PROJECT SPACE
Meg White — Apr. 4 - Jun. 21, 2025 / reception Apr. 4, 2025

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-5. Information: https://tristararts.org/visit

Knoxville Museum of Art: States of Becoming

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and Kids, family

States of Becoming examines the dynamic forces of relocation, resettling, and assimilation that shape the artistic practices of a group of contemporary African diaspora artists in the United States. The exhibition is inspired by curator Fitsum Shebeshe’s 2016 move from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Baltimore, and subsequent firsthand experience with cultural assimilation. States of Becoming is a traveling exhibition curated by Fitsum Shebeshe and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI), New York.

States of Becoming Opening Reception
Friday, January 31, 2025, 6:00-9:00 pm
Members Only Hour, 6:00-7:00 pm
Gallery Talk with Curator Fitsum Shebeshe, 6:15 pm
Reception Opens to Non-Members, 7:00 pm
Musical Performance by Artist Miatta Kawinzi, 8:00 pm
Food by Tarik’s North African + Cash Bar + Specialty Beverage
https://knoxart.org/event/states-of-becoming-opening-reception/

For additional information and updates, follow the Knoxville Museum of Art on social media:
Facebook: Knoxville Museum of Art, Instagram: @knoxvillemuseumofart, X: @knoxart

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org. Admission and parking are free.

McClung Museum: Homelands: Connecting to Mounds Through Native Art

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts, Free event, History, heritage and Kids, family

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, announces a new exhibition, “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds Through Native Art,” opening to the public on January 25, 2025. The project sets a new standard for collaborative exhibition practices at the McClung and represents the museum's most significant renovation in more than 20 years.

"‘Homelands’ is a defining moment for the McClung Museum. It’s the largest project we’ve undertaken in over two decades, but its impact goes far beyond its scale,” said Claudio Gómez, Jefferson Chapman Executive Director of the museum. “This exhibition has challenged us to rethink how we collaborate, bringing in new perspectives and allowing us to honor Native voices in ways that are both respectful and forward-thinking.”

“Homelands” showcases contemporary art by 17 Native artists to emphasize the enduring ties between Native Nations and Knox County. As a result of the exhibition, the museum has acquired 22 new works for its permanent collection.

https://news.utk.edu/2025/01/07/mcclung-museum-to-open-exhibition-centering-native-voices-and-contemporary-art/

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/

Knoxville Walking Tours

  • January 1, 2025 — December 31, 2025

Category: Festivals, special events and History, heritage

Storyteller Laura Still helps you live the stories of pioneers, soldiers, outlaws, and even fictional characters who walked these streets before you.

Knoxville has a rich history full of colorful characters and famous, and infamous, figures whose lives have been the inspiration for books, movies, and works of art. Take a stroll through history in beautiful downtown Knoxville while listening to true tales of the heroes, heels, and hardened criminals that are part of the hidden lore of this unique East Tennessee town.

A portion of the proceeds for downtown tours go to help fund the work of the non-profit Knoxville History Project. Many stories are based on the books and stories of award-winning journalist and writer Jack Neely. Knoxville Walking Tours opens a window to Knoxville’s varied past and leads you on a journey through both hard times and high times of a city growing through over two centuries of history.

Tours include:
• Knoxville: The Early Years
• Misbehaving Women
• Civil War
• Gunslingers
• Musical History
• Literary Heritage
• Side Street Shadows Ghost Tours
• Knoxville Botanical Garden
• Old Gray Cemetery
• Side Street Shadows Ghost Tours

Tour on Your Schedule! Rather than posting a calendar, we’re letting you pick the tour and time — subject to availability. Call (865)309-4522 or visit https://knoxvillewalkingtours.com/