Calendar of Events

Join us each month for live music, art, and a celebration of creativity. Tickets are now on sale at www.knoxart.org/events/. For more information, contact Soundscapes Coordinator Brian Clay, bclay@knoxart.org.

June 20, 2025, 7:30-9:15 pm
Soundscapes alum Houston-based saxman Dean James returns to wow the crowd.
www.deanjamesjazz.com

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World’s Fair Park Dr., Knoxville, TN 37916
Direct Line: (865) 525-6101 or www.knoxart.org

Friday, June 20, 2025
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM

On the longest day of the year, Garden supporters gather for cocktails al fresco, live music, and a solstice meal to raise funds for the Garden. Save the date for this magical evening. Details and invitations to come!

Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, 2743 Wimpole Ave, Knoxville, TN 37914. Hours: Gardens open daily from sunrise to sunset. Information: 865-862-8717, www.knoxgarden.org

Friday, June 20 - Sunset Series Concert: The Jeff Jopling Band

All concerts are scheduled to take place in the Heritage Center's covered, open-air amphitheater. Seating is provided, although all guests are welcome to bring a cushion, pillow, blanket, etc. as needed. Doors open 90 minutes prior to showtime, and concessions are available at that time as well. No outside food or drink except for bottled water is allowed into the amphitheater. No alcohol can be brought in with you.

For more information or to order tickets by phone, please call the office at 865-448-0044.
https://gsmheritagecenter.org/events-tickets
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center | 123 Cromwell Drive | Townsend, TN 37882

Fred Armisen: Comedy For Musicians But Everyone Is Welcome
Friday, June 20, 7:00 PM at the the Bijou Theatre.

Tickets at: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B00626DE6816BDF

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

By Greg Allen, Directed by Shelby Frye

Having opened in 1988 and still playing today as the longest-running show in Chicago history, Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind is an ensemble experiment in presenting “30 Plays in 60 Minutes.” Each two-minute play is performed in random order with an interactive audience. An onstage 60-minute timer keeps everyone honest. This collection of 90 comic, tragic, political, personal, and abstract plays gives you the chance to program your own evening of 30 Neo-Futurist plays to reflect the lives and experiences of your own ensemble. Go!

Performances are Thu-Sat 7:30 PM and Sun 3 PM

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 800 S. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

The Knoxville Museum of Art is proud to announce Electricity for All, a thought-provoking exhibition exploring the complex relationships between technology, information, and power. Framed by the historical context of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)—a transformative New Deal program launched in the 1930s to bring electricity to the region —Electricity for All delves into the profound social and cultural shifts that took place across the Tennessee River Valley. While the TVA promised progress and prosperity, it also produced disruption and displacement that continues to linger. This exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the dualities of technological advancement, and the costs that inhabit our need and desire to progress.

Taking its name from one of TVA’s original promotional slogans, Electricity for All features work by contemporary artists who grapple with the legacy and ramifications of innovation. Some imagine utopian futures powered by technology’s democratizing potential; others sound a cautionary note, revealing the pitfalls of surveillance and decentralized authority. Still others manipulate digital materials and metaphors to explore the poetics of power in an interconnected world.

Artists: Jim Campbell, Petra Cortright, Daniel Canogar, Nathan Hylden, Beryl Korot, Frederick Hammersley, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Amor Muñoz, Iván Navarro, Marilène Oliver, Mimi Ọnụọha, Trevor Paglen, Nam June Paik, Elias Sime, Jered Sprecher & Sam van Strien.

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.

Observations and Imaginings - Watercolors and Drawings by Susan B Miller and Michael Pardee
The Schilling Gallery, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 6500 South Northshore Drive
865-584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

The South Knoxville Branch Library is hosting artwork by Valerie Sigmon during the months of May and June. The show is comprised of colored pencil sketches done at the UT Botanical Garden in Knoxville and the Desert Botanical Garden in Scottsdale, Arizona. The work highlights native spring and summer blooms. Library hours are 10:00 am-8:00 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The library is located at 4500 Chapman Highway, Knoxville, 37920.

What Brought You Here?
Good Golly Tamale, 112 S Central St., is hosting artwork by Valerie Sigmon during the months of May and June. The show is comprised of mixed media biographical works. The Old City restaurant is open Monday through Saturday, 11 am - 8 pm.

Featuring paintings, mixed media and collage work.

Beck Cultural Exchange Center, 1927 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Hours: Tu-F 10-2. Information: 865-524-8461, www.beckcenter.net

Home Runs & Home Teams - A History of the National Pastime in Tennessee
Rogers-Claussen Feature Gallery

As Tennesseeans, baseball is in our DNA, and although the game is common to us, it has never remained the same during anyone’s lifetime. Who were among the first to play baseball in Tennessee? How did 31 Tennessee towns come to host a MiLB team? What makes a day at a Tennessee ballpark an iconic experience? Home Runs & Home Teams provides an overview of the national pastime as it has played out in the Volunteer State. For every story included in the exhibition, there are hundreds more–from players to pennants, from bat makers to bat boys–that could have been shared. So as you “round the bases,” think about your connections to the game, your ties to the past. What does baseball mean to you and to your community? What baseball stories should libraries and museums preserve to share with future Tennesseans? Let’s play ball!

601 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.easttnhistory.org/exhibitions/home-runs-home-teams/

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/