MetroPulse Stories: Eye on the Scene

Plainclothes Tracy Plans One Last Summer Fling

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:22:00 -0000

Singer Kym Hawkins is moving to New York in the fall to begin a graduate poetry program at Sarah Lawrence College. Until then, though, the band plans to play as much as possible to support their brand-new EP, Buffalo!.

Erick Baker to Release New Album, 'Goodbye June,' Next Month

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:20:00 -0000

Husky-voiced adult-alternative hunk Erick Baker is preparing to release his second album, Goodbye June, due out on June 26.

Bigger and Better 24 Hour Film Festival Returns in June

coury@metropulse.com (Coury Turczyn) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:22:00 -0000

Last year, the second edition of the Knoxville 24 Hour Film Festival was in a do-or-die situation. The competition, which pits movie-making teams against one another to complete a short film in one day’s time, lacked financial sponsorships, and festival director Michael Samstag was funding much of the proceedings himself. Sending out e-mails with subject lines like “Defcon 4,” Samstag rallied his troops to break even and continue the contest. And so it will, returning this year armed with new sponsors and an even bigger lineup of events.

Pres Pub Annex Set to Open Soon

mconnergibson@gmail.com (Mike Gibson) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:19:00 -0000

While the West family’s plans to open an event space, Scruffy City Hall, in conjunction with their Preservation Pub may take longer than originally planned, a portion of that area at 32 Market Square will be put to use in the short-term within the next four to six weeks.

Bijou Jubilee! Benefit Returns to Krutch Park Extension

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:16:00 -0000

We’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating: The Bijou Theatre is one of the best things about Knoxville, a glorious venue with history, top-notch acoustics, and surprising intimacy, even in the back corners of the balcony.

2nd Annual Knoxville Design Week Sets Schedule

coury@metropulse.com (Coury Turczyn) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:14:00 -0000

The Knoxville chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Artists is organizing Knoxville’s Second Annual Design Week, May 14-18, with special events to “engage, inspire, educate and spotlight Knoxville’s thriving design community.”

Knoxville Southern Fried Burlesque Queen Siren Santina Heads to World Burlesque Games

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:36:00 -0000

First, Southern Fried Burlesque Queen 2011. Next, the world. Knoxville’s own Siren Santina, creative director and co-founder of Salomé Cabaret Burlesque Revue, won the first-ever Southern Fried award in Atlanta last year, and has now been selected to represent the United States in this year’s World Burlesque Games, held May 7-13 in London.

MIc Harrison, Black Cadillacs Set Release Dates for New Albums

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:19:00 -0000

We’ve already dropped a couple of hints about Still Wanna Fight, the forthcoming album from Mic Harrison and the High Score: “Sometime this spring” was about as precise a projected release date as we could pin down. Until now, that is.

Valarium Owner Plans Music Park

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:16:00 -0000

Gary Mitchell is moving ahead with his long-held ambition to transform the parking lot south of the Valarium into a large outdoor venue for concerts and festivals.

Record Store Day 2012: All You Need to Know

coury@metropulse.com (Coury Turczyn) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:39:00 -0000

Meant to remind consumers that record stores still exist (and to send collectors into paroxysms of credit-card agony), Record Store Day does more than just provide record-store exclusives and limited editions you can’t find anywhere else—it’s a day to rejoin the human collective and hear something new not selected for you by an algorithm.

'Men's Health' Names WUTK One of the 20 Coolest College Radio Stations

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:27:00 -0000

Men’s Health magazine has named WUTK one of the 20 Coolest College Radio Stations in the country in its most recent issue.

Music Returns to Market Square

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:25:00 -0000

Local government is making an effort to fill the vacuum left by the end of the Sundown in the City series of free concerts, which AC Entertainment canceled this year.

New Theater Company Debuts With 'Pardon Me for Living'

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:00 -0000

Jayne Morgan says she sees a big space between the University of Tennessee’s Clarence Brown company, a nationally recognized professional company with a big budget, and community theater, which is often performed on a volunteer basis. “There are very few productions in which an actor can make any money at all,” she says. She sees Flying Anvil as Knoxville’s second professional company.

An Evening With Jazz Legend Harold Mabern

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:08:00 -0000

The dozen or so regular diners at Market Square’s Bella Luna got a bit more than they expected Monday night when they went out for Italian right after the big storm. At one crowded table up front, piano master Donald Brown was thick in conversation with an older man, a fellow Memphis native who might not have been immediately recognizable to other diners as one of the few surviving legends of the bop era.

On the Road With Oversat

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:02:00 -0000

Knoxville’s crazed garage-surf punks Oversat are wrapping up a spring tour short on days but long on miles.

10 Years Goes Indie, Sort Of

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:54:00 -0000

Knoxville modern-rock headliners 10 Years are making a switch for their next album, due out on July 17.

Scruffy City Roots Gets Off to a Not-So-Scruffy Start

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:04:00 -0000

For a first-time production called Scruffy City Roots, the first installment of the new concert/broadcast series at the Square Room wasn’t scruffy at all.

Spring Brings New Local Music

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:38:00 -0000

Springtime means new music, and it’s officially spring, so here’s a round up of upcoming new local releases.

The Sun Sets on Sundown, But Music on Market Square May Be Back

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:11:00 -0000

After a decade and a half, one of downtown Knoxville’s biggest events is officially over. AC Entertainment announced last week that the Sundown in the City series of free concerts “simply no longer fits its Market Square home.”

R.I.P. Melanie Sharp

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:51:00 -0000

For a brief window in the mid-1990s, the Mercury Theatre was the epicenter for a vibrant all-ages punk scene. Anyone who frequented the matinee performances then will remember Melanie Sharp, the ever-fashionable woman on the front row at every show. She wasn’t a musician, but her presence was integral to the scene. An easy way to gauge whether a show was worth staying for was to look for Melanie.