Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

You Heard It Here First

For years now, we've been hearing a lot about this "new" musical trend known as Americana. Alt-country (as it's also called) has been quickly collecting fans over the past several years, first as an alternative-word-of-mouth kind of thing (� la Uncle Tupelo, No Depression magazine, the Old 97's) and then as a movie soundtrack Baby-Boomer hit (O Brother, Where Art Thou).

Of course, the music is nothing new and any music fan who grew up in Knoxville doesn't need a Seattle magazine or two smart-ass film auteurs from Minnesota to turn them onto these sounds.

We've got our own Americana preacher and he's recently found a pulpit from which to shout. Benny Smith—former concert promoter for AC Entertainment as well as former host of WDVX's Soppin' the Gravy bluegrass show—hit the airwaves June 2 with his new show, "The Americana Café," every Sunday from 8 to 10 p.m. on 100.3 FM The River.

"Folks around here look through Appalachian-colored glasses," Smith says. "We grew up listening to roots music."

The show has been more successful than Smith expected. Ratings for the time slot jumped from a 1.5 share in May to a 16.7 share in June, with cumulative listenership climbing from 2,300 to 9,600 people, Smith says.

"This music just can't be denied any longer. It's doing well on the charts. Public radio has been great to this music, but it's time for commercial radio to stand up and take notice," Smith says.

The show has had several live broadcasts at Patrick Sullivan's in the Old City, featuring local Americana artists Scott Miller, Nug Jug, and Todd Steed, among others. Smith would like to go live there at least once a month. (The next live broadcast will be Sunday, Oct. 27, and will feature Leslie Woods and possibly The Old Flames, a band featuring former members of the Satellite Pumps. If you show up, you'll get a chance to win 14 Johnny Cash CDs and some Steve Earle tickets.)

"It's great that we have these great performers in our own backyard to come in and compliment the show," he says. "I can make a local call and here's RB Morris driving 10 minutes to do an interview or Scott Miller coming in to debut some songs and I look around and people are about to cry because it's one of his tearjerkers."

The buzz about the show has led to more Americana music in The River's regular rotation and a few people are whispering "syndication." Smith hasn't pitched the possibility to anyone yet, but wouldn't mind a national audience. "It's great that No Depression started in Seattle and some of these places are spearheading the music but I think people would pay more attention to an Americana show that was out of East Tennessee. It really lends a little more credence. People think, 'These guys grew up with it all their lives. Maybe they know what's going on.'"

I Thought He'd Be Taller

The people crowded into the Preservation Pub Thursday night could barely see his face, shadowed beneath the dark wide-brimmed hat, but they whispered, Is that him? Some of them had heard that he'd been a rapper a few months ago down at the Pilot Light, but Thursday when he began whaling away on an acoustic guitar, it was thick, swampy Delta blues; when he sang in a loud but tonal slur, it was with conviction, like maybe he knew what he was mumbling about. The singer, not formally announced as the opener for RB Morris at the benefit for James Agee Park last Thursday night, was a young man who may finally be 21, named Brad Renfro. The oft-arrested Hollywood star of Apt Pupil, The Client, Bully, and Deuces Wild still lives in North Knoxville, not far from Morris, in fact. Renfro played about half a dozen blues numbers, pausing between songs to offer some extemporaneous remarks no one could quite understand, before politely yielding the pub's new stage to Morris, Hector Qirko and co. Morris and friends then gave a typically stellar performance, which included a long round of toasts (including one by Renfro). The rare evening raised about $1,000 for the Agee Park fund, to add to the $5,000 the Pub owners donated.

Go.

Thursday: Relax with the lovely, talented Martha James' classical piano music at Fairbanks.

Friday: Go see what the Jodie Manross Band have been working so hard on for the past 14 months at their Blue Cats CD release party.

Saturday: It's not every day you get to hear hip hop in Knoxville. So, head to Blue Cats for Afroman.

Sunday: It's about time that there was a place open in Market Square on Sunday. Grab your Sunday New York Times and head to the Tomato Head for brunch and then hop over to the Preservation Pub for a pint or two.

Monday: Knoxville's got an under-appreciated jazz scene and some of its stalwarts—Donald Brown, Keith Brown, Paul Haar, Mark Boling and Rusty Holloway—will be playing a free concert at UT Music Hall.

Tuesday: Go see the enigmatic Cat Power at the Pilot Light. If it's sold out, go home and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Wednesday: Rent the Seven Samurai and veg.

—Emma "omelets rock" Poptart with Joe Tarr and Jack Neely