Back to listings

The Big Ticket

Clinch River Antiques Festival
Antique vendors, appraisals, live music & more. Friday, Oct. 10, 7-10 p.m., & Saturday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Downtown Clinton. Free.

Clyde Davenport
Old time music fiddler who learned the old timey way. Friday, Oct. 10, 8 p.m. Laurel Theater. $8.

Low Skies, Forget Cassettes & Passport Again
Low Skies are bassy, melodic and hypnotizing. Saturday, Oct. 11, 9 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

City People Home Tour
Find out what it's like to live downtown. Sunday, Oct. 12, 1-5 p.m. $5 adv., $10 day of event.

Sixth Great Lake with James Hindle
Lush indie pop reminiscent of the '60s. Sunday, Oct. 12, 9 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Chris Knight
Edgy, alt-country singer-songwriter. Wednesday, Oct. 15, 9 p.m. Barley's Taproom

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Americana guitar duo returns to the Bijou. Friday, Oct. 17, 8 p.m. Bijou Theatre. $20.

Randy Newman
Randy Newman and the Bijou Theatre—now there's a winning combination for you. The best-sounding room in Knoxville and inside of it, one of the best American songwriters, period. Just Randy Newman and whatever incredible selection of tunes he chooses to play for an evening. Forget "Short People" and the Disney ditties, which are fine and will no doubt have their place in the set. And yeah, we'll enjoy them. But for crying and laughing out loud, this man made the best record ever about The South, the timeless classic Good Ole Boys, a record at once both inspiring and uplifting in its creative spark and depressingly truthful and painful in its delivery. Not to mention, well, it's funny as hell. Such a masterpiece would be enough for anybody to coast on for years. But in fact, Newman went on to keep writing great songs for the next 30 years and turned in one of the best records of his career, Bad Love, just a couple of years ago. Songs such as "Great Nations of Europe" and just about every other song on that record make all the young, handsome hippie-boy "songwriters" of today look rather bland, tired, and old. This is a "don't miss show" that actually lives up to such a title. Come see craft and inspiration finally get along with each other. (Todd Steed)
RANDY NEWMAN * TUESDAY, OCT. 14, 8 P.M. * BIJOU THEATRE * $35 * 656-4444

Show What You Know Festival
Carpetbag Theatre is a local non-profit group that's so ingrained in our community, working behind the scenes, that you don't always hear about the great work they do. The numerous projects pursued by Linda Parris-Bailey, the company's executive director for nearly 30 years, don't always bear the Carpetbag seal, but they are consistently driven by the group's mission to bring art to the people, to inspire activism and teach empowerment.
The Show What You Know Festival, which began Oct. 2, is a showcase of the many groups that Carpetbag has worked with over the past four years as part of the Knoxville American Festival Project. The list of projects, partners and collaborative works is like a crazy quilt or bird's nest; it's almost impossible to keep up with who's working with whom without drawing a flow chart. The final three days of the event combine music, drumming, dance and a call for peace in a troubled neighborhood.
Louie Bluie and Old Sweet Song, documentaries about the late musician and sometime Knoxville resident Howard Armstrong, will be screened Oct. 9 at Walter Hardy Park at 6 p.m., followed by a drum circle. The Knoxville College Marching Band will perform at a street party on Gay Street near Yee-Haw Industries, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. The festival's final event will take place at Five Points in East Knoxville with a drum circle and an open invitation to contribute to the Folding Peace banner created by Aisha K. and Joyce Rosenfeld. The banner has traveled across the country, collecting handmade badges bearing messages of peace in the world and the community.
So until Carpetbag performs its next grassroots production, find out how they've been inspiring art in your neighborhood. (Paige M. Travis)
SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY CARPETBAG THEATRE * CONTINUES OCT. 9, 10 & 11 * VARIOUS LOCATIONS * FREE

The Autumn Rhythm
The Autumn Rhythm vocalist Valerie Allen has a voice that lilts and capers without sounding precious or childish. She echoes Sinead O'Connor, keeping the sweetness but ditching the angry edge. Secret Songs, the first full-length disc by Allen and boyfriend Eli Queen, is spare and subtle with pockets of mystery—songs you have to hear again and again to feel the depth of their suggestion. With a bassy rhythm section and lulling, drawn-out melodies, the band's songs seem to reflect their name, laying a kind of soundtrack for the current season. Allen's crisp, bell-like voice hints at winter's impending arrival, but flashes of warm, soothing sun still peek through leafy tree limbs. (P.M.T.)
THE AUTUMN RHYTHM * SATURDAY, OCT. 11, 9 P.M. * PATRICK SULLIVAN'S * $5