Back to listings

The Big Ticket

Heartsong Festival
Many, many bands play in the Old City to benefit the HeartSong Center for Accessible Music and Art. Thursday, Oct. 23, starting at 5 p.m. on the Old City Courtyard stage. $5 armband gains access to every venue.

Little Shop of Horrors
Meet Seymour and his hungry alien plant. Opening Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. Bijou Theatre.

Swing on the Town
Swing dance to Big Band music to raise money for FISH Hospitality Pantries, Inc. Friday, Oct. 24, 10p.m. Hollywood Ballroom. $10.

The Vampire Cat
A Japanese folktale performed by the Actors Co-op alongside art openings. 9 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Woodruff Building, and 9 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Phoenix Building. Donations welcome.

Psuedopod, Ingram Hill & The Clarks
A triple-shot of rock. Friday, Oct. 24, 9 p.m. Blue Cats. $8 or $6 w/ college ID.

The Bloodthirsty Lovers
Art rock with soul from Memphis. Saturday, Oct. 25, 9 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Anthony Gomes
Gomes draws from soul, R&B, rock, and gospel to create a unique sound. Saturday, Oct. 25, 9 p.m. Brackins. $6 adv./$10 day of show.

Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle CD Release Concert
Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle have managed to occupy themselves despite the indefinite hiatus of WDVX's Behind the Barn. Since the show's final broadcast from the stage at Barley's, the couple completed a new album and are in the progress of writing songs for an upcoming Actor's Co-Op production. Their second album, The Barb Hollow Sessions, will be released at a show Friday, Oct. 24, at the Palace Theater in Maryville. On Barb Hollow, the pair gracefully blends traditional bluegrass and contemporary folk into warm mountain music. Joined by longtime collaborator John Pennell on bass, Jeff and Sarah will showcase their flair for Americana with well-traveled songs and new originals. (Clint Casey)
JEFF BARBRA & SARAH PIRKLE CD RELEASE CONCERT * FRIDAY, OCT. 24, 8 P.M. * PALACE THEATER, MARYVILLE * $15 ADVANCE/$18 DOOR (EACH TICKET FOR THE PERFORMANCE INCLUDES A COPY OF THE BARB HOLLOW SESSIONS.)

Actors Co-op's Seventh Annual Haunted Pie Social
Halloween used to be a one-day celebration, and I suspect for some people it still is. But Halloween deserves more than a mere night of trick-or-treating and dressing up. It's a harvest celebration that honors outgoing October and incoming November. And with bags of candy at work and home, it's also the official beginning of the Season of Eating (or Where's My Sweatpants? Season, if you prefer).
Like crisp night air and multi-hued leaves, a true harbinger of Halloween is the Actors Co-op's Haunted Pie Social. Held at their home base, the Black Box Theatre in Bearden, the event is the company's fall fundraiser and a chance to hobnob with actors and fellow supporters. Wear your costume or come in street clothes to dig into delicious pies from Magpies, beer from Preservation Pub (care of Ken & Tammy Knight at the Radisson) and coffee from Starbucks. Music will come courtesy of the Undead Jukebox, including smooth-voiced Co-op singers, guests from Sara Schwabe's Yankee Jass Band, plus bluegrass tunes from Sarah Pirkle and Jeff Barbra. In the middle of all this will be palm readings, caricature drawings and a Jack O' Lantern raffle, plus a performance of The Vampire Cat, an adaptation of a Japanese folk tale from the Co-op's Beehive company.
Come early and stay late, or just pop in for a taste of pie and to throw your donation check into the bucket. The Haunted Pie Social is a fun time and a great way to start the Halloween season. (Paige M. Travis)
ACTORS CO-OP HAUNTED PIE SOCIAL * SUNDAY, OCT. 26, 6-9 P.M. * BLACK BOX THEATRE * DONATIONS ENCOURAGED.

Earl T. Bridgeman
The family history of Earl T. Bridgeman mirrors the permutations music went through in the past century. His father, Shorty, was a significant fiddler, an African American from Pikeville who played old time music (of course, it wasn't called that back then) in the 1920s. Earl remembers when he was a boy and a number of musicians would come over and play with his father. His uncle played bottleneck guitar, a more bluesy style, which quickly captured Earl's heart. When he joined the Navy, Earl would play the more modern and urban style blues at clubs in ports around the Pacific. His son, Earl Thomas, is a successful blues artist in his own right, popular on the West Coast and in Europe. But it'll be Earl Bridgeman who will take the spotlight at this show. Now retired, Bridgeman is a joy to hear. He's a great guitar player who simply loves music—knows where it came from and the power it has. (Joe Tarr)
EARL T. BRIDGEMAN * FRIDAY, OCT. 24, 8 P.M. * LAUREL THEATER * $7 ADVANCE, $8 DAY OF THE SHOW, $4 CHILDREN, $6 JCA MEMBERS