Your weekly guide to East Tennessee arts, music, theater and entertainment. October begins with new exhibitions, free music and performances across East Tennessee. Here are this week’s ArtBeat highlights, gathered from releases submitted to KnoxTNToday.

On Stage

Cameo Sessions — Tennessee Theatre’s 612 Building, Friday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m.
The Tennessee Theatre launches a new free First Friday concert series in the Cameo at its 612 Building. The first performance features East Tennessee native nic., whose music blends indie, folk and country influences. Doors open at 6 p.m.; the performance begins at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Details: Tennessee Theatre

Live Music

  • 25th Anniversary Mighty Musical Monday — Tennessee Theatre, Monday, Oct. 5, noon
    A Knoxville tradition celebrates 25 years. House Organist Freddie Brabson and Associate House Organist Matthew Fisher will present a special Wurlitzer-only performance on the Tennessee Theatre’s historic Mighty Wurlitzer. The free monthly concert series began in 2001 and has welcomed generations of Knoxvillians into the theater. Admission is free.
  • Mythic Proportions — Knoxville Museum of Art, Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 7-8, 7 p.m.
    The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series returns with Concertmaster William Shaub, violin; Kevin Class, piano; and Jeff Midkiff, mandolin. The program includes music by Kreisler, Mozart and Bach. Midkiff brings an unusual sound to Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins by performing the second violin part on mandolin.
    Details: Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

Arts & Exhibits

First Friday at the Emporium — Emporium Center, Friday, Oct. 2
October brings five exhibitions to the Emporium, 100 S. Gay Street. The center opens at 2 p.m., with a curator talk and gallery tour at 4 p.m. and the opening celebration from 5-9 p.m.

New exhibitions include:

  • Standing in the Shower…Thinking, curated by Rachel Waldrop and featuring Harry Kagan, John Paul Kesling and Victoria Sauer.
  • Cuba: A Pesar de Todo, photographs by Kyle Hislip and John Mitchell.
  • Alcoa Airport Motor Mile Miniatures by Carmen Alcocer, using miniature facades of familiar Alcoa Highway businesses to examine a changing landscape.
  • “Fall” in Love with Glass by Knoxville glass and mosaic artist Susan Watson.
  • Memento Vivere by Anna Lawrence, combining family negatives, heirlooms, cyanotypes and personal memories in an exploration of grief, love and remembrance.

The Fountain City Ramblers provide live music from 6-9 p.m. The exhibitions continue through October 30.
Details: Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville

Family Fun

No separate family-focused arts release was submitted for this week’s ArtBeat.

Festivals & Community Events

Bands of America Chattanooga Regional Championship — Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Saturday, Oct. 3
Twenty-three high school marching bands from across the region will compete in the Bands of America regional championship. Preliminary competition begins after gates open at 8:15 a.m., with the 12 highest-scoring bands advancing to the evening finals. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Marching Mocs will perform in exhibition following preliminary competition.

The championship is part of the 2026 Bands of America season, which culminates with the Grand National Championships in Indianapolis in November.

Looking Ahead

  • Piano Passions — Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sunday, Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m.
    The Amadeus Concert Ensemble, directed by Maestro Brian Salesky, opens its new season with the free Piano Passions. Internationally acclaimed Taiwanese pianist Dr. Chih-Long Hu joins Salesky for Leopold Koželuch’s Keyboard Concerto for Four Hands. The two pianists also will be featured in music by Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Turina and Enrique Granados, while the ACE orchestra performs works by Antonio Vivaldi and Alessandro Marcello.

The concert is at 711 S. Northshore Drive. Admission is free; reservations are available through the Cathedral Concert Series.

  • Candlelight: Halloween Classics — Knoxville Museum of Art, Thursday, Oct. 22, 6:30 p.m.
    Candlelight brings a Halloween-themed program to Knoxville featuring local musicians performing selections ranging from Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre and Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King to music from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Stranger Things and Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Tickets start at $44.25.

This Week’s ArtBeat Picks

  • For visual art: Make the Emporium your First Friday destination. Five exhibitions in one building offer everything from photography and glass to work examining the changing face of Alcoa Highway.
  • For free music: Celebrate 25 years of Mighty Musical Monday at noon Monday at the Tennessee Theatre.
  • For something different: Hear Bach with a mandolin when Jeff Midkiff joins William Shaub and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series October 7-8.
  • Worth planning ahead: Amadeus Concert Ensemble’s free Piano Passions on October 11 pairs Brian Salesky and Chih-Long Hu at the keyboard for the ensemble’s season opener.

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