Hold on to your wigs and keys, as Dave Letterman used to say. The arts are whooping it up over the next 10-plus days.
Tomorrow (4/5) is First Friday, and as always it will offer plenty of art exhibitions and receptions throughout downtown and around town. The Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild Quilt Show 2019 will headline at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay St. The opening reception 5-9 p.m. will also honor the artists involved in the new exhibits Framing the Scene: Seeing the Situation by Tom Owens & Marianne Woodside, Pam Hamilton: The Woman Within, Judy Overholt Wheeler: Putting the Pieces Together – Mosaic Art and “Yardage.” Regular gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays through April 26.
For a hefty list of First Friday happenings, visit DowntownKnoxville.org’s First Friday ArtWalk listing.
The Bijou is bringing it
Pat Metheny
The Bijou Theatre alone is responsible for a big chunk of entertainment over the next few days, starting with four-time Grammy-nominated songwriter Darrell Scott at 8 tonight. Comedians Lisa Lampanelli and Frank DeCaro perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, and 20-time Grammy-winning jazz guitarist Pat Metheny appears at 8 p.m. Sunday as Pat Metheny Side Eye with keyboardist James Francies and drummer Nate Smith. (Um, there’s also a good lineup at the Tennessee Theatre, but it’s all sold out. Sorry.)
Aye, aye, aye Calypso
Those who are old enough to remember 1982 will have a flashback to the World’s Fair next Thursday, April 11, if they visit Market Square. The University of Tennessee Steel Band will present its “Carnival” concert at 7 p.m. featuring calypso music from Trinidad & Tobago.
The UT group will be joined by the “Steely Pan” Steel Band of Appalachian State University and the Eastern Kentucky University Steel Band – adding up to about 50 pan players. Opening the free show will be the Karns Elementary Steel Band. Attendees may want to bring folding chairs.
Ready for Rossini
This weekend may seem pretty mellow compared to next weekend, when the Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival International Street Fair hits downtown. From 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 13, live performances on multiple stages from Cumberland Avenue to Wall Avenue will be offered free to the masses.
There will be a kid zone, of course, along with plenty of artisans and food vendors.
Bizet? How bizarre
Meanwhile, UT Opera Theatre will present Bizet’s “Carmen” at 8 p.m. April 12-13 and 2:30 p.m. April 13-14 at the Bijou Theatre, on the edge of Rossini’s turf.