Indie Grrls Hit Town

Knoxville was the chosen city for this year's annual Indie Grrl festival. In its third year and looking for a city to call home, hopefully the search has ended. Karen Reynolds, local songwriter and host of Writer's Block was instrumental in having the festival select Knoxville, and she is hoping the experience has been such that there will be many returns. The event featured Keynote speakers seminars and panel discussions at the Conference Center in the downtown Holiday Inn and concerts in venues all over downtown. The talent on display varied from solid to amazing, with most artists performing their on compositions.

Morgan Bracy

I caught a couple of artists at the Downtown Grill and Brewery. The contrast between the two set the tone for the day. Morgan Bracy accompanied herself on guitar and sang all original songs except for the Sam Cooke classic, "(What a) Wonderful World." There were about thirty to forty people present for her set and she startled me after it was over by thanking me for listening so intently. I've found my musical talent! I'm a good listener! It was very sweet and, really, how else should music be listened to?

Joelle Maddyson

She was followed by Joelle Maddyson who accompanied herself on keyboard and sang with a voice that went from zero (very delicate) to sixty (loud) in less than one line of lyrics.

While there, I realized the star attraction of the weekend, Lauren from Leo and Lauren, was in the audience. Several people lined up for pictures and I slipped one in.

I also saw a bit of an oddity. A young girl, who I assumed to be part of the festival was wearing a black silk slip over her blue jeans in August in Knoxville, carrying a vintage overnight bag. I don't understand it. She may have had her own questions about the man with a beer box on his head, though, so maybe we're even.

Sara Kamin

I caught Sara Kamin at the Art Market. This was an awkward venue, in that the lobby (where the performance happened) is both small and, as you might expect, is also the spot through which customers enter and leave. Probably as a result, these performers had small audiences throughout the afternoon. I regret that greatly for Sara because what I heard was extremely soulful vocals (the lobby acoustics are wonderful) and inspired songwriting. She closed with a song she wrote a week ago and has not recorded. It was called "Oh Lord," a religous song written by  an admitedly non-religious person, in reference to her despair at the songwriter's life and asking the question of whether she should give it up. The song works so well for anyone at a desperate place in their lives. It would be so perfect in a movie. I think it was my turn to startle someone, when I went up to her and told her she better watch out or she might just find religion! And no, Sara, you should not stop.

Tret Fure

Karen Reynolds

Later in the evening I caught performances at the Conference Center in the Holiday Inn by Tret Fure, Karen Reynolds, Vicky Blankenship (President of Indie Grrls) and Suzi Ragsdale (who recently had a song covered by Dierks Bentley).

Vicki Blankenship

Suzi Ragsdale

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

If there was to be evidence that Knoxville is trying its best to become a more open and inclusive city that celebrates everyone, this was probably it. For the second night in a row (Friday night with Kuumba), I was startled to find a big celebration happening on Market Square. And for the second day in a row I missed the parade - and I bet this one was great. It was the Knoxville Pridefest, which is an annual LGBT event. There were booths and a very relaxed, happy crowd. It isn't unusual to see gay couples strolling hand-in-hand downtown these days, but it was very different to see so many smiling couples greeting each other and having a good time. My favorite shirt said, "Out is In." You don't see that everyday in east Tennessee.

There were booths set up with serious purposes, like the booth for HIV testing and the Democratic Party (no Republicans?), as well as the usual vendors and booths selling passes for the VIP room provided by Cocoa Moon. It wasn't so many years ago there was a move afoot to change the name of Gay Street. This felt much better. Of course there had to be a drag contest.

Interestingly, I found no coverage of this in any of the traditional media outlets in town. There was some coverage of the Gay Pride event in San Francisco and sadly the comment boards were nasty. Maybe it's good that there was no local coverage, just to avoid that nonsense. Maybe it isn't newsworthy, which could be good. It certainly felt celebratory on the Square. I only got a few pictures because I was hurrying to the Emmylou Harris concert, but you can find more here.

Kuumba Ya My City, Kuumba Ya

I have to get on top of what is going on around here. I think I'm up on everything. I dare to leave my house without a camera and what happens? Kuumba breaks out on Market Square! I missed the parade and the featured dancers, but I caught a few songs by Steph Jones and thought he was pretty good. "Kuumba" is Swahili for "creativity," and the Kuumba Festival is a celebration of African Heritage focusing on dance and song, as well as crafts and other arts. It has been sponsored once each year by the African American Appalachian Arts, Inc. since 1989. There were booths and artists and various activities. Lots of colors and hairstyles. One of my favorite things about an event like this is seeing happy children. You can see a fun video of a Zulu Stilt Dancer on Youtube from the 2008 festival. The event last four days and started at the Knoxville Museum of Art and Market Square before moving to Chilhowee Park for the subsequent days. I'll try to watch for it next year and catch the parade!