Tennessee has used two slogans that capture the essence of our state very effectively. A few years ago, the slogan was “Tennessee Sounds Good to Me” and promoted the music for which we are famous. The current slogan, “Tennessee, the State of Music” is not quite as catchy, but still does a good job of telling the world who we are.
The music of our state is a great source of pride to our citizens, and we love showing it off. Memphis, on the western end of the State, is known for the Blues, Nashville, in the middle of the State, is famous for Country Music and the town is thriving because of it. In the East Tennessee hills, our music is Bluegrass, complete with banjo and fiddle.
In Knoxville, where Helen (adorable wife) and I live, three festivals were held recently to showcase not only the music of the region but music in general. The Big Ears Festival (link) proclaimed as the most diverse music festival in America, features everything from Jazz to “experimental” in seven separate venues. This year’s Festival in late March drew 8,000 folks from all over the world.
Two weeks later, the Rhythm and Blooms Festival (link) kicked off to coincide with the blooming of our Dogwoods and the arrival of spring. This festival features a lot of local artists and groups and takes place over three days and in different venues in an area of downtown called The Old City. This festival is now in its tenth year.
This past weekend, the 17th Rossini Festival celebrated music with an international flair. This event, hosted by the Knoxville Opera Company, brought tens of thousands of people to fill our city streets to enjoy the music of over 1,000 performers. While Opera is the focus of the one-day event, festival attendees enjoy Bluegrass, Chamber music, vocal groups, choral groups, college bands and choirs, even street dancers. Helen and I left home early for our first visit to this Festival in an Uber car. We understood that parking would be a challenge and large crowd had already formed when we arrived.
In addition to the music heard in every direction, young festival-goers enjoyed games and rides in order to release some of that early morning energy. A long line of Moms and Dads formed in front of the trampoline while holding back children eager to get in on the fun. Another line stood in front of the Merry-Go-Round.
Helen, fresh off of knee replacement, and me with an ailing hip, worked our way through the very large and tight crowd to the first music venue where we encountered a delightful surprise. Lindsey, a gifted University student who sings in our church choir, was on the stage and filling the air with a beautiful soprano solo. We stayed to tell her how much we enjoyed it.
Back on the streets, we enjoyed the talents of the many musicians including another performing duo that I had heard before. A beautiful bass player and her guitarist partner occupied one of the street corners, and I recognized her from a blog post I wrote several years ago. I gave her the nickname Tallulah at the time. Both are excellent musicians, and it was good to see that they are still in the area.
Food vendors were everywhere. Helen and I had a difficult time selecting our choice for lunch stops which is unusual for us. We postponed that decision—it was still early.
Another group familiar to me played chamber music on a corner about a block away from Tallulah–The Anderson Family, a mom, and her very gifted children. I heard them play while attending the WDVX Blue Plate Special in 2016. Their skills are exceptional and have progressed as they have grown older. (See post, at the bottom)
In the middle of the crowd, a card trick artist entertained a very large audience with his magic and drew a robust round of applause when he predicted the exact card he was looking for out of a very well-shuffled deck. Almost everyone was impressed except Oliver, an English bulldog sitting quietly to one side.
After walking to one end of the festival street to listen to an excellent horn ensemble from a local junior college, we decided we should grab lunch before the crowds became impossible. We both selected lamb gyros and a Greek salad. We devoured them while listening to another performance from the Opera stage.
Greek food vendor
We needed to walk off our lunch, so, once again, we made our way through the streets to browse through the many booths set up by vendors and enjoy some more music. On one corner a Bluegrass band was belting out a stirring rendition of Fox On the Run as the crowd clapped to the tune. At the far end of the street, a choral group from another junior college was preparing to perform Broadway Show tunes. We stayed to hear them and felt rewarded handsomely. These young folks can sing.
At 2:30, the Opera Company would perform two selections from an upcoming performance of the Opera Aida, and since we knew that it would take some time to walk back through the crowd to the Opera Stage, we decided to leave in plenty of time to make it there and get good seats. About halfway there we ran into some friends who laughed at us both walking on canes and wanted to take our picture. I tried to fend them off, but finally, Helen relented and handed them the camera.
Back at the Opera stage, a crowd was gathering in eager anticipation of the Aida selections. Luck was with us, and we found two seats near the stage to people-watch while waiting for the show. Knoxville Mayor, Madeline Rogero, and several other elected officials waited with us before taking the stage to welcome the crowd and introduce the Opera Company director. Suddenly, the singers took their places, and it was “show-time.”
Eager to share this music with Easin’ Along readers, I recorded a video of both songs and placed one of them at the bottom of the page. I apologize for the shake in the clip, but I didn’t have a tripod with me. Nevertheless, the music is awesome, and I promise that the three minutes you spend watching it will be among the best three minutes in your day. I hope you immerse yourself in it. As they entertain you, we’ll continue Easin’ Along ‘cuz our hills are alive…with the sound of music.
Excellent post, Joe!
Eddie
I was hoping to see you playing on one of the stages…must’ve missed you somewhere.