Tennessee Shines LIVE Mondays, 7 p.m.
Tennessee Shines is WDVX’s weekly radio show hosted by Bob Deck and Paige Travis on the stage of the Knoxville Visitor Center Mondays at 7pm and broadcast live on WDVX FM and WDVX.com. Tickets are $10, free for students with valid ID and children ages 14 and under. Tickets are available in advance at the WDVX Blue Plate Special, noon weekdays and Saturdays at the Knoxville Visitor Center, or at the door beginning at 6 p.m. on the night of the show.
May 20: Joy Kills Sorrow + Sarah Morgan
Boston-based string band Joy Kills Sorrow favors an unpredictable approach relying on musical chemistry and improvisation. Hence the title of their sophomore album, This Unknown Science. All of the members have been touted as virtuosos, and the early twenty-somethings effortlessly hunt for unexpected outcomes and new discoveries. They thrilled audiences in April at the Rhythm N Blooms Festival, and we’re excited to have them back on the WDVX airwaves.
The night will be completed by award-winning dulcimer player Sarah Morgan.
May 27: Chip Taylor
Legendary songwriter and performer Chip Taylor returns to Tennessee Shines to reprise his stellar sold-out performance from last May and play new songs from his forthcoming CD, Block Out the Sirens of This Lonely World, which was recently previewed in The New Yorker.
June 3: The Skipperdees with Amy Andrews
This charming folk duo of twins Emily and Catherine Backus hail from Oak Ridge and currently reside as undercover college students. Their harmonies and plucky banjo will win you over in a heartbeat. They’ll be accompanied by Amy Andrews, a Baltimore native who spent years training for a career in opera before recognizing her dream of performing folk music and carving a spot for herself in Atlanta’s dynamic folk scene.
June 10: Nora Jane Struthers & the Party Line + Bonnie Whitmore with Some Dark Holler + Craig Havighurst
Formerly of Barefoot, Nora Jane Struthers struck our on her own with a new band and an acclaimed new CD, Carnival. That title track is soon to be your summer jam.
Curly-haired spitfire Bonnie Whitmore is a folk/country Americana songwriter from Texas who brings along her frequent touring companions Some Dark Holler, a.k.a. Chris Porter and Helen Gassenheimer of Birmingham, Alabama.
And as if this show couldn’t be jam-packed with any more talent, Craig Havighurst will read from his book, Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City.
June 17: TBA
June 24: Kim Richey + David Clifton
American singer-songwriter Kim Richey brings her trio to play songs from her new CD, Thorn in My Heart, plus we’ll be joined by a trio led by British guitarist/songwriter David Clifton, who has performed with Tanita Tikaram and Julia Fordham, and now lives in Knoxville.
July 1: Cereus Bright
Cereus Bright finds its muse—and its name—from the Cereus flower: a white desert flower that blooms only at night. Just as this flower grows in the most desolate of settings, so does art draw its beauty from brokenness and heartache. In their lyrics and melodies, Cereus Bright aims to embrace life as both messy and beautiful.
The band is Tyler Anthony and Evan Ford, two young folk musicians from Knoxville. Their songs showcase strong, passionate harmonies singing stories of real life—hope and heartbreak, adventure and stillness. Tyler plays guitar, piano, and sings, Evan sings backup while playing lead guitar and mandolin. They frequently play with bassist Matt Nelson and drummer Luke Bowers. Comparisons with bands such as the Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes, and the Head and the Heart are inevitable, and are major compliments.
