Scenic Roots

(White Rabbit Red Rabbit / Facebook) Here’s a description for a play: “No rehearsals. No director. No set. A different actor reads the script cold for the first time at each performance.” That’s what you’ll see in “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” - premiering at Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga on Friday, February 24th. Dan Buck, founder of Tiger Leap Productions, is bringing the play to Barking Legs.

This Black History Month brings a new festival to Chattanooga. On Saturday, the East Lake Community Center hosts the Black History Festival, from 11 AM to 4 PM. Culture Books and Rhyme N Chatt Interactive Poetry Organization are presenting the festival. Erica Richardson is founder of Culture Books. (Black History Festival)

Nicole Heyman (contributed photo) As the City of Chattanooga aims to boost affordable housing, Nicole Heyman is just a few months into her new job as the city’s Chief Housing Officer. Before Chattanooga, she lived nearly thirty years in New Orleans - where her work in various roles was shaped by the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated that city in 2005. _____ For developers and la...

Nicole Heyman, City of Chattanooga’s Chief Housing Officer. A new Black History Festival for Chattanooga’s East Lake. Experimental “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” at Barking Legs. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

The Simmons-O'Neal Memorial Concert, before the pandemic. (Chattanooga Times Free Press) This weekend, a concert that honors two music educators in the Chattanooga area returns for its thirtieth year. Members of the Chattanooga Boys Choir and the Chattanooga Choral Society for the Preservation of African American Song will present the Simmons-O’Neal Memorial Concert - free and open to the public -...

Each month, SoundCorps - the music nonprofit here in Chattanooga - showcases five locally-produced songs in “SoundBites,” which supports our own musicians. Stratton Tingle - executive director of SoundCorps - shares the latest SoundBites with us.

A panoramic view of the Riverbend Festival. (Friends of the Festival) The Riverbend Festival is celebrating forty years of music here in downtown Chattanooga. This year’s festival runs from Friday, June 2nd through Sunday, June 4th at Ross’ Landing along the Tennessee River. We’ve heard already about a few acts in this year’s lineup - and tomorrow, we are expected to hear about the full lineup. Ba...

TFP’s Barry Courter looks ahead to this year’s Riverbend. A milestone for the Simmons-O’Neal Memorial Concert. Stratton Tingle of SoundCorps with the latest “SoundBites.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga) The new season at Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga begins next week with “Doubt: A Parable.” The play by John Patrick Shanley premieres on Friday, February 17th at Rivermont Presbyterian on Hixson Pike - one of three venues for ETC this season. Garry Posey - ETC’s founder and artistic director - plays Father Flynn in “Doubt.”

(Signal Mountain Playhouse) “Boeing Boeing,” a French farce set in the 1960s, centers on 12 hours in the life of a bachelor called Bernard, who has a flat in Paris. Bernard is engaged to three airline stewardesses - each unaware of the others. All is well (for Bernard) until his friend Robert comes to stay. Further complications to do with the weather and a new, speedier Boeing jet also play havoc...

Allan Harris in “Cross That River.” (allanharris.com) In the years after the Civil War, a quarter of the cowhands in the West were Black. Allan Harris is a jazz vocalist, guitarist and composer in Harlem who brings that story to life in “Cross That River” - a musical that comes to Southeast Tennessee on Thursday night, starting at 7:30 PM, at the Athens City Middle School.

Allan Harris on “Cross That River,” a Black Cowboy Musical. Jet-set farce “Boeing Boeing” lands on Signal Mountain. Garry Posey on “Doubt: A Parable” at Ensemble Theatre. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

An image from “As it Was Give(n) to Me.” (Stacy Kranitz) Stacy Kranitz is a photographer who was born in Kentucky and now lives in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. Her exhibition - “As it was Give(n) to Me” - is now on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Next week, Stacy will give an artist talk at UTC’s Engineering, M...

(all that improbable blue / Creative Commons) Qualifying rounds are taking place this week and next for Tennessee Songwriters Week. It’s a chance for songwriters of all genres to perform - and to support music venues - across the state. Select songwriters from the qualifying rounds will perform in showcases near the end of the month - including at Songbirds here in Chattanooga on Tuesday, February...

Jackson Caesar (Jackson Caesar) The concert hall in the fine arts center on our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - bears the name of Roland Hayes. The early years of the African-American lyric tenor and composer were shaped in this city. Next week, Jackson Caesar - a tenor himself - will perform the music of Hayes in a one-person show from the stage of that hall. The free concer...

A musical celebration of Roland Hayes on the UTC campus. Let the tunes flow at this year’s Tennessee Songwriters Week. Photographer Stacy Kranitz on “As it Was Give(n) to Me.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Re-Wake Re-Wake is a faith-based nonprofit here in Chattanooga that aims to reduce recidivism by providing employment assistance and family support to those who need a second chance after serving time behind bars. Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod founded Re-Wake, which is now adding art experience to its portfolio - thanks to a Community Cultural Connection grant from ArtsBuild. I spoke with her - an...

(ArtsBuild) A new art and climate project here in Chattanooga is seeking artists who live and work on the Rossville Boulevard corridor. Three artists will be chosen for a paid, year-long residency for the project. James McKissic is president of ArtsBuild - and Brianna Jones is its programs and grants coordinator.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center “Shared Legacies” is this week’s event in the Black History Month calendar at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center here in Chattanooga. Elijah Cameron with the Bessie tells us about the rest of February.

(Menemsha Films) It was a pivotal partnership across racial and religious lines during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. That story is told in the documentary film “Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance” - and on Thursday starting at 6 PM, it will be screened at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center here in Chattanooga. Michael Dzik is executive director o...

“Shared Legacies” explores an alliance of the civil rights era. An art and climate project for the Rossville Blvd. Corridor. At Re-Wake, a second chance infused with the power of art. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Corrie Lynn White (Corrie Lynn White) Corrie Lynn White is a poet and essayist here in Chattanooga. Her debut book of poems is titled, “Gold Hill Family Audio” - named for the town where she’s from: Gold Hill, North Carolina.

This photo of the Dixie Flyer passenger train in Chattanooga, taken in 1953, is part of EPB’s collection of images at ChattanoogaHistory. Com. (EPB via The Chattanooga Times Free Press) More than a half century ago, the last passenger rail train left Chattanooga. Ever since, talk of restoring that service has resurfaced from time to time - as it has again now. How did we get here - and what will i...

Chasing dreams of a passenger rail revival in Chattanooga. Poet Corrie Lynn White, author of “Gold Hill Family Audio.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

From “Abiding In The Moment.” (Townsend Atelier) An exhibition of new works by two Chattanooga artists opens Friday at Townsend Atelier. “Abiding in the Moment” features paintings and drawings by Robin MacKillop - and drawings and sculptures by Maria Willison. The exhibition is free and open to the public - and Friday’s opening reception begins at 5:30 PM at Townsend Atelier in the Arts Building....