Scenic Roots

(Holly Morse-Ellington) A storyteller plays many roles - as Holly Morse-Ellington will tell you. Last year, she became a simulated patient actor for nursing students on our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - under a partnership between the School of Nursing and the Arts-Based Collaborative at UTC:  abc@utc.

This weekend, RISE Chattanooga hosts “Live On The Big Nine:  Music For The Soul” - on Sunday from 2 PM to 6 PM at Miller Plaza. The live outdoor music performances will celebrate Black Music Month - and Shane Morrow with RISE spoke with one of the performers who will take the stage: Jermaine Purifory.    

(The Tivoli Theatre Foundation) The show must go on - and at the Tivoli Theatre here in Chattanooga, live shows are back on the schedule again after more than a year of the pandemic.   Concerts resume there in August - while the Tivoli Theatre Foundation recently announced its fall lineup of Broadway shows, starting in October at Memorial Auditorium. Nick Wilkinson is the foundation’s executive di...

Nick Wilkinson of the Tivoli Theatre Foundation in Chattanooga. Singer Jermaine Purifory with RISE Chattanooga’s Shane Morrow.  Holly Morse-Ellington on storytelling in simulated patient acting. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Grosvenor House Publishing Limited ) Richard Winham shares the second half of a conversation with Geoffrey Littlefield, author of “Nelson Riddle:  Music With A Heartbeat” - the authorized biography of the legendary arranger of American popular music, written in collaboration with Riddle’s son Christopher.

(bessiesmithcc.org) The Bessie Smith Cultural Center here in Chattanooga - closed for more than a year due to the pandemic - will reopen to the public on Friday, with free admission on Friday and Saturday. The center celebrates the African diaspora - and pays tribute to this city’s African-American culture - honoring Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues.” During the shutdown, the inside of the...

(Creative Arts Guild) Live theater returns to Dalton tonight - another reopening for the arts in our area.  Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” will be performed at the Creative Arts Guild through Friday. Lane Davies - a Dalton native and professional actor - is directing the production.    

(Chattanooga Film Festival) This year’s Chattanooga Film Festival is once again all virtual, as it was last year during the pandemic. The festival begins online tomorrow with the world premiere of “Scenes From An Empty Church” - and concludes on Sunday with the Southeast premiere of “Broadcast Signal Intrusion.” Chris Dortch II is the festival’s executive director and lead film programmer.

A virtual movie mixtape for the Chattanooga Film Festival.  Live theater returns to Dalton; Reopening the Bessie. Talking Writing:  “Music With A Heartbeat” - Part II. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”  

(davejordanmusic.com) Richard Winham shares a performance by roots rocker Dave Jordan with his band The NIA - The Neighborhood Improvement Association - in New Orleans for the Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at the Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC.      

(Cempa Community Care) On Thursday, fifteen restaurants in the Chattanooga area will help support the fight against HIV in the Tennessee Valley in this year’s Dining Out for Life. Mitzi Ward is with Cempa Community Care.

(anjalienjeti.com) Ajali Enjeti grew up here in Chattanooga - and on her website, she identifies as:  “Author, Teacher, Organizer.”   She reflects on her own multiracial and multiethnic identity - and the evolving demographics of the South today, as its non-white populations grow - in her recent works:  “Southbound,” a collection of essays - and “The Parted Earth,” her debut novel. Anjali spoke wi...

Anjali Enjeti on her life’s journey across multiple Souths. Cempa’s Mitzi Ward on this year’s Dining Out for Life. Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series:  Dave Jordan & The NIA. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(ISIS Music Hall) Richard Winham shares a performance by Nikki Talley and her husband Jason Sharp from the Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at the Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC.      

(WTCI PBS) "Greater Chattanooga" is a series of short films from WTCI PBS, our public media partner here in the Chattanooga area. The films explore the people and ideas that make us more aware, happier and stronger as a community.   In its latest film, "Greater Chattanooga" shows the wings of change:  how the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival celebrated the return of the birds to Hiwassee Refuge n...

(rawpixel.com) Last month, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce unveiled a CEO Pledge for Racial Equity. At last count on the Chamber’s website, 70 local business leaders have signed the pledge, an invitation to - quote - “intentionally enhance efforts to achieve equity of opportunity within organizations and the broader Chattanooga community.”    Christy Gillenwater is the Chamber’s president...

The CEO Pledge for Racial Equity by Chattanooga businesses. Mountain Spirit:  Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp, Part I. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”   

Richard Winham shares performances by some of the featured teachers and players for Make Music Day Chattanooga on Monday, June 21st - recorded downtown at The Chattanooga Public Library.

(WTCI PBS) Chattanooga’s new Mayor Tim Kelly is the next guest on “The A List with Alison Lebovitz,” tonight at 8:30 PM on WTCI PBS.    For The A List archive, watch here .   

Juneteenth is Saturday - and tomorrow, a celebration will be held on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Chris Stokes is UTC’s Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs.

(isisasheville.com) Richard Winham presents a set by Cane Mill Road - dubbed “the future of bluegrass” by No Depression magazine - from the Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at the Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC.  

(RISE Chattanooga) On this week leading up to Juneteenth, Shane Morrow of RISE Chattanooga brings us a celebration of Black Music Month.    The music is part of RISE Chattanooga’s upcoming EP Spiritual Remixed Project, featuring all local artists. They will perform some of the songs at RISE’s “Live On The Big Nine:  Music For The Soul” in Chattanooga’s Miller Plaza on Sunday, June 27th. More infor...

(Ben Raines) Alabama is home to the most diverse forests and aquatic systems in this country - with more species per square mile than any other state. But Alabama’s wild places have also suffered mightily since the 1800’s - and are at risk today - with species after species becoming extinct after generations of logging, mining and other industry. Ben Raines captures the breathtaking natural beauty...

Ben Raines on “Saving America’s Amazon” in Alabama. Shane Morrow of RISE Chattanooga on Black Music Month. Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series:  Cane Mill Road. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”  

(Isis Music Hall) Richard Winham shares a set from Ariella - a singer / songwriter with a passion for blues, jazz and soul - for the Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at the Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC.