Culture
Knoxville’s Favorite Holiday Ghost Story, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ Returns to Clarence Brown Theatre
Every November like clockwork, A Christmas Carol returns to Clarence Brown Theatre before Thanksgiving leftovers even hit the fridge. Watching Scrooge get haunted into a higher state of self-actualization is a beloved local holiday tradition that...
Big Ears Announces Daily Schedule + New Venue(s)
I quite enjoy lurking on the r/BigEarsFestival subreddit, a cesspool of music nerds one-upping one another with speculation and the occasional conspiracy theory. Who will we see on the lineup, based on a composite sketch of...
Making Music in Knoxville
I’ve been going to a lot of live music lately, seeing both local and national acts. As I swung by the Pilot Light’s 25th anniversary a few weeks back, I began to wonder about how music “gets...
Make Room: ‘Her’ Opens at Lilienthal Gallery, Showcasing Women Who Take Up Space
Ilana Lilienthal, of Lilienthal Gallery, is easy to spot in a crowd. Across the foyer of the Knoxville Museum of Art, I see her, looking tonight like art itself: asymmetrical, architectural, cinematic. It’s the annual Keep...
Business
Three Downtown Businesses Closing Brick & Mortar to Focus Elsewhere
I’ll admit upfront that these are a bit personal for me. I’ve long had relationships with two of the owners and the third business is extremely important for downtown, though I’m just not sure we are...
Mother Shop to Close, Making Way for Mother Bar’s Growth & Debut of Daughter Bar
When Jade Adams and Dylan Pacifico opened Mother Shop in the upstairs space at 15 Emory Place in March, their goal was simple: build a small, playful gift boutique that would help introduce the larger vision...
Urban Outposts: Mis Amores, a Literary Café with Latin Roots
Editor’s note: The impetus behind our “Urban Outposts” series is that so much of Knoxville’s creative energy these days is happening beyond the downtown core. As rent climbs, some of the city’s scrappiest, most innovative small...
Love Letter to a Petro: Market Square Location Closing on Friday + Incoming Fashion Retail
After six years on Market Square, the downtown Petro’s Chili & Chips location will close its doors for good at 3 p.m. this Friday. The Knoxville-born brand—birthed at the 1982 World’s Fair and known for its...
Development
Former TVA Bank Building Becomes The Onyx; Development to Begin in Spring 2026
Imagine a story that involves a former bank, a Knoxville art gallery, New York art galleries, a boutique art hotel, an empty building, high-end shops, and the sale of seemingly unrelated buildings a mile away. There’s...
Hold My Beer: Axle Ribbon-Cutting + Assorted Updates from Downtown North & Happy Holler
In what may have been the highest Patagonia-vest-per-capita event in recent Knoxville history, Axle Logistics cut the ribbon last week on its new 84,000-square-foot headquarters at 849 N. Central St. The $38 million facility sits directly...
Major News for Knoxville: Women’s Suffrage Museum Coming to 706 Gay Street
A list of what to do in downtown Knoxville will get an intriguing new addition as the Suffrage Coalition announced that it has raised $2,000,000 to purchase 706 Gay Street, closing on the property at full...
AJ, Vintage Cal, and . . . Valet Parking?
We’ve all been waiting for news on a range of downtown projects and no two have been more anticipated (ok, maybe the tower on the river) than the AJ and Vintage Cal (formerly known as Marble...
Events
Your Ultimate 2025 Downtown-ish Holiday Calendar
I am not a big planner-ahead-er type human. As an enneagram 7, I suffer from chronic FOMO and feel most at ease when I ain’t committed to nothin’—which is why Inside of Knoxville’s calendar model suits...
10-Day Downtown(ish) Planner: Nov. 30 – Dec. 9
Welcome to the 10-Day Planner! If you want your event included, please create a Facebook event, invite editor Leslie Wylie Bateman via the “invite” button on the event page (you’ll need to friend her), and it...
10-Day Downtown(ish) Planner: Nov. 23 – Dec. 2
Welcome to the 10-Day Planner! If you want your event included, please create a Facebook event, invite editor Leslie Wylie Bateman via the “invite” button on the event page (you’ll need to friend her), and it...
10-Day Downtown(ish) Planner: Nov. 16 – 25
Welcome to the 10-Day Planner! If you want your event included, please create a Facebook event, invite editor Leslie Wylie Bateman via the “invite” button on the event page (you’ll need to friend her), and it...
Life
Shop Local! A Guide to Downtown-ish Holiday Markets
Winter in Knoxville doesn’t have a grand expected arrival. It sneaks up on you. One morning you wake up, and it’s cold, and you realize it’s somehow already that holly-jolly time of year again. And look,...
Ghost Walking the Christmas Streets of Knoxville: The Inaugural Knoxville Santa Claus Parade
“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane, Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeers pulling on the reins, Bells are ringing, children singing, all is merry and bright, So hang...
Lights, Tree, Action: Knoxville Holiday Season Begins + Your Long Weekend Guide
With Thanksgiving leftovers tucked neatly into their little Tupperware coffins, our collective consciousness shifts to the next big event on the cultural calendar. It’s officially Christmas in the City! Or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Festivus … however...
Downtown Knoxville Alliance Finds a New Home in The Emporium in an Evolving Center City
After years of sharing space with the Knoxville Chamber and Leadership Knoxville on Market Square, Downtown Knoxville Alliance (DKA) recently moved its office to the Emporium Building (100 S. Gay Street). The new address makes sense...