Before the final act of Saturday’s Bijou Jubilee 2026, Executive Director of the Bijou Theatre Courtney Bergmeier addressed the crowd, telling them that the 117-year-old Bijou is thriving. She explained, “It’s where Knoxville gathers. And in all honesty, to attend a show at the Bijou is to be a Knoxvillian, because the Bijou belongs to all of us.” Born during the Bijou’s 100th Anniversary in 2009, the Jubilee is celebration, party and preservation all in one evening’s event.
Urban Guy covered the Jubilee in 2010, and his coverage from 2025 can be found here. Jubilee 2026 saw the fulfillment of a long-planned expansion onto the 800 Block of Gay Street, and I could hear multiple compliments from attendees strolling towards Market Square afterwards. I hope this configuration sticks around for a while. It worked really well.
Expanding to Cumberland Avenue the previous two years, attendance had grown too large to accommodate crowds. The Jubilee shifted to a festival-sized stage on the 800 block of Gay Street as well as the traditional indoor stage. Festival ticket holders had access to both stages as well as dinner and drinks. Bergmeier expected around 500 ticket holders prior to the event.
Positioning the stage to face north down Gay Street also provided a soundtrack for downtown visitors. The organizers worked out a plan to keep the Bistro at the Bijou accessible to diners, and I noted that they had their own Jazz night planned.
Preservation and Addressing ‘Pain Points’
The Jubilee is a major fundraiser for preservation and improvements. Bergmeier said, “the funds that we raise from this event and throughout the year directly support that effort.” She added, “we know that we want to preserve the theater and the Lamar House for another hundred years.” If you are unfamiliar with the Lamar House, check out Paul James’ fantastic Ghost Walking article on the building.
Bergmeier told me that the Bijou is “really doing an exhaustive study to address what this building needs in order to stay standing for another hundred years. We’re also addressing several pain points that we have with presenting shows here: a better lobby experience, better concessions, better bathrooms, better ADA access…flying our sound system from the ceiling, so it’s not sitting on the edge of the stage.” Architecture firm McCarty Holsaple McCarty is working with the Bijou to identify these potential improvements.
Fundraising to accomplish these goals included an online auction. Bergmeier also mentioned the opportunity to join the Friends of the Bijou for as little as $10 per month. Benefits that come with membership are included in the link above.
25 Percent Increase in Acts This Past Year
I’ve been to several Bijou events this past year, like the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, the Symphony, concerts and Modern Dance. It feels like the number of acts has increased, and Bergmeier verified that assessment. Events at the theatre are split into two categories: Bijou-presented and rented space shows. Bijou shows have increased from 80 to 100 shows with 50 to 60 rented events (KSO, KJO, etc). The Bijou is now hosting around 150 shows per year, a 25 percent increase.
Bergmeier said that part of the increase resulted from a decision to become a large-scale comedy room. Several national acts have booked recently including Chelcie Lynn, Tig Notaro, and Heather McMahan, who filmed a Netflix special at the Bijou last week. The Bijou’s proximity to Nashville, which is a hotbed for comedy, has benefitted the comedy move. Some acts are so popular that second shows have been added.
The Bijou has also gotten on the radar of Live Nation as a good comedy room. They have also developed relationships with speakers/comedians recently who are passing through town for other events. Landon Talks was recently in town for a book signing and had not considered speaking events. Bijou management were able to assist him with the process and host an event featuring his talk.
Community Outreach Program Support
Monies raised not only help preserve and improve the theatre but will also support a “community outreach program with a role in grant applications so that nonprofit organizations can use the Bijou space for free.”
The Bijou also offers educational programs, including the Imagination Series offering field trips and family matinee performances during the school year. In the upcoming season, they will produce “The Adventures of Tortoise and Hare,” “The Snowy Day and Other Stories” and “Ocean Blue.”
An Evening of Great Local and National Acts
Erin Donovan was the emcee for the evening and introduced most of the five bands. The bands featured a mixture of local and national acts, which was masterful, giving attendees an opportunity to hear someone who may only pass through occasionally while promoting locals bands they can see again in a local venue. The New Market Trainwrecks and Russell Walker announced an upcoming performance at Barleys.
This year’s theme was focused on a celebration of “our own heritage and our culture and leaning into the spirit and the vitality of East Tennessee.” Attendees were dancing (a lot of two-stepping) on Gay Street and in the aisles and front of the main stage.
Wells Station Barbeque provided a great meal of East Tennessee favorites, and I promised I would shout them out here. Cruze Farm also provided ice cream to cool down the crowds.
The opening act, Sarrenna, who I first heard last week during the Music and Murals Festival, kicked off the evening. Sarrenna is local to Knoxville and told me that her vantage point in performing was a unique opportunity. She said that it was “powerful to see the Knoxville skyline while performing.”
Bijou Board of Directors President (and President of the sponsoring Lawson Family Foundation) David Arning introduced the penultimate act for the evening, The Deslondes. One of the band members helped me to learn the pronunciation (the londes part is pronounced like lawns). The New Orleans band had a toe-tapping set that included a mix of genres fused together into a unique sound.
Arning addressed the crowd before the Deslondes started their set, the final on the Gay Street stage. He told the crowd:
your ticket and your financial support of the Bijou continues to ensure the preservation and ongoing operation of the historic Bijou Theatre as well as the historic Lamar House. Please know that your generosity directly supports the Bijou’s charitable mission of providing all-inclusive arts and culture in East Tennessee through our music, theater, and comedy. We’ve got children’s programming, community outreach, and, of course, historic preservation efforts. You’re helping us to continue the Bijou’s century-long legacy.
Before introducing headliner and concluding act Margo Price, Bergmeier told the crowd, “It’s very fitting that this event has expanded beyond the walls of this theater and into downtown, because the story of the Bijou and the story of the city have always been intertwined. And as the city of Knoxville has grown and evolved, so has the Bijou.”
Bergmeier continued by reminding the crowd that just a few decades ago the Bijou was almost demolished, like so many historical structures downtown. Instead of being a dead block, the Bijou is “filled with music, we’re filled with laughter, we’re filled with people who care deeply about preserving a space that contributes so much to the sense of identity this community has.”
She concluded, “You are the Bijou. Every time you purchase a ticket, every time you make a donation, sponsorship, volunteer hours, every time you bring a friend through the doors of this theater, you’re helping to write the next chapter of this vision.”
Margo Price took the stage to finish the night, and the incredible acoustics of the Bijou elevated her performance. I spent a few days listening to several of her tracks to prepare for this article. I know live and recorded music are two different things, but hearing her performance in the Bijou space was an experience.
She covered Waylon Jennings to whom she was creatively compared, a comment that brought the room to laughter. Her duet covering Loretta and Conway brought me back to listening to their 8-Tracks with my dad. Of course, her own music with its fast and driving country beats showed why she is a star. She dedicated her funky groove “I Just Don’t Give a Damn” to Tennessee State Representative Gloria Johnson, who was in attendance. Her “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” brought a roar of approval.
She explained that her “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” was dedicated to her home town of 3,000, which she got out of as soon as possible, bringing another round of laughter. She also covered Blaze Foley’s country protest song “Oval Room” before singing a three-part harmony on “Maggie’s Farm” that filled the front and back of the theatre with dancing.
She wrapped up by throwing roses into the crowd during her final song. On social media, she stated that she has done this for years as a way to give back to the crowd. Margo, if you happen to read this, I encountered a very excited fan who caught a rose, and it made her birthday!
As everyone started to stream back out onto Gay Street, I was somewhat haunted by Bergmeier’s comment that made me realize that we could be living in an alternate reality in which the Bijou was torn down. How many shows that made me happy; how many new acts, even in just this one night, have I discovered?
Gathering places like the Bijou bring life to a city. The Jubilee continues that mission through fundraising and a celebration. Looking forward to the next in 2027!
Additional Scenes from Jubilee 2026
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