Inside of Knoxville

Knox Heritage Broadens Impact with 2026 Community Preservation Grants

Leslie Bateman·March 2, 2026

There are certain home repairs that feel easy to postpone. A little peeling paint. A porch rail that’s “still holding.” Gutters that are technically attached. Small things … until they aren’t. If your house is at...

Spice & Tea Exchange Owner Connects Gay Street to Europe with Traveler’s Caffè

Leslie Bateman·February 27, 2026

Annette Morejon, owner of downtown’s The Spice & Tea Exchange of Knoxville, loves introducing people to something new. The shelves of her 522 Gay Street shop are a feast for the senses: proprietary spice blends, loose-leaf...

Step Inside Sauna House for a Sneak Peek Before Opening

Leslie Bateman·February 24, 2026

After two winters of pop-ups and a lengthy renovation, Sauna House Knoxville is nearly ready to open its permanent bathhouse at 126 Jennings Avenue. Having not seen it since the open house last September, when it...

Figaro! Figaro! Figaro! Knoxville Opera Presents ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’

Leslie Bateman·February 19, 2026

Knoxville Opera presents two performances of Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia this weekend — Friday night and Sunday afternoon — at the Tennessee Theatre. I attended the dress rehearsal Wednesday evening and can confirm: mischief...

Gay Street Business Openings, Closures, Reshufflings & Question Marks

Leslie Bateman·February 18, 2026

Gay Street is a deck of cards in perennial shuffle — old standards occasionally discarded, wild cards emerging, some familiar suits planted in place while others resurface where you least expect them. Let’s take a look...

Michael ‘Blue Shirt Guy’ Galyean Makes Reality TV Debut + Watch Party Tonight!

Leslie Bateman·February 12, 2026

Most people in Knoxville know Michael Galyean as “Blue Shirt Guy,” whose sideline dance moves turned him into a viral internet phenomenon. But the blue shirt is just the most visible piece of a much bigger...

Duane Grieve & the Architecture of a Life

Leslie Bateman·February 11, 2026

Duane Grieve isn’t someone you use the “r” word around. It makes him think of golf. Of days without deadlines. It suggests an ending — or worse, a slowdown. And over the course of his 55-year...

Asian Culture Center of Tennessee Is Growing Global Citizens Year-Round

Leslie Bateman·February 10, 2026

When you hear Asian Culture Center of Tennessee, the first thing that likely comes to mind is its flagship annual event: the Knox Asian Festival. But the nonprofit’s work stretches far beyond a single weekend each...

Waynestock 14: Three Nights of Music, Memory & Mutual Care

Leslie Bateman·February 9, 2026

Now in its 14th year, Waynestock unfolded over the past two weekends at Relix Theater in Happy Holler, with two nights running as planned and snowfall bumping the finale back by a week. Each year, Waynestock...

Sparky & Rhonda Rucker Reflect on a Life of Songs, Stories & Change

Leslie Bateman·February 6, 2026

Throughout history, music has steadied people in uncertain times. When Sparky and Rhonda Rucker take the stage at Laurel Theater this Saturday, Feb. 7, they’ll do as they’ve always done: telling stories through music, remembering and...

Five Things That Got Me Through Friday

Leslie Bateman·February 2, 2026

It’s been a long year already for a lot of people. Personal hardships, anxiety about the present, uncertainty for the future … everyone is carrying something and it can often feel like you’re carrying it alone....

Cumberland Avenue, Then & Now — Part II: What’s New

Leslie Bateman·January 29, 2026

In Part I: The Old Guard earlier this week, we went searching for the businesses of yesteryear that are still standing on Cumberland Avenue. In Part II, we step into the present tense. I’m not exaggerating...

Cumberland Avenue, Then & Now — Part I: The Old Guard

Leslie Bateman·January 26, 2026

Time stops for no man on “the Strip,” but memory does. It hangs like a dead clock on the wall, frozen at the moment you last walked out of your favorite college haunt, whether five years...

PostModern Spirits to Close After Nearly Decade-Long Run in Old City

Leslie Bateman·January 23, 2026

An Old City craft staple is preparing to pour its final cocktail. Both the PostModern Spirits tasting room and its production arm, PostModern Distilling, will close on Jan. 31, ending a nearly 10-year run at 205...