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Hill Country Hero Blues guitarist Kenny Brown remembers a life of music, from his first archtop acoustic to his 2022 Grammy nomination.

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CARRIE BEASLEY Senior Art Director CHRISTOPHER MYERS Advertising Art Director NEIL WILLIAMS Graphic Designer

I have no idea what the hell is going on. Say it with me, won’t you?

It can be quite liberating.

CONTENTS

JESSE DAVIS Editor SHARA CLARK Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers ABIGAIL MORICI Copy Editor, Calendar Editor LORNA FIELD, RANDY HASPEL, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH, MEGHAN STUTHARD Contributing Columnists AIMEE STIEGEMEYER, SHARON BROWN Grizzlies Reporters ANDREA FENISE Fashion Editor KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

Not long ago, I ran into my nemesis — Jesse James Davis. Maybe you’ve heard of him. He’s the singer/songwriter/guitarist with the golden vocal cords and a name not unlike mine. He also thinks it’s the height of hilarity to pretend to be me.

In a scene eerily similar to the final duel in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, our eyes narrowed when we spotted each other across the room.

“Davis,” I hissed, my voice like gravel and cut glass.

“Davis,” he echoed, his lips pulled into a tight frown.

Well, that might have happened, or we might have both yelled “Jesse Davis” and hugged each other. However the initial moment played out, we eventually ended up in a conversation about the strange hesitance people have for admitting that they don’t know something.

One might think that I would be especially susceptible, with knowing and writing about things making up a significant chunk of my job description, but honestly I think it’s my willingness to admit the gaps in my knowledge that makes me suited to this peculiar gig. Who wants a journalist who thinks they know everything already? I’m of the opinion that the world is older and odder and more mysterious than I can ever fully comprehend, so any discerning person’s best option is to be endlessly curious and willing to admit when they don’t know enough to comment.

I bring this up because there’s little going on in my personal life at the moment except nursing my stillrehabilitating cat, trying to get my and my fiancée’s cars to the mechanic, and babysitting my nephew. I’m not sure I can tease a column out of those issues.

PHOTO: SIMONE SECCI | UNSPLASH.COM As far as the hot news goes, well, I’m not going to present myself as a foreign policy expert. (See where I’m going with this now?)

For a weekly paper in Memphis, we have the tragic situation in Ukraine covered as well as I think we can at the moment, and anything I might add would only do our readers a disservice. For one of the local implications of the conflict, see Bruce VanWyngarden’s “At Large” column on page 9, and to hear from someone who actually lived in Ukraine for a while, be sure to read Lyn Wright’s excellent column in “The Last Word.” It adds perspective I could never hope to.

Yes, it can be embarrassing to admit to a gap in knowledge. Adding to the potential embarrassment, it seems that social media has conditioned us to feel we have to respond to whatever the latest trending topic is. If we don’t speak out, are we complicit? In some instances, certainly, but rushing in guns a-blazing when we lack the context to understand the situation can end up doing more harm than good.

N E WS & O P I N I O N So, in the interest of using this space THE FLY-BY - 4 to do as much good as I feel I can, I’m NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 (hopefully) setting a good example by AT LARGE - 9 COVER STORY saying that sometimes I have no idea “HILL COUNTRY HERO” what the hell is going on. Say it with me,

BY MICHAEL DONAHUE - 10 won’t you? It can be quite liberating, WE RECOMMEND - 14 really.

MUSIC - 15 Sometimes I have no idea what is CALENDAR - 16 going on.

FOOD - 19 FILM - 20 Jesse Davis C LAS S I F I E D S - 22 jesse@memphisflyer.com

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W H AT E V E R H A P P E N E D T O B y To b y S e l l s

Peabody Paving Pause

S O LI DAR ITY

The 2018 plans for the street are set to get underway this year.

Mighty Lights, the ever-changing light show on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, did what the MEMernet suggested last week. The bridge lights were changed Sunday to yellow and blue, the colors of Ukraine’s flag, to show solidarity with the country now under Russian invasion.

But some said the image of the bridge Mighty Lights shared to Facebook was old, showing a previous light arrangement used for a Grizzlies game.

N EVE R E N D I N G E LVI S

POSTED TO YOUTUBE BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES

March 3-9, 2022

Edited by Toby Sells

Memphis on the internet.

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY MIGHTY LIGHTS

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Questions, Answers + Attitude

In about a week, the trailer for the new Elvis biopic (issued last week) racked up more than 13 million views on YouTube. The movie is due in theaters in June and stars Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker.

K I M BALL C OYOTE? Nextdoor user Jill Anne Dyer Levy said last week she saw what looked like two coyotes near her house in the Kimball neighborhood. Comments on the post remembered the mythical Midtown Coyote, though someone claimed the animal had been shot.

Other comments, though, listed other fauna spotted in and around Memphis including bears, beavers, foxes, and even Manny, the wayward manatee in the Mississippi River.

Whatever happened to Peabody Avenue getting paved?

We reported on this project — PHOTO: GOOGLE MAPS and many just like it — as they were announced by those in charge. But we, and many online, have taken notice that some of those projects seem not to be going anywhere.

With that in mind, we are launching an occasional series called “Whatever Happened To.” What became of those ideas and projects that were big news once upon a time?

For the first installment, we looked at the Peabody Avenue paving project, expected to make Memphis more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. For answers, we spoke with Nicholas Oyler, Bikeway and Pedestrian Program manager for the city of Memphis.

Plans to pave Peabody Avenue were announced in 2018 and work The city’s plan to resurface the 1.7-mile stretch of Peabody from Bellevue to was to begin in the fall of that year.

Cooper was postponed due to MLGW’s need to upgrade a gas main first.

The plan, determined through lengthy rounds of public input, appeared that [MLGW’s work] was done. But they were acturaised eyebrows and caused some tension back then because the ally still doing some minor work on adjacent streets that had street would be completely reconfigured. Its four very wide lanes to tie into [the project]. So, now that we have that confirmation were to be slimmed down with some added bicycle amenities. from MLGW, we have rescheduled the resurfacing to occur The new Peabody will have one travel lane each direction, a center this paving season coming up. two-way turn lane, dedicated bike lanes, and on-street parking lanes adjacent to the curb. — Toby Sells Any idea of when that will be?

Memphis Flyer: Whatever happened with this project?

Nicholas Oyler: We were preparing to go into construction in fall 2018 when [Memphis Light, Gas & Water — MLGW] alerted us that they had plans to do a major upgrade of its gas main running under Peabody Avenue. This is something they had not previously communicated with us. We were not aware of it.

If we had proceeded with the resurfacing as planned, MLGW would’ve come in soon after us and cut up the street. It would’ve been a mess with a bunch of asphalt patches. … Because of that, it was best to hold off resurfacing until MLGW finished its work.

Did they?

They did not notify us they were fully complete with their work until just last fall, fall of 2021. Most of the major work was done a lot earlier. So, from the perspective of passersby and residents, there were no more major holes in the ground and no more major construction going on before then. So, it

I don’t have an exact date. We will really know a little closer to paving season. Most of the asphalt plants … don’t open back up until the weather seems to have warmed up enough, usually when [temperatures are at] about 40 degrees or so and they’re pretty consistent.

A lot of people have wondered about the communication between MLGW and the city on things like this. What would you tell those people?

It’s something we’re always trying to improve, this coordination between city engineering, public works, and MLGW. We share our resurfacing lists with MLGW for the upcoming paving season … and they let us know if there are any conflicts we need to be aware of. We catch most of them. But, unfortunately, there are times when something slips between the cracks or, maybe, there’s a more urgent repair. When MLGW realizes those need to be done, sometimes we just don’t have as much notice as we’d like. But there is room for improvement.

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NEWS & OPINION

SEPT 29

8 TRIBUTE ARTISTS / 3 SHOWS / 1 STAGE

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The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, November 19, 2018

Crossword ACROSS 1 Night demon 8 Japanese dog 13 Romantically daydreaming of, with “over” 14 Not the main wager 17 Brandy fruit 18 French novelist ___ France 19 Perfume, as in a religious ceremony 20 Neither Dem. nor Rep. 21 “Mamma ___!”

22 Cable material that transmits data using light 27 Read, as a bar code 30 Western tribe member 31 Candied Thanksgiving dish

32 Dog with a wrinkly face 33 Transportation in the Old West 35 Stand around the mall?

39 “Really?!”

42 Alternative to a convertible or station wagon 43 ___ beaver 44 ___ G BIV (mnemonic) 45 Wrestler Flair 47 ___ system (GPS device) 48 Pleads 49 Legendary jazz saxophonist 54 King topper 55 Gov. Cuomo’s constituency: Abbr.

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Voting Lawsuit Memphis activist gets new trial in voter fraud case.

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by Mattel 60 61 62 63 64 7 ___ Friday (main role on 65 66 “Dragnet”): Abbr.

67 68 8 Yoga posture 9 In a gentle manner PUZZLE BY AMANDA CHUNG AND KARL NI 10 Suffragist ___ B. 28 Goal of cancer 57 Opera solo 40 Tall tale Wells research 41 Hindu divinity 11 Vietnamese New 29 Elderly 58 One with a 46 Scammer Year crystal ball 33 Drive-in chain 48 Classic VW 12 Manhattan featuring 59 Try out Project weapon, 49 Movie with an carhops informally iconic theme that 34 Tarzan creator 61 “___ Te Ching” starts with two 15 Peace Nobelist ___ Rice alternating notes Wiesel Burroughs 62 Prefix with 50 Eight: Sp. 16 Rip pressure or 36 Fairy tale fiend 51 Intoxicating puncture 20 Planets like 37 Pollution from car 52 Making up Neptune and emissions, in part stories Uranus 63 Mesozoic, for one 38 Unfortunate 53 Forest or 23 Ballerina’s skirt things to leave mountain maiden 64 Call from a tennis 24 “May ___ your locked in a car of myth official coat?”

25 Eastern ascetic Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

26 “You can count on me” Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

27 Mineral springs

*NO kids, health, death, cartoons/ illustrations E T N O C O R K E S T N D E E P F S I S O S M U R E A P E T S E X

Edited by Will Shortz

CITY REPORTER B y To b y S e l l s

Pamela Moses, the Memphis activist sentenced to six years in prison for voting fraud, will get a new trial.

Moses lost her voting rights with a conviction in 2015. However, she was working through proper channels to get those rights restored in 2019. Moses had her voter registration documents signed by the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) and the Shelby County Election Commission.

However, an error was made. A corrections officer mistakenly signed a document stating Moses’ probation was over, though it was not. So, she was not eligible to vote when she filed her papers to, once again, appear on the voting rolls.

For this, she was charged, convicted, and sentenced to six years and one day for illegally attempting to register to vote. Many decried the decision, saying the sentence was too harsh and unequal to sentences given to others, particularly white men, for the same crime.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Mark Ward ordered the new trial Friday, February 25th. Ward presided over Moses’ 2019 trial. He wrote Friday that he does not disagree with the jury’s verdict against Moses. He said Moses likely knew she was still on probation while she was attempting to restore her voting rights, especially with a court order stating her probation would not be over until 2022.

The new trial comes as Ward said some evidence in the 2021 trial should not have been admitted. Also, Ward said

PHOTO: TINEGY INJURY LAW FIRM | UNSPLASH

prosecutors in the case failed to hand over an email to Moses’ attorney that could have possibly aided her defense.

However, prosecutors said they had never seen the email in question before being handed a copy of it by Moses’ attorney. Moses’ attorney said the failure to disclose it was not intentional.

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich said her office was not to blame for the mistake.

“The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) failed to turn over a necessary document in the case of Pamela Moses and therefore her conviction has been overturned by the judge,” Weirich said in a statement Friday.

“When reporters or political opportunists use the word ‘state’ they need to be crystal clear that the error was made by the TDOC and not any attorney or officer in the office of the Shelby County District Attorney.”

Josh Spickler, executive director with the criminal reform advocacy group Just City, said Weirich’s office “has a welldocumented record of failing to produce evidence that could benefit the accused.”

“Yet again, in a very high-profile case that has made national headlines, her office has failed to produce a critical document, and a judge has reversed a conviction,” Spickler said. “We can’t know how often this happens, but this is a clear pattern and it must be addressed.

Our community deserves better than this.”

NEWS & OPINION

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AT L A R G E B y B r u c e Va n W y n g a r d e n

A Bridge Too Far A light bulb finally went off Downtown, but it took a while.

It wasn’t for lack of interest. Or trying.

On Twitter, people began suggesting that Memphis light its bridges in blue and gold as early as last Thursday. It seemed a no-brainer. As someone tweeted on Saturday (possibly a Flyer senior editor): “If Memphis bridges aren’t gold and blue tonight, somebody has got some damn explaining to do.”

But Mighty Lights, the nonprofit organization that runs the light displays on Memphis’ two interstate bridges, was totally unresponsive. Some people filled out the form on their website, which appeared to be the only method to communicate with the group, to no avail. Increasingly caustic comments on the group’s Facebook and Instagram accounts also got no response.

Was anyone home? It didn’t appear so.

The tweeting started to get a little snippy: “Is Tucker Carlson running things over there?” “Memphis should be leading instead of following!” “MLGW is still working on the problem [sarcasm].” “I know a lot of people who’ve reached out to them and gotten no response. What is the damn deal with these people?”

What was the damn deal with these

*NO kids, cartoons

DO GOOD. BETTER.

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

PHOTO: CURT RAKESTRAW

people? I still don’t know. I do know that on Sunday afternoon, on a freshly created Twitter account, @MightyLightsMem issued its first tweet, and it went over like a fart in a crowded elevator: “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” it read. “On Tuesday, March 1, the Mighty Lights will glow purple, green, and gold for Mardi Gras!” There was an accompanying photo of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge in Mardi Gras colors.

Mardi Gras? Who was in charge over there? People tagged, texted, and emailed Mayor Strickland and other leaders.

They tweeted pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Christ statue in Rio, the Roman Colosseum, the Empire State building, all lit in blue and gold, next to a screenshot of the Mardi Gras tweet, and wrote: “The rest of the world vs. Memphis.” Tambo38104 spoke for most when he tweeted: “This is the most tone deaf thing I think I have ever seen. What is WRONG with you?”

We’ll never know what finally sparked the change, but I’m guessing somebody with clout probably noticed the growing outrage and made a call. The Mardi Gras tweet came down within the hour and was shortly replaced by one that read: “Tonight, February 27, and on Monday night, February 28, The Mighty Lights will join iconic landmarks around the world to glow in solidarity with Ukraine,” accompanied by a picture of the M bridge lit up in blue and gold. Never mind that it was an old photo from after a Grizzlies game, they seemed to have finally gotten the message.

On Sunday and Monday nights, the bridge was a beautiful blue and gold.

Still, I think it’s safe to say some adjustments need to be made. Mighty Lights has been a wonderful addition to Downtown, but after the events of the past week, it appears — how to say this, delicately? — no one is home. At the very least, somebody needs to be monitoring social media, so they aren’t caught looking clueless again. Someone should also be responding to comments and questions on the group’s social media pages. This is sort of Marketing 101.

I get that this is not a big-bucks organization. It’s a nonprofit with little staffing that does nice visual things for Downtown. But those bridges are public highways, and the public needs a way to communicate with whoever’s controlling the switch.

Someone needs to keep a light on.

901.726.5725 momentumnonprofit.org

NEWS & OPINION

P

eople around the world were shocked and horrified when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last week. The idea of an actual old-school land invasion of a settled, sovereign country seemed somehow incomprehensible in 2022. Mercilessly launching missiles, bombs, and cannon fire into cities full of civilians, hospitals, schools, and churches surely could not be happening. But it was. And then the world watched as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instigated a fierce resistance that has continued into Monday morning, as I write this.

There were mass demonstrations against the war across Europe. Cities all over the free world began lighting up buildings, iconic edifices, and bridges in the blue and gold colors of the Ukrainian flag. Except in Memphis.

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COV E R STO RY BY MI CH A E L D O N A H U E PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Kenny Brown

Hill Country Hero Blues guitarist Kenny Brown remembers a life of music, from his first archtop acoustic to his 2022 Grammy nomination.

A

March 3-9, 2022

s he poses for a new photo, leaning against a tree with his guitar, tall and slender guitarist Kenny Brown looks pretty much like he did in old photos of himself in his twenties performing with blues legends.

“I’ve weighed between 130 and 160 since I got out of high school,” says Brown, 68.

But then he adds, “Somebody told me the other day — we went down to the coast — something about my skin looking so good. That’s the only person who ever told me my skin looked good. Hell. My hair is coming out. Growing out my ears and nose and falling off my head.”

Though his hair is falling “off his head,” Brown’s musical ability continues to grow.

The latest proof? Brown is nominated, with The Black Keys and Eric Deaton, for a 2022 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Delta Kream. “[The title] ‘Delta Kream’ came from a William Eggleston photo of a Delta Kream custard stand down in Tunica,” Brown says. “Eric Deaton plays bass and I play guitar. The way it happened was, Eric had done a couple of records with [The Black Keys’] Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye studios in 10 Nashville. They were doing a Robert Finley record and they asked me to play on it.”

Raised on Radio

They finished that record in two days, but Auerbach asked Brown and Deaton to stick around for a couple more days. They recorded Delta Kream.

That serendipitous recording session was no fluke; Brown has a history of finding himself in the right place at the right time.

Must Have Been the Right Place

Brown recorded his debut album, Goin’ Back to Mississippi, in 1995 with Dale Hawkins in Little Rock, Arkansas, but his list of bona fides is long. Brown played on albums with blues legends R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Paul “Wine” Jones, and CeDell Davis, all of which were recorded for Fat Possum Records based in Oxford, Mississippi. That was also where Brown recorded his solo album, Stingray.

He performed in the 2006 movie, Black Snake Moan, which was written and directed by Craig Brewer. In addition to backing Samuel L. Jackson’s singing, Brown appears in the film as a blues band guitarist along with his buddy, Grammy-nominated drummer Cedric Burnside.

“I was always a big fan of Kenny Brown,” Brewer says. “I am a fan of that whole early Fat Possum era that he was a part of. I think

PHOTO: JENNIFER ESPERANZA

Kenny Brown at the 1999 Thirsty Ear Festival in Santa Fe why I love him and everybody loves him, is there’s a great craft in the way he plays. The older I get, the more I tend to appreciate that. It’s authenticity. He’s playing what he lives. He’s playing what he knows and you can feel it. It’s more than just hearing it. You can feel it. There’s only a handful of artists that can do that. And he’s one of them.”

Brown’s mother was spot-on when she wrote about her child in his baby book.

“She said that I was crazy about guitars, guns, horses, and cowboys,” Brown says. “I still am.

“The first time I remember hearing any music was getting in my parents’ car in the early ’50s,” the musician remembers. “I was laying in the car getting ready to go to church and hearing, I guess, a Johnny Cash song. I grew up watching the Ozzie and Harriet show with James Burton and Rick Nelson playing. There were some country shows that would come on like Louisiana Hayride.”

Brown also listened to a blues station late at night with a friend. “We’d sneak out in the car and lay down in the seat and turn on the radio and get that Nashville station,” Brown says, remembering that he didn’t need the car key if the car was put in “lock.”

Growing up in Nesbit, Mississippi, Brown remembers when he heard his first blues fife and drum band, a style of music with its roots in African drumming, military fife and drum corps, and blues influences. “I was out in the yard playing one day and I heard this music. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, and it was getting closer and closer. I

People always ask me to describe ‘hill country.’ I just tell them, ‘Don’t try to analyze it. Just feel it.’”

“Some of That Stuff” As he got older, Brown began meeting other blues players, including Jim Dickinson, Sid Selvidge, and Lee Baker. “Sometimes I think I was better when I was 18 than I am

Brown says. “It was a juke joint way out in the sticks somewhere in Panola County.”

It was “just an old house in the middle of nowhere. Seems like we drove down one of

PHOTO: LAURIE HOFFMA

R.L. Burnside, Kenny Brown, and Cedric Burnside

we started playing, it filled up. I don’t know where they came from,” he says.

“We got to playing. And they were gambling in the back room. All Black people. I was the only white person there.

It was the first juke joint I’d really been in.

We were playing for a while and R.L. said, ‘You keep playing. I’m going in the back and gamble some.’ I said, ‘R.L., don’t do that. They’ll kill me out there.’ He said, ‘I think you’ll be all right.’ He lost his money and came back. I kept playing and people loved it.”

Brown went on to play gigs with other blues performers. “We used to play a lot of picnics and little juke joint house parties.

Sometimes I’d get with Johnny Woods and pick him up Friday and start driving and go to different house parties and stay gone all weekend.”

Music was a side job at first. “I made decent money doing construction, being a carpenter. That way I could afford my habits — going to the juke joints and stuff to play.”

Juke Joint Caravan, Hill Country Picnic

PHOTO: RITA WEIGAND

Big Jack Johnson and Kenny Brown now,” he says. “I guess ’cause I didn’t know anything. I’d just do whatever I could do.

I was so hungry for it back then, I guess. I was a slow learner, but I just tried to learn from everybody I could. I never expected to make a living at it.”

A friend who had a rock-and-roll band hired R.L. Burnside to open for him. Brown introduced himself and said he liked what he was doing and wanted to learn “some of that stuff. He told me where he lived and I started going down there and playing.”

They played together at juke joints, picnics, and other events “for 30 years until he quit playing. For years, I’d just play around his house or go to picnics or juke joints.”

R.L. took him to his first juke joint,

PHOTO: RITA WEIGAND

Junior Kimbrough and Kenny Brown at Kimbrough’s juke joint the wooded roads that was like a tunnel for 20 miles. All the trees have grown together above you. We came to a house. There was nobody there for 30 minutes. As soon as

Brown began touring after he met George “Mojo” Buford on Beale Street. “Hit it off with him and we got to playing. We did a tour up to Canada and the East Coast and ended the tour in Clarksdale on Muddy Waters’ birthday.”

Brown invited R.L. to sit in with the band at the Clarksdale show. R.L. arrived with Matthew Johnson, founder of Fat Possum Records, where R.L. was recording.

A couple of weeks later, Johnson called Brown and said they wanted him to play on R.L.’s record. They said, “We love his solo stuff, but we want it to rock a little more.”

They recorded R.L.’s album, Too Bad Jim, with drummer Calvin Jackson the first day.

Then Brown played on Junior Kimbrough’s album, Sad Days, Lonely Nights. They were recorded at Junior Kimbrough’s legendary now-gone juke joint near Holly Springs, Mississippi.

“I love Kenny,” Johnson says.

“I was lucky to be around a lot of great people, but I put Kenny at the top of the list.” Of Brown, whom he calls “a savage guitar player,” Johnson says, “We wouldn’t have Fat Possum without him. He was so vital in the creation of the label.”

Plus, in a nod to the seemingly mundane but practical details that can make or break a burgeoning music career, Johnson says, continued on page 12

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

looked and there was this truck coming up the road and there was this fife and drum in the back of the truck,” Brown recalls.

“That’s how they announced the picnics. Not everybody had phones [at the time]. They turned right across the road from my house.

There was this guy who had picnics right across from the house.”

Brown didn’t get to go to them, but the picnics fascinated him. “I would lay in bed at night. Sometimes they’d play all night long and party all night.”

The music took root in Brown’s mind, and he got his first guitar when he was 10 thanks to a business venture with his brother. “You could order seeds from the back of a comic book. We ordered a bunch of seeds and we rode our bicycles selling garden and flower seeds to the ladies around us,” he says.

The Brown brothers won prizes for the amount of seeds they sold. “I got a little plastic guitar that would tune up and had a book with it. I think my brother got a BB gun,” he remembers.

Brown taught himself to play the guitar, which had “little catgut plastic strings,” by reading the book as well as listening to the radio “trying to figure out stuff.” He also took some lessons.

One day his mom surprised him with a real guitar. “A Kay archtop acoustic guitar with the F holes and stuff,” Brown says.

In another right-place, righttime moment, blues guitarist Mississippi Joe Callicott moved next door when Brown was 10. “His house was probably not 100 yards away.

I could hear him sitting on the porch playing.” Brown’s brother said, “You ought to go over and see Joe.” Brown and Callicott played “When the Saints Go Marching In” and other gospel songs. They also played blues songs, including “Frankie and Albert.”

Callicott gave him pointers. “He’d say, ‘Hit it like this, boy.’ And he was singing songs. All that got me really interested. I hung out with him almost every day.”

Conjuring Brewer’s comment about authenticity, Brown muses about the heart of blues music, saying, “It feels so good. And it’s real music — comes from the heart. It’s hard to describe. People just get feelings for different things.”

Brown, who plays the “North Mississippi hill country blues” style, says, “The hill country stuff kind of fit. Maybe from growing up around here, I don’t know.

11

continued from page 10

March 3-9, 2022

“He had a van. He had a driver’s license.”

After they made a record, they had to get out and promote it, Johnson says. “You got out there and beat the hell out of the road if you’re going to make it. And we did that.

We toured nonstop.”

After they did the Fat Possum albums, Brown and R.L. were invited to play a gig in Canada. They needed a drummer. R.L. said, “I’ve got a grandson who plays pretty good.”

That was Cedric Burnside, whose Grammy nominations include Best Traditional Blues Album in 2019 for Benton County Relic.

“We would go out for two weeks at a time. We’d have me and R.L. and Cedric and T-Model Ford or Paul ‘Wine’ Jones.

We’d have a vanload of people. A lot of times they called it the ‘Juke Joint Caravan.’”

And, he adds, “I think I counted up one time. I’ve been to every state and, I think, something like 12, 15, 17 countries.”

Brown began the iconic North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic 16 years ago. “I’d been traveling all around the world, seeing all this interest in this style of music.

I think they began calling it ‘hill country’ music by then. People were loving it everywhere we went, but nobody was doing a festival here in Mississippi focusing on

that type of music from the region.”

The first Hill Country Picnic was held in a pasture in Potts Camp, Mississippi.

The stage was a flatbed trailer. About 1,000 people attended the picnic, which was organized by Brown’s wife, Sara. “All we did was send out maybe 100 emails.”

Brown later had a permanent stage built at the picnic’s current location between Oxford and Holly Springs. One year, Brown says, the two-day event, which is held the last full weekend in June (June 24th and 25th this year), drew 3,000 people from 38 states and 11 countries. “I wanted it to be like the old-style picnics where there was plenty of food and drink and good hill country music.”

Farther from home, Brown plans to attend this year’s Grammy presentation on April 3rd in Las Vegas. “I hear all the time people are booking gigs and asking if they’re Grammy-nominated.

I don’t know. I hate to say it’s not a big deal ’cause I guess it is. But I don’t know how much my life will change.”

For now, Brown says, “I’m doing a tour with The Black Keys this year. It’ll be fun.

Decent pay.”

Brown, who lives near Potts Camp, says, “I’ve got a big barn over here next door to

PHOTO: COURTESY KENNY BROWN

some songs put together good enough to record them. And digging out some old stuff to record. And trying to get everybody lined up, find the right people to record them.”

He’s written original songs over the years as well. “I write ideas down all the time. Lot of times I get them during the night,” Brown says, “and if I don’t get up and write them down, they just keep flying through the air

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and somebody else gets them.”

Last Kind Word Blues Brown has watched his old friends and mentors die. He was 15 when his next-door neighbor Mississippi Joe Callicott died.

“His wife told me he rolled over and his last words were, ‘Kenny be a good boy.’

“I hated to see him go, but he had gone downhill some. None of us are getting out of here alive. Hell. It used to be I was the youngest one hanging around all these guys like Bobby Ray Watson, Johnny Woods, and R.L. Burnside. Now I’m one of the older guys.”

Brown once visited a psychic at a health food store. “He told me my purpose on Earth was to raise the vibratory rates of the human race through music. I don’t know how many people he told that to, but I was one of them. He didn’t know I played music.

That was kind of a weird thing that he could actually tell that. He could have been making it up and it could have been all bullshit.”

But, Brown says, “We were on stage in Santa Fe, New Mexico, one time. The place was packed wall to wall. T-Model and R.L. were doing the show. And every face that I saw had a smile on it. And I thought, ‘Maybe he was right.’”

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my house with a big living area upstairs I’m trying to convert. We set up some recording equipment in there. I’ve got a project I’m trying to get done there. There’s a record by a pretty big country artist that I played on that’s supposed to be coming out in April, but I’m not supposed to tell who. I’ve got

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Shelby County Government Congratulates Employees & Community Members During Employee Appreciation Week Shining Star Awardees 2020 Reginald Bernard Debra Fessenden Vicki Green Marisa Hopper Christine Johnson Patricia Melton Chaitra Subramanya Karla Willingham Templeton Yolanda Woods Halimah Wright

Employee of the Year Awardees

2021 Dr. Patricia Bafford Jennifer Case Rachael Geiser Robert Gowen Ben Ivy Mary Mitchell Joan Robinson Ora Applewhite Sheard Glori Shettles Patrice Thompson Cherry Whitehead-Thompson

Employee of the Quarter Awardees

Jasmine Wright Shelby County Community Services (2020)

Hazel Haywood Shelby County Human Resources (2020 - Q1)

Kevin Williams Shelby County Juvenile Court (2021)

Karen Brasfield Shelby County Chancery Court Clerk's Office (2020 - Q2)

Lifetime Achievement Awardees

Carl Cole Shelby County Juvenile Court (2020 - Q3) Jasmine Wright Shelby County Community Services (2020 - Q4)

Hon. Larry Potter Shelby County Environmental Court (2019)

Katherine McMullen Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court (2021 - Q1)

Hon. Edward Stanton, Jr. Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk's Office (2019)

Geretta Hollins Shelby County Health Department (2021 - Q2)

Hon. A. Keith McDonald City of Bartlett, Tennessee (2021)

Kevin Williams Shelby County Juvenile Court (2021 - Q3)

Lexie Reed Carter Women In Leadership Leaning On Wisdom (2021)

Pete McCarty Shelby County Support Services (2021 - Q4)

“These employees are recognized for their distinguished public service to Shelby County.

Their skills, leadership, and efforts resulted in major contributions to Shelby County Government. As Director of Human Resources, I am grateful to each of them for exemplifying the highest levels of professionalism and devotion to the County."

Shelby County HR Director Gerald Thornton

"I am delighted Shelby County Government has been able to recognize a few of the individuals who make our community so special. These award recipients have continuously shown that they are committed to service, helping their neighbors, and making our community stronger. We are very grateful that they have made Shelby County their home."

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

2019 Rose Hill Suzette Mink Idris Mimms Tom Shadyac Bennie Nelson West Min. Suhkara A. Yahweh

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steppin’ out (& stayin’ in)

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

La Cage aux Folles

By Abigail Morici

March 3rd - 8:00pm Marcella Simien & Her Lovers and Lucky 7 Brass Band

March 4th - 8:00pm “The New Orleans Suspects”

In 2010, Randall Hartzog and Jonathan Christian co-starred in Theatre Memphis’ La Cage aux Folles as Georges and Albin, a couple who’ve lived together happily for years in San Tropez. Twelve years later, the two actors, finally at the right age to play the middle-aged pair, have returned to these roles, now under the helm of director Cecelia Wingate.

The musical is derived from the 1973 play of the same name, turned 1978 French film, which was adapted into the 1996 American film The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. In all its various forms, Georges and Albin’s son returns home with news that he is engaged. The catch: The prospective in-laws are an ultra-conservative bunch while Georges runs a drag nightclub, at which Albin is the star entertainer. As Georges and Albin try to impress their son’s love and her parents, madness and hilarity ensue.

“The fact is that it’s really funny,” Wingate says, “but at the end of the day, it’s a really beautiful and charming love story. A love story between family and who we call family.”

Though Theatre Memphis has performed this musical before, audiences can expect a fresh take, even with the same leads.

The original telling is set in the ’70s, but this production is set today. “We wanted to show that things have changed a little bit since the ’70s, but there’s still [anti-LGBTQ] prejudice,” Wingate says. “We also knew it would open us up to different styles of choreography and color palette. … Visually, it’s going to be stunning. The choreography is really exciting.”

Another reason for change in era, Wingate explains, “Drag is so different today than it was in the ’70s.” From the hair to the makeup to the costuming, drag is even more elaborate these days. To that effect, the production brought on local drag performers Wednesday Moss (Austin Wood), Iris LeFluer (Joseph Grant), and Justin Allen Tate.

To purchase tickets or to view the full schedule of performances, go to theatrememphis.org or call (901) 682-8323.

Evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, THEATRE MEMPHIS, 630 PERKINS EXTD., OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 4, WITH PERFORMANCES THROUGH MARCH 27, $35.

March 5 - 8:00pm th

March 3-9, 2022

Shamarr Allen

March 6th - 5:00pm Terrance Simien and The Zydeco Experience

railgarten.com

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2 1 6 6 C e n t r a l Av e .

Memphis TN 38104

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES March 3rd - 9th Jericho Brown at U of M University of Memphis, University Center Theater, 499 University, Thursday, March 3, 6 p.m., free Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown is coming to the University of Memphis. Brown is the author of three critically acclaimed and awardwinning collections: The Tradition (2019), The New Testament (2014), and Please (2008).

On Thursday, the poet will do a free poetry reading. Books will be sold at the reading, and the author will be available afterward for signing.

On Friday, March 4, 11 a.m., the poet will also do a free, public craft interview at Patterson Hall (Room 456) on campus.

Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Weekend Graceland Soundstage, 3717 Elvis Presley, Friday-Sunday, March 4-6 Enjoy a weekend of jumpsuits, blue suede shoes, and black leather as the Ultimates return to the Graceland Soundstage for a very special weekend of concerts, conversations, photo ops, and more.

This year will feature more Ultimates than any ETA Weekend before, with Shawn Klush, Brandon Bennett, Cody Slaughter, Dean Z, David Lee, Dwight Icenhower, Taylor Rodriguez, and Patrick Dunn.

For more information on the schedule of events and to purchase tickets, visit graceland.com/ultimateeta-weekend.

Women in the Arts The Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park, and Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Extd., Saturday, March 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free Memphis is overflowing with dynamic, influential, and groundbreaking women in the arts.

The event, organized by Dixon Gallery & Gardens and Theatre Memphis, brings these women together for a day of performances, demonstrations, and dialogue ranging from personal stories to championing gender equality.

Meet the makers and shakers, ask questions, learn how-tos, and enjoy film screenings.

This event occurs at both the Dixon and Theatre Memphis. Shuttles will be available to visit both locations.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

Until We Meet Again Mark Edgar Stuart comes full circle.

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THURSDAY A AY MARCH 17 • 7PM MEMPHIS

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

The results are easy, breezy, and natural, thanks to the producers’ focus on feel above all else.

he reflects. “On the second record, there was more cancer stuff and stuff about my wife and our little troubles.” After that, he found himself collaborating with the likes of Keith Sykes, working on the follow-up to his sophomore album. But somehow, he wasn’t connecting. “When the third record came around, I’d been hanging out with these really great songwriters, and I think I let their craft influence my craft. Looking back on that, I should have just recognized my craft as being weird and unique.”

Now, with Until We Meet Again, he’s come full circle back to himself. He credits his producers with helping him find his voice as never before, partly by choosing the songs. “The ones Dawn and Reba picked just so happen to be about love and life,” he says. “About writing love letters at a time when no one writes love letters. And fishing in heaven. And dying one day. I don’t think men would have picked all those songs. It took these two women to do that. Their biggest contribution was the song selection.

They gave the whole record a theme. I feel like I’m saying something again.”

The Mark Edgar Stuart album release show will feature a full band and opener Kelley Mickwee, The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, Friday, March 4, 7:30 p.m. Visit crosstownarts.org for details.

@LAFAYETTESMEMPHIS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

alking about his new alPHOTO: BRUCE WATSON bum, Until We Mark Edgar Stuart Meet Again, singer/songwriter Mark Edgar Stuart thinks back on his first recording session, at Sun Studio. Over in his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 15-yearold Stuart played in a band with the nephew of Memphis Horns trumpeter Wayne Jackson.

Jackson booked the band at Sun as an avuncular gift, befriending Stuart in the process. “Wayne took a liking to me,” Stuart recalls. “That was one reason I came to Memphis.

He was my first mentor.”

It just so happened that the engineer on those ancient sessions was Dawn Hopkins, who, fastforwarding a few decades, was also behind the board for Until We fine. “They come from that Jim Dickinson Meet Again. “Working with Dawn was school of thought,” Stuart says. “It’s just a real full-circle moment,” Stuart says about the emotion. Every song just took wistfully. “Here I am 30 years later, going one or two takes. It’s pretty much what back to the basics, and Dawn’s at the helm!

I do when you see me live.” The result is I love these full circles. And the whole an album of spare arrangements, often record’s full of them.” featuring just Stuart’s voice and guitar, Hopkins works with co-producer with an occasional second guitar, bass, Reba Russell, a renowned singer and light drums, or background vocal — and songwriter in her own right. Under the plenty of breathing room. name “The Blue Eyed Bitches,” the two are making waves around Memphis and beyond with their naturalistic approach to production. Not long after producing the acclaimed Delta Joe Sanders, they set their sights on Stuart.

Reba approached Madjack’s Ronny Russell and asked, “Do you think Mark would let us produce a record on him? I love that guy.” It caught Stuart unawares.

These days, with Stuart established as “I got a green light to make a record one of the best singer/songwriters around, and I wasn’t even looking to do it,” he it’s hard to imagine that he started writing marvels. Being a singer herself, Reba heard less than 10 years ago. Until then he was untapped potential in Stuart’s voice. “That a bass player, first for the Pawtuckets and was her big pitch to Ronny: She wanted to then as a hired gun on many recording produce me as a singer,” says Stuart. “She sessions and tours. Eventually, backing told me, ‘I know there’s a voice living inside quality songwriters like Cory Branan, Jack there, and you haven’t tapped into it yet.’”

Oblivian, and John Paul Keith inspired him The results are easy, breezy, and to try his hand at the craft. natural, thanks to the producers’ focus on “On the first record, I had something to feel above all else. That suits Stuart just say about my cancer and about my dad,”

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CALENDAR of EVENTS:

2021-2022

SEASON

March 3 - 9 Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer. com or P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. A R T A N D S P E C IA L E X H I B ITS

“Chords of Abstraction”

An exhibition by artist George Frederick. Through March 4.

EAST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

“Dream House”

TICKETS & INFO

901.385.5588 - Box Office Hours: 10am - 2pm M-F or 24/7 @ BPACC.org

Exhibition of paintings by Will Ferguson and Jimmy Ball.

Through March 6.

MEDICINE FACTORY

“Janelle Lynch: Another Way of Looking at Love” S

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An exhibition of large-format color photographs. Through March 3.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Master Metalsmith: Kim Cridler | Held An annual exhibition celebrating the most influential contemporary metal artists.

Through March 6.

METAL MUSEUM

“Remembering”

Exhibition of paintings by Michael Crespo. Through March 12.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“The Epoch of Loss” March 3-9, 2022

Exhibition of sculptures by Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo.

Through March 5.

BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY

“Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes”

Exhibition that brings together 12 contemporary Native American visual artists.

Through March 16.

at Mid-America Seminary

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

M A R C H 3 1 – AP R IL 3 D IR EC T E D B Y DR . J A M E S D . W HI T M IR E

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ART HAPPE N I NGS

Art Opening Party: “Mother Nature’s Daughter”

“Mother Nature’s Daughter,” featuring Jaleeca Yancy, is a solo exhibition that focuses on the idea of exploration of

natural pigments, textiles, and womanhood. Saturday, March 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

UREVBU CONTEMPORARY

Crosstown Arts Resident Artist Talk

Crosstown Arts Spring 2022 resident artists Richard Jamal Echols and Brandon Blvd will present artist talks. Free.

Wednesday, March 9, 6-7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN ARTS

“Imago Dei” Exhibit Opening

Opening reception and artist’s talk for “Imago Dei,” an exhibit by photographer Cindy McMillion. Sunday, March 6, noon-3 p.m.

ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL

“Learn Sing Plants Counting Monsters Colors Alphabets” Artist Talk

Karl Erickson will give a talk about his work. Thursday, March 3, 6 p.m. Reception will take place Friday, March 4, 5-7 p.m.

RHODES COLLEGE

“Meet the Artist: Deb Lovett

Benefiting Memphis Golden Retriever Rescue. Saturday, March 5, 2-4 p.m.

MID-SOUTH ARTIST GALLERY

“New Works by Kerry D. Peeples” Opening Reception

Opening reception for this exhibition. Friday, March 4, 5:30-7 p.m.

Celebrate the launch of Ali Manning’s picture book, Can I Play with My Food?, which explores food, science, acceptance, and compassion.

Reception for Memphis Germantown Art League’s Annual Spring Show Reception for exhibition of recent juried works. Sunday, March 6, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Women in the Arts

Celebrate and connect with Memphis’ groundbreaking women in the arts for a day of performances, demonstrations, and dialogue. This event also takes place at Theatre Memphis. Shuttles will be available Saturday, March 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

B O O K EVE NTS

Jericho Brown Craft Interview

A free, public craft interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown. Friday, March 4, 11 a.m.

UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

Jericho Brown Poetry Reading

Poetry reading by Pulitzer Prizewinning poet Jericho Brown.

Free. Thursday, March 3, 6 p.m.

UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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CALENDAR: MARCH 3 - 9 continued from page 16

F I LM

S P EC IA L EVE NTS

Meet the Author: Ali Manning

Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents To Sir, With Love

14th Annual SPAYtacular Gala

Join food scientist and educator Ali Manning to celebrate the launch of her picture book, Can I Play with My Food?

Saturday, March 5, 2 p.m.

NOVEL

Spring Cleaning Book Sale

Shop a diverse selection of gently used gardening and horticulture books. Monday, March 7, 9 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

C O M E DY

Bert Kreischer at the Orpheum

One of the top names in comedy comes to Memphis.

Saturday, March 5, 7 p.m.

THE ORPHEUM

Jazz & Jokes Memphis Concert Series

Blending the hottest comics with the hottest singers. $45$85. Saturday, March 5, 7 p.m.

CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

COM M U N ITY

17th Annual Tree Planting

Commemorate the Conservancy’s 17th Annual Tree Planting by volunteering to help pot native trees! Saturday, March 5, 10 a.m.-noon URBAN EARTH GARDENS, NURSERY & MARKET

Meant for Memphis: The Shell’s Next Stage!

The unveiling of a new name for the beloved stage. Light breakfast provided. Live music

by Lucky 7 Brass Band. Free.

Thursday, March 3, 10 a.m.

5off

$ March 3-9, 2022

MFLYMULA

THEATRE MEMPHIS presents “LA CAGE AUX FOLLES” Music and Lyrics by JERRY HERMAN • Book by HARVEY FIERSTEIN Director CECELIA WINGATE • Music Director GARY BEARD Choreographer WHITNEY BRANAN • Sponsored by DOROTHY O. KIRSCH and SWAIN WEALTH PARTNERS, MIKE SWAIN, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Limit four

MARCH4-27

18

© 2022

TICKETS 901.682.8323 ONLINE theatrememphis.org

Dive deep into three short films that will suck you into their nightmare. Free. Monday, March 7, 7:20-10 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Memphis Black Restaurant Week

Dine in, order food via delivery apps, or pick up orders to support Black-owned restaurants. Saturday, March 5-March 12.

BLACKRESTAURANTWEEK.COM

H EA LT H A N D F IT N ES S

Friday Dance/Viernes de Danza An evening of dance taught in Spanish. $5. Friday, March 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

BALLET MEMPHIS

Hamilton Eye Institute Race for Sight 5K

Benefits the Hamilton Eye Institute Lions Club, a nonprofit with a mission to provide eye care for the less fortunate. $20.

Saturday, March 5, 9 a.m.

Weed Wrangle

Help remove invasive and exotic plants in MBG’s woodland. Saturday, March 5, 9 a.m.-noon.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

A safe and free event to help parents meet camp staff and directors and find out more information to help you make good choices for your child this summer. Free. Saturday, March 5, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

FEDEX CENTER AT SHELBY FARMS

LICHTERMAN NATURE CENTER

The Blind Tiger Speakeasy

For one night, the past will roar into focus as the home is transformed into a Prohibitionera speakeasy, complete with glamorous flappers, fabulous cocktails and rollicking music.

Saturday, March 5, 6-9 p.m.

Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Weekend

A celebration of jumpsuits, blue suede shoes, and black leather as the Ultimates return to the Graceland Soundstage for a very special weekend of concerts, conversations, photo ops, and more. Friday, March 4, 5 p.m.

GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE

S PO R TS

901 Wrestling

Main Event: Big Swole Justin Cole vs. 901 Wrestling Champion “The Mane Event” Kontar the Great. $5, $15. Saturday, March 5, 7-10 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Memphis Grizzlies vs.

New Orleans Pelicans

Tuesday, March 8, 6:30 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Memphis Grizzlies vs.

Orlando Magic

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Saturday, March 5, 7 p.m.

Learn to Curl

FEDEXFORUM

Learn how to sweep, throw stones, and put a stone on the button. $40/individual, $70/two people. Saturday, March 5, 5 p.m.

P E R FO R M I N G ARTS

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

A festive evening of food, live music, open bar, and more.

Benefiting Spay Memphis. $75/individual, $130/couple.

Saturday, March 5, 7-10 p.m.

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

FO O D A N D D R I N K

Tennessee Arbor Day Celebration

Camp Expo

in the

LOHREY THEATRE

Tim Scalita’s Chaos Operas

MID-SOUTH ICE HOUSE

FA M I LY

Generous support provided by

CROSSTOWN THEATER

LEVITT SHELL

Celebrating with a proclamation from the mayor, a poem reading, tree planting demonstration, and a tour of the trees at the garden. Friday, March 4, 10 a.m.

a Full Price Adult Ticket with Promo Code

Sidney Poitier plays Mark Thackeray, an immigrant from British Guiana who wants to be an engineer but takes a job as a teacher. $5. Thursday, March 3, 7:30-9 p.m.

LOVE IS A DRAG: Atrocia Anniversary Show

A night of drinks, drag, and dancing at the two-year anniversary show of Memphis’ goth punk drag collective and freakshow. Friday, March 4, 9 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

The Russian Ballet Theatre Presents Swan Lake A must-see, Russian Ballet Theatre’s new production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s timeless classic. $35-$125.

Tuesday, March 8, 7:30 p.m.

CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Winter Mix

Ballet Memphis’ first performance of 2022. $55. Friday, March 4 and March 5, 7:30; Sunday, March 6, 2 p.m.

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

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Sunday, March 6, 11 a.m.

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Bright Star

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Through March 13.

GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE

La Cage aux Folles

This light-hearted musical centers on Georges and his lover Albin, star at their drag nightclub in St. Tropez. $35.

Friday, March 4-March 27.

THEATRE MEMPHIS

TO U R S

Lichterman Nature Center Talk & Walk Series

Discover the signs of spring returning. $10. Saturday, March 5, 9-10:30 a.m.

LICHTERMAN NATURE CENTER

The Vegan Goddess creates divine cuisine.

C

amri McNary originally noticed a huge change in my energy, my wanted to make a living body, my skin.” concentrating on people’s McNary began creating vegan dishes, faces, not their stomachs. which she posted on Facebook. “I would “I wanted to be a makeup artist growing make enchiladas, tacos, burritos, everyup,” McNary says. “That was my passion.” thing vegan,” she says.

She had second thoughts after she gradPeople began sharing her posts, and uated from beauty school. “I said, ‘I can’t she built on that momentum. “It was like a imagine doing this my entire life. Touching chain effect. It happened so quickly.” people’s faces and doing their hair. Maybe McNary, who was selling health insurthis isn’t what I want to do.’ It just didn’t feel ance from home, officially began her vegan like fun. It felt more like work. And I don’t food business in June 2021. like the feeling of work.”

She started out simple, with a few But now, McNary, owner of The Vegan items, including a Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Goddess, probably works harder than she patterned after the Taco Bell item. “Comwould have as a beautician. “I cook huge pletely vegan. I put beans, rice, chipotle portions of things. It’s definitely work, but sauce, mushrooms and walnuts, and vegan it’s still fun,” she says. flatbread, and I covered it in cheese and In addition to holding Sunday pop-ups wrapped it in a crunchy taco shell.” of her vegan creations, McNary teaches McNary made vegan versions of familiar cooking classes and makes and sells her fast food items. In addition to “veganizing packaged dishes at Memphis Kitchen Cothe entire Taco Bell menu,” McNary made Op & Marketplace. a vegan version of McDonald’s McRib and She began “experimentchicken sandwiches. ing” in the kitchen when People can be skeptical she was 8 years old. “I about vegan food. “They made a Mexican pizza,” she think it’s rabbit or bird food.” remembers. “Back in the McNary quit her health day I ate meat. I didn’t grow insurance job after The up vegan.”

Vegan Goddess “blew up.”

McNary helped her On March 6th, McNary grandmother, veteran proand her business partner fessional cook Donna Carr, Rebecca Devlin will feature in the kitchen. McNary a “vegan Taco Bell menu” marveled at Carr’s expertise. from noon to 4 p.m. at her PHOTO: PHOTOS AND PHASES “She flowed so naturally. pop-up at Memphis Kitchen Camri McNary of Like it was instinctual.”

Co-Op. Previous pop-ups The Vegan Goddess Two years later, Mcinclude one that featured Nary began cooking family her “barbecue tacos” made breakfasts. “I was a chunky kid growing up. of jackfruit, which has the texture of pulled That’s why I transitioned to vegan. I loved pork, with black beans and pico de gallo. cooking, loved eating,” she says.

In addition to her ever-increasing menu, After beauty school, McNary worked in McNary makes her own sauces. “I use a Kroger organic foods section, where she chickpeas and northern beans — white learned about holistic and natural herbs beans — to make the base of the sauce, and and gluten-free products. “My grandmothI infuse it with chili peppers and wine, lime, er used to cook nothing healthy. I wasn’t and cilantro. All the good flavors.” familiar with any of those things.”

McNary eventually wants to open a food McNary became a pescatarian after she truck and, perhaps, a brick-and-mortar resgot a job at the old Stash Home Furniture taurant. “I want to go nationwide,” she says. store. She met a lot of customers from India McNary wants people to experience who had relocated to Memphis to work vegan food. “I don’t necessarily want to at FedEx.“[They] were big on vegan. They push people to be vegan. It’s more, ‘Listen to introduced me to things they ate and their your body and how it reacts when you eat lifestyles, and it intrigued me. And I did my certain things.’ That’s what I promote.”

Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace is own research,” she says. at 7942 Fischer Steel Road in Cordova; When she stopped eating beef and (901) 674-2541. dairy and ate only seafood, she says, “I

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Not Just Rabbit Food

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FOOD By Michael Donahue

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FILM By Chris McCoy

The Worst Person in the World A new kind of romantic comedy coming straight outta Oslo.

T

March 3-9, 2022

he Apartment, which recently screened at Crosstown Arts, is the greatest romantic comedy of all time. Director Billy Wilder created a pair of star-crossed lovers, played by Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, who feel lost among the skyscrapers of New York and only find belonging with each other. The razor-sharp screenplay lets Bud and Fran make bad choices and invites you to root for them to make the right ones, even while you’re not sure they actually have the courage to choose each other.

That deeply humane approach is apparent in Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s new film, The Worst Person in the World. When we first meet Julie (Renate Reinsve), she’s a medical student in Oslo who seemingly has everything. Then, she makes an impulsive decision to quit med school and pursue her dreams. Except that she doesn’t really know what her dreams are, since she recently believed she wanted to become a doctor. At first, she tries majoring in psychology, but that lasts only until she has an affair with one of her professors. When scrolling through her iPhone photos, she decides she’s got a pretty good eye and ditches psychology for photography.

One fringe benefit of her new direction is that she gets to date models, instead of stuffy academics, and run in circles with much more engaging people. That’s where she meets Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), a successful comic artist who has just cut a movie deal. Julie is impressed with Aksel’s confidence and finds herself attracted to the good-looking, intelligent guy, even after she finds out he’s 15 years her senior. For his part, Aksel likes her spunky energy and basks in her attention. The two hit it off, and the next time we see them, she’s meeting Aksel’s parents, and he wants to talk about having kids.

That’s a lot of plot to fit into the first two segments of a story that spans 12 chapters, an intro, and an epilogue, but Trier is nothing if not economical in his storytelling. The Worst Person in the World follows Julie as she stumbles through the world, never entirely sure about what she wants or how to get it.

Reinsve is instantly likable, and it’s fun to follow along while she crashes parties and, in a scene that allows Trier to give

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Renate Reinsve stars as fickle yet captivating Julie, who refers to herself as the worst person in the world as she stumbles through life. his experimental tendencies room to run, trips on mushrooms. Aksel helps Julie gain confidence in herself, but his arrogance wears thin after a while, and she starts casting about for someone else, even before she consciously realizes what she’s doing.

Eivind (Herbert Nordrum) is much closer to Julie’s age, and the two of them seem to share some kind of strange magnetism when they meet. Unfortunately, he’s married to Sunniva (Maria Grazia Di Meo), so their first meeting looks like it will be their last — until it’s not.

The episodic structure makes The Worst Person in the World feel a bit more like a loose collection of short films than a coherent feature film, but Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt have a deft touch. They choose exactly the right story beats to illustrate Julie’s years-long character arc, as she turns 30 while still struggling to figure out her place in the world and who she wants by her side. The central love triangle

FILM By Chris McCoy of Reinsve, Lie, and Nordrum is so strong that Trier can go on flights of fancy and still remain grounded and relatable. The ending, which I will not spoil here, felt anticlimactic at first, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. This film seems like a rom-com on the surface, but it’s really about Julie learning to accept herself and learning that she’s not, as she calls herself, the worst person in the world. My biggest beef is that, like Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, there seems to be an awful lot of unnecessary running going on.

But maybe that’s just how they do it in Oslo, a very pedestrian-oriented city with lots of easily accessible public transportation. This is the third film in what Trier calls his Oslo trilogy, in which the city itself is the only recurring character. He photographs the verdant city with the affection and knowledge of a longtime resident, which really made me want to visit, and maybe crash a wedding or two.

The Worst Person in the World Now playing Malco’s Ridgeway Cinema Grill

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T H E L A S T W O R D B y L y n Wr i g h t

Memories of Ukraine

THE LAST WORD

“Don’t forget about us,” Jerry Dutkewych, the first director of the U.S. Peace Corps in Ukraine, said to me as I stood up to leave my exit interview in August of 1997. At 23, it was hard to know what role my time in Ukraine would play in my life. I could hardly imagine that almost 25 years later the whole world would be lit up with the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. Ukraine is showing the world how its years of nation-building and democratization have led to a united and dedicated resistance to autocracy and aggression. In a time when our own democracy has seemed on the brink, Ukraine is reminding us what it means to fight for freedom and justice.

Since 1992, the United States Peace Corps has sent thousands of volunteers to Ukraine, more than most countries in the world. I was in the fifth group and was one of the first Americans that my neighbors, students, and English teacher colleagues had ever met. I taught English in a high school in the southern city of Mykolaiv. I learned both Ukrainian and Russian (Mykolaiv was a predominately Russian-speaking city). It was the first time I had encountered life in a bilingual environment, and that experience ended up shaping my career as a linguist, for which I am very grateful.

As Peace Corps volunteers, we were there for both economic and political reasons. The country was in major transition — poverty and hunger were prevalent in some regions, the elderly were suffering without regular welfare payments, businesses were trying to privatize, teachers were changing the way they taught, organized crime and human trafficking were on the rise, and heroin addiction, AIDS, and suicide were all problems that everyday citizens were dealing with, some for the first time. Some people were nostalgic for the more stable days of the USSR, but they were also hopeful about new contact with the West and the opportunities for new business ties, trade, travel, and education. Ukraine was looking West, and we were there to help in the small ways that we could.

PHOTO: COURTESY LYN WRIGHT During my two years, I had many conversations with Ukrainians about the changes in their country, comparing Lyn Wright what life was like in the U.S. I talked to people about anything they wanted to know — religion, homelessness, or who my favorite author was. I helped my English teacher colleagues write a textbook and my friends, who were musicians, translate their lyrics.

I remember one afternoon in particular when the German language teacher came and sat down in my classroom. “We don’t know how to do democracy,” she said.

“We have never had a democracy.” But Ukraine and Ukrainians have proven that they do, in fact, know how to do democracy and do it well. They have protested rigged elections, fought for their rights to trade with the EU, and maintained a free press and free speech despite consistent pressure from the Kremlin. They have cautiously promoted language policies that valorized the Ukrainian language and sought to unify the country while at the same time including rights for Russian speakers.

Ukraine is the borderland of Europe (the word literally means “on the border”). It sits between Russia and all of the democracies that make up the so-called West. The country is a battleground — economically, politically, and socially. Ukrainians have been required to disagree with their own kin to create the country they have become, to fight their own Slavic neighbors for their freedom.

And by doing so, they are protecting us all.

In 1994, the United States and Russia signed a treaty with Ukraine that promised Ukraine protection in return for the removal of nuclear missiles back to Russia. That treaty was broken in 2014 when Russia took Crimea, and we did not come to help. That is part of the reason why we are where we are today — on the brink of a larger war, engagement of NATO, the EU, and possibly the U.S. As historian Allan Lichtman has put it, “the West’s failure to defend Ukraine will go down as one of the great mistakes of history.”

We will always remember Ukraine for the bravery and strength they have shown this week. We will remember the heroism of everyday citizens, the defense of Kyiv against all odds, and President Volodymyr Zelensky going into battle with his troops. Ukraine deserves our full support. For me personally, I realize that it was a mistake to not return to that place that provided me a better education than all of my years in college and graduate school. I will be returning to Ukraine to visit my former host sister and students as soon as I can.

Lyn Wright is an associate professor of applied linguistics in the English Department at the University of Memphis. She is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Ukraine) and former Fulbright Fellow (Russia).

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer reflects on her time in a country then caught in a time of transition and now actively resisting military invasion.

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