Memphis Flyer 6/20/2024

PHOTO (TOP LEFT): COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS ad Lee, Dusk at the Hudson Wren Memorial Park; PHOTO (TOP RIGHT): JOAN MARCUS MAMMA MIA! at the Orpheum;

PHOTO (ABOVE LEFT): COURTESY METAL MUSEUM Martha Banyas, Edith’s Hands, 2014. Enamel, copper, steel, mica, wood; PHOTO (ABOVE MIDDLE): COURTESY METAL MUSEUM Barbara McFadyen, Cherish Brooch, 2017. Enamel, copper, sterling silver; PHOTO (ABOVE RIGHT): COURTESY MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART Banana Plastik, Creatures of Paradise

Mr. Sipp

Tony Holiday

Laura Chavez

Gracie Curran

SHARA CLARK Editor-in-Chief

ABIGAIL MORICI Managing Editor

JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors

TOBY SELLS Associate Editor

KAILYNN JOHNSON News Reporter

CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor

ALEX GREENE Music Editor

MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers

KEN BILLETT, GENE GARD, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, FRANK MURTAUGH

Contributing Columnists

SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER Grizzlies Reporters

CARRIE BEASLEY Senior Art Director

CHRISTOPHER MYERS Advertising Art Director

NEIL WILLIAMS Graphic Designer

KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, SHAUNE MCGHEE, PATRICK PACHECO Senior Account Executives

CHET HASTINGS Warehouse and Delivery Manager

JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution

KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

JERRY D. SWIFT Advertising Director Emeritus

THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101

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Summer Arts Guide

Summer’s here, and it’s time to cheer for visual arts, performing arts, and, well, all the arts.

PHOTO: MATTHEW MURPHY, MURPHYMADE

Back to the Future

Chris Milam’s album sizzles with power pop anthems that evoke his teen years.

PHOTO: LISA MAC p17

Summer Solstice

A look at the science and the sacred behind the solstice.

PHOTO: ANDREW DUNN | CREATIVE COMMONS | WIKIMEDIA p25

& OPINION

FLY-BY - 4 POLITICS - 8 AT LARGE - 9 COVER STORY

“SUMMER ARTS GUIDE” BY ABIGAIL MORICI - 10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WE RECOMMEND - 16 MUSIC - 17 AFTER DARK - 18 CALENDAR - 19

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 21

WE SAW YOU - 22

FOOD - 24 METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION - 25

NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 26 ASTROLOGY - 27

FILM - 28

NOW PLAYING - 29

CLASSIFIEDS - 30 LAST WORD - 31

THE fly-by

MEM ernet

Memphis on the internet.

Memphis Reddit users tried to gure out exactly why Kroger seems to only use half of its self-checkout machines, leaving long lines snaking down the aisles. e company wants to pay fewer employees, one said. e move deters shopli ing, said another. Cash-using customers will use a card-only machine and create a headache, one suggested. Many agreed, though, that they hate self-checkout.

BIG BOOGIE

Former Memphis rapper Big Boogie gave an expansive interview on the No Jumper podcast. He talked about why he doesn’t beef or pose with his car, why he le Memphis, and his philosophy on hard work.

“Life ain’t whopping my ass,” he said. “I’m whopping life’s ass.”

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

{WEEK THAT WAS

By Flyer staff

Poverty, MATA, & Overton Park

Tennesseans can’t a ord basics, transit faces $60M de cit, and Tina Sullivan departs OPC.

STATE POVERTY

Nearly half of all Tennessee working families cannot a ord the basic cost of living in their counties, according to new analyses of Census and federal economic data by the United Way of Tennessee. e report examined the challenges facing households that earned more than the federal poverty level but, nevertheless, struggle to make ends meet.

While the number of households living in poverty decreased by nearly 5,000 across the state between 2021 and 2022, more than 34,214 households were added to the category of Tennesseans unable to pay for basic needs despite earnings that put them above the poverty level. In total, the report found that 1.2 million Tennessee households fall into this category.

SULLIVAN DEPARTS OPC

Tina Sullivan is stepping down as executive director of the Overton Park Conservancy (OPC), the organization announced last week.

Sullivan will serve in the role until a successor is brought on board. She has helmed OPC since its creation 12 years ago. In that time, the park has seen a number of improvements, which brought a surge of popularity. OPC said visitor counts over the last several years have reached 1.5 million.

MATA DEFICIT

e Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) has requested $30.6 million from the Memphis City Council for its next year, an ask that came weeks a er MATA revealed a $60 million de cit.

MATA is projecting $65.2 million in revenue for its next scal year, noting that the city is the primary provider of operating funds. Despite a budget gap, agency o cials said they were committed to increasing revenue and “re ning [its] process of spending.”

“We recognize that there is a gap,” said MATA interim CEO Baccara Mauldin during a budget hearing last week. “As the leader of MATA, personally and professionally, I own what I’ve inherited. I own the problems but I also own the engineering of the x.”

e council did not question MATA about the de cit

which le some citizens “dissatis ed.” Cynthia Bailey, cochair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union, said city council should not let MATA o the hook.

“ e Memphis City Council must send a strong [message] to MATA that they are going to hold MATA accountable for past and future funding,” Sammie Hunter, co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union added.

GOP QUIET ON VOUCHERS

While Gov. Bill Lee’s universal school voucher proposal is clearly a key issue this election year, there is less agreement on where Tennessee voters stand on the contentious education policy, incentivizing many state legislative candidates to avoid discussing the matter.

Numerous voter polls have generated wildly di erent results this year, depending on which organization was behind the survey and how the questions were asked.

As a result, rural Republican candidates, whose legislative votes would be pivotal in deciding the issue, aren’t generally trumpeting their positions on what would amount to a major policy change.

And when they do comment, the candidates are choosing their words carefully by using the language of “school choice” over “vouchers,” even though they’re essentially the same thing when it comes to letting parents use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools.

Tennessee Lookout and Chalkbeat TN contributed to this report.

Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY EZRA WHEELER

PHOTO: OVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY

Tina Sullivan, who has helmed the Overton Park Conservancy since its founding, will be stepping down.

Silicon Peach { CITY

REPORTER

By Toby Sells

A deal for X in Atlanta may o er clues on the xAI deal in Memphis.

Memphians still don’t have many details on xAI’s massive supercomputer project planned for the city, though a recent $700 million data center deal for X in Atlanta may o er some clues. What we don’t know is:

• How much will the company actually invest here? (It’s been touted as “multibillion” and the “largest single capital investment in Memphis history.”)

• What exactly will the socalled Gigafactory of Compute do? (It’s proposed to power X’s Grok arti cial intelligence. But how that will happen in Memphis remains hazy.)

• How many employees and new jobs will the project bring to Memphis? (Speculation says about 200 hundred jobs. But no one in the public is yet certain.)

• What will the real economic impact of the project be for Memphis?

• What will local leaders o er to the company in incentives to bring them here?

e Memphis-Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) was slated to review the xAI deal here Wednesday. O cials canceled that meeting in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. So locals could be le waiting a month for answers on xAI, unless EDGE calls a special meeting.

For what could happen in Memphis, however, one Reddit user suggested looking to Atlanta. X Corp. (not xAI) proposed building a $700 million data center there in December. e company already has a data center

in the city and another in Portland, Oregon, according to WSB-TV Atlanta. Incentive packages, the company said, would decide if the project went to Portland or Atlanta.

For the new Atlanta project, the company asked Develop Fulton (Atlanta’s EDGE equivalent) to approve a $700 million inducement and nal bond resolution “to acquire, install and create the next generation of highperformance computing and Arti cial Intelligence (AI) products for the X platform.” e company also asked for a tax break of more than $10.1 million over 10 years.

Taxes for the project in its rst year were promised to be more than $4 million. Taxes over the project’s rst 10 years would be more than $16.5 million.

e project would retain 24 jobs in Atlanta, not create new jobs. X Corp. predicted an overall economic impact

“Despite their growth, data centers don’t create many local jobs compared to other sectors.”

of the project to be more than $241.7 million in 10 years. e company’s original pitch to the board said the economic impact for the project would be more than $1 billion. e reason for the change was unclear.

X Corp.’s proposal ended in a deadlock from the Develop Fulton board in December a er the board “got an earful from opposed residents,” according to e Atlanta JournalConstitution. However, when the X project came back before Develop Fulton in January, it passed with that $10.1 million tax break included. Two

board members voted against it.

Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier said the data center market is growing faster there than in any other U.S. city. Construction for data centers in Atlanta grew by 211 percent, Dozier said, from 2022 to 2023.

is is partly why he and council member Matt Westmoreland proposed a ban on building them close to transit stations and the Atlanta BeltLine.

“Despite their growth, data centers don’t create many local jobs compared to other sectors,” Dozier tweeted in mid-May. “ is limits economic bene ts for our communities. eir existence presents a trade-o , diverting resources and focus away from alternative, people-oriented development priorities.”

But urban Atlantans aren’t the only ones with qualms over data centers in the Peach State. Georgia state lawmakers voted this year to temporarily suspend a tax break on equipment for data centers, according to the Associated Press. e bill gained traction as Georgia Power reported a massive spike in electricity demand, and the data center industry accounted for 80 percent of that growth, it said. Also, one lawmaker also cited a 2022 state audit report that found that the tax exemption for data centers returned 24 cents on the dollar.

However, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp vetoed the legislation in May. He said the bill’s July 1 deadline would have interrupted projects already in the pipeline.

PHOTO: TREVOR COKLEY | PUBLIC DOMAIN | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Elon Musk

By Jackson Baker

‘Just Politics’

State Senator vows to seek DA’s removal in next legislative session.

District Attorney Steve Mulroy, a Democrat, announced on Monday that he was dropping plans to create a diversion program for previous nonviolent o enders accused of illegal possession of rearms.

But that didn’t stop Republican state Senator Brent Taylor from following through with detailing his previously indicated plan to seek Mulroy’s ouster through legislative means.

“He didn’t pull it because he didn’t think it would have the e ect he wanted. He pulled it because I’m on his ass,” Taylor proclaimed bluntly.

ere was a signi cant irony at the heart of Monday’s press conference, which Taylor conducted before a full battery of media at the Je erson Avenue headquarters of the Memphis Police Association.

And that was that Senator Taylor had characterized the putative diversion program for gun-wielding felons as “the last straw” making his ouster resolution necessary but now insisted his demand for Mulroy’s ouster “was never about the diversion program but … about the DA’s attempt to rede ne what crimeand-punishment is in this state.”

require a two-thirds majority in both the state House and the state Senate to succeed. Mulroy, he said, would have full due process by way of defending himself.

Republican state Rep. John Gillespie, who is second only to Senator Taylor, perhaps, in the amount of legislation he has sponsored to impose state authority over law enforcement in Memphis, brie y addressed the press contingent at Taylor’s suggestion, saying the ouster process would be “a drastic measure, but the state has to step in.” He maintained that “until Memphis is safer, I’m going to continue to do everything I can legislatively and through avenues such as this [one] that Senator Taylor has proposed.”

( ough stopping short of endorsing outright Taylor’s ouster proposal, Police Association head Matt Cunningham said he was in general agreement with Senator Taylor’s sentiments on crime control and seemed to suggest that the MPA’s provision of a venue for Taylor on Monday spoke for itself.)

Asked by a reporter to detail what some of those other attempts in that regard by Mulroy might have been, Taylor declined, saying, “I’m not going to follow you into that rabbit hole.”

Taylor characterized his ouster e ort as being the consequence of numerous conversations he’d had, not only with ordinary citizens and businesspeople but with such legislative eminences as state House Speaker Cameron Sexton and state Senate Speaker/Lt. Governor Randy McNally.

“I believe it’s a conversation, quite frankly, that people have been having in their own homes for a long time,” Taylor said. He described having brought down several legislative colleagues for a look-see, “and every one of them, without fail, have said that Memphis’ crime challenge is much greater than [I] said it was.”

Taylor’s ouster plan, which he vowed to introduce in the next regular session of the General Assembly in January, would

Mulroy would issue a statement later Monday that said of Taylor’s plan, “ is is politics, pure and simple. We were No. 1 in the country for violent crime for years before I took o ce … Rather than disrespecting Shelby County voters by trying to overturn a local election, Sen. Taylor should focus on getting state funding for a local crime lab, raising penalties on ‘Glock switches,’ and letting Shelby County pass sensible gun regulations to stop the ood of guns threatening our safety.”

• A er the press conference, Gillespie was asked about his motives in having acquiesced in his GOP colleagues’ carrying out a reapportionment process that many observers, including Jesse Huseth, a Democratic candidate this year for his seat, saw as making District 97 marginally more favorable to Democrats.

Gillespie, who acknowledged that he is considered by some to be a relative political moderate, said he felt comfortable with the district’s demographics. He noted that he has had a Republican primary opponent (the presumably more conservative Christina Oppenhuizen), but, as the year’s politics have developed, he is now more concerned about the threat from the more visibly active Huseth.

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER Sen. Taylor and Rep. Gillespie on Monday

By Bruce VanWyngarden

The X Factor

o, I go on vacation for two weeks and Memphis lands a deal with Elon Musk — “the world’s richest man” — to build the largest supercomputer in the world in the former Electrolux plant. What?

From a BnB in upstate New York last week, I read a well-reported (if slightly breathless) story in the Daily Memphian, wherein reporter Sophia Surrett told the behind-the-scenes chronicle of how the Greater Memphis Chamber, led by CEO Ted Townsend, managed to convince Musk to bring his multi-billion-dollar project to the Blu City. Selling points included our city’s ample water supply, cheap land costs, and the chamber’s willingness to work fast. Memphis was pitched in a zoom meeting with Musk and his associates in March, while Townsend was in Austin for SXSW. Musk apparently liked what he heard and over the next three months, the deal was consummated.

If things go according to plan, the former Electrolux facility will soon house a tech startup called xAI and will, according to an unnamed source in the Daily Memphian story, create “less than 200 jobs.” It will use approximately 1 million gallons of water per day, about 1 percent of the city’s current daily use. In addition, xAI will need up to 150 megawatts of electricity to run the facility — enough energy to power 100,000 homes.

Local environmental groups, including Protect Our Aquifer, issued a cautionary statement: “Before we welcome xAI with open arms, we must consider how an industry using such a tremendous amount of electricity will further impact communities already overwhelmed with pollution and a high energy burden, such as those around the xAI facility in Southwest Memphis. … Will xAI bear the cost of TVA’s fuel adjustment fee in times of high energy demand? … With our recent history of severe weather events and rolling blackouts, TVA and Memphis Light, Gas & Water must work closely with this facil-

ity to keep energy use o peak-demand hours. … During times of emergency, our utility providers must have a plan to ensure that residents receive the power and water they need ahead of corporate demand.”

Good points, all. ere is some talk that xAI will get involved in building a system that will use wastewater or river water to handle its cooling needs, but it’s just talk at this point. However it goes, this appears to be a big deal. And Musk is a big deal, a guy who sends Space X rockets and Starlink satellites into space, builds futuristic Tesla cars (and goofy trucks), and owns X (formerly Twitter), the world’s largest news and social-messaging platform.

But that raises — or should — another concern: Musk, who says that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, has con gured X’s algorithm to ensure that his voice is the most prominent on the platform, meaning he has 187 million followers who can see his posts. He is a mega-in uencer.

He’s also an anti-vaxxer who recently posted a photo of Dr. Anthony Fauci under the caption: “You’re all beagles to me. Crimes Against Humanity.” Additionally, Musk is anti-trans, anti-DEI, pro-Trump, pro-Tucker Carlson, anti-Ukraine, proRussia, and has retweeted the “scienti c” graphs of @eyeslasho, which claim to prove that “Black people in the US are overwhelmingly more criminally violent than whites.” Not a great look for a CEO looking to set up in a majority Black city. Musk has also retweeted some blatantly anti-semitic X posts. A real peach, this guy.

To put this in some sort of context, however strained, there is little doubt that other business and corporate leaders — in Memphis and elsewhere — share some of Musk’s beliefs and politics. e general attitude of those looking to expand their city’s economic base, i.e. political leaders and business types like those in the Greater Chamber, is to downplay (or ignore) such things as long as the greater good — jobs, investment, and a bump for the city’s reputation — is achieved. CEOs gonna CEO, the thinking goes.

By that measure, it appears that Memphis has landed a big sh, one that will maybe bring a few more sh in its wake and provide more good-paying jobs than the 200 initially surmised. But the bottom line on the xAI deal is yet to be determined. And how — or if — this transaction will bene t the Memphis economy or the average Memphian is unknown. Musk is a wild card, given to mercurial and seemingly impulsive moves. Call him the X factor.

PHOTO: FRÉDÉRIC LEGRAND | DREAMSTIME.COM Elon Musk

Elon Musk brings xAI to town.

Summer Arts Guide

SUMMER’S HERE, AND IT’S TIME TO CHEER FOR VISUAL ARTS, PERFORMING ARTS, AND, WELL, ALL THE ARTS.

Memphis, it’s summer. O cially. June 20th marks the start of the season. So that means it’s time for the Flyer’s Summer Arts Guide, and never one to disappoint, the Flyer has it ready, not a moment too soon, and not a moment too late.

ON DISPLAY

“Memphis 2024”

Memphis 2024 celebrates artists working in Memphis today through more than 50 works.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through June 30

“It’s All Relative”

Morgan Lugo’s metal work examines how our unique perspectives shape our experiences.

Metal Museum, through July 7

“Progression”

Sowgand Sheikholeslami’s colorful paintings exist outside of realism.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through July 7

e WE Art Gallery

is year’s annual exhibit at the Woman’s Exchange features new works by established local and regional artists and a number of talented newcomers. Woman’s Exchange, through July 31

“People Are People” is exhibit honors famed American designer Christian Siriano’s electrifying contributions to fashion.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, through August 4

Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast of the

“Branching Out”

Discover intricate connections between students, teachers, and casting communities, which branch out much like a family tree.

Metal Museum, through September 8

“Summer Art Garden: Creatures of Paradise”

Monstrous bugs and tiny umbelinas relax in a fantasy landscape in Banana Plastik’s installation.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, through October 26

“Bracelets, Bangles & Cu s: 1948–2024” is collection of contemporary bracelets reveals the wide-ranging creativity of artists working in this jewelry form.

Metal Museum, through November 17

“2023 Wilson Fellowship: Danny Broadway, Claire Hardy, ad Lee, and John Ruskey” e Dixon has partnered with the town of Wilson, Arkansas, to help bring cultural activity to the Arkansas Delta through an artist residency program. is exhibit features work by the inaugural cohort of Wilson Fellows, Danny Broadway, Claire Hardy, ad Lee, and John Ruskey.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, July 14-September 29

“Health in Enamel” emes of health, healing, and spirituality crystallize with a survey of current enamel holdings in the Metal Museum’s permanent collection and a community-based quilt project.

Metal Museum, July 14-September 29

“Southern/Modern: 1913-1955” is exhibit tells the tale of progressive visual art in the American South.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, July 14-September 29

PHOTO: (LEFT) COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Elaine de Kooning, Black Mountain #6

PHOTO: (BELOW) MATTHEW MURPHY, MURPHYMADE

MJ First National Tour

Happy Hour in the Grove

Enjoy a free concert, drink specials, deals on local beer, and $5 wine. Scheduled to perform are Short in the Sleeve (June 21), Soulshine (June 28), Bedon (July 12), Alexis Jade and D Monet (July 19), and rising talent from the Circuit Music Seen (July 26).

Germantown Performing Arts Center, Fridays through July

Cinderella

e iconic saga of rags to romance comes to life in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway classic. eatre Memphis, through June 30

9 to 5: the Musical

Collierville Arts Council presents this fun musical, based on the titular lm, with music by Dolly Parton.

Harrell eatre, June 21-30

Come From Away

“It’s a Fine Line”

Since opening her Sheet Cake Gallery in December 2023, Lauren Kennedy has enjoyed pairing artists together in two-person exhibitions, making aesthetic connections that wouldn’t have been made otherwise. For the upcoming show, “It’s a Fine Line,” with Stephanie Howard (Greenville, SC) and Khara Woods (Memphis), Kennedy says both artists re ect on the passage of time — “feelings of impermanence and lack of control” — both through meticulous linework, repetition, and attention to detail.

“For Stephanie, in sitting down and really getting lost and meditating in the practice of making these really intricate detail drawings, she nds that she can suspend a moment in time in the work that is going to live on forever as that nished product,” Kennedy explains.

“Beyond the Surface: e Art of Handmade Paper” is exhibit explores the shapeshi ing quality of paper.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, SeptemberDecember

“Roll Down Like Water” Memphis-based PeruvianAmerican photographer Andrea Morales’ portrayal of the Delta South is deeply rooted in the communities she engages with.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, September-January

ON STAGE

Catch Me If You Can is musical tells the thrilling adventure of a con artist who poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer, all while being pursued by the FBI.

Residents of small town in Newfoundland open their homes to 7,000 stranded travelers on 9/11. Orpheum eatre, June 21-23

Coco Queens

Four women confront the deep and o en painful challenges of love, forgiveness, and Black womanhood. eatreWorks@ eSquare, July 12-28

MAMMA MIA!

e characters, the story, and the timeless hits of ABBA are what make this the ultimate feel-good show. Orpheum eatre, July 23-28

Carmen Jones

Hattiloo eatre puts on this World War II-era musical about a love that turns deadly.

Hattiloo eatre, July 26-August 18

Coconut Cake

Meanwhile, the precise, geometric forms in Woods’ woodworking evoke her deep love for architecture and desire for structure in a chaotic world. “Speci cally in this body of work for Sheet Cake, she’s gotten really xated on thinking about the life cycles of stars,” Kennedy says. “And we use the stars and celestial bodies to mark time or to measure unimaginable distances, but at the same time, they’re so beyond our reach and so outside of our full comprehension. So there’s both this process of exerting her own control through the way that she is making the work, and being able to create these highly ordered and clean, precise woodcut panels, but also kind of honoring the universe in which we’re existing and in these things that are really beyond her control.”

“ ese are concepts that really can be very overwhelming and consuming,” Kennedy continues, “but then to take that and to make something really speci c and just nd their way through it by the process of creating art, I nd it really poetic in a way.”

Yet when seeing the show, Kennedy encourages viewers to seek out whatever makes their “heart sing.” “It’s totally valid to have your own experience and understanding of it,” she says. “I would just want people to come in and feel moved by the work and to feel excited about the work.”

“It’s a Fine Line” Opening Reception, Sheet Cake Gallery, Saturday, June 29, 5-7:30 p.m.

On view through August 9.

Playhouse on the Square, through July 14

Concerts in the Grove

Enjoy music, food trucks, and corn hole. Scheduled to perform are Cyrena Wages (June 20), Alice Hasen and Josh relkeld (June 27), and MSO Big Band (September 19).

Germantown Performing Arts Center, select ursdays

Orion Free Concert Series

e Orion Free Concert Series welcomes local, national, and international acts. Find the full lineup at overtonparkshell.org/freeconcertseries. Opera Memphis will give a special Opera Goes to Broadway performance on September 29, and Tennessee Shakespeare Company will perform a special production of Shakespeare’s e Comedy of Errors on October 20. Overton Park Shell, select dates

A woman moves to town and tempts Eddie and his retiree buddies with her mysterious ways.

Hattiloo eatre, August 9-September 8

Bill Cherry … e Final Curtain

World-renowned Elvis Tribute Artist

Bill Cherry returns to the Halloran Centre with special guest Ginger Alden. Halloran Centre, August 14

Grease

Grease is the word in this iconic musical. eatre Memphis, August 16-September 8

Ride the Cyclone

Six high-school choir members have died on a faulty rollercoaster. A mechanical fortune teller o ers one of them the chance to return to life. Germantown Community eatre, August 16-September 1

PHOTO: COURTESTY MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Christian Siriano’s “People Are People”

PHOTO: COURTESY SHEET CAKE Andromeda, 2024, Spray Paint on Wood Panel

continued from page 11

Waitress

Jenna, a skilled pie maker and waitress, is trapped in a loveless marriage with an unexpected pregnancy, but nds hope in a baking contest.

Playhouse on the Square, August 16-September 15

PJ Morton

e ve-time Grammy-winning soul singer, songwriter, performer, producer, and Maroon 5’s full-time keyboardist for the past 12-plus years comes to Memphis.

Orpheum eatre, August 18

Jazz in the Box: Alexa Tarantino Quartet

Get up close and personal with live jazz, including performances by the Alexa Tarantino Quartet on September 6 and Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman on September 27.

Germantown Performing Arts Center, September 6 and 27, 7 p.m.

Memphis Songwriters Series: Victoria Dowdy, JB Horrell, and Raneem Imam

Hear from three of Memphis’ own seasoned musicians.

Halloran Centre, September 12

Southern Heritage Classic Presents Patti Labelle

e Godmother of Soul brings her e ortless ability to belt out classic rhythm and blues renditions, pop standards, and spiritual sonnets.

Orpheum eatre, September 12

A Midsummer Night’s Dream eatre Memphis puts on one of the Bard’s most popular comedies.

eatre Memphis, September 13-29

Little Shop of Horrors

is deviously delicious Broadway and Hollywood sci- smash musical has devoured the hearts of theater-goers for over 30 years.

Harrell eatre, September 13-22

What the Constitution Means to Me Playwright Heidi Schreck skillfully breathes new life into the Constitution through her innovative play.

Playhouse on the Square, September 13-October 6

Rachmanino ’s Rhapsody on a eme of Paganini and Copland’s ird Symphony

Memphis Symphony Orchestra kicks o its 2024-2025 season with this performance.

Cannon Center, September 14, 7:30 p.m. | Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, September 15, 2:30 p.m.

MJ

Michael Jackson’s unique and unparalleled artistry comes to Memphis in MJ, the multi Tony Awardwinning new musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour.

Orpheum eatre, September 17-22

Patterns

Germantown Community eatre presents emerging local playwright Michael Ho man’s world premiere of Patterns

Germantown Community eatre, September 20-29

Avatar: e Last Airbender in Concert is captivating experience blends a live orchestral performance of the iconic series soundtrack with an immersive two-hour recap of the animated show’s three seasons on a full-size cinema screen.

Orpheum eatre, September 25

AROUND TOWN

Super Saturday

e Brooks o ers free admission and art-making during its monthly Super Saturdays.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, rst Saturday of the month, 10 a.m.-noon

PHOTO: JUSTIN FOX BURKS Josh relkeld at e Grove

Stax Family Day

Join the Stax for a fun- lled a ernoon with free admission, games, activities, and music.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music, second Saturday of the month

Live In Studio A: Summer Series with 926

Join the Stax Museum of American Soul Music for live music by 926, the Stax Music Academy Alumni Band. Admission is free for all Shelby County residents.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Tuesdays, June and July, 2-4 p.m.

Munch and Learn

Grab lunch and enjoy a lecture presented by local artists, scholars, or Dixon sta , sharing their knowledge on a variety of topics.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Wednesdays, noon-1 p.m.

Whet ursday

e Metal Museum hosts a free a erhours event with demonstations,

admission to the galleries, food, and drink.

Metal Museum, last ursday through August, 5-8 p.m.

Wax & Wine: Soul Records + Southern Chefs + Global Wine

Wax & Wine is a fundraiser bene ting Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and celebrating the unmistakable character of southern soul and R&B music, food, and wine.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music, June 28, 7 p.m.

Glam Rock Picnic: Fundraiser, Art Market, & Interactive Sculpture Party

Participate in the making of local artist Mike McCarthy’s newest sculpture, e Aladdin Sane Weathervane, a 9-foot tall statue honoring David Bowie. Featuring live music, art vendors, face painting, Eric’s food truck, and a David Bowie-themed bar, this event has something for everyone.

O the Walls Arts, June 30, noon-5 p.m.

continued on page 15

24 Hour Plays

In 24 hours, six playwrights will write six 10-minute plays, which six directors will then direct for 24 actors to then act in. It’s the ultimate challenge for any theater-lover, a beloved format founded in New York City back in 1995 and adopted by LoneTree Live for Memphis in 2022. is June marks Memphis’ third 24 Hour Plays.

PHOTO: COURTESY THEATREWORKS 24 Hour Plays: “ ere’s always a kooky kookiness.”

On Friday, June 28th, the six writers will write overnight, says Julia Hinson, LoneTree’s executive director. “I almost think of it like a theater lock-in. eir plays are due at 6 a.m. and then we print all the plays. And then the directors come just a little bit later, and the actors, and then we rehearse all day. And then by seven o’clock the next night, we perform all six plays.”

Of the day, Hinson says, “It’s fun. It’s exhilarating. ere’s usually a moment in the day for the actors, where they are like, ‘Why did I sign up for this?’ Because it can be pretty scary to think you’re gonna go on at the end of the night.”

Perfection is o en unattainable for the performances, which actually can be creatively freeing in stages as early as the writing process. “At a certain point you just have to be done, yet you still get a production,” Hinson says. “In the world of theater, you’re not always guaranteed a production. We love to give local talent the opportunity to shine.” e plays themselves range from comedy to drama. “ en, there’s always just a level of absurdity,” Hinson says. “I don’t know if it’s the late hours or just how quickly we have to do it, but there’s always kooky kookiness.” She adds, “It really is a celebration of the theater community.”

Before the production and in between plays, musician and composer Eileen Kuo will perform. ere’ll also be donated beer from Hampline Brewery, popcorn, and cotton candy.

24 Hour Plays, eatreWorks@Evergreen, Saturday, June 29, 7 p.m.

Exhibition Lecture: Hidden in Plain Sight: Reconsidering the South’s Role in Modern American Art

Exhibition curator Dr. Jonathan Stuhlman will discuss how “Southern/ Modern” was conceived and organized, and introduce the key artists and themes found in the show.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, July 14, 2-4 p.m.

“Christian Siriano: People Are People” Inspired Pattern Making Workshop with Jayla Slater

Teaching artist Jayla Slater leads a hands-on fashion workshop and explore fashion as a designer.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, July 24, 5:30 p.m.

A Fashion History Tour of “Christian Siriano: People Are People” with Ali Bush

Get an inside look at how fashion

history informs contemporary designers like Christian Siriano from Ali Bush’s point of view, in the “People Are People” exhibit.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, August 1, 6-7 p.m.

Art on the Rocks: Garden Cocktails & Cra Beer (21+)

Art on the Rocks brings botanical cocktails, cra beer, wine, and more together in the gardens. Guests will enjoy a variety of drink tastings, bites from local restaurants, and live music.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, September 6, 6-9 p.m.

6x6 Art Show-Canvas for a Cause

Join the UrbanArt Commission for the 6x6 Art Show-Canvas for a Cause where artists showcase their talent on small canvases to support a great cause.

UrbanArt Commision, September 12,6-8 p.m.

Clandestine Creative Club

On any given ursday evening, if you walk into the back of the Ink erapy, you’ll nd a group of artists — hobbyists and those looking to break into the scene professionally alike — working on their cra , whether it’s drawing, painting, graphic design, jewelry-making, or crochet. ey call themselves the Clandestine Creative Club, and anyone’s welcome to join.

e founder of the club Noah Womack, who also goes by the artist name Braincrumbs, says he was inspired by a similar club called the Grind Shop that only lasted about a summer in Memphis a few years ago. “Artists would come together and work on projects,” he says. “A er that ended, I think everybody was kind of missing that. And then a er the pandemic, there was really a lack of community, and everybody felt very isolated and distanced. And I know, especially for a lot of my artist friends, especially a er the pandemic, with a lot of their social anxiety, it was really hard to get out and meet people and get together a er the pandemic. So a er feeling that for several years, I wanted to put it back together.”

So last summer as David Yancy’s Ink erapy was still getting its licensing in order, the tattoo shop opened its doors to the club which held meetings there for a while until the business opened. “ is January, [Yancy] had bought that additional back room and had built a little area for us in the back,” Womack says. “So he invited me to start it back up, and so we’ve been doing it ever since then.”

e weekly meetings are free and non-committal, with members so far ranging in ages 19 to 35. “I consider anybody who’s been to the club meeting at least once to be an o cial club member,” Womack says.

Recently, the club started having theme nights, such as a “Clay Day” and an “Everybody Draw Everybody” night. “People seem to be a lot more engaged during those nights,” Womack says. “So I think I’d like to do some of those more o en.”

Clandestine Creative Club, Ink erapy, 485 N. Hollywood, ursdays, 7-9:30 p.m. Keep up with the club on Instagram (@clandestinecreativeclub).

PHOTO: COURTESY INK THERAPY

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

‘Prison Buddies’

By Abigail Morici

In 2012, Mark Loughney committed a crime in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and went to prison for 10 years for it. He hurt people, he knows and regrets as he looks back, but during his time, he rediscovered his humanity and that of the men incarcerated with him through drawing their portraits by the hundreds. To see those portraits side by side, even just 20 of them, “was really overwhelming to me. And I realized that people need to see that we are people still in prison. And that even though we’re somewhat voiceless, that we can still have a bit of a voice in a way,” Loughney said in an interview with Just City’s Permanent Record podcast.

ose portraits went on to be featured in galleries across the country, including MoMA, and in publications like e New Yorker and e Atlantic. Some of the portraits are on permanent display in Just City’s o ce here in Memphis.

“He uses his art to deliver the same kind of message that we are trying to deliver at Just City,” says Josh Spickler, Just City’s executive director. at message is one of accountability and one of reforming the justice system to be based in fairness. Since hearing Loughney’s story, Just City has kept in touch with the artist, who has been released and still works on justice-inspired art.

In fact, some of his work is now on display at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in his “Prison Buddies” exhibition. Unlike the realistic drawings that drew attention to him initially, most of these works are cartoonish portraits of those incarcerated, with a dark sense of humor. “ ey’re kind of like caricatures of people’s personalities,” Loughney said to Just City. “It kind of spread to people that I was in prison with, who saw them and asked me to do a version of them. And that’s how it all started. And I started to see this real value in them, that there’s such a relatability because they’re very childlike, but they hold such content that is otherwise hard to bridge with people, to talk about these issues like mass incarceration.”

“[Mark] is not alone,” Spickler adds, “in that there are people who are in prisons and they have talent and they have other people who love them. at’s the main reason why we wanted to bring his artwork here — because it helps us think more deeply about what we do as a community when one of us harms another. Mark harmed people, and he was held accountable for it. But he was able to maintain some of his humanity for his art. And we need to work really hard to make sure that that is possible way more o en.”

You can listen to Spickler interview Loughney on the Permanent Record wherever you get your podcasts. Check out episodes 45 and 58.

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES June 20th - 26th

Tropical Garden Party (21+)

Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry, Friday, June 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m., $35/MBG members, $45/ nonmembers

Kick o your summer with a trip to the tropics. Sip tropical-themed cocktails as you stroll through the new Youth Education and Tropical Plant House and see some of the plants that give you your favorite summer sips. Plus attendees can enjoy small bites and create tropical treasures to take home with hands-on activities.

Purchase tickets at membg.org/ events/tropical-garden-party-21/.

MOXY Memphis Downtown’s Puppy Pride Parade Court Square, 40 North Front, Saturday, June 22, noon Sing, dance, and slay all day with your furry friends. Expect a Doggy Drag Contest and more.

Time Warp Drive-In | Odd Noir: e Dark Comic Crime Films of the Coen Brothers Malco Summer Drive-In, 5310 Summer, Saturday, June 22, 7:45 p.m., $25/carload, 18+

Time Warp Drive-In celebrates the strange, surreal cinema universe of legendary cult directors Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly referred to as the Coen Brothers. For over 40 years, they’ve brought their vivid storytelling vision and unique lmmaking style to dozens of legendary, award-winning lms, gaining critical acclaim and a legion of devoted fans.

Descend into three of their best “ lm noir” crime movies: e Big Lebowski (1998), Fargo (1996), and No Country for Old Men (2007).

Gates open at 7 p.m., rst lm at 7:45 p.m. Arrive early to visit the Holtermonster booth for original posters.

Meet the Author: Tara M. Stringfellow Novel, 387 Perkins Ext., Monday, June 24, 6 p.m.

Novel welcomes Tara M. Stringfellow in conversation with Kontji Anthony to celebrate the release of her new book Magic Enu : Poems. In it are radiant poems that celebrate Black Southern womanhood and the many ways magic lives in the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters, from the bestselling author of Memphis Blood Drive

Belltower Co eehouse and Studio, 6903 Great View, Wednesday, June 26, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-7332767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter “Belltower” to schedule an appointment. All presenting donors will receive a $20 Amazon gi card and a Red Cross T-shirt while supplies last.

“PRISON BUDDIES,” GOODWYN GALLERY AT BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY, 3030 POPLAR, ON DISPLAY THROUGH JUNE 30.

PHOTO: ABIGAIL MORICI On display at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library

By Alex Greene

Back to the Future

Chris Milam’s album sizzles with power pop anthems that evoke his teen years.

You can trace the shi s in Chris Milam’s songwriting style through the type of guitar he’s opted to play over the course of his three albums. And music fans who’ve come to appreciate the more sparse Americana of his rst two albums, Kids ese Days and Meanwhile, will hear the change immediately when they play his latest album, Orchid South. e songs mine an anthemic, power pop vein that he’s hinted at before, but never embraced to this degree. And of course, with power pop comes the sound of electric guitars. In this case, the triple guitar team of Milam, Steve Selvidge, and Luke White.

Electric guitar has always been in Milam’s toolbox, but never in quite this way. “In the lead up to making Kids ese Days, and then touring that album in 2017, I was playing solo electric. ere’s a lot of acoustic guitar on there, too, but the main guitar you hear me playing on that album is a hollow body, Gibson-sounding, reverbedout electric. So yeah, there was a couple years there where I was doing a fair amount of electric playing — in solo shows. But then I shi ed to acoustic surrounding Meanwhile.” at sophomore e ort, released in 2020, was a sparse masterpiece of which Milam said at the time, “I inadvertently wrote a good album for quarantine, honestly. It’s basically 10 di erent versions of how we deal with loss, or survive being in limbo.” Along with that pensive mood came pensive music, with acoustic guitar at its foundation.

Now that’s all changed.

“For this one, I don’t know, maybe this is impolitic to say,” he says, “but I’ve just been bored to tears by so many singer-songwriter albums” with acoustic guitar at their heart. “I just was like, I think that you can discuss weighty topics and still make an album that is fun and dynamic and that people actually want to listen to.”

And that’s a fair description of Orchid South, which seems custom-made to burst from radio speakers while blasting down the highway on a hot summer night. “I’ve always been a big fan of power pop from the 1970s and alt-rock of the 1990s,” he says. “ at was the stu that I was listening to when I rst picked up a guitar and when I rst really fell in love with music. at was really the soundtrack of my adolescence.”

Yet it wasn’t until recently that Milam, now 40,

Curell, Coppertone Methodist methadone

Four-way

speakerphone, I’m alone Acting like an extrovert Acting like it doesn’t hurt Overthinking every word to be heard To be heard

— “Out” by Chris Milam, from the album Orchid South

felt he could address those years with the proper tone and voice. And the tone, he knew, would have to be full of jangle and crunch. Who better to bring that sound than Selvidge and White?

“Most of the lead guitar is Steve, and all the 12-string Rickenbacker guitar is Luke, kind of on the le channel. With Steve on the right. I added rhythm guitar, for the most part.” Moreover, the album gains its immediacy and energy by virtue of having largely been tracked live, with the players all in the same room. “At the heart of the album, the core band was Shawn Zorn on drums, Mark Stuart on bass, and then me and Luke. And then Steve came in for an overdub day, and the horns [Art Edmaiston and Marc Franklin] did an overdub day. And that was pretty much it.”

e end product is a big, radiofriendly sound that conjures up the longings and impulsiveness of adolescence. And ironically, though Meanwhile came out during the onset of Covid, this album is even more of a product of that time.

“A good chunk of the album was written during quarantine,” Milam says. “And I was probably going a little stir crazy and wanting to be loud and kick out the jams.”

Yet he was also applying his more nely-honed writerly chops to an earlier version of himself, the young man listening to alternative radio in the ’90s. “When I was a teenager, growing up in Memphis, I was listening to 96X [FM],” he recalls. ““Hey Jealousy’ was one of the rst songs I learned on guitar, and there’s a lot of Gin Blossoms in uence on this album.” But there was more to evoking his youth than turning his amp up to 11.

“My earlier stu had been more in the Americana or folk realm, and so the lyrics were a little bit more of that narrative style,” re ects Milam. “But when I was a teenager, I didn’t really experience things in that way. It was all very heightened emotions, very ampli ed feelings, and everything was just evocative and impressionist. at was the type of writing I did when I was that age and I wanted to get back to that again, but hopefully do a better job on it. Instead of narrative lyrics, I wanted stu that had more freshness, or was a little bit more evocative. at makes emotional sense, even though it doesn’t necessarily make literal sense.”

Chris Milam is in the midst of a national solo tour now, but will celebrate the release of Orchid South with a full band at Railgarten on Saturday, August 10th, with Alexis Grace opening.

PHOTO: LISA MAC. BELOW PHOTO: TOMMY KHA Chris Milam

Coast Guard Band

Concert

e U.S. Coast Guard Band is celebrated as one of the world’s nest concert bands, o ering a diverse repertoire that spans from wind ensemble classics to Broadway show tunes and patriotic marches.

Saturday, June 22, 7 p.m.

CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

DJ Nico

Classically trained in viola and voice, DJ Nico has used both talents to ultimately create her own unique signature. Friday, June 21, 9 p.m.

EIGHT & SAND

George Birge, Ryan Larkins

Kix on Beale celebrates 20 years of bringing music to historic Beale Street. is season will bring six free country acts to Beale Street’s Handy Park. All ages are welcome. Free. ursday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.

HANDY PARK

Grace Pettis

Saturday, June 22, 6:30 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

Live & Local Music

Live and local music, every Wednesday night on the all-weather patio. Wednesday, June 26, 7-10 p.m.

MOMMA’S

Ross al Ghul

e member of BodyWerk spins dreamy, ambient energies. Saturday, June 22, 9 p.m.

EIGHT & SAND

Songwriter Night

Kenn Lynn, Dave Christen, Sande Lollis, and Chris Weir perform original music for you. Friday, June 21, 9 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

T Jarrod Bonta Trio

Sunday, June 23, 3 p.m.

HUEY’S DOWNTOWN

AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule June 20 - 26

Al Kapone The Blues Rap Mane Listening Party

Includes an album listening session, live performance, video screening and discussion with Craig Brewer and Jared “Jay-B” Boyd moderating. Saturday, June 22, 4 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Almost Famous Friday, June 21, 10 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Area 51

Saturday, June 22, 9 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Ask Dylan Friday, June 21, 8 p.m.

B-SIDE

Autolith

With Pressed, Chora, Skinwraith [Small RoomDownstairs]. Saturday, June 22, 8 p.m. HI TONE

Bad Beaches: Hot Girl Summer

An evening of pulsating beats and invigorating energy. 18+. Saturday, June 22, 9:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

5 O’Clock Shadow

Tuesday, June 25, 6 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

Matt “Heartbreak” Hill Trio

Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S POPLAR

The Bugaloos

Sunday, June 23, 3 p.m.

HUEY’S POPLAR

Van Duren

e singer/songwriter, a pioneer of indie pop in Memphis, performs solo. ursday, June 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

MORTIMER’S

Aberrant

With Godbody . Sunday, June 23, 11 p.m.

B-SIDE

Beat Battle on the Bluff Vol. 15

An epic producer battle, live performances, unique vendors, delicious food, and amazing drinks. Friday, June 21, 7 p.m. GROWLERS

Belvedere Chamber Music Festival

Produced by Luna Nova Music to feature masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries and new works by young, aspiring composers. Visit belvederefestival.org. Free.

Wed.-Sat. evenings at 7 p.m. and Fri.-Sat. a ernoons at 3 p.m. rough June 22.

GRACE-ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Big Clown With Whippets, Alicja Trout. Saturday, June 22, 9:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

David Collins Acoustic Septet

Collins has demonstrated a knack for inhabiting the interstices between classical, jazz, rock, and “new music.”

Tuesday, June 25, 9:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

Dead Soldiers: Sad Songs and Story Time

Featuring many of the group’s least-performed songs and unique arrangements of existing songs in their live repertoire. Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Devil Train

More than just a jam band, this group brings an old-world vibe to originals that could have sprung from the groovy ’70s. Bluegrass, roots, country, Delta blues, and ski e ursday, June 20, 10 p.m.

B-SIDE

Dope On Arrival

With Art Bully, Ash Leon, Big Pap Da Mic Killa, Fullers Bad Mon.E, Preacherman, Queen THC, Sleepy J Barksdale, Terrance Love ,Trina Machelle, Twuan G Yung CTV. Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.

GROWLERS

Emo Memphis [Big Room-Upstairs]

“Wet Hot Emo-rican Summer.” Saturday, June 22, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

Handsome Girl Pretty Boy

Presented by Women in Memphis Music (WiMM). With Rebecca Dunfrey. Wednesday, June 26, 8 p.m.

B-SIDE

Jadewick

With Family Medicine, Anemoia, Banales [Small Room-Downstairs] ursday, June 20, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

J.D. Warren & The Rudiment Helmed by husband and wife duo drummer Jeremy Warren and vocalist Dermel Warren, they play original music and

arrangements of standards. Saturday, June 22, 8-9:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

J.D. Westmoreland Band Monday, June 24, 10 p.m.

B-SIDE

Joe Restivo 4 Sunday, June 23, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Jombi

With e Hypocrites [Big Room-Upstairs]. Friday, June 21, 8:30 p.m.

HI TONE

Lance & Madison Tuesday, June 25, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)

Friday, June 21, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Lucky 7 Brass Band Friday, June 21, 8 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Magnolias

An American roots and folk project featuring Marcella Simien and Anne Harris. ursday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Marcella Simien & Her Lovers

Saturday, June 22, 8 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Max & the Magics Sunday, June 23, 3 p.m.

HUEY’S MIDTOWN

Mighty Souls Brass Band ursday, June 20, 6:30 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

MVP3 Presents ‘Let’s Come Together’: Unplugged with Billy Falcon Falcon uses words and music to convey life’s beauty and fragility, the joy and the heartache, the disappointment, and, always, the hope. $25/member, $30/general admission. Wednesday, June 26, 6-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Nick Allison Players Lounge

With Walt Phelan and DJ

Walt Phelan

Friday, June 21, 11 p.m. B-SIDE

Live In Studio A: 926

Stax Music Academy Alumni Band e Summer Series, every Tuesday a ernoon. Tuesday, June 25, 2-4 p.m.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

Shake the Monday Blues

Your Monday reset has arrived. $10/general admission. Monday, June 24, 6-8 p.m.

SMOOTH LIVING RESTAURANT

The Double D’s Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S SOUTHWIND

Andrew McCalla. Saturday, June 22, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Owlbear

With Half Slice, Wicker [Small Room-Downstairs] Friday, June 21, 7 p.m.

HI TONE

Qemist and Strooly Friday, June 21, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Rock the Boat ursday, June 20, 7 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Scott Sudbury Sunday, June 23, 3 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

SmithSeven World Pants Tour

With Woodsage, Wicker, ¡El Chavos! Proceeds go to Planned Parenthood. ursday, June 20, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Sweet Lizzy Project e anthemic rock band was featured on PBS’ Havana Time Machine and in an artist prole on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Swingtime Explosion Big Band

Monday, June 24, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Talibah Safiya

Sa ya is bridging the gap between the original blues and new expressions of it. Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

The ShotGunBillys

High energy southern rock with a rm country handshake. Sunday, June 23, 7 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Vinyl Happy Hour

With guest DJs every ursday. ursday, June 20, 3-5 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Void

With Savage Attack, Vermin Fate, Anaphylactic Shock [Small Room-Downstairs].

Tuesday, June 25, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Wendell Wells & The Big Americans Honky tonk, cow jazz, barn burnin blues. Saturday, June 22, 5 p.m.

MARGARITAS MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Concerts in The Grove: Cyrena Wages e legendary country-soul tradition of Memphis is in her blood. $7. ursday, June 20, 6:30 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Duane Cleveland Trio

Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S COLLIERVILLE

Ethan Smith Band

Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S MILLINGTON

Java Trio

Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S CORDOVA

The Ken Houston Duo Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S OLIVE BRANCH

Memphis Blues Society Weekly Jam

Hosted by Jackie Flora & Friends. ursday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.

ROCKHOUSE LIVE

The Pretty Boys Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S GERMANTOWN

Richard Wilson Soulful Blues

Live and smooth. Friday, June 21, noon-2 p.m. | Tuesday, June 25, noon-2 p.m.

JACKIE MAE’S PLACE

Singer Songwriter

Sundays

Enjoy some of the areas best local musicians every Sunday. Sunday, June 23, 4-6 p.m.

MEDDLESOME BREWING COMPANY

Tony Holiday Trio

Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m.

HUEY’S MILLINGTON

PHOTO: LOGAN SCHALL Dead Soldiers

CALENDAR of EVENTS: June 20 - 26

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“Between Heaven and Earth, We Build Our Home”

“Between Heaven And Earth, We Build Our Home” explores themes of ancestry, immigration, and homemaking in an exhibition featuring AAPI artists from Memphis and the South. rough June 20.

URBAN ART COMMISSION

“Bracelets, Bangles, and Cuffs: 1948-2024”

A remarkable collection of contemporary bracelets. rough Nov. 17.

METAL MUSEUM

“Branching Out”

Discover intricate connections between students, teachers, and casting communities, which branch out much like a family tree. rough Sept. 8.

METAL MUSEUM

CBU: 2024 Spring BFA Exhibition

esis exhibition for graduating seniors in the department of visual arts at Christian Brothers University. rough June 30.

BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY

Dr. Gopal Murti:

“Finding Beauty in Everything I See”

Murti’s art is eclectic in terms of style, subject, medium, and substrate. rough July 1.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Everyday People: Snapshots of The Black Experience”

A photography exhibition showcasing Memphis artist Eric Echols’ photo collection of 20th-century African Americans. rough July 14.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

Freida Hamm: “Storytelling”

Capturing colorful, languid moments just a er dawn and just before dusk, when the day’s light does its dance. rough July 13.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“It’s All Relative”

Sicilian/Puerto Rican postsurrealist sculptor Morgan Lugo uses permanent materials, such as bronze, to speak to the lasting e ects of past experiences. rough July 7.

METAL MUSEUM

“Memphis 2024”

Experience visual art in various genres and media from artists across Memphis. Free. rough June 30.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Mission: Astronaut”

Get a taste of life as an astronaut, using skills like engineering, physics, teamwork, and fun! rough Sept. 2.

MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“People Are People” is exhibition honors famed American designer Christian Siriano’s electrifying contributions to fashion. rough Aug. 4.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Sisters of the Brush and a Brother Present “An Eclectic Mix”

Paintings by Sisters of the Brush — Phyllis Boger, Ann Brown omason, Barrie Skoda Foster, and Jana Jones

— and a brother, Patrick McGee. rough June 30.

ST. GEORGE’S ART GALLERY AT ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Sowgand

Sheikholeslami:

“Progression” is show ranges from enigmatic gures set within interior spaces to boldly painted still lifes and abstract landscapes. rough July 7.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Summer Art Garden:

“Creatures of Paradise” Memphis-based duo Banana Plastik present an environment lled with vibrant and whimsical beings. rough Oct. 26.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“The Real & Imagined”

New work from Erin Harmon and Kong Wee Pang delving into imaginary environments and creations. Through June 22.

SHEET CAKE

“Threading Legacies”: A Tribute to Black Women

Quilters in Memphis

“ reading Legacies” celebrates resilience, artistry, and community through Black women’s quilts, weaving personal and communal histories. rough June 28.

COSSITT LIBRARY - DOWNTOWN

MEMPHIS

“Whimsy & Wonder”: Bartlett Art Association

Exhibition

Enjoy the Bartlett Art Association’s use of pixels and palettes. rough June 29.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

ART HAPPENINGS

Munch and Learn:

Shawna White, “Stories of Colorcopia” White’s favorite art, stories, and re ections from the Colorcopia program. Wednesday, June 26, noon-1 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

BOOK EVENTS

Ace Atkins: Don’t Let the Devil Ride In conversation with Andria Lisle. Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m. NOVEL

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENT LISTINGS, SCAN THE QR CODE OR VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

PHOTO: COURTESY METAL MUSEUM

“Bracelets, Bangles and Cu s: 1948-2024” at Metal Museum; Christer Jonsson, Cupido, Horn of Plenty

Allison Alsup: Foreign Seed

Novel welcomes Allison Alsup in celebration of her new book, an exquisitelyresearched debut novel set in China, ca. 1918. ursday, June 20, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

Boyce Upholt on The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi In conversation with Erik Houston of Wolf River Conservancy. Tuesday, June 25, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

I Believe In You: The Incredible Journey of R&B Legend Johnnie Taylor

With author Greg Hasty. Tuesday, June 25, 7 p.m.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL

MUSIC

Tara M. Stringfellow: Magic Enuff

Radiant poems that celebrate Black Southern womanhood and the many ways magic lives in the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters, from the bestselling author of Memphis. Monday, June 24, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

The Book Mixer

Get ready for a lit night at e Book Mixer. $10/general admission. Sunday, June 23, 5 p.m. THE COVE

CLASS / WORKSHOP

Health and Enamel Community Quilt Project

Participate in cra ing an Enameled Community Quilt, in the spirit of the AIDS Memorial Quilt project and recent Cancer Quilt projects. Ages: 15+. Saturday, June 22, 9 a.m.-noon.

METAL MUSEUM

Homely Gnomes

heads, and causes uproarious laughter. $15. Saturday, June 22, 7 p.m.

MEMPHIS CLOVER CLUB

COMMUNITY

Daddy’s Sons & Daughters Conference

A healing and empowerment conference for the abandoned and the abused. ursday, June 20, 1-3:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 10:30-11 a.m. | Saturday, June 22, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

GREATER FAITH TABERNACLE

Memphis Rose Society

First Annual Rose Social Meet fellow rose enthusiasts, get a tour of the Rose Garden, and bring a favorite dish to share if desired. Sunday, June 23, 2 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Moxy Memphis Downtown’s Puppy Pride Parade

Get ready to sing, dance, and slay all day with your furry friends at the second annual Puppy Pride Parade. Saturday, June 22, noon-3 p.m.

PHOTO: COURTESY METAL MUSEUM

Becky Zee shows how to construct your own gnome using a simple slab of clay and various accessories. $77. Sunday, June 23, 1-4 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Learn How to Make Metahumans

A workshop with Unreal Engine Memphis on epicgames. com. Free. Saturday, June 22, 4-5 p.m.

ONLINE

Making a Mini Quilt

A Hobby Kick-Start session with Christen Parker (ages 16+). ursday, June 20, 6 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

North Mississippi Caregiver Conference Caregivers, families, and professionals a ected by Alzheimer’s or dementia are invited to Belden, MS. Free. ursday, June 20, 8:30 a.m.3:30 p.m.

BELDEN CONFERENCE CENTER

“Bracelets, Bangles and Cu s: 1948-2024” at Metal Museum; Benjamin Dory, Orbit Bracelet

COMEDY

Comedy Open Mic

Hosted by John Miller. $10. Tuesday, June 25, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Sam Jay

e stand-up comic, actor, and Emmy-nominated writer can currently be seen as the host of HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. $25-$40. Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, June 21, 10 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 10 p.m. | Sunday, June 23, 8 p.m.

CHUCKLES COMEDY HOUSE

Saturday Night Showcase is underground comedy show, hosted by Tylon Monger, boasts a diverse and interesting lineup each week that cracks smiles, shakes

MOXY MEMPHIS DOWNTOWN

Quarterly Podbox Festival

Join the Podcast Meetup for an evening of inspiration, collaboration, and connection. Saturday, June 22, 6-9 p.m.

COSSITT LIBRARY

DANCE

Argentine Tango Mini-Lesson & Practica

Mariallan and James conduct a short tango class directed at beginning dancers (5:30-6:15 p.m.), followed by a guided practica (6:15-7:30 p.m.). $15/lesson and practica, $10/practica. Sunday, June 23, 5:30 p.m.

THEATREWORKS

Bad Beaches: Hot Girl Summer

An evening of pulsating beats and invigorating energy. 18+ Saturday, June 22, 9:30 p.m. BLACK LODGE

Line Dancing with Q Line dancing with the one and only Q. Tuesday, June 25, 6-9 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

Nineties Club Night! Get lost under the lights of the dance oor with a nonstop ow of ’90s imagery and visuals, while spinning the most unforgettable music of the decade, including pop, rock, techno, grunge, hip-hop and rap, and classic ’90s club music. Friday, June 21, 9:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

continued on page 20

continued from page 19

Swing for Spring

New beginner swing dance series. Try just one type or learn all four. $80/general admission. Tuesday, June 25, 6-7 p.m.

CAT’S BALLROOM

EXPO/SALES

Southern Flea Market

Admission is $2. Saturday, June 22, 8 a.m. | Sunday, June 23, 9 a.m.

LANDERS CENTER

Summer Solstice Artists Market

Free pop-up market at Memphis Made Brewery in Cooper Young. Sip craft beer and shop local handicrafts from Memphis artists. Featuring pottery, jewelry, art, curios, and more. Saturday, June 22, 1-7 p.m.

MEMPHIS MADE BREWING COMPANY

Summer Sundays: Plant Sale & Swap Shop and swap plants. Free. Sunday, June 23, noon

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

FAMILY

Drop-In Family Day:

Wolf River Watershed

Educators from the Wolf River Conservancy will present a display of native flora and fauna. Then, paint your own watercolor landscape to take home. Wednesday, June 26, 10:30 a.m.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY

Family Yoga at the Garden

A fun way for parents to bond with their kids. Please bring a mat and water. Free with MBG admission. Monday, June 24, 10-11 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Kaleidoscope Club (ages 5-9)

Each week, participants will enjoy an art or horticulture project that sparks creativity and critical thinking. Wednesday, June 26, 4 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Mini Masters (ages 2-4)

Introduce your little ones to the arts and nature with crafts, movement, and more.

$8. Tuesday, June 25, 10:3011:15 a.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Morgan Lugo-Inspired Future Fossils

What do you think fossils from our age will look like?

In this workshop we will make plaster relief sculptures exploring this idea. Ages 15+ (6+ with supervision). Saturday, June 22, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM

Psychology Day Camp for High School Students

Sample classes such as Psychology of Games, Memory and Problem-solving, Prejudice and Stereotyping, Autism, and Psychology of Artificial Intelligence. $150.

Monday, June 24, 8:30 a.m.5:15 p.m. | Tuesday, June 25, 8:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m.

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY

Story Time

Enjoy stories, songs, art activities, and creative play that connect with Collierville history. Friday, June 21, 10:30 a.m.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY

Story Time at Novel

Recommended for children up to 5 years, Story Time at Novel includes songs and stories, featuring brand-new books in addition to wellloved favorites. Saturday, June 22, 10:30 a.m. | Wednesday, June 26, 10:30 a.m.

NOVEL

World Giraffe Day

Learn about animals who are facing peril in the wild, and how they live at the zoo. Friday, June 21, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

MEMPHIS ZOO

FESTIVAL

Love Well Festival

Redeemers Group launched the Love Well Initiative in 2015 to give back to the communities they serve. Free.

Saturday, June 22, 8-11 a.m.

SEMMES MURPHEY CLINIC

FILM

Chinatown 50th

Anniversary Screening

In Chinatown, Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson smolder against the backdrop of circa 1937 Los Angeles, depicted as a hotbed of corruption in a narrative firmly grounded in historical reality. $10/member, $15/general admission. Sunday, June 23, 2-4 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Repo Man

Alex Cox’s 1984 film about a young punk in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge $20,000 bounty — and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk. Rated R. $5. Thursday, June 20, 7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut 25th Anniversary

When Stan Marsh and his friends go see an R-rated movie, they start cursing and their parents think that Canada is to blame. Sunday, June 23, 4 p.m. | Wednesday, June 26, 7 p.m.

MALCO PARADISO CINEMA GRILL & IMAX

Space: The New Frontier 2D

From self-assembling habitats, commercial space stations, and rockets without fuel to the Lunar Gateway to deep space. Through May 23, 2025.

MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

Sweet Home Alabama

The latest from the Overton Square Movie Series. Thursday, June 20, 6 p.m. OVERTON SQUARE

CALENDAR:

JUNE 20 - 26

Time Warp Drive-In:

Odd Noir: The Dark Comic Crime Films of the Coen Bros.

Screening Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and No Country for Old Men. $25/carload.

Saturday, June 22, 7 p.m.

MALCO SUMMER 4 DRIVE-IN

FOOD AND DRINK

Canoes + Cocktails

A guided sunset paddle on the lake followed by specialty cocktails provided by Old Dominick, snacks from Cheffie’s, yard games, and music. Friday, June 21, 7 p.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market

A weekly outdoor market featuring local farmers (no resellers), artisans, and live music. Saturday, June 22, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Dinner & Music Cruise

A two-hour cruise on Ol’ Man River with live entertainment and a meal. $50. Friday, June 21, 7:30-9:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS

Food Truck Fridays

Grab a bite from a local food truck and enjoy lunch in the beautiful Dixon gardens.

Friday, June 21, 11:30 a.m.1:30 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Happy Hour in the Grove

With drink specials curated by master mixologist Brad Pitts. Friday, June 21, 5 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Memphis Farmers Market

A weekly outdoor market featuring local farmers and artisans, live music, and fun activities. Saturday, June 22, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

MEMPHIS FARMERS MARKET

Pop-Up Summer Solstice Market

Sip on refreshing craft brews and support the local creative community on the longest Saturday of the year. Saturday, June 22, 1-7 p.m.

MEMPHIS MADE BREWING COMPANY

Sunday Blues Lunch

Have a meal while cruising down the Mississippi River! Enjoy the blues band while you take in the Memphis skyline. $50. Sunday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS

Tropical Garden Party

Sip tropical-themed cocktails in the new Youth Education and Tropical Plant House and see some of the plants that give you your favorite summer sips. 21+ only. $45. Friday, June 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

HEALTH AND FITNESS FIT4Mom

Stroller Strides and Stroller Barre workouts. Thursday, June 20, 9:30 a.m. | Tuesday, June 25, 9:30 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Free Sana Yoga

This all-levels flow class will leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Free. Tuesday, June 25, 11-11:45 a.m.

COMEBACK COFFEE

Get Outside! Les Mills

Bodycombat

A high-energy, no-contact, martial arts-inspired workout using moves from karate, taekwondo, boxing, Muay Thai, capoeira, and kung fu. Wednesday, June 26, 8 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Guided Nature Walk

Join a Lichterman nature center naturalist on a themed guided walk around the property. Saturday, June 22, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

LICHTERMAN NATURE CENTER

Hustle & Flow Step

Get movin’ and groovin’ at free hip-hop step aerobics led by instructor Ayanna on Wednesdays. Bring your own stepper, borrow one, or get steppin’ without one.

PHOTO: MATTHEW MURPHY, MURPHYMADE

Touring cast and band members of Come From Away

Yoga in the Park Stretch, strengthen, and unwind after your work day with a free yoga class. Free. Wednesday, June 26, 5:306:15 p.m.

HEALTH SCIENCES PARK

Yoga on the River Candace guides your yoga journey along the mighty Mississippi. Free. Tuesday, June 25, 6-7 p.m.

RIVER GARDEN

LECTURE

Gallery Talk: Michael Butler Jr.

Free. Wednesday, June 26, 6-7 p.m.

TOM LEE PARK

Lunchtime Meditations

Clear your mind and improve your overall health with free meditation sessions every Friday. Friday, June 21, noon-12:45 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Pickleball 101

Teens and adults can learn the game on courts in the Benjamin L. Hooks Library parking lot. Tuesday, June 25, 6-7:30 p.m.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

Slow Your Roll | Saturday Morning Meditation

Some morning mindfulness, led by the experienced mindfulness educator Greg Graber. Free. Saturday, June 22, 8-8:30 a.m.

CHICKASAW GARDENS PARK

Sound Bath Meditations

Kristina Brack leads this session that includes winding down with crystal sound bowls while laying down in nature. Thursday, June 20, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Tai Chi

Instructor Marjean teaches gentle moves that will strengthen and calm body, mind, and soul. Thursday, June 20, 7 a.m.

OVERTON PARK

Taijiquan with Milan Vigil

Led by Milan Vigil, this Chinese martial art promotes relaxation, improves balance, and provides no-impact aerobic benefits. Ages 16 and older. Free. Saturday, June 22, 10:3011:30 a.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Yoga

Strengthen your yoga practice and enjoy the health benefits of light exercise with yoga instructors Laura Gray McCann. Free. Thursday, June 20, 6-6:45 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Hear from a filmmaker and photographer based in Memphis, known for his captivating visual storytelling. $20.

Saturday, June 22, 2 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“I made this jar for cash”: The Long History of Ceramics With Gerald Ward, lecturer. Drawing on his experiences with the collections at the Yale University Art Gallery, Winterthur Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ward will examine some key trends in the long history of ceramics, focusing in particular on the Anglo-American tradition and some new avenues and opportunities for collecting and research. Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

PERFORMING ARTS

Monday Night Poetry Set by Perform901

An immersive celebration of the written word, where the beauty of language comes alive. Monday, June 24, 7:30 p.m.

HI TONE

Sinners’ Sunday Mass

The reverent oracle, FairySpit, leads you though an evocative invocation of pleasure and pride. Burlesque with Felicity Fox, Mona Ford, Ruby LaRue, Polly Popjoy, Blanca, Frankie LaFemme. [Small RoomDownstairs]. Sunday, June 23, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Starlight Cabaret

Dru’s Bar welcomes you to the Starlight Cabaret, hosted by Brenda Newport. Friday, June 21, 9 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 9 p.m. | Rising Stars: DMA’s “LGBTRL Edition,” Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

SPECIAL EVENTS

Morrighan’s Bluff, Amtgard of Memphis Morrighan’s Bluff is the Memphis chapter of the Amtgard medieval/fantasy live action roleplay game. Join the adventure. Padded weapon combat, quests

and adventure, arts and crafts, tournaments and competitions, family friendly, LGBTQ friendly. Free. Saturday, June 22, noon. W. J. FREEMAN PARK

SPORTS

2024 Pickleball 901 Summer Series

Enjoy some food and beer with friends and family and two days of pickleball in the parking lot of Grind City Brewing Co. Saturday, June 22, noon-8 p.m. | Sunday, June 23, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

GRIND CITY BREWING CO.

Get Outside! Les Mills Body Combat

A high-energy martial arts-inspired workout that is totally non-contact. Punch and kick your way to fitness. No experience needed. Learn moves from Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai, Capoeira and Kung Fu. Release stress, have a blast and feel like a champ. Monday, June 24, 6 p.m. | Wednesday, June 26, 8 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Memphis Redbirds vs. the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp NZO will throw the first pitch on June 22nd. $22, $86. Thursday, June 20, 7 p.m. | Friday, June 21, 7 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 6:30 p.m. | Sunday, June 23, 1 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

Open Water Swim Clinics

Get tips, advice, and training from professional swim and triathlon coaches. Sunday, June 23, 6:30 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Race: Buffvelo Crit Series

Cyclists compete for the The Buffvelo Hammer trophy. Wednesday, June 26, 5 p.m.

SHELBY FARMS

Redeemers Group Lovewell 5K 7th annual Lovewell 5K in support of Serenity Recovery Center! The Love Well 5k & Festival was created to be intentional in creating a way to bring larger scale awareness and fundraising for Memphis-based charitable organizations. $25/5K, $25/ghost runner (for those who can’t be there on race day but want to contribute or want to order/pick-up T-shirt only.) Saturday, June 22, 8:30-11 a.m.

SEMMES MURPHEY CLINIC

U.S. Mounted Shooting

The USMS Nationals & Elite Shootout. Friday, June 21-June 23

AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL

Wrestling Night at AutoZone Park Wrestlers from Memphis Wrestling will duel in a pair of matches. After the game, WWE veteran NZO will team up with Rockey the Rockin’ Redbird in the Championship Main Event match. Saturday, June 22, 5 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

THEATER

About Damn Time

Bianca McMillian takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride through the highs and lows of life’s defining moments in this one-woman show. Saturday, June 22-June 23, 7 p.m.

THE EVERGREEN THEATRE

Cinderella

The classic saga of rags to romance is wonderfully captured with all the wonderment of a fairy tale. A mistreated young girl finds her way to a prince’s ball with the help of a Fairy Godmother’s spell. The Prince and the girl fall immediately in love, but, fearful of her true identity being discovered when the spell expires, the girl flees and in her haste loses a glass slipper on the castle staircase. Thus ensues a search for her and a happy ever after ending. Through June 30.

THEATRE MEMPHIS

Come From Away

This New York Times Critics’ Pick tells the true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland

CALENDAR:

JUNE 20 - 26

Shawna White, “Stories of Colorcopia”

that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, June 23, 1 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

The Western Park Album

Meet the residents of Western Park, TN. A small, tucked-away town where residents dare not throw stones … for fear of breaking too much glass. Short monologues, twocharacter vignettes, and an enthusiastic and intense ending written by the late Howell Pearre, a well-known member of the Memphis theater community. $20. Friday, June 21, 8 p.m. | Saturday, June 22, 8 p.m. | Sunday, June 23, 2 p.m. THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE

Haunted Pub Crawl

Visit three local bars for ghost stories, dark history, and tales of the paranormal. Friday, June 21, 7:30-10 p.m. THE

Crossword

ACROSS 1 River that formed part of the border between East and West Germany

5 Cold and moist, as a cellar

9 Brewery in the Nikkei 225 14 MGM symbol 15 Jannings who won the first Best Actor Oscar (1928)

16 Put in a crate 17 British term for a row of houses converted from stables 18 Chess ending

Ω 20 What’s gained or lost with daylight saving time

22 What a psychic may read

24 Dublin’s land

25 Italian port on the Adriatic Sea

29 Rope fiber 32 Deux + un 34 “Open ___ …” (store sign)

35 Bronze coin in the Harry Potter books 36 Flight board posting, for short

37 Is obliged to

39 1/12 of a foot

40 What each set of shaded letters in this puzzle represents

42 Entr’___

43 Challenge to a bully

45 Confucian philosophy

46 Classic Chrysler product

47 “The ___ Club” (1970s-’80s televangelist show)

48 Bygone Apple messenger

50 Coagulates

51 View, as the future

53 ___ Reader

55 Biblical verb with “thou”

56 Not pay for each drink individually, say

60 Sorrowful bell sound

63 Legal order

65 Barn topper

66 Say hello to

67 Religious setback?

68 Emergency operation, for short 69 Raft-making wood 70 Any sacrament

Smooth sheet material

“Tickle me”

Protection for a lender

Ring champ Riddick 4 Cover, as a knife 5 Take exception to something

Liqueur whose name is Italian for “a little bitter” 7 Critical point?

8 Prefix with -mania 9 Formally end

French river in fierce W.W. I fighting

Green Knight’s weapon in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” 12 What an “O” means in XOXO 13 Bitter

The Original Memphis Brew Bus

The Memphis Brew Bus is a Saturday afternoon trip into the amazing Memphis craft brewing scene. Visit three local breweries for tours, talks with the brewers, and of course beer. $59. Saturday, June 22, 2-5:30 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

What Lies Beneath: Stories & Secrets of the Cottage

What’s hiding in the vault at Elmwood? Gather for a tour of the historic cemetery Cottage with development associate Amanda Zorn as she shares Elmwood’s stories, secrets, and hidden treasures. You’ll learn about the unique Victorian Gothic Cottage and its furnishings, like the desk that once belonged to Gen. A.J. Vaughan. Hear about “Frozen Charlottes,” the mysterious little dolls left in the cemetery. You’ll see the actual burial records from two centuries ago, printed in gorgeous penand-ink, and much more. $10. Saturday, June 22, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY

TOURS

PUZZLE BY ALEX VRATSANOS

We Saw You.

with MICHAEL DONAHUE

Strangewaze Wednesdaze was held each Wednesday in May. But the nal one was held June 5th because it was the rain date for the May 8th event. “ ere was a chance for tornadoes,” says event co-founder Emily Todd. “And, of course, that didn’t happen.”

Attendance reached 725. Guests dined on free food, listened to music from Yesse Yavis and Tennessee Screamers, and sipped Memphis Made Brewing Company’s Srangewaze pale ale.

Emily and her dad, Mike Todd, began the event, originally known as “Hump Day Happy Hour,” in 2021 as a way to revitalize e Edge and Medical District. “ e Edge had a lot of development momentum and interest in the neighborhood prior to Covid. When Covid hit, it slowed down a lot of that momentum.”

May events are geared toward people with money, Emily says. “Nothing is really accessible that is free and fun for the majority of residents of Memphis to do. We wanted an equitable, fun, community-activated experience. And we wanted to continue to grow in e Edge and the Medical District because of all the important growth that is happening there.”

MICHAEL DONAHUE above: (le to right) Charnae Lee and Hasani Madlock; Alex Turley and Jamie Harmon below: (le to right) Morgan Erdman and Chris Liberto; Emily Todd; Daniel Parker, Jonathan White, Justin White, and Victoria Johnson bottom row: (le to right) Zach El-Oglah and Magda Sakaan

PHOTOS:

We Saw You.

with MICHAEL DONAHUE

This year’s Le Bon Appetit fundraiser was better than “bon.” It was “fabuleuse.”

More than 1,000 people attended the sold out Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital fundraiser, which was held June 8th at e Kent. About 33 chefs participated in the event, which featured tastings from local and out-of-town restaurants.

“ e year was fantastic,” says Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital president Dr. Trey Eubanks. “I’ve been to most of these — I may have missed one year — and this was the best one yet.”

Chef Kelly English, whose restaurants include Restaurant Iris, and Le Bonheur Club hosted the event, which included a new addition, “Le Bon Appetit Late Night,” hosted by English and chef Phillip Dewayne of Park & Cherry.

Music was by members of Unapologetic and Frances Berry Moreno.

English, a founder of the event, has “just been fabulous. And he’s always tweaking and thinking about what we need to do next time.”

Co-chair Phillip Dewayne “was also incredible in putting his spin on new changes,” Eubanks says, adding “to keep it new and fresh and fun.”

above: (le to right) Annabeth Parker and Kelly English; IMAKEMADBEATS; Liz Nguyễn and Michael Gulotta below: (le to right) Sarah Cai and Arturo Leighton; Rebecca and Jason Severs bottom row: Victoria and Gene Robinson

PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Five-Course Thursdays

A sophisticated tasting menu at a bargain price.

H

ere’s a way to jazz up your ursday nights: Amelia Gene’s is o ering a vecourse tasting menu — for only $50 per person.

It’s the brainchild of Nate Henssler, executive chef at the restaurant at 255 South Front Street.

“I’ve been kind of tinkering with the idea for a couple of months,” Henssler says. “Guests come in and have a vecourse dining experience. You can move as quickly or slowly as you want.”

For an additional $30, they’re served wine that pairs with each course.

e vegetarian tasting was designed to be something special. “I don’t want to have it on the menu ve nights a week. It’s not that kind of a restaurant.”

And, he says, “Portions are small. I could share more and try to make more money, but I want to get people in the restaurant and get this ritual of going out on ursdays.”

His tasting menu evolved. “People always ask, ‘Are you going to do a tasting menu?’ Most people don’t want that. But recreational diners, so to speak, ask that all the time.”

When people select the tasting menu, they’re saying, “I’m going to put myself in the chef’s hands.”

Henssler is going to use themes for each tasting menu. “Cheese” is the current theme. “I thought it would be fun to do a menu based on the cheeses we serve on the cart.”

He only serves domestic cheese on the cart. “I want to showcase American creameries, American dairies.”

An eclair with shallot jam and honey from Hive Bagel & Deli is the rst course, or “proper bite.” “Just a small eclair. Instead of pastry cream or Bavarian, we take on a cheese called ‘Shabby Shoe.’” e cheese, made by Blakesville Creamery in Port Washington, Wisconsin, is based on the French cheese chabichou du Poitou. “ is is a goat cheese and the avor is light and citrusy.”

He mixes the mild cheese with a little salt, pepper, and mascarpone and “puts it in an eclair with dark caramelized shallots. And we drizzle it with honey we get from Hive across the street.”

For the salad, Henssler uses milkweed cheese from Tulip Tree Creamery in Indianapolis, Indiana. “ at’s cow’s milk. And that one is di erent. It has a avor of hay. Slightly like a mild mushroom avor.”

It’s a “straightforward dish.” “We just take tomatoes and season them with sea salt and black pepper and let the juices come out. All with di erent herbs — tarragon, mint, chervil, thyme, basil, dill. We

PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Chef Nate Henssler plans to use themes for each tasting menu.

get milk bread and slice it up and sauté it in a hot pan with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.”

He adds thinly-sliced tomatoes and lets everything slightly cool. “And nish it with the cheese and pine cone bud syrup.”

For the tempura zucchini blossom with ratatouille and lemon aioli, Henssler uses a hand-dipped ricotta. “ is is sort of a dish that is something like I did back when I was working in San Francisco. My chef used to ll squash blossoms with crab meat or risotto and fry them.” Henssler lls the squash blossom with ricotta and a little bit of salt and pepper. He dips it in tempura and serves it on diced ratatouille avored with rosemary and pink peppercorn-infused oil with house oven-dried tomato and lemon aioli.

“ at ricotta tastes like really good milk. Almost grassy.”

Henssler uses a sheep’s milk cheese called piedras in his Arborio risotto with

basil emulsion and sugar snap peas entree. Blakesville Creamery “only made about 15 of these and I have two of them.”

e cheese has “some earthiness. It has a dry rind, so it has a dusty avor to it.”

To make the basil emulsion, Henssler purees basil, green garlic, lemon zest, and cultured butter. “You puree that together and get this really bright green bright nish on the risotto. It tastes very fresh and has that bright green color.”

e dessert course is “Blue Cheesecake” made with poached Bosc pears, frisée, and port wine. Bosc is a brown pear that’s rmer than other pears. Henssler poached the pears in port wine last fall. ey’ve “been sitting in port wine for ve months now.”

Along with the frisée, a type of lettuce, Henssler uses bleu cheese from Moo & Blue Fire y Farms in Indian Mound, Tennessee. “ is is more of a so , sweet, tangy bleu cheese. Not super stinky.”

e port wine reduction and pear adds

a sweetness to the bleu cheese in the dessert, which is “more like a quiche.”

Henssler is already thinking about future ursday night tastings. “Into fall I might want to do some di erent types of game meat — wild rabbit, wild boar, venison. at type of thing. Maybe you could do ve di erent courses incorporating di erent shell sh. Or when the cod is in season.”

A ve-course menu is “a lot of fun. And that’s why the sta really likes it. It gives us a chance to be creative for a little bit.”

e sta gets to “learn and taste di erent foods and sell di erent foods.”

And “guests also get something different.”

Speaking of guests, Henssler recently got a call from his boss asking, “Can you take a party of 20 in an hour and a half?”

e group, which arrived at Amelia Gene’s about 9:15 p.m., included Elon Musk, who ordered a steak and salad, Henssler says. “I’ve been told he had a really good dinner. And that the level of civility, hospitality, and sophistication of the restaurant, and how we were able to accommodate them quickly, made him feel it was the right decision to come to Memphis.

“Indirectly, we can take credit for xAI coming to Memphis,” Henssler jokes.

By Emily Guenther

Summer Solstice

A look at the science and the sacred behind the solstice.

June 20th is the o cial start of summer, with the summer solstice happening at 3:50 p.m. that day. is solstice marks the longest day of the year — when the number of hours of daylight are at their maximum, and the number of hours of night are at their minimum.

e movement of celestial bodies has fascinated humans for millennia. Ancient cultures knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shi ed in a regular way throughout the year.

ey built monuments, such as the ones at Stonehenge in England and at Machu Picchu in Peru, to follow the sun’s yearly progress. Newgrange in Ireland was constructed to align with the winter solstice and Angkor Wat in Cambodia aligns with the sun on the spring equinox.

Many ancient cultures created holy days and festivals to mark the movement of the heavens. Our ancient ancestors often celebrated the solstices and equinoxes, honored them as holy days, and set them aside for religious observances.

from the awe or reverence we have for these sacred times? For some people it may. Knowing the mechanics behind a phenomenon might make that occurrence less mystical for people. It may no longer seem special just because we understand what is happening and why.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. ere can be something powerful in taking part in the same celebrations that our ancestors took part in. It doesn’t mean we are doing the same things our ancestors may have done to honor the solstice. But just continuing the practice of recognizing the day, or the moment, helps create a tradition that will continue to live and evolve through you and a er you.

It’s the 21st century. We know that the Earth rotates around the sun in our solar system. And our solar system is just one of millions in our galaxy of the Milky Way. But does this knowledge make phenomena such as the summer solstice any less magical? Not to me. In fact, sometimes it makes it more magical.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs or tradition, it is possible to look at this intricate system that is our world and be amazed. Whether you believe a higher power created it or the Earth and humans are an accident of science and evolution, it is still amazing how well-balanced and special our world is. And it is just a fragment of dust compared to what’s out there beyond the stars. How is that not aweinspiring?

Today, we know the solstice is caused by Earth’s tilted axis and by its orbital motion around the sun. e Earth doesn’t orbit upright with respect to the plane of our orbit around the sun. Instead, our world is tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees. rough the year, this tilt causes Earth’s Northern and Southern hemispheres to trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly. It’s Earth’s tilt — not our distance from the sun — that causes winter and summer. In fact, our planet is closest to the sun in January and farthest from the sun in July, during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer.

But does understanding the science and reason behind the summer solstice (or any solstice or equinox) take away

In spiritual traditions, the summer solstice is o en referred to as Midsummer. Although it is o cially the start of summer, for most of us summer began months ago. It is starting to get hot, the kids only have a couple of months le before school starts back for the fall, and we’re likely looking forward to cooler weather. But the summer solstice is also the end of the light half of the year. Since the previous winter solstice, the days have been getting longer and the nights shorter. e summer solstice is the longest day of the year but going forward now, the sun will set a little earlier each night. From the summer solstice until the winter solstice, we are in the dark half of the year. Enjoy your summer with intention.

Emily Guenther is a co-owner of e Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.

PHOTO: ANDREW DUNN | CREATIVE COMMONS | WIKIMEDIA

Summer solstice sunrise over Stonehenge

PREVENT OPIOID OVERDOSE CARRY NARCAN

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NEWS OF THE WEIRD

By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication

Great Art

Rajacenna van Dam, an artist in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands, is capturing the attention of the art world with her ambidextrous approach to her work, AFP reported. The 31-yearold said she originally taught herself to paint with both hands, “to go quicker.” When someone challenged her to try painting with her feet, she accepted. Her social media fame has come from painting 10 pictures at once using both her hands and feet. “Doing all this at the same time gives me a sort of feeling of meditation,” van Dam said. Her paintings sell for up to $13,000, and she says only she can tell which ones were painted with which limbs. Her talent is more than a party trick; neurologist Onur Güntürkün revealed that a brain scan showed “the left and right sides of her brain are three times more connected than average.” [AFP, 5/8/2024]

Now That’s Commitment

On May 7, at least one voting precinct in India had 100 percent turnout, AFP reported. Banej, in the protected Gir forest, is the home of Mahant Haridas Udaseen, a 42-year-old Hindu monk who is its only inhabitant. India is trying to reach every voter, so a team of 10 people were required to travel for two days from Gujarat — along unpaved roads through the last remaining habitat of the endangered Asiatic lion — to collect Udaseen’s vote. Although he showed up before lunchtime, rules required the election workers to stay until the evening. “In a democracy, every single person is important,” said Padhiyar Sursinh, the election officer in a town 40 miles away. Udaseen was an enthusiastic voter: “I am loving the attention that I am getting as a lone voter in the forest,” he said. [AFP, 5/7/2024]

Awesome!

When a pair of 18k gold diamond earrings from jeweler Cartier popped up on the Instagram feed of Rogelio Villarreal, 27, of Tamaulipas, Mexico, he couldn’t resist: They were priced at just $13. “I swear I broke out in a cold sweat,” Villarreal said, according to The New York Times. He ordered two pairs, but within a week, Cartier started trying to cancel the order. A Cartier representative called him

and said the earrings “were not at the correct price [$13,000] … and that because of the inconvenience, they would give me a gift,” he said — a bottle of champagne and a leather Cartier item. Instead, Villarreal complained to Mexico’s Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer. Ahead of a scheduled hearing in early May, Cartier contacted Villarreal and said the earrings would be delivered. [NY Times, 4/28/2024]

Fail

• When Rhonda Deaver realized she had left her credit card at Smith’s Cafe in Kinston, North Carolina, in early May, she turned around and headed back to get it. Unfortunately, a Smith’s employee was right on top of things and posted the front and back of Deaver’s card to a Kinston Facebook group, with all the numbers visible, WRAL-TV reported. Deaver’s family got in touch with her when they saw the post, but it was too late — more than $2,000 in charges had already hit her account. “I couldn’t believe they did that, but I might be responsible for all those charges,” Deaver said. There were “a whole lot of declines but a whole lot that went through.” She’s still disputing the charges; the Smith’s owner had no comment. [WRAL, 5/8/2024]

• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified the Akron (Ohio) Police Department’s SWAT team that the body armor plates they recently purchased are counterfeit, WJW-TV reported on May 8. “We became part of a bigger investigation,” said Capt. Agostino Micozzi. The gear was purchased from China and sold to law enforcement agencies, DHS said. The Akron City Council approved immediate replacement; Micozzi said there might be a chance to get restitution on the counterfeit plates. [WJW, 5/8/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

FREE

WILL ASTROLOGY By Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I love being logical and reasonable! The scientific method is one of my favorite ways to understand how the world works. I am a big fan of trying to ascertain the objective facts about any situation I am in. However, I also love being intuitive and open to mystical perceptions. I don’t trust every one of my feelings as an infallible source of truth, but I rely on them a lot to guide my decisions. And I also believe that it’s sometimes impossible to figure out the objective facts. In the coming weeks, Aries, I suggest you give more weight than usual to the second set of perspectives I described. Don’t be crazily illogical, but proceed as if logic alone won’t provide the insights you need most.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In their book Your Symphony of Selves, Jordan Gruber and James Fadiman propose a refreshing theory about human nature. They say that each of us is a community of multiple selves. It’s perfectly natural and healthy for us to be an amalgam of various voices, each with distinctive needs and forms of expression. We should celebrate our multifaceted identity and honor the richness it affords us. According to my analysis of astrological omens, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to exult in your own symphony of selves and make it a central feature of your self-understanding.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013, you launched a journey that will finally culminate soon. What a long, strange, and interesting trip it has been! The innovations you activated during that time have mostly ripened, though not entirely. The hopes that arose in you have brought mixed results, but the predominant themes have been entertaining lessons and soulful success I hope you will give yourself a congratulatory gift, dear Gemini. I hope you will luxuriate in a ritual celebration to commemorate your epic journey. The process hasn’t been perfect, but even the imperfections have been magical additions to your life story.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “It’s hard to get lost if you don’t know where you’re going,” said experimental filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. He’s implying that there’s potential value in getting lost. Unexpected discoveries might arrive that contribute to the creative process. But that will only happen if you first have a clear vision of where you’re headed. Jarmusch’s movies benefit from this approach. They’re fun for me to watch because he knows exactly what he wants to create but is also willing to get lost and wander around in search of serendipitous inspirations. This is the approach I recommend for

you in the coming weeks, dear Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Does any person or institution own a part of you? Has anyone stolen some of your power? Does anyone insist that only they can give you what you need? If there are people who fit those descriptions, Virgo, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to fix the problems. According to my understanding of life’s rhythms, you can summon the ingenuity and strength to reclaim what rightfully belongs to you. You can recover any sovereignty and authority you may have surrendered or lost.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In ancient Greek myth, Sisyphus was a forlorn character punished by the gods. He was required to push a boulder from the bottom to the top of a hill. But each time he neared the peak, the big rock, which had been enchanted by the crabby god Zeus, slipped away and rolled back down the hill. The story says that Sisyphus had to do this for all eternity. If there have been even minor similarities between you and him, Libra, that will change in the coming months. I predict you will finally succeed — is this your fifth attempt? — in finishing a task or project that has, up until now, been frustrating.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Is it possible to reap spiritual epiphanies while having sex? Can intense physical pleasure be a meditation that provokes enlightened awareness? Can joy and bliss bring learning experiences as valuable as teachings that arise from suffering? Here are my answers to those three questions, Scorpio, especially for you during the next four weeks: yes, yes, and yes. My astrological ruminations tell me that you are primed to harvest divine favors as you quest for delight.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your animal magnetism and charisma could be wildly potent in the coming weeks. I’m worried that as a result, you may be susceptible to narcissistic feelings of entitlement. You will be extra attractive, maybe even irresistible! But now that you have received my little warning, I hope you will avoid that fate. Instead, you will harness your personal charm to spread blessings everywhere you go. You will activate a generosity of spirit in yourself that awakens and inspires others. Do not underestimate the electrifying energy pouring out of you, Sagittarius. Vow to make it a healing medicine and not a chaotic disruptor.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’ve had thousands of crucial teachers. There would be no such thing as me without their life-changing influences. Among that vast array have been 28 teachers

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I suspect you may have metaphorical resemblances to a lightning rod in the coming weeks. Just in case I’m right, I urge you not to stroll across open fields during thunderstorms. On the other hand, I recommend that you be fully available to receive bolts of inspiration and insight. Put yourself in the presence of fascinating events, intriguing people, and stirring art. Make yourself ready and eager for the marvelous.

whose wisdom has been especially riveting. I feel gratitude for them every day. And among those 28 have been five geniuses who taught me so much so fast in a short period of time that I am still integrating their lessons. One of those is Capricorn storyteller and mythologist Michael Meade. I offer you these thoughts because I suspect you are close to getting a major download from a guide who can be for you what Meade has been for me. At the very least, you will engage with an educational source akin to my top 28.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In one of my previous lifetimes, I was a bricoleur — a collector and seller of junk who reused the castaway stuff in new ways. That’s one reason why, during my current destiny, I am a passionate advocate for recycling, renewal, and redemption — both in the literal and metaphorical senses. I am tuned in to splendor that might be hidden within decay, treasures that are embedded in trash, and bliss that can be retrieved from pain. So I’m excited about your prospects in the coming weeks, Aquarius. If you so desire, you can specialize in my specialties.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Some people imagine that being creative means having nonstop spontaneous fun. They think it’s primarily exuberant, adventurous, and liberating. As a person who prizes imaginative artistry, I can testify that this description is accurate some of the time. But more often, the creative process involves meticulous organization and discipline, periods of trial-and-error experimentation, and plenty of doubt and uncertainty. It’s hard work that requires persistence and faith. Having said that, Pisces, I am happy to say you are now in a phase when the freewheeling aspects of creativity will be extra available. You’re more likely than usual to enjoy spontaneous fun while dreaming up novel ideas and fresh approaches. Channel this energy into an art form or simply into the way you live your life.

Fear is the Mind Killer

s we walked out of Inside Out 2, my wife turned to me and said, “ ey really nailed anxiety!”

e rst Inside Out, directed by Pete Docter in 2015, is one of the crown jewels of American animation. It’s also one of the few lms for kids (or anyone, really) that is explicitly about mental health. e premise, which it shares with the now-forgotten ’80s sitcom Herman’s Head, is that inside everyone is a committee of personied emotions whose deliberations and disputes determine behavior. Riley, voiced by Kaitlyn Dias, is an 11-year-old girl from Minnesota whose world is upended when her family moves to San Francisco. On the outside, she tries to put on a brave face. But on the inside, her young emotions are in turmoil. Joy (Amy Poehler) is the leader of the emotions, but when she and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) are thrown from Riley’s cerebral control room, Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) take over, and Riley tries to run away from home and return to Minnesota. Only when Joy and Sadness ght their way back to the control room, thus restoring emotional balance, can Riley come to terms with her new life. Inside Out 2 picks up a couple of years later. Riley (now voiced by Kensington Tallman) is 13 years old, and despite her fears that no one plays hockey in San Francisco, she’s on a team with her two besties Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green). Next year, they’ll be headed for high school, where they want to skate for the Firehawks, the varsity hockey team led by star player Val (Lilimar). A er a big win, the friends get invited to a summer skills camp run by the Firehawks’ hardass Coach Roberts (Yvette Nicole Brown). It’s Riley’s chance to prove she’s good enough to make the team, and she’s initially excited.

But the night before the camp starts, things start to spin out of control in her emotional world. e Puberty Alarm starts ashing on Riley’s control panel, and Minion-like Mind Workers bust in to start demolishing the place. “Pardon our dust! Puberty is messy!”

e workers are expanding to make space for a new set of emotions, courtesy of puberty: Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Nostalgia (June Squibb), and Anxiety (Maya Hawke). Also, Riley has acne now, just in time to meet the gaggle of older girls who rule the Firehawks roost.

A er years of maintaining emotional equilibrium and cultivating a strong sense of self for Riley with only ve emotions, Joy is thrown for loop when she tries to manage the newcomers. Anxiety is especially troublesome. A er an early blunder by Joy leads to Riley getting yelled at by the coach, Anxiety takes over. Joy only

reacts, but Anxiety is a planner, which seems like a prudent thing as Riley tries to navigate a fraught new social situation. Plus, Joy has been maintaining the status quo by putting all of Riley’s negative memories way in the back of the mind, where they are conveniently out of sight, but never dealt with. e fact that processing these bad memories will strengthen Riley’s sense of self never occurs to Joy, who only focuses on the positive. Soon, Anxiety banishes Joy’s hard-won sense of self to the same oblivion as Riley’s suppressed memories, and our young hero starts alienating her friends and trying on a new, fake identity she thinks will get her an in with the popular girls, and a spot on the team.

Anxiety is the breakout star of Inside Out 2, for good reason. We are living in an age of anxiety, brought on by the deteriorating climate, the specter of Trumpian fascism, pandemic malaise, addictive social media algos, and wars simmering in

the background. Is it any wonder the kids are nervous all the time?

Kelsey Mann, who took over when Pete Docter was promoted to Pixar’s chief creative o cer, puts his focus on Anxiety, and how it works to monopolize the imagination and blind you to the complexities of reality, all in a brisk 98 minutes. When Riley has a panic attack during the big game, the experience is downright harrowing for anyone who has been there themselves. Riley ultimately makes it through it all with a sense of self that is stronger because it is more complex. e kids (and the adults) who pay attention to the message behind the visual reworks will come away with an easily understood example of how to process the confusing emotions of teen-dom. I wish I had Inside Out when I was young.

Inside Out 2

Now playing Multiple locations

Our critic picks the best films in theaters.

Kinds of Kindness

Best Actress winner Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and director Yorgos Lanthimos reunite for another absurdist comedy after the triumph of 2023’s Poor Things. They are joined by Jesse Plemons (whose performance earned him a Best Actor nod at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival), Margaret Qualley, and Hong Chau for a triptych of intertwined stories about love, death, and healing.

The Bikeriders

Arkansan Jeff Nichols, who is also brother to Lucero frontman Ben Nichols, directs Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer in this biker gang epic. The Vandals MC began in the 1960s as

a simple club for outcasts who like to ride. Over time, the organization slowly evolves into a dangerous organized crime syndicate. Can the original founders turn things around before the law cracks down?

The Exorcism

Russell Crowe stars as an actor who is playing a priest in a movie that looks a lot like The Exorcist, but for legal reasons is not. When he starts to see real demons, his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins) suspects he’s using drugs again. But the truth is much more complicated.

Time Warp Drive-In: Odd Noir

On Saturday, see three Coen Bros. masterpieces under the stars: The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men.

THE LAST WORD By

Ken Billett

I’m With the Band

An aging rock-and-roller rediscovers the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

A young Jedi, accompanied by his master, a middle-aged version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, asked the family seated in front of us for their row number. A moment or two later, the same young Jedi and his master, aka his father, settled in next to us, both smiling and satis ed to have found their place in the galaxy, or at least their reserved seats inside the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.

Moments later, Darth Vader sat down directly behind ObiWan, causing a slight disturbance in the Force. e Vader looka-like, sans that iconic black helmet, situated himself and then brie y looked at his phone. Vader’s sweaty blonde locks were partially stuck to the side of his head. Besieged by photo requests, a helmeted Lord Vader had been a good sport — even in his heavy dark getup — taking numerous pictures with fans and foes alike downstairs in the center’s lobby.

Now, I smiled and said to Vicki, “I thought we were going to the symphony, not a Star Wars convention.”

On May 4, 2024, a Star Wars convention, of sorts, took place at the Cannon Center as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra performed the music from the Star Wars movies and its current franchises. Children and adults donned masks, capes, and uniforms — with some wielding faux light sabers — to recreate their favorite Star Wars characters. May 4th has become synonymous with the famous quote, “May the force be with you,” and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, or MSO, made the most of the day’s festivities, kicked o with dramatic narration by Jeremy Orosz of the University of Memphis, which set the mood and tone for each piece, and ending with a costume contest won by a carpeted Jabba the Hutt.

e fact that I used the somewhat cliched phrase “going to the symphony” also made me smile. May 4th was my third MSO performance this spring and the fourth by Vicki, my better half. Emily, our daughter, loves classical music and has been a regular attendee of MSO concerts and events for the past several years.

In our household, going to the symphony has now become the norm and, for me at least, a surprisingly refreshing experience. I’m a music lover at heart who appreciates just about any form of music out there. While I have my preferences, I have always enjoyed listening to musicians talk about their music, and, especially, how they learned from musical pioneers and innovators, regardless of genre. I know enough about classical music to know the names of those famous composers of old and to occasionally recognize famous pieces, but I certainly couldn’t tell you the di erence — from simply listening to their music — between Bach and Beethoven, let alone the di erence between a sonata versus a concerto or a movement.

Don’t let the MSO know, but I’m a rock-and-roll guy at heart.

My rst performance during this past season was in February (for Emily’s birthday) at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center on the University of Memphis campus. e orchestra performed Claude Debussy’s La Mer and Stravinsky’s e Firebird. I had not attended a classical music performance in a very long time, and it was my rst time in the Scheidt Center, which is a beautiful facility. Watching the orchestra members play in unison, working together to create mesmerizing tones and precise elements, was mind-boggling to an amateur like me. Even from Scheidt’s upper balcony, I could sense the orchestra members’ passion and feel the devotion to their cra in every note and movement.

e MSO was quickly capturing my heart.

Next up was something a little more in my wheelhouse, songs from Pink Floyd’s e Dark Side of the Moon along with Gustav Holst’s e Planets. As a teenager, I wore out my LP of Dark Side of the Moon, so the orchestra’s suite dedicated to one of rock’s most legendary albums brought a ood of fond memories. Once again, I was captivated by the orchestra’s love of playing, the imagination and innovation invested in performing such well-known numbers, and the fun the MSO had in doing so.

Two months later, fun took center stage as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra closed their Star Wars tribute with a rousing rendition of composer John Williams’ epic theme music, simply called “Main Title,” complete with conductor Robert Moody employing a glowing purple light saber as a baton.

Following the crowd’s standing ovation, this 1970s rock-and-roll guy was all in — ready for the MSO’s next season … Rachmanino … Handel’s Messiah … MSO’s Big Band at e Grove at GPAC … Amadeus West Side Story. And in late February of 2025, a true rock star comes to the Cannon Center: Yo-Yo Ma.

Incredible!

Yeah, I’m with the band … I mean the orchestra.

Ken Billett is a freelance writer and short-story ction author. He and his wife, Vicki, have called Memphis home for nearly 35 years. When not listening to blues music, Ken reads spy novels and tends to his owers.

PHOTO: KEN BILLETT

Memphis Symphony Orchestra