MemphisFlyer 10/08/2026

ELIZA’S BOARD P5 • MEMPHIS JAZZ FESTIVAL P13 • PRIMETIME P20 OUR 1963RD ISSUE • 10.08.26 • FREE

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Rahn Marion, Jest con Mallard at Sheet Cake Gallery

Fall Arts Guide ’26 FROM GALLERY WALLS TO THEATER STAGES, DISCOVER WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MEMPHIS’ VIBRANT ARTS SCENE THIS FALL.

October 8-14, 2026

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OUR 1963RD ISSUE 10.08.26

Fall Arts Guide ’ 26 FROM GALLERY WALLS TO THEATER STAGES, DISCOVER WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MEMPHIS’ VIBRANT ARTS SCENE THIS FALL.

SHARA CLARK Editor-in-Chief ALEX GREENE Managing Editor, Music Editor BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editor TOBY SELLS Associate Editor KAILYNN JOHNSON News Reporter CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers KIMBERLY HAM Calendar Editor, Copy Editor JESSE DAVIS, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, ANDRIA LISLE, PATRICIA LOCKHART, KATHLEEN MURRAY, FRANK MURTAUGH, LINDSEY D. RHEA Contributing Columnists SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER Grizzlies Reporters KRYSTION PEGUES Editorial intern

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THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com CONTEMPORARY MEDIA, INC. ANNA TRAVERSE Chief Executive Officer LYNN SPARAGOWSKI Controller/Circulation Manager JEFFREY GOLDBERG Chief Revenue Officer MARGIE NEAL Chief Operating Officer KRISTIN PAWLOWSKI Digital Services Director

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In Tennessee, death does not become us.

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Defining Moments

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NEWS & OPINION THE FLY-BY - 4 AT LARGE - 6 FINANCE - 7 COVER STORY “FALL ARTS GUIDE ’26” BY KIMBERLY HAM - 8 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WE RECOMMEND - 12

CONTENTS

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

MUSIC - 13 CALENDAR - 14 NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 14 FOOD - 16 ASTROLOGY - 19 FILM - 20 CLASSIFIEDS - 22 LAST WORD - 23

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THE

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MEMernet

Edited by Toby Sells

W E E K T H AT WA S By Flyer staff

Memphis on the internet.

Execution, SpaceXAI, & National Guard

GRIZZ POPE

Pike’s execution attempt fails, SpaceXAI makes offers to neighbors, and activists challenge troops.

POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/JWILEY92

A mysterious plume of smoke rose over Memphis last week, prompting the usual “anybody know what’s happening?” post on Reddit. The actual answer: a fire at the former Refurban Recycling Center. The MEMernet knew better. “We’ve elected a new Grizzlies Pope,” one commenter wrote. Not yet, apparently. Another noted the smoke was black. We’ll await white smoke from the FedExForum. COMMENT OF THE WEEK A Texas transplant wondered about Memphis weather last week. Reddit user u/Sarahspry gave them the real-real. “There’s Pre-Fall, Second Summer, Fall, Snowpocalypse, Spring I, Mini Winter, Spring, Summer, Devil’s Ass Crack Upon The Earth, then back to Pre-Fall,” u/Sarahspry said.

October 8-14, 2026

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POSTED TO THE CITY OF GERMANTOWN WEBSITE

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Questions, Answers + Attitude

Germantown Fire Department firefighters saved two family dogs last week in a carbon monoxide emergency. Sassy and Willow’s owners were away as the dangerous gas tripped an alarm. The firefighters gained entry, got the dogs out, and vented the gas.

CHRISTA PIKE EXECUTION Monday The execution of Christa Pike was set to proceed after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced last Monday he would not intervene. Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. Her execution would have been Tennessee’s first of a woman in 200 years. Lee said he had reviewed Pike’s clemency request and would uphold her sentence. Tuesday PHOTO: TENN. AIR GUARD MASTER SGT. KENDRA OWENBY Pike’s lawyers asked the Tennessee Governor Bill Lee with members of the Tennessee National Guard U.S. Supreme Court to deployed in Memphis as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force intervene and stop her execution, then slated for 10 a.m. last Wednesday at Nashville’s Riverbend Maximum NATIONAL GUARD Security Institution. Members of the Free the 901 Campaign and other Shelby Her attorneys argued Pike would experience flashbacks of County residents urged county commissioners last week to take childhood trauma during the execution that could violate her legal action against Lee over the deployment of the Tennessee constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. National Guard to Memphis. They said she could experience the feeling of “being raped to The campaign cited the July death of 20-year-old Tyrin death.” Johnson, who was killed by National Guard members, and The court did not respond last Tuesday. questioned the deployment’s use of force, accountability, transparency, and cost. Wednesday About an hour before Pike’s scheduled execution, the U.S. Court SPACEXAI AND SOUTHAVEN of Appeals for the 6th Circuit issued a stay “until further order MZX Tech LLC, an affiliate of SpaceXAI, sent letters offering of this court.” to buy property from Southaven residents amid a lawsuit over Pike’s attorneys argued the state had changed its legal posinoise from the company’s data center. tion on allegations that she fabricated sexual abuse and that the Residents who accept the offers would not be allowed to join change warranted another look at her previous federal court the class-action lawsuit. proceedings. The suit alleges gas turbines powering the facility create The execution moved forward late Wednesday but was disruptive noise and seeks both noise reductions and monetary halted after two failed rounds of the state’s lethal injection proto- damages. MZX denied the allegations. col. Pike was taken by ambulance to a hospital. PLANNED PARENTHOOD Thursday Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi asked Pike remained alive last Thursday afternoon and was receiving a Nashville court last week to set aside a legal demand from lifesaving care, according to her attorneys. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti seeking donor Her lawyers called the execution attempt “cruel” and “tortur- details, healthcare provider information, and patient medical ous” and urged Lee to commute her sentence. They said they records. Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report. had not seen Pike or had direct contact with her. Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions Pike’s failed execution sparked a debate lawmakers will surely of these stories and more local news. continue at next year’s Tennessee General Assembly session.

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CONCERTS AT GRACELAND

UPCOMING SHOWS

Agency created after Eliza Fletcher’s murder says only 31 percent of reviewed prison sentence cases were accurate.

eaders of a board created by state lawmakers in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Eliza Fletcher said last week the disciplinary system it was created to oversee is broken and that they get little help from the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) to fix it. Corrections were the focus of a state Senate hearing last Monday. Senators heard from TDOC, the Tennessee District Attorneys Association, and the Inmate Disciplinary Oversight Board (IDOB). That board was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2023 following the 2022 abduction and murder of Fletcher, a Memphis teacher. Her killer, Cleotha Abston, had been released in 2020 for a previous kidnapping conviction. He served 19 years of his 24-year sentence, receiving credits for good behavior. Lawmakers created the autonomous board outside TDOC to independently review sentence-credit decisions. House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), who sponsored the legislation, said the board was intended in part to help prevent another case like Fletcher’s.

PHOTO: TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION

Inmates get sentencing credits added for good behavior and removed for bad behavior. Tennessee inmates can earn sentence credits that reduce the amount of time they serve. Those credits can also be taken away for disciplinary violations. The IDOB reviews those decisions to ensure the credits are properly awarded or removed. In 2025, it found that only 31 percent of the cases the board could review were accurate, the board’s vice chairman, Mike Dunn, told senators. Since its inception, the IDOB has reviewed 35,521 Class A incidents, the most severe in the state’s 14 prisons. Those reviews have removed 718,258 days of good credit from offenders, about 1,967 years, Dunn said. The board has also restored 43,845 days of good credit to offenders, about 120 years. Of all the cases the board was able to

review from TDOC, the IDOB identified 25 percent as deficient and was able to correct them. Dunn said 23 percent of the cases had been dismissed, usually for an unknown reason. Another 21 percent were classified as “other” or were incomplete. Changes to inmates’ sentence-credit records, though, must still be made by TDOC staff, Dunn said. Until those changes are made in the state’s computer system, the changes and the work of the IDOB are “ineffective,” he said. “As an Inmate Disciplinary Oversight Board, we cannot extend any sentences,” Dunn told senators. “We’re only removing or restoring the good credits that they’ve earned or that they haven’t earned when they should have and adjusting their sentence and keeping the bad guys that are still acting bad from getting out early to prevent another Eliza Fletcher from occurring. “Our main focus is the safety of Tennesseans, period.” The board’s oversight is limited to what it can see in the Tennessee Offender Management Information System (TOMIS), Dunn said. Reports of incidents in prisons are usually brief, Dunn said, likely prone to human error and, “We don’t trust what we see.” State Sen. Jeff Yarbro said he hoped the state could avoid a “garbage in, garbage out” data system that yields incorrect information, especially when people’s lives depend on that information. IDOB member Dale Carr said his board is simply not receiving the cooperation from TDOC it needs to carry out its work. For example, a new version of TOMIS is slated to go online this month, TDOC officials said last week. This “absolutely blew my mind,” Carr said. The IDOB executive director was denied access to a training session for the new system. The board was told TOMIS was coming online in January and then December. Carr said he had no idea the system was coming online in October or that training was scheduled until he heard it in the hearing room that day. “Our main thing here today is cooperation,” Carr said. “I want to try to cooperate with [TDOC]. But it has to come from both sides, front and back.” State law requires TDOC officials and prison employees to “at all times cooperate with the board” and provide information necessary for it to perform its duties.

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Defining Moments In Tennessee, death does not become us.

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’m guessing if I asked who won the 2004 Super Bowl, most of you wouldn’t know the answer. It was 22 years ago, after all, and unless it was your favorite team that took home the Lombardi Trophy, who remembers such things? On the other hand, if I were to tell you that Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake entertained at half-time that year, I’m pretty sure most of you would remember what happened during their performance: a wardrobe malfunction that caused half a million outraged viewers to complain to the FCC. “Nipplegate” became the biggest news story in the country for days, CBS paid a large fine — and no one remembers who won the game. (It was the Patriots.) Such events can come to define the reputation of people and places. They become the shorthand of history. Think of Pearl Harbor, 9/11, the Challenger, and Chernobyl. No one has to explain the meaning of any of those. And think of assassinations — the indelible linkages between Abraham Lincoln and Ford’s Theatre, John F. Kennedy and Dallas, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Memphis. Even less-historic events can shape the public conversation for weeks. Consider, for instance, how folks who are connected, however loosely, to Cornell University are having to talk about a very uncomfortable subject these days. News creates images that linger, for better or for worse, and the bad PR whammy slammed Tennessee hard last week, as the state made national news in one of the worst imaginable ways. Stories in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and other national news media brought richly deserved attention to Tennessee’s horrific incompetence in carrying out the death penalty. I was at a gathering Saturday night and found myself chatting with three people from elsewhere in the country. Without exception, they raised the subject of the botched execution of Christa Pike. “What the hell is going on in Tennessee?” I was asked, more than once. What the hell, indeed. A quick look at the headlines on the subject on the Flyer website last week told the sad story. Here are just three: “Groups Across the Globe Ask Gov. Lee to Halt Execution of Christa Pike” “Gov. Lee Denies Clemency for Christa Pike” “Another Botched Execution; Christa Pike Receiving Medical Care” The ugly truth is that Tennessee’s clumsy dance with legalized murder has been going on for far too long. Back in 2022,

PHOTO: TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION | FOIL.APP.TN.GOV | WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Christa Pike Lee halted the state’s scheduled executions in the wake of a botched (but ultimately fatal) execution by injection. Then, in May of this year, executioners spent an hour trying unsuccessfully to insert an IV into the left arm, then into the feet, hand, jugular vein, and right shoulder of convicted murderer Tony Carruthers. The execution was finally called off and Carruthers was given a year’s reprieve. And yet, just four months later, the state’s bungling incompetents were up to their lethal follies again, taking two hours trying to kill Pike by injecting pentobarbital before giving up and sending her to a nearby hospital in an ambulance to get life-saving treatment. What ironic lunacy. And you can add Bill Lee’s name to the top of that list of meat-handed cowboys. The buck stops with him. Period. And isn’t it a mystery how such a loudly self-professed Christian somehow failed to learn any of Jesus’ actual teachings about love, mercy, and forgiveness? As I recall, “Thou shalt not kill” was a commandment, not a suggestion. But it’s clear the deity Lee truly worships wears orange makeup, cotton-candy hair extensions, and has trouble dealing with anyone who doesn’t worship him. I’ve lived long enough to have had to end the lives of several beloved cats and dogs. In recent years, we’ve had a vet come to our house and help us through the sad process. We talk with our pet, tell them they are loved, stroke them softly. Then the vet gives them a shot that puts them into a deep slumber. When we are ready, she gives them an injection that ends their life — with dignity and without pain. I think the death penalty is inhumane and wrong, but if states are going to execute a living creature, they should be able to do it as well as a veterinarian.

FINANCE By Lindsey D. Rhea

The Price of Parenthood Memphis may be the most affordable metro area for raising a child, but costs are rising. Plan ahead.

In the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro, the cost of raising a child jumped nearly 21 percent between 2025 and 2026, the largest increase in the study. Whether you’re planning a family or already have children, take time to consider how your financial needs will change. Doing so can help you set priorities and strengthen your family’s financial future. Preparing now ensures you’re ready for the financial changes that come with having or growing your family. Here are a few places to start: Look into employer benefits. • Health Savings Account (HSA): Set aside pre-tax money for qualified healthcare expenses, with funds that roll over year to year. • Medical FSA: Use pre-tax dollars for qualified healthcare expenses; funds generally must be used during the plan year. • Dependent Care FSA: Set aside pretax money for eligible childcare expenses, such as daycare or summer camp.

Forecast expenses as much as possible. Having a child changes your family’s expenses and financial future. Prepare for these additional costs by setting a budget, defining financial goals, and building short-term or emergency savings in a high-yield savings account with easy access to cash and no market risk. Also consider these questions: Will you and your partner continue working and earning the same income? Will you need childcare? How will future costs, such as education and extracurricular activities, affect your finances? Start saving for your child’s education. 529 savings plans are tax-advantaged accounts that help you put money away for future education costs. Money that’s saved in a 529 plan grows tax-free and can also be withdrawn taxfree if you use the funds to pay for qualified higher education expenses like tuition, mandatory fees, and books required for enrollment. Annually assess health insurance coverage. If you’re pregnant, or you and your partner are planning to become pregnant, check the level of coverage your health plan provides for prenatal care, maternity care, labor, and delivery. Note that while these services must be covered, they are rarely free. You usually still pay your deductible, copays, and coinsurance for hospital stays, doctor fees, and surgical procedures like C-sections. Tip: It’s also a good time to compare coverage with your spouse or co-parent and decide which plan offers the best coverage for your growing family. Remember your retirement. You’ll have more financial responsibilities as a parent, but saving for retirement should still be a priority. Whether you’re buying a home, preparing for a new arrival, or looking for ways to protect your family, the right financial guidance can help you feel more confident. A financial advisor can help you navigate these decisions, build a plan around your goals, and adjust it as your family grows. Lindsey D. Rhea, CFP, is owner and wealth strategist at Alia Wealth Partners, connect@ aliawealth.com.

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NEWS & OPINION

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ant the good news first? Memphis is the most affordable metro area, according to a study by SmartAsset for raising a child, at $19,922 a year. Bad news: That’s up $1,245 from 2025. But compare that with the nation’s highest annual cost: $43,171 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro, which is more than twice the cost in Memphis. From that perspective, there’s plenty of good news for families who call the Bluff City home. Other interesting findings from the recent SmartAsset study: Only two metro areas saw the cost of raising a child decline from 2025 to 2026: Richmond, Virginia, and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk. Costs largely remained the same year-to-year in the nearby Washington-ArlingtonAlexandria and Baltimore-ColumbiaTowson areas.

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COVER STORY By Kimberly Ham

Fall Arts Guide ’ 26 FROM GALLERY WALLS TO THEATER STAGES, DISCOVER WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MEMPHIS’ VIBRANT ARTS SCENE THIS FALL.

Sheet Cake Gallery, Melissa Dunn, Seeing the Seer Seer; COURTESY RHODES COLLEGE Clough-Hanson Gallery, Lucia Hall, Meatstick; COURTESY THE ARTIST Memphis Botanic Garden, When did I lose myself? How do I find my way back?, by Dani Harris

PHOTOS (LEFT TO RIGHT): COURTESY MELISSA DUNN

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s the temperatures cool and the leaves begin to turn, Memphis’ arts scene heats up. From gallery walls and museum collections to theater stages, dance floors, concert halls, and neighborhood festivals, our city and surrounding communities offer plenty of ways to experience local creativity this fall.

ON DISPLAY

October 8-14, 2026

“Strange Celebrations” Unconventional art exploring joy and celebration. Ugly Art Co., Oct. 8-17 “Prairie” Lush abstract oil paintings by Emily Leonard. David Lusk Gallery, through Oct. 10 Works by Steve Keene Prolific painter Steve Keene, who has created more than 300,000 paintings. Tops Gallery, Oct. 16-April 16 “Seams”: Work by Metal Museum Staff Interwoven metalwork exploring connection and structure. Clough-Hanson Gallery, through Oct. 17 “Home” Handmade art designed for everyday 8 living. Ugly Art Co., Oct. 24-Nov. 7

“Oil and Water DO Mix” Oil paintings by Ann Brown Thomason and watercolor paintings by David Rawlinson. WKNO Gallery 1091, through Oct. 29 Opening reception: Oct. 11, 3-5 p.m. Rivertown Artists Show Show featuring the Rivertown Artists critique group, founded in 1997. ANF Architects, through Oct. 29 Rahn Marion: “Hit to the Soul” Paintings inspired by Medieval manuscripts, Americana, and religious symbols. Sheet Cake Gallery, through Oct. 31 Artist talk: Oct. 17, 1 p.m. October 2026 Garden Exhibition Pumpkins and fall colors. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, through Nov. 1 “Delta Nights”: Paintings by John Robinette Mississippi Delta-inspired paintings. Germantown Performing Arts Center, through Nov. 2 New Works by Lauren Cannon: “A merging” Multimedia works exploring light and color. Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center’s Levy Gallery, through Nov. 2

“Time for Art” Solo exhibition of art by Barrie Foster. WKNO Gallery 1091, Nov. 2-25 Opening reception: Nov. 7, 2-4 p.m. Melissa Dunn: “One Good Eye” Abstract paintings exploring imagination and intention. Sheet Cake Gallery, Nov. 14-Jan. 16, 2027 Opening reception: Nov. 14, 5-7:30 p.m. “Annealing” By Soren Studio, a site-responsive sculpture and drawing installation. Urban Arts Commission, Tiny Gallery, through Nov. 30 Pat Patterson & Randy Parker Landscapes in mixed media and watercolor. Memphis Botanic Garden, through Nov. 30 Opening reception: Oct. 18, 3-5 p.m.

Concerts in the Grove Presenting the area’s most compelling musicians: Alice Hasen & The Blaze (Oct. 8), One After 901 – A Beatles Celebration (Oct. 15), Memphis Wind Symphony (Oct. 22), and Lina Beach (Oct. 29). GPAC, select Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Little Women: The Musical A beloved musical adaptation of the March sisters’ coming-of-age story. Germantown Community Theatre, Oct. 9-25 Dona Nobis Pacem: Grant Us Peace Vaughan Williams’ choral masterpiece explores peace and unity. Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Oct. 10, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

ON STAGE

Memphis Sounds Celebrating Memphis music and culture through three vibrant dance works. Ballet Memphis, Oct. 16-18

Fright-Tober Free spooky films for all ages throughout October. Crosstown Arts, throughout October

The Free Autumn Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: Love’s Labor’s Lost Outdoor Shakespearean comedy. Various locations, through Oct. 18

Bridging Worlds: An International Black Theatre Festival Celebrating global stories and cultural exchanges in Pan-African theater. Hattiloo Theatre, through Nov. 8

Origins Collage Dance presents a dynamic program exploring the works that shaped its artistic identity. Playhouse on the Square, Oct. 23-25

Monty Python’s SPAMALOT Zany knights, killer rabbits, and showstoppers. Orpheum Theatre, Oct. 27-Nov. 1 Rent A beloved rock musical following young artists navigating love, creativity, and life in New York City. University of Memphis Department of Theatre and Dance, Oct. 29-Nov. 1

The Night Shift Before Christmas Adult Christmas comedy with a Dickensian twist. Playhouse on the Square, Nov. 20-Dec. 20 NutRemix A take on The Nutcracker blending Tchaikovsky with jazz, hip-hop, jookin, flamenco, and West African dance. GPAC, Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2:30 p.m. Home Alone in Concert Live orchestra scores of this holiday classic. Orpheum Theatre, Nov. 28, 6:30 p.m.

AROUND TOWN

Disney’s Frozen A magical musical about sisterly love. Playhouse on the Square, Nov. 6-Dec. 20

Memphis Children’s Theatre Festival A festival celebrating young performers. Theatre Memphis, Oct. 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Gold in Our Bones: A Soulsville + South City Play A history-rich community play celebrating Soulsville and South City through music and storytelling. Centenary United Methodist Church, Nov. 6-8

Clarksdale Super Blues Sunday Live blues and art all around town. Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Arts, Clarksdale, MS, October 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mama Dearest! Here We Go Again A campy holiday musical comedy featuring Joan Crawford, Hollywood divas, catfights, and ABBA hits. Friends of George’s, Nov. 6-21 Narnia A magical adventure through Narnia. Playhouse on the Square, Nov. 6-Dec. 20 Byhalia, Mississippi A powerful drama confronting race, class, and forgiveness. Theatre Memphis, Nov. 11-22 Continuum Dance concert exploring time through innovative choreography. University of Memphis Department of Theatre and Dance, Nov. 20-22

Dance Without Boundaries

HI/LO Cocktails inspired by the art on the walls, in partnership with Bar Limina. Sheet Cake Gallery, Oct. 15, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Co-Lab Collaborative performances benefiting Music Export Memphis. Overton Park Shell, Oct. 16, 7-10 p.m. Memphis Creativity Fest 2026 Celebrate Memphis creativity with art, makers, and community. Cossitt Library, Oct. 17, noon-3 p.m. RiverArtsFest Juried fine arts festival featuring 160+ artists and live music. Riverside Drive, Oct. 17-18 continued on page 10 PHOTO: MATTHEW MURPHY AND EVAN ZIMMERMAN

The cast of the North American tour of SPAMALOT

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or more than four decades, Urban Bush Women have used dance to bring Black women’s stories, bodies, histories, and experiences to center stage. Now, the internationally acclaimed, Black women-led company brings its bold, genredefying work to Memphis with “This Is Risk,” a celebratory program tracing the company’s groundbreaking history while looking toward its future. Started in 1984 by choreographer and founding artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women emerged from a desire to create movement and performance rooted in the bodies and voices of the people around her. What began with Black women at its center grew into a company whose work welcomes audiences of all backgrounds while remaining grounded in the specificity of Black women’s experiences. At the Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center at St. Mary’s, “This Is Risk” will showcase three works spanning UBW’s history: Shelter, an early work addressing homelessness and forced migration; the energetic Batty Moves, which celebrates seeing beauty in all the different shapes, sizes, and shades we come in; and Contemplations on Legacy, a newer work by longtime collaborator Vincent E. Thomas, highlighting the power of our diversity, individual experiences, and histories. Live music, percussion, theatricality, and contemporary movement converge in a performance that, according to Zollar, isn’t interested in making difficult stories look “pretty.” “Risk has a lot of different meanings right now,” Zollar

PHOTO: KIRK RICHARD SMITH

Urban Bush Women in Batty Moves says, including the risk of being unapologetic about what the company puts onstage and pushing contemporary dance toward a physicality that reflects the stories being told. The Memphis residency extends well beyond the evening performance. On October 23rd, UBW will lead a free Dance for Every Body community workshop at 5:30 p.m., inviting participants of all ages and abilities to move together before the 7 p.m. show. Workshop participants will receive complimentary tickets to the performance. The company will also present a student matinee, work with St. Mary’s students from the Louise T. Archer Artist in Residence program, and offer a technique class for University of Memphis dance students. For Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center Director Cindi Younker, bringing UBW to Memphis is an opportunity to introduce audiences to a different kind of contemporary dance — one that blends movement, African diasporic traditions, theater, music, and storytelling. At the intimate 288-seat Buckman venue, audiences can experience the dancers up close as they explore identity, ancestry, resilience, and legacy. As Zollar puts it, legacy is not simply about looking backward; it provides a grounding from which new ideas can grow and evolve. “This Is Risk,” Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center, 60 Perkins Ext., Friday, October 23, 7 p.m., $40.

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

Urban Bush Women A Black women-led dance company exploring untold stories. Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center, Oct. 23, 7-9 p.m.

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Hattiloo’s Next Act F

October 8-14, 2026

or 20 years, Hattiloo Theatre has created a home for Black stories in Memphis. Now, as the theater celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is looking beyond the traditional stage — expanding its programming, building international relationships, and imagining what a Black cultural institution can become over the next two decades. Founded in 2006, Hattiloo is marking the milestone with “A Stage for What’s Next,” a capital campaign focused on transforming underused space into additional cultural and community hubs. The goal is to create more room for artists to develop and perform while giving audiences new ways to engage with Hattiloo beyond plays and musicals. That vision is already taking shape through Culture Box, a new performance-lounge concept launched with Season 20. The programming brings comedy, spoken word, music, karaoke, and game nights into the Hattiloo ecosystem, featuring Memphis artists alongside local and regional performers. For Theatre Manager Jarrod Walker, the expansion reflects Hattiloo’s commitment to gathering artists and audiences around multiple forms of Black expression. “We want Hattiloo to feel less like a building you visit only when you have a ticket to a play and more like a cultural home,” Walker says. The theater’s reach will also become international this fall with “Bridging Worlds: An International Black Theatre Festival,” running October 2nd to November 8th. The festival will bring Nordic Black Theatre from Norway, Jos Theatre from Nigeria, and Market Theatre from South Africa to Memphis for two-week residencies featuring performances, workshops, master classes, and public discussions. Rather than simply presenting international productions, Hattiloo hopes the exchanges will create lasting relationships between Memphis artists and artists abroad. Walker says the initiative is intended to show that Black theater encompasses a vast range of cultures, traditions, and storytelling practices.

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PHOTO: NATE HERRINGTON

Candy Fox sings at one of Hattiloo Theatre’s new Culture Box performances, which emphasize an intimate setting. The anniversary celebration also looked back with “Footlights to Spotlights: Black Theatre’s Path,” which took place September 22nd to the 23rd at Halloran Theatre. Developed and directed by Lawrence Blackwell, the production traced Black theater history while recognizing Memphisconnected artists and Hattiloo legends including Erma L. Clanton, Florence Roach, Deborah and Levi Frazier, Tony Horne, and Ruby O’Gray. From honoring the stages built by previous generations to creating new ones for artists worldwide, Hattiloo’s 20th anniversary is ultimately about what comes next. “We’re already beginning to see that through the international partnerships we’re nurturing,” Walker says, “and the ways we’ve expanded to serve more artists and different kinds of artistic expression.” continued on page 18

BRITTNEY SPENCER OCTOBER 17

BUILD YOUR OWN SEASON! PICK 6 OR MORE SHOWS TO BECOME A SEASON TICKET HOLDER TODAY!

7:30P.M.

BARTLETT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER presents up ‘n’ coming country artist BRITTNEY SPENCER October 17th. Brittney sang w / Beyoncé on “Cowboy Carter.” Played the — Grand Ole Opry — NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert — Austin City Limits. With her powerhouse vocals, & incomparable songwriting, her debut album received rave reviews! She’s toured with Carrie Underwood & Shaboozey — Opened for Brandi Carlile — Jason Isbell — Bob Dylan — Bruce Springsteen — Reba McEntire.

TICKETS @ BPACC.org

Elmwood Obscura October 16 & 17, 2026 2026

WINNER!

SEASON TICKETS START AT $36 PER SHOW!

Eight actors. Eight true stories. One historic cemetery after dark. Experience the mysterious, unusual, and unexplained side of Memphis history during Elmwood’s annual outdoor theater event.

Presented by Raymond James Tickets: elmwoodcemetery.org

ORPHEUM-MEMPHIS.COM

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

901.385.5588 — Box Office Hours — 10a.m. to 2p.m. Michael Bollinger — Artistic Director

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steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

One Kind Favor

October 8-14, 2026

Mended Therapy

Combining mental health with a love of fashion, creativity, and sustainability, Mended Therapy was born. Ashley wants to show that although things may seem like they cannot get better, there is hope. Just like a mended piece of clothing is brought new life, the same can be said of us. She is here to walk with you through this journey with laughter, creativity, and challenging your beliefs about yourself. She is MENDED (and constantly mending). She hopes you will let her join you as you MEND. Ashley specializes in working with LGBTQ+ populations and mood disorders. For more information or to book an appointment, visit mendedtherapypllc.com. Now taking clients for Mended Therapy Group. Please go to the website for more details.

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She currently accepts most insurance plans. Self-pay is $125 for individual sessions

B y K r y s t i o n Pe g u e s

Diane Green and Robert “Bob” Buchholz came to the Hollywood Cemetery to pay their respects to blues musicians Walter “Furry” Lewis, Frank Stokes, and countless others. To their surprise and dismay, the area was in complete disarray. “If you blinked, you’d miss it. It was unfindable. And once we finally found it, it was like a swamp. We couldn’t even get past maybe 20 feet past the gate,” says Green. The Hollywood and Mount Carmel Cemeteries were constructed in 1909 to be the final resting places for Black Memphians. However, they quickly fell into PHOTO: DAPHNE WALSH disrepair after the final owners lost ownership and funding to preserve the space. Diane Green and Restoring these sites would allow people to respect and admire those who have Robert “Bob” Buchholz paved the way for Memphians to have certain freedoms, like the brave men who marched at the 1968 Sanitation Strike. Green, Buchholz, families of the deceased, and others created the Hollywood Cemetery Project to raise money to restore both cemeteries and preserve the space. Now, their One Kind Favor Show is a way to fundraise, educate, and share the work that has influenced them and others for decades. “It’ll be a good introduction for a lot of people who may or may not know what’s actually right under their nose,” Buchholz says. There are many who are unaware of the history that is in their own backyards. This show could serve not only as a history lesson, but also a celebration of how far we’ve come as a community. Blues music has influenced Green and Buchholz in various ways, and they wish to share it with an audience. “I saw him [Furry Lewis] play so many times and heard certain songs,” Green says. “I remember hearing Furry sing one line, ‘Please see that my grave is kept clean,’ and I would shudder. ’Cause I knew that he knew, that we all knew, that that was gonna be a rough job for somebody someday.” That moment ignited a desire to uplift the very man who predicted the troubles that were to come. A lot of work has been put in to share the artistry of these blues legends and raise awareness of the work required to restore the final resting place of countless Memphians. It’s a job that requires the help of the community. “We can’t afford to go down there every month,” says Buchholz, who, like Green, hails from Chicago. “We’re trying to get the local Memphis community involved, either state, local, city — whatever it takes.” There are many helping with this effort, but there’s still a long way to go. “We’re looking at about a 10-year project,” Buchholz says. The fundraiser will include performances by local musicians — like Steve Selvidge, Marcia Clifton, Dr. Dave Evans, and others — that will be recorded, pressed, and sold as vinyl to go towards the restoration fund. The ultimate goal is to bridge the gap across generations and respect the efforts of those who strove for a better community before their passing.

ONE KIND FAVOR FUNDRAISING SHOW, ZEN HOUSE MEMPHIS, 831 S. COOPER ST., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 7 P.M., $25

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES October 8th - 14th Zoo Boo Memphis Zoo, select nights through Sunday, November 1, 6 p.m. each day Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare presents an all-new Zoo Boo featuring more nights, more décor, more candy, and new attractions for a festive Halloween experience. Families can explore a new 7-foot-tall maze, interactive play spaces, photo opportunities, and the Toxic Waste Zone, plus enter a digital costume contest. Halloween attire is encouraged but not required. Quietly Connecting: Silent Book Club & Silent Disco Cossitt Library, Saturday, October 10, 3 p.m. This event invites adults to unwind with a cozy afternoon of silent reading, curated music, and lowpressure socializing. The Memphis chapter of Silent Book Club will

offer 30 minutes to settle in and chat, an hour of quiet reading, and another 30 minutes to keep reading or share recommendations. Throughout the event, attendees can choose from three headphone channels featuring fall rain ASMR, LoFi Chillhop, and live sets from local DJs Larry and JayXavaire. Free and open to adults 18 and older. Headphones are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Little Women: The Broadway Musical Germantown Community Theatre, weekends from Friday, October 9, to Sunday, October 25, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel and inspired by her life, Little Women: The Broadway Musical follows sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March as they navigate family,

ambition, love, and growing up during the Civil War. When aspiring writer Jo struggles to get her stories published, she takes advice from her friend Professor Bhaer and turns to the experiences of her own family for inspiration. A Li’l Spooky Somethin’ Novel, Sunday, October 11, 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. Head to Novel for this festive fall book-shopping event featuring special displays, personalized recommendations from expert booksellers, exclusive Novel merch, and a pop-up from Moode Matcha Cafe. Tickets at 11 a.m. and noon include a drink, exclusive merch and 10% off purchases, while the 1 p.m. ticket also includes a guided spooky book swap and discussion at 1:45 p.m. Bring a spooky or cozy fall read to trade with fellow book lovers.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

Bluff City Swing The inaugural Memphis Jazz Festival brings artists from every corner of the genre. workshops and two stages of live entertainment. That night, there’s a “Jazz Jam at The Dame,” sponsored by the Memphis Jazz Workshop and hosted by Henry Conerway. Finally, on Sunday, Sunset Jazz at Court Square will feature Gary Topper & Symmetry, Pat Register, and Stephen M. Lee. All told, the featured acts also include Swiney herself, Theo Croker, Dear Silas, the Parkerhurt Quartet (led by Little Rock-based No Tears Suite phenoms Christopher Parker and Kelley Hurt), the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, the Joe Restivo 4, Henry Conerway III, The Power to the People Quartet (led by Johnny Yancey), Hope Clayburn & the Memphis Manes, the Kenny Reed Quintet, and the Alex Upton Trio.

PHOTO: WILL WILLOUGHBY

The stylistic breadth ranges from the ’50s R&B-flavored guitar and horn jazz of Restivo’s group to the angular, modernist funk of Symmetry to the hip-hop jazz of Dear Silas, who hails from just down the road in Jackson, Mississippi. As Silas tells the Flyer, “Because it’s so close to where I’m from, I really wanted to be more part of the culture of Memphis. That’s why I’m so excited to finally get to play there, especially at as big [a show] as this festival.” Unlike the jazz-inflected hip-hop of the ’90s, which used samples of classic jazz records or jazz session players to enhance tracks, Silas the rapper is also Silas the trumpet player. “I’m incorporating my horn into the hip-hop I’m doing. It’s fun, trying to figure out ways to make it fit in, where it doesn’t overpower what’s going on, but adds to it.” While Silas uses prerecorded tracks to some extent, there will always be a live element as well. “For the jazz festival,” he says, “it will be me, my DJ, a horn, and piano.” Visit downtownmemphis.com/events/ memphis-jazz-festival for more details.

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

Dear Silas

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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n his autobiography, Miles Davis comments on players he recruited in the late ’50s/early ’60s: “Before I left New York, I had had tryouts for the band and that’s where I got all these Memphis musicians … I wonder what they were doing down there, when all them guys came through that one school?” He was talking about Manassas High School, which had pioneered jazz music instruction since the days of Jimmie Lunceford, and whose graduates included such jazz titans as George Coleman, Charles Lloyd, and Phineas Newborn Jr. Meanwhile, other high schools, churches, and the University of Memphis (originally Memphis State) have also turned out jazz virtuosos for decades, up to the present. Yet celebrations of the city as a jazz hotbed have been few and far between, except for the Beale Street Music Festival’s earliest days and the touring Kool Jazz Festivals that stopped here in the ’70s and ’80s. Since then, diehard jazz lovers have perennially decried the lack of a central bespoke event for the Bluff City’s swinging musical legacy. Until now. Just like that, this October 9th through 11th will see a mix of regional and national jazz acts appear at the first annual Memphis Jazz Festival. One major catalyst for it was jazz singer Deborah Swiney, who’s been staging the Sunset Jazz at Court Square series for years, and who’s seen that monthly event’s success snowball over time. As Swiney tells the Flyer, she was thinking, “We have all this interest in jazz. How about we do a little bit more about it? Because Sunset Jazz is growing and growing. Now that we’ve got some folks on board, how about we make it bigger?” Swiney was not alone, adding, “I want to give a shout-out to Milton Howery III and the Downtown Memphis Commission for trusting me and getting on board.” The free festival was ultimately developed by Swiney, Howery, Stephen Lee and Michael Scott of Memphis Jazz Workshop, DeMarcus Suggs from the city of Memphis, McKenzii Webster of The Web MGMT, and Alicia Dixon and Marquis White of Dixon-White Restaurant Group, LLC. Spread over a few venues during the weekend, the fest will be organized a little differently each day. Friday’s “Downtown Jazz Experiences” event at The Westin Memphis Beale Street kicks off the weekend with cocktails and live music, while the Memphis Jazz Festival proper takes place Saturday from 1-7 p.m., on the Main Street Mall between Peabody Place and Union Avenue. It will feature jazz

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CALENDAR of EVENTS: October 8 - 14

Memphis Zine Fest

ARTS A N D S P EC I A L E X H I BI TS

A community event focused on selfpublished authors, poets, illustrators, and comic artists. Sunday, Oct. 11, 12 p.m.

Noah Towery: “Works & Days”

The show includes over 28 paintings, most titled by nothing more than the date, time, and temperature at which each was made. Free. Through Oct. 30.

JACK ROBINSON GALLERY

COM M U N I T Y

BORNBLUM GALLERY, SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE LIBRARY

A Royal Court in River Garden

Join Memphis River Parks and Memphis Native Tree Works for a day of fun and learning, making way for monarch migration on the riverfront. Wednesday, Oct. 14, 10 a.m.

“Oil and Water DO Mix”

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

An exhibition of landscapes, seascapes, and portraits in oil by Ann Brown Thomason and iconic scenes of the South in watercolor by David Rawlinson. Through Oct. 29.

RIVER GARDEN

WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

C LASS/ WOR KSH OP

ART HA P P E N I N G S

Stage and Sketch

Fall Exhibition Opening Reception

Enjoy this opening reception of two new exhibitions, “Fugitive Signals” by Corinne Jones, and “Ongoing: A Personal Retrospective” by Carl Moore. Celebrate their new works with a musical experience by DJ LadyLove, a special menu, and drinks. Friday, Oct. 9, 6 p.m.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF DAVID RAWLINSON

Artist David Rawlinson’s watercolor piece, Delta Icon, is featured in the show, “Oil and Water DO Mix.”

CROSSTOWN ARTS GALLERIES

ized recommendations for your fall reading B O O K E V E N TS list, exclusive novel swag, and a pop-up from Moode Matcha Cafe. Sunday, Oct. 11, 11 a.m. A Li’l Spooky Somethin’ | Sunday, Oct. 11, 12 p.m. | Monday, Oct. 12, Enjoy special book displays for you to browse, The Newexpert Yorkbooksellers Times Syndication Sales Corporation 1 p.m. on hand to make individu-

620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 NOVEL For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Wednesday, August 21, 2019

October 8-14, 2026

Crossword

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ACROSS 1 The number of letters in this clue’s answer 5 Gymnasts’ supplies 9 New moon or full moon 14 Traffic ___ 15 Put out 16 Give a casual greeting, in modern lingo 17 Candy that the lovers [circled letters] on Valentine’s Day 19 More deadpan, as humor 20 Peach’s center 21 Some pro cameras, for short 23 Shepherd slain by Cain 24 Politician that the voters [circled letters] to Congress 27 Traditional time to start work

28 Occur, as complications 29 Terrific, in dated slang 30 Erode 34 Something most people lie about? 35 Quick trips that the busy person [circled letters] around town 36 “Yikes!” 39 Olympics squad in red, white and blue 40 “Auld Lang ___” 41 “___ thank me later” 43 Suitable for all ages 45 Books that Victorians [circled letters] for cheap 49 In addition 50 Alternatives to wagons 51 One step down on the evolutionary scale

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE A B R A A A B L E L A O S A V A M A I D T T O P A C E L A A T O I A T F A M E R I C A T N T R E G A L E D A D S A L E S D A N E S A C A M E L J A R T S A L A P A D M E A N D I A R E N A T R E S N E E A N T E N N A E S T D Y N A S T Y E N M A S S E J E S S I E E E N S I E F A C E P L A N T A F R A M E B U I L D I N G S B R O S D A N C E C O O K S O O T E N T E R S W A Y

52 Elite party attendees 54 Luxury vehicle that the motorist [circled letters] on the highway 58 Part of a multimedia ad campaign 59 Apple’s first location? 60 Action to collect on a debt 61 Shorthand, for short 62 “Buona ___” (Italian greeting) 63 Dish that may come with a spork DOWN 1 Org. that regulates I.S.P.s 2 “That’s intriguing!” 3 Still in the box 4 File box filler 5 Blanc who voiced Bugs Bunny 6 Conglomerate 7 Mr. or Mrs. 8 Forbidding 9 Queen guitarist Brian May has one in astrophysics 10 Friend of Hamlet 11 Outs 12 Place to hide a card, perhaps 13 ___ Combs, Hall-of-Famer who played for the 1920s-’30s Yankees 18 Other, in Oaxaca 22 Benchmark

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SPEC I AL EVEN TS

Zoo Boo

With more nights and a completely reimagined Halloween experience. Friday, Oct. 9, 6 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m. MEMPHIS ZOO

PUZZLE BY ADAM NICOLLE

24 Surname of national security advisers under both Bush 43 and Obama 25 May birthstones 26 Word with dark or graphic 27 Apprehend 31 Headrest for a couch napper, say 32 T, in an honor society’s name 33 Connections 35 Slippery

PER FOR M I N G AR TS Enjoy an evening of vocal excellence honoring seven decades of Opera Memphis. Free. Saturday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.

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MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Opera Memphis’ 70th Anniversary

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Winnie the Pooh is turning 100! Enjoy this special story time event celebrating Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Participants will engage in stories, songs, and an activity. Wednesday, Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER 36

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GRACELAND

A Tokyo detective investigates a series of seemingly unrelated murders, each committed by a different person who can offer no clear explanation for the crime. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6:30 p.m.

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Bored Teachers is back with brand-new jokes, bigger laughs, and the most relatable teacher comedy you’ll ever hear. Thursday, Oct. 8, 6:30 p.m.

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Special Story Time Event: Winnie the Pooh’s 100th Birthday with My Big Backyard

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DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS

FAM I LY

Edited by Will Shortz 1

Enjoy an evening of figure-drawing the fantastical, the dramatic, and the interesting, organized by Shelda Edwards, artist and co-producer of Rainbow Rumble. Ages 18+. Free. Thursday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m.

36 Five to six feet high, roughly 37 Quashes 38 Gunpowder holder 39 Turns the dial (to), say 40 Dazed states 41 Chastise in no uncertain terms 42 Like some football kicks 44 Over the horizon 45 Products of some orchards

46 Sped-up part of a contest commercial 47 Avoid 48 Ed of “Elf” 53 Excessively 55 Molecule with A, C, T and G 56 Green branch, for short 57 Big quarrel

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

T H EAT ER

Little Women: The Broadway Musical

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Friday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 11, 2:30 p.m. GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE

Voices of the South’s New Work Series: Word Salad Sunday

Join Voices of the South’s Writer Workshop members and hear four new works in progress from four different writers. Help shape two new plays and two new short stories in progress. The writers want your feedback! Free. Sunday, Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m. THEATRESOUTH

HALLORAN CENTRE EXCITING ILLUSIONS

THE HEART & SOUL OF MAGIC FEAT. RAN’D SHINE & “THE SPELLBINDER”

The Heart and Soul of Magic is the longest-running, all-African American cast magic and variety show today. The show is a blend of magic, comedy, and psychological illusions that create an immersive experience for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Ran'D has appeared on CW's Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Masters of Illusion, and The BET Network. He has also opened for Trevor Noah and performed for two presidential inaugurations. He's more than a magician. He's charismatic and funny. He's an entertainer. SPONSORED BY

CHERYL & WILLIAM STEGBAUER

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

TICKETS AT

ORPHEUM-MEMPHIS.COM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OCTOBER 17 - 7:30 PM HALLORAN CENTRE

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FOOD By Michael Donahue

Dinner on the Grounds Chef and host detail outdoor feast.

October 8-14, 2026

* W t E K R A M Y A *HOLID

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Discover one-of-a-kind gifts from a curated collection of the very best local artists & makers, sip craft brews, and soak up the holiday spirit in the heart of Midtown. Saturday, November 7th 10am-4pm Crosstown Concourse PRESENTED BY

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FEATURING

FOR MORE INFO: MEMPHISCRAFTSANDDRAFTS.COM

henever I have an outdoor event at my home, I spend all day looking at the sky, searching for hints of gray in the clouds. I always think it’s going to rain. One year, my brother-in-law followed me around with his cell phone while we were setting up for an outdoor wedding. He kept saying, “Ron Childers says it’s going to start raining at 2 o’clock.” Which it did, by the way. So I’m always amazed when Elizabeth and Travis Harville hold their outdoor dinners at their home, Harville Farms, in Byhalia, Mississippi. This year, the recent sweltering weather broke a few days before the event, “An Evening of Gathering, Good Food, & Local Roots,” held September 24th. There were cool temperatures, a full moon, and no rain. Welcoming guests, Elizabeth said, “gathering around the table [is] just something we like to do at Harville Farms.” Champagne and appetizers were served as guests arrived. Then everyone walked down to the tables. In a field, 60 people sat at the U-shaped banquet setup, filled with pork, beef, salads, and side items. Elizabeth didn’t consult the Farmers’ Almanac to see if there was going to be a full moon. The elements were just in her favor. “My mom said I’m the weather whisperer,” she says. And the full moon “just increased the magic of the evening.” The event was organized by Elizabeth, who owns the floral business EH Blooms, and Madison McGhee of Reverie Wedding & Event Planning. “From the cocktails to the appetizers, the food, the table linens, the whole event needed to evoke an elevated feel, but we didn’t want it to be fussy,” Elizabeth says. The event’s head chef, Mac Edwards, was founder and owner of Memphis restaurants McEwen’s on Monroe and The Farmer, as well as Brooks Pharm2Fork in Collierville, Tennessee. Elizabeth made some suggestions, but she basically let Edwards use his own creativity. The appetizers — all made at the farm — included fig jam on honey rye bread with prosciutto and candied jalapeño, spicy pimento cheese on molasses wheat bread with spicy bread and butter pickle, and cheese and sausage bites made with local items, including Rendezvous’

dry-rub seasoning. The bread was from The Ginger’s Bread & Co. in Memphis. Dinner was done “commando style,” Edwards says. Some of the food had to be carried “the length of a football field” from the house to the banquet tables. The smoked and grilled meats, the salads, and side dishes were done at the house. Everything was plated behind a greenhouse near the tables, which was a challenge when the light began to fade closer to dinnertime. Edwards used corn, herbs, and other produce from Harville Farms as well as tomatoes, okra, radishes, and other vegetables from local farms. More than 20 pounds of tri-tip beef and a little more than 15 pounds of pork loin were served. All the meat came from Home Place Pastures in Como, Mississippi. Edwards was assisted by chef Jordan Beatty, who “ran the smoker and the grill. He did a great job. He nailed it.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Elizabeth and Travis Harville Bo Adams, a singer-songwriter with a culinary background, was involved in prep and plating. And Liz Ferguson tended bar and “helped in the kitchen.” The Harvilles’ children and their friends also assisted in the kitchen and were the servers. All wine and liquor were from Tennessee Crown Distributing Co. The side dishes included a potato and okra salad made with 10 pounds of white potatoes, 10 pounds of sweet potatoes, and 10 pounds of okra; and a corn salad made with 20 ears of corn, six peppers, and four pints of cherry tomatoes. When asked what they’d do if it rained during their event, Elizabeth replied, “That is my biggest fear: We’ve planned all of this and it rains. It can be hot. It can be cold. That’s fine. We can work with that. Rain would really put a kink in the plans. “We have a backup plan idea and a rain date. But if we had to rent a tent, we would.”

Front

TO PURCHASE TICKETS, VISIT

For the kid in all of us.

•2023 – Tret was awarded the Phil Ochs Award in recognition of her music and her activism for social and political justice.

Sponsored by: Special Thanks to:F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation The Arthur Especial Agradecimiento Pamela Hauber & Steve West

Join us for all the activities and cultural experiences geared toward youth which entertains us all. It is an allday, pay-what-you-can / FREE event with vendors, food trucks, drop-in classes, immersive experiences and unique performances that the entire family will love. Youthcentric, kids of all ages will be amazed by the talents of organizations and young performers alike.

Tret Fure began her career at the age of 19, when she moved to LA in hopes of obtaining a record deal. Within a year she was performing as guitarist and vocalist for Spencer Davis, touring with him and penning the single for his album “Mousetrap.” She went on to record her own album “Tret Fure” in 1973, on MCA/UNI Records, with the late Lowell George of Little Feat as her producer. With the success of that release, she opened for such bands as Yes, Poco, and the J Geils Band. After leaving the mainstream, she helped define Women’s music in the 80’s and 90’s, She recorded with and produced some of the best of women’s music including mixing the legendary “Meg & Cris at Carnegie Hall” (1983). She worked as a duo with Cris Williamson throughout the 80s and 90s, producing, engineering and releasing 3 CDs together. In 2000, Tret returned to solo work starting her label “Tomboy Girl Records,” where she has since released 9 albums. Her concert at Otherlands promises to be a rare treat for Memphis music listeners. Tickets are available online at tretfure.com or at the door.

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

10am - 4pm

630 Perkins Extd. @ Southern Ave.

•2020 – 1st place winner in A Still Small Voice 4U songwriting competition with her song “Monuments.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

’ ren’s Memphis Childre val re Festtiiv Theattrre

s Children Memphis Festival Theatre

October 10, 2026

•Was significant in the formation of women’s music by singing and recording many artists.

•2022 – Finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition with Tret’s new song, “Home You Go.”

Gratis

Free

Hosted by: Organizado por:

Print Both Pages Align Arrow to Verify Correct Orientation

tretfure.com/event/tret-fure-returns-to-memphis-tn/

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A New Chapter Takes Shape T

October 8-14, 2026

he Metal Museum is entering its next chapter in a much larger home, bringing decades of metal arts history to Overton Park. The museum’s new location at Rust Hall opened September 5th with two inaugural exhibitions: “From the Bluff to the Park: The Metal Museum’s Collections Through Time” and “Strike! Pour! Create!: Works by Metal Museum Apprentices.” The move comes as the museum approaches completion of a $35 million expansion and endowment campaign. After outgrowing its bluff location, the Metal Museum is now 7.5 times larger than its previous exhibition space with a larger metal studio, fine metal and enamel studios, classrooms, an auditorium, an event space, a library, and accessible facilities. “The space allows for larger commissions and more engagement with visitors,” says Exhibitions Manager Thais Lloyd. Visitors can watch artists work, talk with them about their practices, and take classes. The grounds are also free to the public, with a sculpture walk featuring about 14 works when complete. “From the Bluff to the Park” runs through March 21, 2027, tracing the collection from its 1979 founding through today. With works spanning from the 1600s to contemporary times, the exhibition includes jewelry, sculpture, functional objects, tools, and more. The second floor focuses on the collection from

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continued from page 10 Hot Off the Wall Art Sale Shop artwork from celebrated and emerging artists. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Oct. 20-25 ArtoberFest Celebrating Memphis’ artstic community and multicultural creativity. Off the Walls, Oct. 23-24 Art on Fire The Dixon’s annual celebration with food, art, and fire performances. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Oct. 24, 7-11 p.m.

PHOTO: COURTESY METAL MUSEUM

Nina Yao, Ode to Apocrita, Steel, copper, glass bottle, wasp 1979 to 2000, while the third explores acquisitions from 2001 to the present. Lloyd highlights Russell Jaqua’s Kelp Bed, a recent acquisition whose journey to Memphis included a cross-country road trip by the museum’s collections team. Inspired by kelp washed ashore in the Pacific Northwest, the piece reflects the resourcefulness at the heart of metal arts. Meanwhile, “Strike! Pour! Create!,” on view through January 31, 2027, celebrates more than 20 artists who participated in the museum’s apprenticeship program, which Lloyd says has helped shape the institution’s culture and the field. Now carrying the subtitle International Metal Arts Institute, the Metal Museum is also looking outward, with plans to expand exhibitions beyond primarily American artists. Lloyd recommends exploring the sculpture walk, studying Rust Hall’s preserved midcenturymodern details, watching artists at work, and taking a class. Together, the new space and exhibitions are stellar.

Broad Avenue Art Walk Free art walk featuring 50+ local vendors, music, and performances. Broad Avenue Arts District, Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Día de Muertos Parade & Festival Celebrating Día de Muertos with a parade, art, music, and festivities. Main Street, Downtown Memphis, Oct. 24, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Find more fall festivities we couldn’t fit here at memphisflyer.com/events.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Ravens sometimes hide food while pretending to conceal it elsewhere, especially if another raven is observing. They’re strategic and imaginative and aware of how they’re perceived. With their social intelligence as inspiration, I will encourage you to think more consciously about the stories you’re broadcasting. Which precious projects will flourish better if protected from premature scrutiny? Do you have any in-progress blooms that really should continue to incubate before being revealed? Discernment isn’t deception. P.S.: Conversely, there may be a part of you that deserves greater visibility. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Taurus philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote that life must be lived forward but can only be understood backward. You Geminis are naturally inclined to resist that advice. Many of you analyze experiences while they’re still unfolding. Can I coax you to try a different approach in the coming weeks? As usual, you may be tempted to figure everything out immediately. But the most useful clarity won’t arrive until later, as you survey what has occurred and recognize patterns you couldn’t see in real time. So try to stay curious rather than overly diagnostic. Keep gathering impressions, stories, and clues. Allow events to transpire like chapters in a book whose ending you haven’t reached yet. CANCER (June 21-July 22): The Germans have a word, Sehnsucht, for a feeling that my English language can’t quite convey: a deep, sweet, aching longing for something you can’t name. It may be a faraway home you’ve never visited or a wholeness you seem to remember without ever having had it. Most people treat this yearning as a problem to be fixed or numbed. But I think it’s sacred information, Cancerian, and you’re especially fluent in it right now. Don’t rush to resolve the ache or explain it away. Instead, follow it like a scent. What is your Sehnsucht pointing toward? Let it lead you toward the beauty and meaning your soul is homesick for.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Botanists know that climbing vines have a simple approach. They keep extending their sensitive tendrils until they discover something sturdy enough to support upward growth. Their progress depends on continual experimentation. I love it when you imitate this style of intelligence, Leo, which I think will be especially useful and successful during the coming weeks. So instead of demanding guarantees before beginning a new endeavor, offer exploratory feelers. Ask friendly questions. Test prototypes. The right support system probably already exists, but may not reveal itself until you reach toward it. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): One of my favorite Virgos works in a museum cleaning centuries-old paintings with exquisite patience. She uses tiny swabs and gentle solvents to lift away layers of darkened varnish and grime. She’s an expert at making the original colors emerge so vividly that the painting looks newly made. But her work demands artful restraint. If she presses too hard or applies the wrong solvent, she could destroy the very thing she means to reveal. This approach can be your specialty in the coming weeks, Virgo. I hope you will attend to valuables that have been obscured by accumulated grime, like old habits, stale assumptions, and other people’s projections. Your task is to gently lift it all away and let the true colors shine. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Every Thursday night, I haul my trash bin out to the street so the collectors can empty it the following morning. Most weeks it’s three-quarters full. But now and then I produce an unusually large haul of debris. On those occasions, I have to turn into a one-person compaction crew: I grab a low-hanging branch of the persimmon tree, hoist myself up, drop down feet-first into the can, and bounce around to squash everything enough to squeeze in the overflow. Consider this my audition to be your role model, Scorpio. According to my reading of the celestial weather, it’s time for you to consolidate and discard at least half a year’s accumulation of obsolete clutter — both the invisible emotional kind and the tangible stuff filling your space. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Ancient navigators sometimes crossed vast stretches of sea by studying the swells beneath their boats. Their bodies were instruments of perception that enabled them to feel the subtle wave patterns generated by winds and distant islands. Your intuition has a similar sensitivity these days, Sagittarius. I hope you will trust it: what your whole being senses before your rational mind assembles the evidence. I call this fully embodied intelligence. It deserves a key role in your decision-making.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’ve never been a fan of Capricorn poet Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931). The ideas he expressed seem commonplace and sentimental to me. But his book The Prophet is an all-time bestseller translated into over 100 languages. Millions of readers have adored and benefited from his words, and he’s acclaimed as a literary hero in his native Lebanon. So who cares what I think! I’ll just shut up and appreciate the fact that he worked hard and published a lot. His disciplined, painstaking efforts have been widely inspirational. Let’s make him your role model for the coming months. I think you’re primed to create enduring offerings that nourish people’s souls. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Think of an aspect of your life that you have always wished you could change but have assumed or feared you could never change. What if, sometime soon, you try to change it, but this time you do it with playful lightheartedness? You resolve to feel zero stress and have as much fun as possible as you try to shift how this problem works. You decide you will use your imagination to dream up unprecedented and even outrageous ways to break your trance and invite sweet liberation to swoop in. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Geologists tell us that over time, rocks really do get transformed under sustained pressure. Their material gets reorganized into denser, more stable stuff. This is an apt metaphor for you, dear Pisces. You’re under pressure right now, and it may feel intense. But what if it’s actually reconfiguring you? Maybe the constraints are what you need to make you more focused, more essential, and more real. Not all pressure is bad, and this is proof. Ask yourself: What is this pressure making possible that freedom couldn’t create? Let yourself be reorganized.

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Dear Oracle: My secret terror is being ordinary. I need to be special, and lately I’m worried I’m just average and unremarkable. That thought is repugnant to me! Can you offer any advice? — Afraid of Average.” Dear Afraid: The pressure to be extraordinary is exhausting because it’s the wrong goal. Your birthright and your life assignment aren’t about being special in the sense of better-than. You’re simply meant to be vividly, generously, amazingly yourself. In the coming weeks, I invite you to trade the anxious hunt for superiority for the warm, throbbing joy of full self-expression. Shine because it feels fantastic, not to outrank anyone.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Periodically, you have the cosmic right to receive precisely what you need. Life is duty-bound to deliver a close approximation of full satisfaction. I believe now is one of those times. So please be bold and articulate about naming the specific blessings you require. Write them down, speak them aloud, and pray for them — not as a demand, but as a hearty invitation. Then, for a while, live as if all of creation is indeed honor-bound to respond accordingly, adjusting its behavior so it’s in harmony with the gifts you’ve asked for.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY By Rob Brezsny

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FILM By Chris McCoy

To Catch All the Predators

PHOTO: COURTESY A24

Robert Pattinson is chilling as Chris Hansen in Lance Oppenheim’s brutal Primetime.

O

October 8-14, 2026

ver three years from 2004 to 2007, To Catch a Predator aired just 20 episodes, but it left a big mark on the television landscape. Ostensibly a spinoff of the newsmagazine Dateline NBC, it featured host Chris Hansen teaming up with Perverted Justice, a web-based vigilante organization founded by Xavier Von Erck which attempted to identify and expose pedophiles who were grooming victims in internet chat rooms. Perverted Justice decoys posing as vulnerable underage internet users would lure the alleged groomers to a house where Hansen and his film crews would expose them on camera before turning them over to police. Coming during the formative years of reality television, To Catch a Predator proved to be equal parts controversial and popular before its sudden, dramatic demise. Looking back from 2026, we can see that the show presaged our current era of gamified public shaming via social media — which might be why documentary director Lance Oppenheim chose it as the

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subject matter for his narrative feature debut, Primetime. When we first meet Robert Pattinson’s Hansen, he is obsessively repeating, “I’ll undress you, you undress me.” He’s rehearsing how he’ll confront an alleged pedophile with his own words. Hansen’s theatrical takedown of the man who uses the screen name MarriedAndLookingForFun31313 in a Long Beach kitchen is undeniably good television, but the dark side of the show soon emerges. While he’s on a flight to New York, Hansen is recognized by the guy in the next seat (Creed Bratton). This is still a new thing to Hansen, so he regales his fellow passenger with tales from the television industry. The network brass didn’t want to greenlight this show until he sold it as a popular call to action against the invisible pedophile menace. (His actual words are considerably more vulgar.) His seat mate takes it further, fantasizing about killing the accused people on the show with his bare hands. Pedophilia is abhorrent and all too common. But what To Catch a Preda-

tor based its rating on is something else. Given an excuse to brand someone as an other, people take great pleasure in ostracizing and punishing them. Every small town used to have a pillory, Hansen says. This is the function To Catch a Predator serves. At least, that’s what he tells himself.

Robert Pattinson and Matthew Maher hunt pedophiles in Primetime.

Despite his self-narrated origin story of “fighting an ancient evil,” it’s clear that Hansen’s real motivation is ratings. When NBC honcho Jeff Zucker (playing himself) calls Hansen into his office, he makes it clear that he hates the show, but he thinks it’s the network’s best bet against ABC’s Lost. Hansen just needs to keep

FILM By Chris McCoy Gisondo and musician Phoebe Bridgers are similarly outstanding as the aspiring actors who become pedophile bait in hopes of earning their SAG cards. Oppenheim’s camera is restless, and his cutting relentless. His wanton mixture of film and video formats reminded me of Natural Born Killers. The show was called To Catch a Predator, but Oppenheim makes the case that everyone involved, from the alleged pedos getting busted on national television to Hansen to the head of the network, are all predators of one kind or another, and asks the question, “What kind of society watches this for entertainment?” Primetime Now playing Multiple locations

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delivering the big hits. But what does that mean when you’re on a moral quest to rid the world of online groomers? Xavier (Matthew Maher) has the answer: Perverted Justice is tracking the elusive pedo INXS00 aka The Whale, who they believe is a prominent government official. Hansen pulls out all the stops to chase The Whale, and when he finally catches him, it brings both of their downfalls. For my money, this is the best work of Pattinson’s career. His Hansen cloaks his narcissism in righteousness; selfawareness only creeps in occasionally, like when his extramarital affair is being outed by the National Enquirer. Merritt Wever is supremely creepy as the terminally careerist producer Andie, whose idea to put cameras on guns gets a queasy laugh during the film’s tense climax. Skyler

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THE LAST WORD By Jesse Davis

This Election, Be a Voter

THE LAST WORD

Early voting for the November 3, 2026, election begins on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. If you care at all who sits in the governor’s chair in Nashville, get ye to the polls. Voter turnout in Shelby County has hovered between 55 and 64 percent for national election cycles. Is that all? A little more than half of eligible voters in Memphis and surrounding environs could muster up an opinion on whether Trump was better than Biden or Harris. I have a better record when it comes to knowing what’s going on each Super Bowl Sunday, and I’m notoriously apathetic about sports. And the Philadelphia Eagles have never caused national gas prices to rise $1.60 per gallon, at least not that this admittedly not-athleticperson can remember. For local and gubernatorial elections, the voter turnout situation is more dire. In November 2022, only 34 percent of registered voters made it to their local polling place to cast a vote; for the 2024 primary elections, that number is an abysmally low 10 percent. Primary elections may not have the big-name contenders and the “fate of democracy is at stake!”-style urgency of national and gubernatorial elections, PHOTO: ELLIOTT STALLION | UNSPLASH but they’re just as important. Everyone should vote like their life depends on it. I understand people who are skeptical of the whole institution, of course. In three different referenda in two elections, in 2008 and 2018, Memphians voted to enact ranked-choice voting (RCV), to no avail. That’s precisely my point, though. If more people voted, could the state legislature pull such a blatantly hypocritical stunt? In 2023, we elected a mayor who won with less than 28 percent of the vote. I voted for Mayor Paul Young, but those numbers hardly describe a healthy and thriving democracy. To the many eligible voters who refrain because they think their vote won’t matter because the system is rigged, I would suggest that a system so unenthusiastically engaged with hardly needs to be rigged. Anyway, doesn’t it seem like it’s a lot easier not to give the people what they want if only 10 to 64 percent of the people will say what they want? I wouldn’t think of telling anyone who to vote for — though I’ll tell you for free that when it comes to successfully keeping a promise to not suck the very lifeblood from me, I trust Shelob, the giant spider from Lord of the Rings, more than I trust Blackburn — but without a trace of shame, I’ll beg every eligible voter to pledge not to sit out this election. Okay, just one more thing: I might add that in 2018, Blackburn posted a video with University of Memphis cheerleaders in which they cheered in support of the then-candidate for Senate. Of course, public state entities like the U of M are supposed to remain neutral in matters of politics, a fact that Blackburn and her team surely knew. They certainly know it now, since the U of M was forced to ask them to remove the video, leaving the poor cheerleaders and the state school looking like the ones who messed up, when surely the burden of responsibility should have been on the person campaigning for the United States Senate. It’s the same ethos as the one that’s driven the $3 billion increase in President Donald Trump’s net worth, in just the last year, all while more than half of Americans report feeling financially insecure. It’s a willingness to bend the rules in one’s favor that flies in the face of the spirit of public service. “No president in U.S. history has used his position of power to profit as immensely as Trump,” writes Dan Alexander for Forbes, in a recent article charting the president’s immense rise in fortunes. It’s difficult not to entertain the idea that Trump’s colossal rise in fortune is, in part or in whole, due to his willingness to ignore the rules. Remember in 2021 when Governor Bill Lee signed the permitless carry bill into law at a Beretta USA plant? Has that positively impacted your life? Who we choose for governor matters — or at least it does if we want something more than a government that’s worn and worked like the flimsiest sock puppet big business ever designed. So please, for the love of our Dear Departed Dolly Parton, vote. Remind your friends to vote. Set a calendar reminder on your phone, and do it right now. It’s important, and it’s a project that’s going to require a lot more participation. Jesse Davis is a former Flyer staffer; he writes a monthly Books feature for Memphis Magazine.

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

Can Tennesseans reverse ailing fortunes by turning around historically low voting turnout?

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