Death of a sleazy man

The quintessential tale of segregationist injustice will come to the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre stage this week. Forty-seven years after Harper Lee published her only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the racism, white privilege and strained ethics of rural Alabama circa 1935 remain as timely as the nightly news. Think Susan Smith—who murdered her children […]

Doom with a view

A sense of loss and potential loss runs deep in the lyrics of Nashville singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier, though it looks like she’s on a winning streak of late. Mercy Now (Lost Highway, 2005), her fourth album, gained high praise from reviewers across the country and found the singer lauded as “New/Emerging Artist of the Year” […]

How his garden’s grown

Some artists can only create if they have the finest materials—or at least the finest funds from fellowships, grants or corporate sponsors. Others will only exhibit their art in the most dedicated and pristine surroundings. “Forgiveness,” multimedia. DeWayne Barton is not among them. Once, art was not a thing apart but a part of daily […]

Culture Watch

Tom Dudley’s Walk Is Anything But Lonely “I tried to draw your sweet blue eyes, bright as the skies above/ but it’s no use, since you shook up my Etch A Sketch of Love.” How can someone listen to a song with lyrics like that and not crack a smile? Of course, that’s just a […]

Gallery Gossip

• Just a couple of days (or evenings) left to see Larry Turner’s colorful mixed-media paintings at BoBo Gallery: Think Larry Rivers meets Basquiat. • Another show closing in the next few days is that of New York artist Cory Bradley at Pump in the Phil Mechanics Building in the River District. His competent works […]

Top Drawer: fashion news and views

Halter dress with emerald-green silk from India, $90. Designer Rachel Stack has been putting in too many late nights, trying to complete her collection which she hopes to sell at that other fashion week: Bonnaroo. But while flowing skirts, halter tops and loose-fitting unisex cropped pants are perfect attire for festival fans, Stack’s creations may […]