Archive for the ‘Foothills Fall Festival’ tag
Mick Jones (Foreigner) and John Lodge (The Moody Blues) on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is no stranger to controversy, and it’s no surprise to Mick Jones, guitarist for the classic rock band Foreigner, that — once again — his group has been overlooked for the 2010 induction ceremony.
Foreigner will perform at The Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville on Monday, March 15; I spoke with Jones recently by phone for a preview story that’ll be published in Friday’s edition of The Daily Times Weekend entertainment section. We spoke at length about Foreigner’s longevity — and about the band’s 2008 performance at the Foothills Fall Festival in downtown Maryville — and about the group’s snubbing at the hands of Hall of Fame decision-makers.
“It is kind of upsetting that Foreigner has never even been on the ballot, and I think about it from time to time,” Jones told me. “I just heard about ABBA being inducted this year, and that made me think — is ABBA even a rock ‘n’ roll band? I’m not so sure about that.
“Some of the decisions they’ve made and the people they’ve left out — there’s a question of integrity there. I started out at the beginning, of my career emulating the roots of rock ‘n’ roll and all of my heroes at that time, and I’ve tried to keep that in mind all the way through, and I feel we’ve certainly played a part in the scheme of things. I think you can safely say we’re a genuine rock band, because we had a big effect on the music business at that time.
“To be totally ignored, along with bands like Journey and Boston — it hurts a bit,” he added. “But the fact I feel the integrity is missing in that organization, with the choices sometimes of the people they introduce into it as rock ‘n’ roll, makes it all a bit questionable.”
The night after Foreigner rocks East Tennessee, another group that’s been overlooked by the Hall of Fame will play the very same venue. John Lodge of The Moody Blues talked a bit about his band’s exclusion as well in an interview with us to promote the band’s show on Tuesday, March 16, at The Tennessee Theatre.
“It’s been 43 years since ‘Days of Future Passed’ (the band’s landmark 1967 album) was released, and every year our name comes up — ‘What do you think of The Moody Blues and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?’” he said. “But we come through every phase, and we’re still there, on the outside. And we get put on the back burner for another year.
“I don’t really put any thought in it, because the Hall of Fame is a club, and if you’re not invited to the club, why bother trying to get in? Our success is the audience who comes to our concert, the person who comes up and says, ‘You’ve done so much for me as a person.”
A LOOK AHEAD: “The Shed,” the Foothills Fall Festival and GSMHC in 2010
In case you missed it, we’re breaking down the conversations we had in last Friday’s edition of Weekend with various movers and shakers in the local entertainment scene to give you an idea of how entertainment in 2010 is shaping up. Today: The Foothills Fall Festival, held every October in downtown Maryville; “The Shed” at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson in Maryville; and the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend.
FOOTHILLS FALL FESTIVAL, downtown Maryville
After a 10-year celebration that included record turnout and a performance by one of the biggest names in country music, how do you top it?
Why, prepare for the next decade, of course.
“We want to continue our tradition of a great weekend — great arts and crafts, great family fun and of course great concerts,” said Jane Groff, events coordinator for the City of Maryville and organizer of the town’s annual Foothills Fall Festival.
The good news is that the 11th year of the annual three-day combination of children’s activities, arts and crafts and live music has already been greenlit. The bad news is that the date has already been changed from the initially scheduled weekend.
“We originally scheduled it for the third weekend of the month without realizing that the early voting process needed to happen during those times, which would have required the Blount County Courthouse to be open,” Groff said. “With the festival being held right next door along the Greenbelt, that would have been difficult to manage.”
As it stands, this year’s Foothills Fall Festival will take place Oct. 8-10, although none of the performers have been announced. That won’t take place until late spring/early summer, but festival officials are already hard at work making the arrangements.
“There are some exciting opportunities on the horizon,” she said. “We’re waiting on tours to be scheduled to see who’s available in our area at the time, and we are interested in getting feedback from people about who they would be excited to see. If they match up, we’ll seriously take a look at that.”
Although fan input — either through the festival website at www.foothillsfallfestival.com or by a message on the festival hotline (273-3445) — will be accepted any time, the sooner fans let their wishes be known, the more weight those suggestions will carry. In making them, fans should keep in mind that while the lineup has been known to change over the years, the arrangement of classic rock on Friday nights and country on Saturday and Sunday has meant a sell-out for the past three years.
“There are still quite a few big (classic rock) bands out there touring, and they seem to be meeting a need at the festival,” Groff said. “We’ll continue to look in that direction because we have a few options. It depends on who they are and how they fit our budget.”
Festival organizers are also enthusiastic to showcase additional local talent, Groff said. The deadline for local performers to submit a press kit to the festival’s Local Entertainment Committee, she added, is April 1.
“THE SHED” AT SMOKY MOUNTAIN HARLEY-DAVIDSON, 1820 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville
After gearing down for 2009 (at least in terms of the previous year), Aaron Snukals — marketing and special events manager for Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson in Maryville — has found firm footing as a new year dawns.
As a result, he and his co-workers are revving the throttle and planning for an action-packed 2010.
Already, they’ve announced a series of winter concerts called “The Shed Unplugged,” the first time SMH-D has offered live music during the colder months of the year. On the website, April 3 is listed as the target date for the beginning of “The Shed” concert series, and right now, planning for it is under way big-time, Snukals told us earlier this week.
“We’re working on two festival weekends — Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends — that will be three days of fun, music and motorcycles,” he wrote to us in an e-mail. “We’re working on more video monitors for the front of hoouse, as well as the side, so you can see what’s going on stage while you eat. (We’re also installing) permanent sides on ‘The Shed’ that can be rolled down in bad weather.
Artist we hope to have here in 2010: Todd Snider, Goose Creek Symphony, Unknown Hinson, Cross Canadian Ragweed, The Hackensaw Boys, Billy Joe Shaver, Vodoo lounge, Devon Allman, Leon Russell, The Boxmasters, Marshall Tucker Band, The D.B. Bryant Band, Fred Eaglesmith and The Kentucky Headhunters.”
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS HERITAGE CENTER, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend
The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend experienced a great deal of success in 2009 — which makes center officials even more enthusiastic about the possibilities of 2010, Marketing Director Nancy Williams told The Daily Times this week.
“The music series have been very popular,” Williams said. “In 2009, the crowds were larger than ever, and it was a mix of different kinds of music — it doesn’t seem to matter. The turnouts have been excellent, and on Friday nights, this seems to be the place to be. We’ll definitely continue that on Friday nights with our Sunset Music Series this summer and the fall concert series.”
New for 2010 — an April 30 concert by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the first time the full organization has performed at the center. In addition, a woodcarving festival will be held in September, but perhaps more importantly for familiar visitors is the continuation of old favorites, Williams said — the fifth annual Appalachian Celebration in July, held in conjunction with the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont; the annual Memorial Day concert; and the Blue Ribbon Country Fair, slated for Sept. 25.
“Last year, we had 800 people here for the fair in the pouring rain,” Williams said. “It remains our most popular festival. And we have other things in the works, but we’re not far enough along to announce them just yet.”
Michelle Branch plays for the wealthy in Blount County
If you saw Michelle Branch perform with her country band, The Wreckers, at the 2006 Foothills Fall Festival in downtown Maryville, you might be interested to learn that she’s returning to Blount County for another performance.
This time, however, those who wish to attend her show on Sunday, Sept. 6, will have to pony up some cash — because she’s playing an exclusive show at the luxury resort Blackberry Farm, located at 1471 W. Millers Cove Road in Townsend. It’s a swanky place, from what we here — and you’ll definitely need some cash to hear the honey-voiced singer-songwriter perform. A call to the resort reveals that there’s a three-night minimum stay because it’s Labor Day weekend. The prices — which, granted, include three fabulous meals a day, all snacks and non-alcoholic beverages and various other amenities — are more than the average person pays for a month’s rent: from $995 per night to $1,595 per night.
Short of hitting Powerball, we suggest checking out Michelle on her Myspace page if you want to hear her tunes.
Free music Thursday!
Not to brag or anything … well, hell yes we like to brag. Especially when we report something first, as we did with the “Old City Live” concert series! That particular event, a follow-up to Sundown in the City, kicks off tonight in the Old City Courtyard. It’s free, and we broke it on this very blog shortly after Hanna’s/Southbound owner Jay Campbell announced the lineup.
Tonight (Thursday, June 2), the series kicks off with J.C. and The Dirty Smokers, followed by our pals Mic Harrison and The High Score. Let me just say that I love those boys, in a bro-mance, completely heterosexual sort of way. They’re like cousins you grew up with — full of meanness and ready to give you hell in a New York minute, but they’d be out of bed and on the road with a shovel and a pick-up truck if you called them at 3 a.m. and said you’d accidentally killed someone.
Mic and the boys will open the Saturday portion of the Foothills Fall Festival, scheduled for Oct. 16-18 in downtown Maryville. Country superstar Alan Jackson plays later that night, so Mic and co. are an excellent choice to kick things off.
To celebrate the opening of “Old City Live,” however, Mic has agreed to offer fans a free mp3! That’s right, you can now download a song off the band’s album “Push Me On Home.” Do it now, then get out and support live music!
Download “Long Time,” by Mic Harrison and The High Score: right-click here (choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As”)
Buy albums by Mic Harrison, from his solo work to his collaborations with The High Score: click here
Read a cover story on the band from last summer: Click here