Dolph Smith studied and taught at what became the Memphis College of Art. Making the ladder Tennessee’s state tool was his idea. Mr. Smith didn’t go to Nashville. But he did write a letter. 

For the Levitt Shell, a series of spring and summer fundraising shows — featuring Memphis-area bands — hope to usher free shows in during the fall. 

The annual “30 Days of Opera” performances, free and outdoors, seem made to order for pandemic times, though the series has been around at Opera Memphis since 2012.

After missing 2020 due to COVID, two popular spring/summer Memphis concert series are returning next month in altered form.

Eric Robertson of Community LIFT joins Eric Barnes on The Sidebar.

The program airs at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 4, and concludes with a moment of silence and bells tolling at 6:01 p.m., the time on April 4, 1968, when King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. 

The venerable Al Green shows his comedic side while getting his second vaccination shot Thursday at Saint Francis, then woos others to follow suit.

One Germantown resident has won a prestigious national award for her watercolor portfolio.

‘I am the next HGTV Design Star,’ says the Memphis interior designer whose prize includes $50,000 and her own TV show. 

‘These are places never seen by the public and never to be seen again,’ said Orpheum president Brett Batterson.

Seven paintings from Dixon’s collection are included in an exhibition that will travel to San Antonio Museum of Art and the Brandywine River Museum of Art near Philadelphia after it leaves Memphis on May 9.

Garden directors can’t predict when flowers will bloom, but they can set dates and times for plant sales. The traditional spring events start in mid-April this year, and each venue has unique offerings.

The iconography atop the General Lee is the battle flag of a slavery republic. Violence in the name of white supremacy is its inherent, explicit meaning.

The Public Art Commission has several projects planned this year, including a new design for one of Germantown’s existing water towers.

Musicians will perform live at The Grove at GPAC on Thursday nights through April. The concerts are free, and cocktails and snacks will be available to purchase.

“The Brews Every Which Way” pays tribute to the 1960 blues collaboration between Peter “Memphis Slim” Chatman and Willie Dixon.

The two-day event is a thank-you to supporters of Black Lodge’s Indiegogo campaign, which reached its financial goal before it was set to end. 

The concerts on a stage surrounded by “hundreds of candles,” will be limited capacity and socially distanced, with food trucks and bars available.

The first concert at the 10,000-seat Landers Center is slated March 26 featuring country music artist Parker McCollum.

1980s Orange Mound is the new series’ setting.

A mix of Black women music-makers from Memphis, past and present, honors both February’s Black History Month celebration and Women’s History Month in March.