The most notable new wide-release film opening in Memphis this week is the mysterious “Companion,” a comedy-thriller that’s gotten positive early buzz. 

Kirk Whalum was stunned to receive a call from Cheryl McNair, the widow of astronaut Ron McNair who was killed in the Challenger disaster. The favor she asked of him still affects him today.

Several suburban officials have found a way to escape the pressures of day-to-day government by taking to the stage to perform.

Hundreds made crafts, ate and danced to celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Brooks Museum on Saturday.

“Life’s a gift, open it,” says Slowdown Dry Goods founder Eli Berry, who recently released a merch line for Grammy-winning artists Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus.

For Demarcus Suggs, director of creative and cultural economy for the City of Memphis, his goal is simple: Support the arts.

Homecoming is the theme running through Bertram Williams Jr.’s life at the moment.

This week, the Memphis Farmers Market pops up, a Guinean-inspired circus stops at GPAC and a Pink Palace exhibit shows why Earth matters.

Organizers of a new event touted hundreds of celebrity appearances, a significant boost to Memphis tourism and local businesses and an estimated economic impact between $30 million and $50 million.

The nominations for the 2025 Academy Awards will be announced Thursday, Jan. 23, and “The Brutalist” will probably figure prominently.

The lineup also includes Benson Boone, Cage the Elephant, Khruangbin, Ludacris, Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, Flo Milli, Tokimonsta, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, and DJ Jazzy Jeff. 

Three local experts talk about how proteins, carbs and fats make up the building blocks of the body and how they keep people energized, functioning and healthy. 

Paintings ranging from the unknown to Picasso and Basquiat are on display at the Dixon through January 26. The museum’s director, Kevin Sharp, talks about the exhibits with Eric Barnes on The Sidebar.

Among the plays are “Dreamgirls,” “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” “Jubilee” and “Madagascar,” a musical based on the DreamWorks animated film about a group of animals at New York’s Central Park Zoo.

Germantown resident Laura Faddah will be returning to California later this month to try for her eighth straight “Jeopardy!” win. 

This week, watch the planets “align” from Harbor Town, catch up on the Mad Max series and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

The criminal case against the woman accused of trying to sell Graceland in a fraudulent auction could end in April.

Clear your calendars, Memphis cinephiles. Three of 2024’s very best films are in local theaters this week, and there’s no telling how long they’ll stick around.

“The Best of Sam & Dave” is the sound of singers, musicians, songwriters and producers finding a special chemistry.

Sam Moore, one half of the legendary duo Sam & Dave, died Friday at age 89. Memphis musicians and fellow Stax alumni eulogized Moore on Saturday.

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‘Soul Man’ Sam Moore dies at 89

Todd Richardson, the CEO of Crosstown Concourse, joined Eric Barnes on this week’s episode of “The Sidebar” to talk not just the new venue but also all kinds of new happenings in and around Crosstown.

At Stax Records, Sam Moore and Dave Prater — as Sam & Dave — transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a frenzied stage show and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits.

The Memphis rapper, whose real name is Gloria Woods, will be the musical guest on the Jan. 18 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” 

Also in January, “P-Valley” star Bertram Williams Jr. is the lead in a Black reimagining of Homer’s epic at Hattiloo.

Gretchen Wollert McLennon first stepped dance shoes in Ballet Memphis at 11 years old. Now, after five years building on the company’s legacy, she’s taking a bow.