Knoxville, Tenn - On Saturday, May 10th, 2014, BLANKFest, a wide-ranging festival celebrating the city’s myriad entertainment options, will take place in and around Market Square. Participating venues include Preservation Pub, Scruffy City Hall, Latitude 35 and the Visit Knoxville Stage outdoors on the square.
Presented by Scruffy City Brewery, Cherokee Distributing Company and Visit Knoxville, in conjunction with BLANK Newspaper, BLANKFest will gather numerous local and regional creative talents in an effort to feature the best that Tennessee has to offer in terms of art, specifically music, comedy/improv, dance and poetry.
BLANK has long been a staunch supporter of local music, and the lineup is accordingly rife with homegrown acts. However, the festival also will feature performances by artists representing each of the state’s three distinct regions. In fact, two of the three headliners (Moon Taxi and Sol Cat) are from Nashville. The third, This Mountain, hails from Johnson City.
“We also brought in The Sheiks, one of the best rock bands from Memphis,” adds BLANK Publisher Rusty Odom. “I wanted to make sure that we garner some attention from other markets, as well as showcase the talent of musicians from all across the Volunteer State to the people here in Knoxville.”
Aside from the many musical highlights, vendors representing several tentacles of Knoxville's creative community will be on hand.
Explaining the event’s emphasis on diversity, Odom says, “I felt like it was important to include some non-musical elements with the hope that unaware locals and visitors alike can see exactly why Knoxville is becoming one of the best entertainment scenes in the country.”
"We've got a few fun surprises that we plan to drop on folks, both between and during the shows,” Odom adds. “We want to make BLANKFest an event, not just an amalgamation of good performances.”
Beer sales will commence on the square at 5 p.m., with music on the Visit Knoxville Stage beginning at 6 p.m. Beer sales will conclude at 9:30 p.m., with the music wrapping up at 10 p.m. Music inside both Scruffy City Hall and Preservation Pub will start at 7 p.m. Performances on the Filling Stage downstairs at Latitude 35 also will kick off at 7 p.m.
Schedule of Events
Visit Knoxville Stage (Market Square Main Stage)
• 6:00-6:50 – this mountain
• 7:10-8:00 – Sol Cat
• 8:30-10:00 – Moon Taxi
Scruffy City Hall
• 7:00-7:45 – 11W
• 8:00-8:45 – Feed the Birds
• 9:00-9:45 – The French
• 10:00-11:00 – Grandpa’s Stash
• 11:15-12:15 – CrumbSnatchers
• 12:45-? – ST iNDiGO Band
Preservation Pub
• 7:00-7:50 – Dixieghost
• 8:05-9:00 – Cutthroat Shamrock
• 9:15-10:00 – Kevin Abernathy
• 10:15-11:15 – Hudson K
• 11:30-12:20 – Lipliplip Hands
• 12:35-? – The Sheiks
The Filling Stage at Latitude 35 (curated by Zachary Fallon)
• Improv
• Comedy
• Dance
• Poetry
BLANK Newspaper
Publisher: Rusty Odom
Phone: 865.705.0595
Email: rusty@blanknews.com
For immediate release, 5.2.14
Contact: Matt Rankin
Phone: 865.806.9488
