Our Entertainment & Cultural
History Walking Tour
There will be sign up lists for the Entertainment
and Cultural History Walking tours at the info tables on Market Square.
The 30 minutes tours will leave at approximately 5:30 and 6:30.
Long recognized as the political and commercial center of the region,
Downtown Knoxville is also the cultural capital of East Tennessee.
Before East Tennessee's performers became internationally recognized
on the stages of the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall, Harlem's Apollo
Theater, Broadway's Great White Way, and the sound stages of Hollywood,
they won the admiration of their friends and neighbors while performing
on Market Square, in downtown radio studios, on street corners,
and on the stages of the Tennessee and Bijou.
The names of local legends who planted the seeds of their careers
in downtown Knoxville reads like a hall of fame roster in American
performing arts and literary history. Downtown is more than a cradle
for country music. It is also the early testing ground for rock
and roll pioneers, blues and jazz performers, and classical musicians.
Downtown's story is also about storytellers such as James Agee,
Cormac McCarthy, and even Mark Twain. And, while Knoxvillians have
found their way to fame on the Broadway stage and the Hollywood
screen, downtown itself has even played a starring role along the
way.
Join us for a walking tour of downtown Knoxville's entertainment
and cultural history and learn the surprising influence downtown
has had on some of your favorite music, books, and films.
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