Knoxville, Tennessee

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View in 2011 of Knoxville's downtown from Sharp's Ridge (north of downtown). The feet of the Great Smoky Mountains are visible in the background. The Sunsphere (right) is on the site of the 1982 World's Fair.

Knoxville, a hilly city, is the largest city in East Tennessee and the county seat of Knox County. In 2020, its population was 190,740,[1] making it the state of Tennessee's third-most-populous city (after Nashville and Memphis).[2] In 2020, the larger metropolitan area had 879,773 people.[3] The city is bisected by the Tennessee River and lies just west of where the Holston and French Broad rivers join to form the Tennessee River.

Knoxville surrounds the main campus of the University of Tennessee, whose basketball and football teams are enormously popular in the entire state. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for East Tennessee, and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. The widely visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park is nearby.

Arts and culture

Knoxville is home to a rich arts community and has many festivals throughout the year. Its contributions to old-time, bluegrass and country music are numerous, from Flatt and Scruggs and Homer and Jethro to The Everly Brothers. Also, the city has always had a thriving gay community.

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO), established in 1935, is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeast.[4] The KSO maintains a core of full-time professional musicians and performs at more than 200 events per year. Its traditional venues include the Tennessee Theatre, the Bijou Theatre, and the Civic Auditorium, though it also performs at several non-traditional venues. The Knoxville Opera performs a season of opera every year, accompanied by a chorus.[5] Knoxville was the location of Sergei Rachmaninoff's final concert in 1943, performed at Alumni Memorial Auditorium at the University of Tennessee.[6]

Knoxville's underground music scene is rooted with the promotion by AC Entertainment around 1979.[7] AC Entertainment, a local entertainment group, sought to expand the city's scene.[8] In the 1990s, noted alternative rock critic Ann Powers referred to the city as "Austin without the hype".[9][10] Knoxville is home to a vibrant punk rock scene, having emerged from venues in the Old City district, specifically the Mill & Mine and Pilot Light venues.[11] Such punk and hardcore bands include UXB, the STDs, and Koro.[12][13][14] Knoxville hosts the Big Ears music festival since 2009. The festival, dubbed the "most ambitious avant-garde festival in America in more than a decade" in a 2014 Rolling Stone article, hosts musicians ranging from punk rock to chamber pop.[15]

The city also hosts numerous art festivals, including the 17-day Dogwood Arts Festival in April, which features art shows, crafts fairs, food and live music. Also in April is the Rossini Festival, which celebrates opera and Italian culture. June's Kuumba (meaning creativity in Swahili) Festival commemorates the region's African American heritage and showcases visual arts, folk arts, dance, games, music, storytelling, theater, and food.

The Knoxville Christmas in the City event runs for eight weeks of events at locations throughout the city including the Singing Christmas Tree and ice skating on the Holidays on Ice skating rink.[16][17]

  • Asian Festival[18]
  • Big Ears Festival[15]
  • Boo At The Zoo[19]
  • Brewfest[20]
  • Concerts on the Square[21]
  • Dogwood Arts Festival[22]
  • Fantasy of Trees[23]
  • Festival on the Fourth[24]
  • First Friday ArtWalk[25]
  • Greek Fest[26]
  • HoLa Festival[27]
  • International Biscuit Festival[28]
  • Knox Food Fest[29]
  • Knoxville Hardcore Fest[30]
  • Knoxville Horror Film Festival[31]
  • Knoxville Marathon[32]
  • Knoxville Powerboat Classic[33]
  • Market Square Farmers' Market[34]
  • NSRA Street Rod Nationals South[35]
  • Rhythm & Blooms Festival[36]
  • Rossini Festival[37]
  • Tennessee Valley Fair[38]
  • Vestival[39]
  • Volapalooza[40]

Economic history

First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the state capital until 1843. The city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century, until the arrival of the railroad in 1855 led to an economic boom.[41] During the American Civil War, the city was bitterly divided over the issue of secession and was occupied alternately by the Confederate and U.S. (Union) armies, leading to the Battle of Fort Sanders in 1863.[41] After the 1860's, Knoxville became a major wholesaling and manufacturing center until the 1930's, when its economy stagnated as the manufacturing sector collapsed and the downtown area declined. City leaders became entrenched in highly partisan political fights.[41] Hosting the 1982 World's Fair helped reinvigorate the city,[41] and revitalization initiatives by city leaders and private developers have spurred growth, especially downtown.[42]

Attribution

Some content on this page may previously have appeared on Wikipedia.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Knoxville city, Tennessee.
  2. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Interactive Population Search. Retrieved: December 20, 2011.
  3. ↑ 2020 Population and Housing State Data. United States Census Bureau, Population Division (August 12, 2021).
  4. ↑ Roy C. Brewer, Symphony Orchestras Template:Webarchive, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, December 25, 2009; last updated February 28, 2011; accessed: June 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ History.
  6. ↑ Rachmaninoff's Last Concert—Memorial Statue dedicated to the famous Russian Composer.
  7. ↑ Neely, Jack (August 5, 2015). Knoxville: Summer 1979.
  8. ↑ Knoxville's music scene: A 'social glue' and economic boost, Knoxville News Sentinel, March 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ Jack Neely, "Knoxville's Ever-Changing Public Image", Metro Pulse, March 28, 2012. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ Maria Carter, "Get Away to Knoxville Template:Webarchive", Atlanta, June 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ Propst, Paula (2012). Proactive Punk: Music's Agency in the Knoxville Punk Community.
  12. ↑ Blush, Steven (October 2001). “America's Hardcore: The South”, American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN 9780922915712. 
  13. ↑ Wilusz, Ryan. Remembering Vic and Bill's 'punk rock deli' following the death of Victor Captain, Knoxville News Sentinel, June 25, 2022.
  14. ↑ Neely, Jack (November 8, 2016). Two Endangered Musical Landmarks—And A Third That May Yet Have Hope.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Weingarten, Christopher. "Big Ears 2014 Celebrates Steve Reich Via Punk, Drone, Jazz, Radiohead." Rolling Stone. March 31, 2014: C1
  16. ↑ Moon Blue Ridge & Smoky Mountains—Page 279 1612380662 Deborah Huso—2011 Christmas in the City (865/215-4248, www.cityofknoxville.org, Nov.–Dec.) covers eight weeks of festivities at various locations throughout the city. The activities includeTemplate:Spaces... Santa, as well as ice skating on Knoxville's Holidays on Ice skating rink.
  17. ↑ Knoxville's Holidays on Ice.
  18. ↑ Knox Asian Festival.
  19. ↑ Boo at The Zoo. Zoo Knoxville.
  20. ↑ Knoxville Brewfest.
  21. ↑ Concerts on the Square.
  22. ↑ Dogwood Arts Festival.
  23. ↑ Fantasy of Trees.
  24. ↑ Festival on the 4th.
  25. ↑ First Friday ArtWalk.
  26. ↑ Greek Fest - Knoxville, Tennessee.
  27. ↑ HoLa Hora Latina.
  28. ↑ International Biscuit Festival Weekend. NEWS RELEASES City of Knoxville, Tennessee Daniel T. Brown, Mayor. ci.knoxville.tn.us (June 2, 2010).
  29. ↑ Knox Food Fest.
  30. ↑ [0=AZVZ9U0k6XxoExGEm2UQJJ4kyR-5BtkzbVNmll05w6SoFeSGXDftq_399SX6LKzZz5sSuq6YIHI4t3hzCmRw-IpsmzBV9YSd3jaKTfQnDW7UIHS3bjHPckTpVP_d1tA35nBjlYwj18PgMFTwPL0UZXp52UYe1_lLGJ3CifLL9DUr-xaF4fT66ZlvCJcNM88H_E3cgBvxXqPQKCBxXQ5KwRE-&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R Knoxville Hardcore Fest 2022]. Knoxville Hardcore Collective (June 24, 2022).
  31. ↑ Thomas, Keenan (October 26, 2021). Knoxville Horror Film Festival brings suspense, scares, surprises. University of Tennessee.
  32. ↑ History (en-US).
  33. ↑ Visit Knoxville Powerboat Classic.
  34. ↑ Markets.
  35. ↑ NSRA STREET ROD NATIONALS SOUTH.
  36. ↑ RHYTHM N BLOOMS FESTIVAL EMBROILED IN DISPUTE (September 18, 2019).
  37. ↑ Shane, Carol. Rossini Festival International Street Fair is back in downtown Knoxville, and it's free, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 26, 2022.
  38. ↑ Winnett, William. Tennessee Valley Fair announces lineup for 2022 concert series, WBIR-TV, June 8, 2022.
  39. ↑ Vestival.
  40. ↑ History. University of Tennessee (December 12, 2014).
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 W. Bruce Wheeler, "Knoxville". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.
  42. ↑ "Ask Doc Knox", "Downtown's Homegrown Revival", Metro Pulse, November 16, 2011. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 1, 2015.

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