Alan Sherrod
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Drawing from a career background in music, motion pictures, and theatre, Alan Sherrod has been writing about Knoxville's diverse art and music scene since 2007 — first as the classical/new music writer for the alternative weekly Metro Pulse, then later in the same capacity for the Knoxville Mercury. After the closure of Metro Pulse in 2014 by its parent company, Sherrod created ARTS KNOXVILLE to provide a home for Knoxville arts journalism. In August, 2017, he expanded ARTS KNOXVILLE into the site it is today — a site dedicated to continuing the arts journalism legacy of those alternative weeklies. In addition to covering Knoxville's arts scene, he has also contributed music content to the Nashville Scene and other arts and entertainment publications around the U.S, including the website, Classical Journal. Mr. Sherrod was a recipient of a 2010 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts — the Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera — under the auspices of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. In 2019, Sherrod was inducted into the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame.

Review: Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Opens 2026-27 Season With A Musical Portrait of America

BY ALAN SHERROD   Although the official response to America’s Semiquincentennial celebration has admittedly felt a bit underwhelming, certainly no blame for this can be levied  against the country’s larger classical music organizations and venues. These arts groups planned ahead…

KSO This Week: Shaping American Music—Gershwin, Dvorak, Still, and Sohn

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra – Gershwin’s An American in Paris Thursday/Friday, September 17/18, 7:30PM Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street Tickets The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra opens its 2026-27 Masterworks season this week with a pair of concerts focused on those that…

On Sunday: UT Symphony Orchestra Explores Rossini, Debussy, Borodin

The University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of James Fellenbaum, begins its 2026 Fall Season this Sunday afternoon, September 13, with an exploration of works by Giacomo Rossini, Claude Debussy, and Alexander Borodin. The three works are: Rossini:…

Review: Clarence Brown Theatre Opens Season With Stylish ‘Dial M for Murder’

BY ALAN SHERROD   Naturally enough, the word “adaptation” can fill some theatre-goers with pangs of apprehension and fears of dramatic compromise. That is certainly not the case with Clarence Brown Theatre’s stylish and entertaining production of Dial M for…

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra — 2026-27 Fall Season Preview

Individual tickets are now on sale for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s 2026–27 season across each of its five series—MoxCar Marketing + Communications Masterworks Series, Roy Cockrum Chamber Series, Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series, Q-Series of chamber ensemble music, and the…

Review: ‘& Juliet’ National Tour at the Tennessee Theatre – A New Path for Jukebox Musicals

BY ALAN SHERROD   To say the least, jukebox musicals have a checkered reputation. Theatre critics are known to loathe them for a number of aesthetic reasons, while mass audiences latch onto them with love and adoration, something that contributes…

Looking Ahead: Clarence Brown Theatre’s 2026 – 2027 Season

Wise theatre-goers plan ahead, a particularly good move in Knoxville these days as its theatre world has been growing and expanding before our very eyes. Enjoying not only growth but also longevity, the Clarence Brown Theatre is preparing for the…

Review: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Wraps 2025-26 Season With Gems of Russian Music

BY ALAN SHERROD   Wrapping up its 2025-26 season of concerts in the Cathedral Concert Series this past Sunday afternoon, the Amadeus Concert Ensemble continued its exploration of the important nooks and charming crannies of music history, this time with…

Review: Marble City Opera Starts A Busy Month With ‘Josephine’

BY ALAN SHERROD   Late spring has always been a busy time for Marble City Opera and this year is no exception. Last Saturday evening found them in Oak Ridge at the Grove Theatre in a performance of Tom Cipullo’s…

On Sunday: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Takes Journey Through Russian Composers

We often find ourselves talking about the special place in Knoxville history occupied by Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff. On February 17, 1943, he performed his last recital as a pianist on the University of Tennessee campus, dying six…

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