Alan Sherrod (Editor, Classical/New Music, Theatre)

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 Metro Pulse and the Knoxville Mercury. 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.

Eric Dawson (Music, Visual Arts)

Eric Dawson is Manager of the Knox County Public Library’s Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection at the East Tennessee History Center. Previously he was Arts & Entertainment Editor of the Knoxville Voice alternative newspaper, then audio-visual archivist and Director of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS).  He writes on regional film and music history and makes archival films, including Electric Appalachia and Suttree.

Diana Salesky (Classical Music)

With an impressive and diverse career in classical music, Diana Salesky writes about that subject for Arts Knoxville. She has been a regular contributor to Violinist.com since 2017.

A lifelong violinist, Salesky pursued both violin performance and vocal studies through graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. Her professional career began with New York City Opera, singing in the regular chorus and performing small roles. For a decade, she served as vocal adjudicator for the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts (“Fame”) in Manhattan and was a consultant to the New York State Board of Education’s arts program. She appears regularly as alto soloist with the Arkansas Choral Society and members of the Arkansas Symphony. She recently sang the alto solos in Messiah with the KSO. Diana and her siblings created a non-profit organization, Amadeus Chamber Ensemble (ACE), that produces classical music concerts in Arkansas, Colorado, and Tennessee

Hayley Wilson (Theatre)

Hayley Wilson is a PhD candidate in the English department at UTK studying Black drama and performance. Her dissertation project looks at two beloved Harlem Renaissance playwrights, Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, and their impact on Black drama in the 20s and 30s. Outside of her academic work, Hayley enjoys snuggling with her three cats. Unfortunately, she was not a theater kid in high school and is currently making up for that by getting into local theater as much as she can. Her contribution to Arts Knoxville helps her escape her academic duties and engage with the living world of theater, no textbooks required. 

Wyatt Allison (Film)

Wyatt Allison is a recent graduate from the University of Tennessee studying journalism and business administration. He most recently was a film columnist for The Daily Beacon, UT’s student-run publication. His greatest achievement so far has been being cited in a New York Times article about “sweaty” Oscar campaigns. Outside of his passion for writing, Wyatt enjoys collecting physical media and traveling the world.

Andrew Swafford (Film)

In addition to writing for Arts Knoxville, Andrew Swafford regularly contributes as one of the founding members of Cinematary, a Knoxille-based collective of film critics creating podcasts, critical writing, and video essays since 2014. Andrew also teaches literature and writing for Knox County Schools and has previously been selected to serve as a panelist for Knox Public Library’s “Books Sandwiched In” discussions. On the side, Andrew is a producer of ambient music: his album Synth Tests can be found on BandCamp.

Reid Ramsey (Film)

Reid Ramsey is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, majoring in Cinema Studies. In addition to writing for Arts Knoxville, he has contributed writing on film to ThinkChristian, Cinematary, and Talk Film Society.

Chris Barrett (Sights and Sounds)

Chris Barrett is a Senior Assistant at Lawson McGhee Library. He has been writing about film and music for Knoxish readers since 1994.