Rhythm N’ Blooms Festival to feature 3 days of concerts

KNOXVILLE – The musical highlight of the Dogwood Arts Festival will once again rock Knoxville over a three-day span from April 4-6. Moving to a new stage on Jackson Avenue in Knoxville’s Old City, built solely for this budding concert series, Rhythm N’ Blooms will showcase more than 86 musical performances, five spoken word jams, and six workshops – featuring blue-grass and jazz to Americana and folk music, and everything in between.

The weekend-long music festival will move through venues along Jackson Avenue, and culminate at the Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum on Sunday, April 6 with nearly 20,000 concertgoers expected over the three-day event.

Produced by Dogwood Arts, in partnership with Attack Monkey Productions, organizers have seen the event double in size and scope year over year, and Attack Monkey’s owner, Chyna Brackeen thinks 2014 will prove no different. “What I love – absolutely love – about Rhythm N’ Blooms is that it is a live performer’s festival,” says Brackeen, who hand-picked each member of the line-up. “These acts, even the ones you may not be familiar with, are coming to Knoxville to put on a show. Period. And I have no doubt you’ll discover your new favorite band or artist at Rhythm N’ Blooms.”

Rhythm N’ Blooms combines live music with art and nature in ways that no other concert series does. For example, a live art competition, the Sharpie Art Door Slam, will take place on Friday night, April 4 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. During the musical performances taking place at the Jackson Avenue Viaduct Stage, a juried group of sketch artists will have two hours to create a masterpiece using predominately Sharpie markers and a series of reclaimed doors, donated by Knoxville developer, Dewhirst Properties. The door installation will become a piece of art on Jackson Avenue on display during Rhythm N’ Blooms.

New this year, Rhythm N’ Blooms will host music at venues along historic Jackson Ave. on Friday and Saturday. The Village located in the parking lot across from The Standard will also have entertainment for everyone of all ages with festivities such as slack lines, climbing walls, artist merchandise and buskers, an artful guitar auction, food trucks and more.

The natural beauty and blooms of the city’s dogwood trees will be on display Sunday morning, as bike riders take the nature trail from Downtown to the Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum, where they will enjoy a day of live music in one of Knoxville’s most bucolic settings.

Festival goers will be able to purchase a pass for one day of the concert series or for the entire festival. Each pass holder will have access to the Rhythm N’ Blooms trolleys which will take them from venue to venue.

The Rhythm N’ Blooms Guitar Design Contest is back! Sponsored by Knox County Schools and Epiphone, Knox County high school students will submit their own artful guitar designs and a finalist will be chosen from each participating high school. The finalists will have their designed instruments be displayed on Friday and Saturday in The Village and on Sunday at the Botanical Garden & Arboretum. Prizes will go to Best-of-Show, Second place and Third place. Each of the guitars on display will then be auctioned to the public to benefit Dogwood Arts.

Rhythm ‘N Blooms will host Musician’s Corner on Saturday, April 5 at Boyd’s Jig & Reel at 101 S. Central St. Musician’s Corner is free and open to the public and will include workshops, exhibits, and demonstrations as well as festival and artist merchandise for sale.

Workshop Schedule:
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.​Carrie Rodriguez – Fiddle Workshop
2:15 – 3:15 p.m. ​Dom Flemmons – Rhythm Workshop​
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.​Langhorne Slim and Cruz Contreras with moderation by Steve Wildsmith – Songwriting Workshop
4:45 – 5:45 p.m.​Knoxville Entrepreneur Center – Music Business Workshop
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.​Ben Sollee – Cello Workshop
7:15 – 8:15 p.m.​Mutlu – Vocal Workshop

*Workshops will be filled on a first come, first serve basis

Tickets for the music festival are on sale now; single day passes are $30.00, while the three-day pass is $60.00. “There is tremendous value with the three-day pass, when you consider you can see all of the acts for approximately $0.50 per concert,” adds Brackeen. VIP passes are also available for $125. Visit the festival’s website to purchase Day, Festival, and VIP tickets, www.rhythmnbloomsfest.com/tickets and in person at the Knoxville Visitor Center for Festival passes only. For a full list of the 2014 Rhythm N’ Blooms artists, go to www.rhythmnnbloomsfest.com.

More Dogwood Arts Festival Events

Published April 1, 2014