Beats & Eats Festival series features music, food, and more

The Dogwood Arts Festival is just one in the Knoxville Beats & Eats Festival series.

Knoxville Beats & Eats Festival will rev up soon. From March 31st through May this festival series will feature a full line up of live music, arts and crafts, tasty food, and more. Festival goers will experience an excellent mix of culture and cuisine.

Dozens of artists will perform across the city as part of the Knoxville Beats and Eats series. Music will showcase a modern twist and will include performances by critically-acclaimed indie bands as well as avante garde, Americana, and rhythm and blues musicians. Featured artists at various events will include The Mavericks, Mute Math, Andrew Bird, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass and Dom Flemons, one of the founding members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Knoxville will also host various opportunities for visitors to indulge in the best of the region's cuisine from uptown European fare to down home American favorites. There will be a reading festival for people of all ages.

Big Ears Festival (March 31st - April 2nd) - A weekend of interactive exhibitions and musical performances in Knoxville historic theaters, clubs and galleries combined with film showings, workshops and discussions with artists. This festival has been named "the classiest, most diverse festival in the country" by Rolling Stone and is produced by the founder of Bonnaroo.

Dogwood Arts (Month of April) - A 55-year old celebration of Knoxville's natural beauty through a month-long series of art, music and culture events. Over the years, this signature springtime festival has brought many famous-and varied-performers to Knoxville spanning a wide spectrum from Elvis Presley and Jimmy Buffett to Whitney Houston and Liberace.

Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K, Kids Run and Relay Races (April 2nd and April 3rd) - The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon includes a 26.2-mile marathon, 13.1-mile half-marathon, four-person marathon relay, 5K run and one-mile fun run for children 12 and under. The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon has grown to become the largest competitive road race in East Tennessee. As in previous years, all races will have an exciting finish on the 50-yard line inside Neyland Stadium.

Rhythm N' Blooms Music Festival (April 8th -10th) - A weekend-long musical celebration showcasing American Roots music, Knoxville's diverse musical history and the rich identity of the region. This one-of-a-kind urban music festival brings nationally known and local artists onto a unique stage on the streets of Knoxville's historic Old City.

Rossini Festival International Street Fair (April 23rd) Beginning with the amazing free-admission International Street Fair featuring artisans, food, and five stages of entertainment, the Festival concludes with a unique multi-venue production of Puccini's Tosca on April 30th.

Knoxville Stomp Festival of Lost Music (May 5th-8th) - A downtown four-day event celebrating the re-mastering and release of a newly recovered collection of recordings made at Knoxville's St. James Hotel in 1929 and 1930 known as the St. James Sessions. The festival is headlined by Dom Flemons and features a museum exhibition, record show, panel discussions, and lots of live music.

International Biscuit Festival (May 12th -14th) - A roster of Southern food activities that launched in 2009 and has since become a nationally recognized event where guests mingle with chefs, authors and speakers passionate about Southern food while sampling biscuits from the region's top restaurants and browsing a variety of biscuit-related products and art presented by vendors from across the country.

Children's Festival of Reading (May 21st) - A day of enrichment activities for children organized by Knoxville community groups: storytelling, arts & crafts, science exploration along with fun games, food and music.

Published March 11, 2016