Join Jack Neely with the Knoxville History Project as he presents “Knoxville: A Walking Music Guide,” a new 44-page booklet on the city’s vigorous and sometimes innovative musical history. Curated by several music-history experts, and illustrated with photographs, some rare, it connects Knoxville’s early immigrant-led opera history with the later flourishing of live-radio country music, with encounters with jazz, electronica, and rock ‘n’ roll along the way. The booklet also includes a short narrative of the history of musical performance in Knoxville, a biographical guide to key players, and a geographical section to point out where things happened. Free copies of the guide will be available at the talk.

About the speaker

Writer and researcher Jack Neely is a longtime journalist whose award-winning column, “Secret History,” appeared in Metro Pulse for more than 20 years. He has served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Knoxville History Project since 2014. He has authored more than 20 books about Knoxville’s distinctive history, including, Historic Knoxville: The Curious Visitor’s Guide, Historic Bearden: The 200- Year Story of Knoxville’s Fourth Creek valley, Knoxville’s Old City: A Short History, Market Square: The Most Democratic Place on Earth, and many others.