Vol. 1 — No. 1Weekend Edition · Fri–Sun, Jun 19–21, 2026 · South Knoxville, TN★ soknoear.com
Vol. 1 — No. 1 · Jun 19–21★ soknoear.com
The South Knoxville Ear — We Hear Things.
Old Sevier

Pride takes over Sevier Avenue

Three acts, one Saturday: a morning 5K and yoga by the river, the street festival on Sevier from noon to six, and official after-parties scattered across SoKno from eight on.

Morning
5K 7:30 + Yoga 9 · Suttree Landing
Festival
Noon–6 PM · Sevier Ave
After-parties
8 PM · across SoKno
Street closed
Dixie–Davenport, 10:30 AM–7:30 PM
Sevier Ave, flags up

Morning — a run and yoga by the river

Pride starts early and easy, down at Suttree Landing Park: a free, no-registration 5K fun run with the SlowKno Running Club at 7:30 (lululemon has refreshments at the finish), then community yoga with Nora Vines at nine. New to the park? Turn toward the river at the Citgo on Sevier. Details on @soknopride.

Noon to six — the street festival

At noon the avenue belongs to the crowd: local vendors and makers, community booths, food, and four stages of live entertainment running drag, DJs, and live music — all free and all-ages, presented by Choice Health Network. Sevier Ave closes between Dixie and Davenport from 10:30 to 7:30, so leave the car: there's a free shuttle from noon to seven out of the Dwight Kessel and Riverwalk garages, with rideshare drop-offs at Honeybee and Alliance.

Bring a chair, sunscreen, cash for tips, and the friend who never comes out — this is the one.

Saturday at a glance
7:30 AM5K fun run, then 9 AM community yoga at Suttree Landing
10:30 AMSevier Ave closes — Dixie to Davenport
12:00 PMStreet festival opens — vendors, food, stage
6:00 PMFestival wraps on Sevier
8:00 PMAfter-parties: Pink Cactus, Hi-Wire, Club XYZ, Core, Fly by Night & more

On the stages — noon to six

Four stages run drag, DJs, and live sets straight through the afternoon. Set times are subject to change — the live grid is on @soknopride.

Hi-Wire stage
12:00 PMOpening ceremony + Appalachian Equality Chorus
12:45 PMDrag show: Morphine Drip, Mercedes Alexander, Annatomical, Lotza Minnailmi, Tyra Von Shade, Anne Atomic
2:00 PMSchrodinger's Gag
3:00 PMNoah Gray
4:00 PMSchrodinger's Gag
4:45 PMHonkers & Bangers (Pink Cactus → Hi-Wire)
5:15 PMDrag show: Morphine Drip, Jaxon Screws, Ondreah Montrose, Ace Matthews, Anastasia Alexander
Honeybee Coffee
HostAlexandra Cartier
1:30 PMDrag show: Morphine Drip, Vandeja Voo, Lana Mars, Diana Hart
3:00 PMDrag show: Morphine Drip, Colin Butte, Johnny Deep, Vivian Valentine, The Platinum Angel, Royal Disaster
4:30 PMDrag show: Morphine Drip, Beebee Alexander, Twinkie, Shawn Dick
Fly by Night
12:30 PMDJ Kasa
2:15 PMJude Mauk
3:45 PMDrag show: Morphine Drip, Rahla Abdul, Vory Trade, Wella Butrin, Manny Hoze
5:15 PMDJ Kasa
Redbud Kitchen
1:00 PMMegan Pennington
3:00 PMNaomi McMahan
4:45 PMManstett

8 PM on — the after-parties

When the street clears, the party scatters. The official after-parties start at eight, with headline spots at The Pink Cactus, Hi-Wire Brewing (closing early), Club XYZ, Core, and Fly by Night — plus more at Alliance Brewing, Honeybee Coffee, the Redbud, South Coast Pizza, and Southside Garage. Each runs its own show; the full rundown's on @soknopride.

Top Stories & Events

Hot
Old Sevier

Pride on Sevier Avenue

5K & yoga at 7:30, street fest noon–6, after-parties at 8.

Ijams Park

Phenomenal Fireflies

A guided night walk into the Ijams glow.

Old Sevier

Make Music Day

Bluegrass, karaoke, and free music all over SoKno.

Kern's

Roni's Mac Bar

The build-your-own mac-and-cheese bar has landed.

Ijams Park

Ijams Park

The fireflies are back, and Ijams will walk you in

For a couple of perfect weeks the Ijams trails put on a show no ticket can buy — and this weekend a naturalist will walk you right into it.

When
Fri Jun 19 & Sat Jun 20 · 9–10:30 PM
Where
Ijams, 2915 Island Home Ave
Ages
16+
Note
Registration required
Dusk, the good hour

The fireflies come up out of the grass around full dark, and if you stand still long enough you'll feel like you wandered into a snow globe someone forgot to shake. Ijams' Phenomenal Fireflies walk sends you out with a naturalist who knows where to look — and how to keep the magic going for the rest of us.

A few neighborly asks the guides will echo: skip the flashlight, wear real shoes (it's up to two miles over uneven ground), and let the little glowers do their thing. The walk is sixteen and up, and you'll need to register ahead — no walk-ins on this one.

Ijams Park

Ijams Park

Up early? Watch the songbirds get banded

One of the quietest little wonders in the city happens at 7:30 in the morning: migratory songbirds, safely tagged and sent on their way.

When
Sat, Jun 20 · 7:30 AM
Where
Ijams Nature Center
Bring
Coffee + patience
A warbler, up close

If you can be up and out by 7:30, the banding table is worth the early alarm. Volunteers gently catch migratory songbirds in fine nets, fit each one with a tiny numbered band, take a few quick measurements, and let it go — real data for science, and a once-in-a-while look at a warbler close enough to count its feathers.

It's a hike out to the table and an early start, so bring coffee and a little patience. The birds set the schedule, not us.

Old Sevier

Old Sevier

Make Music Day turns the whole neighborhood into a stage

Sunday is Make Music Day, and SoKno is doing its part — free, all day, all over, from a bluegrass jam at Ijams to live-band karaoke on Sevier.

When
Sun, Jun 21 · 2–8 PM
Where
Ijams + Sevier Ave
Cost
Free
Pull up a chair, or a banjo

Make Music Day is the global, free, play-anywhere celebration of the longest day of the year, and the South Knoxville lineup is exactly as charming as you'd hope. Start at Ijams, where the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association holds an open jam from 2 to 5 — pull up a chair, or bring an instrument and sit in.

Then head up to Sevier, where The Pink Cactus hands you the mic for live-band karaoke with Tinca Tinca from 5 to 7 — yes, you, fronting an actual band. Down the street, Fly by Night runs sets from Lu Anderson and Villaphonic into the evening.

All of it is free. Wander, listen, and sing the one song you actually know.

Kern's

Kern's

Roni's Mac Bar has landed at Kern's

The build-your-own mac-and-cheese spot has made its way to South Knoxville — and the word on the street is it's open.

Status
Open now
Where
Kern's Food Hall, 2201 Kern's Rising Way
The deal
Build-your-own mac
A bowl with a view

Roni's Mac Bar — the build-your-own bowl of elbow macaroni and cheese — has set up shop inside Kern's Food Hall on the old bakery campus. We've heard from more than one neighbor that the doors are open and the cheese is flowing.

We're getting the full scoop (and, in the name of journalism, a full bowl) and we'll report back. If you beat us to it, you know where to send your review — we're all ears.

Sources:Kern's Food HallTip from A. Roberts

Old Sevier

Old Sevier

A quiet corner of Sevier Avenue could go commercial

A residential parcel near the north end of Sevier has a rezoning request in front of the Planning Commission. Here's what's actually on the table.

Where
2704 Sevier Ave
Change
RN-2 → C-N
Hearing
Planning Comm. · Jul 9
Source
knoxplanning.org
Sevier Ave, in transition

A parcel at 2704 Sevier Avenue — up at the northeast end, near Baker — has a rezoning request working its way through the system. The owner, through Connolly Development Ventures, is asking to move it from RN-2, single-family residential, to C-N, neighborhood commercial.

In plain terms: a lot zoned for a house could be cleared for a small neighborhood business. Nothing's decided yet — the Planning Commission takes it up on July 9, with the staff recommendation due about a week before. It's the kind of small change that quietly shapes what Sevier Avenue becomes, so we'll be watching. You can too.

Old Sevier

Old Sevier

For the locals

Where
East end of the Old Sevier strip
Years in the making

If you know, you know.

It seemed like such a simple thing, years ago, when the traffic circle was first proposed. The chart above is the official update.