Channel 865 turns Mead's Quarry into a dance floor from noon to sundown
Six DJs, eight hours, the quarry lake behind the decks, and no ticket. Sunday's End of Summer Jam at Ijams Park is free and all ages, on the first cool weekend since June.
- When
- Sun Sep 27 · noon until sundown (listed to 8 PM)
- Where
- Mead's Quarry, Ijams Park · 3526 Island Home Ave
- Cost
- Free · all ages
- On the decks
- Alex Falk, Boy Acuff, Cheers, Innsaei, Jmo, Zee Other
- Food & drink
- Ijams beer garden and concessions open all day · a food truck on site
- Sunset
- 7:25 PM, which is when the music is meant to stop
- Weather
- Mostly sunny, high near 78, a low of 52 that night
Channel 865, the Knoxville DJ collective, takes over Mead's Quarry again on Sunday, and the plan is simple: start at noon, stop when the sun goes down, and let the quarry do the rest. The park bills it as an End of Summer Jam, which is a fair name for a day that lands on the first weekend in months with a high under 80. It is free, it is open to all ages, and the lineup runs six deep — Alex Falk, Boy Acuff, Cheers, Innsaei, Jmo and Zee Other.
Why the quarry works for this
Mead's Quarry is a flooded marble pit with a rock wall on one side and a lawn on the other, so the sound has somewhere to go and the crowd has somewhere to sit. The Ijams beer garden and the concession stand are open the whole day, there is a food truck on the property, and the lake is right there for anyone who wants to rent a paddleboard between sets. Come for one set or stay for all six: the noon start leaves a whole afternoon to drift in, and the sundown finish is the part worth being there for.
The practical part
Bring a blanket or a chair, a hat for the early afternoon, and a layer for the last hour — Sunday's high is about 78 and the temperature drops fast once the sun is off the water. Sunset is 7:25, so the sundown finish means roughly a quarter past seven. Parking in the Ijams Park lots is $5 a car and free for members. The quarry is at the far end of Island Home Avenue past the main Visitor Center; follow the signs for Mead's Quarry.
