Jack Rentfro: Earth Day Benefit Concert for Hellbender Press
That little tabloid you see in the freebie rack around town—the one that is doing all it can to save the planet, one reader at a time—needs your help.
The enviro ‘zine’s party also will provide a good opportunity to pick up the latest edition of Hellbender. Aspiring environmental reporters are invited to submit articles or just come down and discuss issues of community interest with the paper’s editors. Over a beer, of course.
Showtime is 9:30 p.m., immediately following the Friday poetry slam hosted by the Corner. A donation of at least $5 is requested. Headlining are Tommy Bateman and the Thunderthieves, the fascinating chamber music alter ego of Knoxville’s favorite pop-juggernaut, the Rockwells. The Thunderthieves, whose members include Bateman and his brothers, real and imaginary, are expected to take the stage around 11:15 p.m. They will be preceded by the Apocalypso Quartet, an amalgam of spoken word and music by Phil Pollard, Jack Rentfro, Chris Zuhr and Nathan Barrett. Musically inclined Hellbender staff members will entertain earlier in the evening, starting with Rikki Hall and his group, Goodbye to Locks. A door prize will be given to the contestant who figures out whether Hall’s group is named in reference to TVA or some sort of desperate tonsorial proclivity. Hall will be followed by Hellbender assistant editor Amanda Womac performing with a friend as Southern Smoke. Holly Briggs of May Gray also is on the schedule.
“Hellbender is a paper editors and writers believe in and want to see succeed,” Womac says. “That's what sustains us. So this benefit concert is a great opportunity for folks to come out and support their hometown environmental paper. We need and appreciate every cent. Anything people can give, we'll take and put to great use.”
Womac believes Hellbender’s mission is to “report on local issues and help educate East Tennesseans on the intricate role our environment plays in our survival. So, a benefit concert is a chance to put us ‘doom and gloom’ environmentalists out there in the community, dancing and drinking, having fun and talking about these issues. Benefits are a fun way for us to get support, both financial and community.”
For more information, contact Womac at 406.2964 or email: editor@hellbenderpress.com
The Corner Lounge
842 N. Central Ave.
865.971.1711
Doors open at 9:00 p.m., Show starts at 9:30
Sliding scale donations ($5 min.) will be taken at the door
18+
Featuring:
Goodbye to Locks
Southern Smoke
Holly Briggs (of May Gray)
Apocalypso Quartet (Phil Pollard, Jack Rentfro, Chris Zuhr, Nathan Barrett)
Tommy Batemen and the Thunder Thieves
Read more about the history of Knoxville's Hellbender Press here!