Valentine's Day with Kortland Whalum
Valentine’s Day with Kortland Whalum
Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center
Friday, February 14, 8 p.m.
Did you forget that Friday was Valentine’s Day? Uh, I definitely didn’t. Did I not realize that Friday was tomorrow? Maybe. Am I suggesting that you might be in need of some Valentine’s Day plans? Of course not! But I will just throw you one your way because I definitely don’t need one. You see, this Valentine’s Day, Kortland Whalum will enchant you and your loved one with an unforgettable concert featuring the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and romantic melodies. A post-concert reception with champagne and dessert will follow. Purchase tickets ($40-$100) here.
Variations on a Theme: Love, Longing, and Lederhosen
Opera Memphis
Saturday, February 15, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, February 16, 3 p.m.
Need another way to celebrate with your Valentine? Opera Memphis has you covered with this edition of Variations on a Theme, brimming with narratives of enraptured romance, devastating heartache, and pining for lost homeland and past relationships. The curated evenings of music will pay homage to Austro-German poets and composers of the 19th century, who probably wore lederhosen in their lifetimes: Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf. (I’m not sure where the lederhosen come in, but I’m sure you’ll find out at the show.)
A 15-minute pre-show talk will take place 30 minutes before each performance. Purchase tickets ($25) here.
photography courtesy evil woman | promotional
Evil Woman: The American E.L.O.
Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center
Saturday, February 15, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.
The Electric Light Orchestra is coming to Memphis. Well, not the Electric Light Orchestra. The American one that does a mighty good tribute to the original, and they’re not technically coming to Memphis. They’re hitting up the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center. But hey! They’re here, with 12 musicians including a string section (jeez louise!). It’s going to be a multimedia concert, bringing the best of ELO like “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” and (of course) “Evil Woman.”
Tickets ($40) can be purchased here.
photography courtesy metal museum
Rachel David’s Opening Reception and Artist Talk
Metal Museum
Sunday, February 16, 3 – 5 p.m.
Sometimes I write about art, and sometimes I copy and paste writing about art, but I always give credit. See how I’ve copied and pasted what the Metal Museum has to say about its upcoming exhibit: “‘Engorging Eden,’ a solo exhibition by Rachel David, is a love letter to forms that function, suggesting that as we connect with objects — willingly or unknowingly— these relationships can evolve into love or dependency. Her work presents furniture as a fragmented expression of life’s chaos, horrors, and joys. By infusing these often-overlooked pieces with conceptual narratives, she transforms them into interactive, thought-provoking elements beyond their functional role. Created in the wake of Hurricane Helene, much of this body of work reflects Asheville's climate-change-driven devastation. To minimize her carbon footprint, David sourced 85% of the materials from the Biltmore Iron and Metal scrapyard in Asheville, NC.”
Sounds very nice. Meet and hear from David at her opening reception and artist talk this Sunday. RSVP here.
“Engorging Eden” will be on display through May 11th.
photography courtesy Dixon Gallery & Gardens
Floyd Newsum: “House of Grace”
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Through April 6
Shall I give you another break from my writing and let the Dixon take over? “Floyd Newsum was fond of saying: ‘You can delay my success, but you cannot determine it,’ a variation of the well-known maxim, ‘Success delayed is not success denied.’ Newsum’s career exemplified this idea, having only achieved widespread recognition for his art relatively late in his life. The artist was well-known in the art scene in Houston where he had lived and worked as a professor of art at the University of Houston-Downtown for 48 years. … Despite his fame in Houston, the artist viewed ‘Floyd Newsum: House of Grace’ — the first major exhibition of his art in Memphis — as a homecoming.” Newsum died on August 14, 2024.
“‘Floyd Newsum: House of Grace’ features large paintings on paper and maquettes for public sculptures that represent the artist’s interest in social practice. The works in this exhibition were made between 2002 and 2024, a period of intense artistic flowering for Newsum marked by a shift in his style towards greater abstraction.”
