Photo by Associated Press files
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (center) is accompanied by Rev. Jesse Jackson (left) and Rev. Ralph Abernathy at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968. That evening Dr. King delivered his last public speech to an audience of more than 2,000 at Mason Temple.
FRIDAY
Battle of the Blues
Beale Street and Downtown Memphis will be buzzing this weekend as blues fans and musicians from across the country and around the world take part in the 28th International Blues Challenge. The musical competition -- presented by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, which also stages the Blues Music Awards -- kicked off Tuesday and concludes this weekend. A special youth blues showcase is set for 4 p.m. Friday afternoon at various Beale Street venues. Semifinals will follow, starting at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the event moves to the Orpheum for the finals in both the band and solo/duo categories.
Wristbands are $15 for Youth Showcase and semifinals Friday. Band finals start at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Orpheum, 203 S. Main. Tickets are $32.50. Solo/duo finals start at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $22.50. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through . For more information, including a list of acts and venues, go to , or call (901) 527-2583.
Art Everywhere
There are exhibitions and opening receptions all over town. Starting in Midtown, at Gallery Fifty Six, there's a reception from 5 to 8 for "Winter Invitational," a show of work by 12 artists. Moving east, the Art Museum of the University of Memphis hosts a reception from 5 to 7:30 for the "29th Annual Juried Student Exhibition," selected by Barbara McAdam, deputy editor of ARTnews; awards announced at 6. Farther east, at L Ross Gallery, there will be a reception from 6 to 8 for "It's Not All Black and White," abstract paintings by David Comstock, and new caricatures by Mike Caplanis. Then it's on to Harrington Brown Gallery, which will host a reception from 6 to 8 for "Paintings from the Heart," work by four artists. And not far away, Lisa Kurts Gallery will open "Lisa Kurts Collection," an exhibition that honors the gallery's late founder, with a reception from 6 to 8.
Gallery Fifty Six, 2256 Central, (901) 276-1251; AMUM, Communications & Fine Arts Building, (901) 678-2224; L Ross Gallery, 5040 Sanderlin, (901) 767-2200; Harrington Brown Gallery, 5179 Wheelis, (901) 590-3008; Lisa Kurts Gallery, 766 S. White Station, (901) 683-6200.
French violist Marc Desmons performs the Bartok Viola Concerto this weekend with the Eroic Ensemble.
Elizabeth Garat's "Sunday, June, Countryside, Memphis" is showing in "Paintings from the Heart," an exhibition of four artists at Harrington Brown Gallery in East Memphis.
August repertoire
Each year, Hattiloo Theatre stages a different play by August Wilson. Opening this weekend is "Two Trains Running," a drama that unfolds in a Pittsburgh diner slated for demolition under urban renewal. The characters, each with "loud voices and big hearts," try to understand how their lives and heritage can still make a difference. Set during the turbulent 1960s, the play debuted on Broadway in 1992, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
656 Marshall; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 26. Tickets are $10-$25. Call (901) 525-0009.
Relative comedy
Thomas Miles, the actor, comedian and emcee best known as "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" co-host Nephew Tommy, continues his stand at Harrah's Casino Tunica's Funny Bone comedy club with shows tonight and Saturday.
13615 Old Highway 61, Tunica Resorts, Miss. Showtimes: 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and midnight Saturday. Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 day of show. Advance tickets available by phone at (662) 357-4242 and online at funnybonetunica.com.
SATURDAY
Bartok by Eroica
Bela Bartok was in the terminal stages of leukemia when he began writing his Viola Concerto in July 1945. The Eroica Ensemble performs the composer's last statement this weekend, joined by Marc Desmons, principal viola of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France. Also on the program is Verdi's Overture to "La Forza del Destino" and Brahms' Symphony No. 2.
7:30 p.m. Saturday at First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, 1801 Exeter. Admission is free, donations accepted. Call (901) 497-9600.
SUNDAY
Featuring Freida
Freida Hamm is perhaps the most beloved artist handled by David Lusk Gallery, so it's appropriate that the opening reception for her exhibition of new paintings, "Looking Again," should be Saturday instead of Friday, when so many other galleries host receptions. The work will be displayed through March 3.
3-5 p.m. 4540 Poplar in Laurelwood, (901) 767-3800.
TUESDAY
Kernal of truth
The Jackson, Tenn.-based "imaginary country music" singer-songwriter known simply as The Kernal combines the best of classic honky-tonk songcraft with a quirky modern twist. He even put out last year's debut, Farewellhello, in a limited edition that shipped as a digital download code inside of a beer bottle. The Kernal brings his unique vision to the Hi-Tone Cafe, with special guest The Nobility and our own Memphis Dawls.
1913 Poplar. Doors open at 8 p.m. Cover: $5. For more information, call (901) 278-8663, or visit hitonememphis.com.
WEDNESDAY
MLK tapes
Described as "chilling and immersive," the new documentary "MLK: The Assassination Tapes," scheduled to be screened later this month on the Smithsonian Channel, receives a preview screening at the National Civil Rights Museum. Producer-director Tom Jennings will be present to introduce and discuss his film, which tells the story of King in Memphis through the use of Memphis television and radio news reports that haven't been seen or heard in decades.
6 p.m., 450 Mulberry. Admission: free. Call (901) 521-9699, or visit civilrightsmusuem.org.
THURSDAY
Full 'Monty'
What is the airspeed of an unladen sparrow? If you don't know how to respond to that question, you owe it to yourself to meet the Knights Who Say Ni, the killer rabbit, the woman with huge tracts of land and the other sons of silly persons who inhabit "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," the 1974 parody that might have been the most-quoted cult comedy ever made until "The Big Lebowski" came along.
7 p.m., Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Tickets: $8, or $6 for museum members. Visit brooksmuseum.org.
Fun fest weekend
Like peanut butter and chocolate, the Oxford Film Festival and Oxford Music Festival have united for the greater good, bringing together more than 28 musical acts and more than 70 films for one long weekend of art and shenanigans. The opening-night film is "The Show Must Go On," about a community theater's murder-mystery play that is interrupted by real murder; opening-night performers include the Eric Deaton Trio, featuring Kent Kimbrough, son of blues legend Junior Kimbrough.
Thursday through Feb. 12, various venues, Oxford, Miss. Ticket prices vary; a pass to both events is $75. For more information, go to oxfordfilmfest.com.
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