A Thriving Arts, Culture, and Music Scene

The Innovation Valley region has a vibrant cultural life, with music and performing arts events, museums, visual arts and crafts, art exhibits, festivals, and galleries.

• Outstanding classic music offerings are presented by two professional orchestras, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Oak Ridge Symphony. The Knoxville Opera offers thrilling performances as well as its annual Rossini Festival, celebrating the fun and excitement of opera and Italian culture.
• Popular music in every genre from country to pop is woven into the fabric of life, with live performances available at clubs, theaters, and festivals throughout the region.
• Critically acclaimed theatrical performance are given at the University of Tennessee’s Clarence Brown Theatre and the Oak Ridge Playhouse, one of the oldest community theaters in the Southeast.
• Professional ballet performance are offered by the internationally recognized Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble and the Appalachian Ballet Company.
• The area is home to WDVX radio station, a regional music station that has won wide recognition for its programming in bluegrass, Americana, alternative country, and old-time mountain music. It was named Bluegrass Station of the Year three times by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music.
• The Dogwood Arts Festival has been helping East Tennesseans usher in the spring for nearly 50 years. It’s a celebration of the region’s natural beauty that also showcases the work of performing and visual artists.
• The Knoxville Museum of Art has both permanent and rotating collections emphasizing emerging artists, regional artists, and fine crafts.
• The Museum of Appalachia is a living history presentation of pioneer and mountain life in the Southern Appalachians.
• The American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge houses exhibits and presentations on atomic energy, the history of science, World War II, robotics, and other scientific and technology subject.
• The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is a nationally know children’s museum that specializes in nontraditional interactive exhibits.