Maybe it is the kind of doom felt by African Americans running from the slaveholders in the 1850s and '60s, hiding and waiting on the Underground Railroad. Today, the doom still looms in the black community, largely isolated on the wrong side of the tracks. Thou from hence my All shalt be. It is also evident in the music. But before the doom can be fully explained, here are a few favorite places in Knoxville, places not so secret really, just special enough to save mention for a departure.
Place is important.
This is, after all, the Deep South. Knoxville has its own Grassy Knoll. One of the great benefits of living in a neighborhood with an urban university is the free music. When you are a college student and broke, the cover price for a big-name concert is sometimes hard to come by. But there is a great little grassy hill, under a tree by the oversized Rubic's Cube, across from the chocolate factory.