S6E21: The Metal Museum's expansion to Overton Park
Release Date: 06/12/2025
S7E4: Memphis Youth Symphony Program approaches its 60th year
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
In a world where technology sometimes seems to have overwhelmed music, the world of Memphis Youth Symphony Program is refreshing. The executive director, Jenny Davis, joined Eric Barnes on this week’s episode of to talk about the group’s programs and its history. Davis, who was a flutist and music teacher at Rhodes, also talked about the increasingly competitive realities of life as a musician trying to make it as a professional.
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S7E3: New leadership at Indie Memphis talks about the festival's future
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Alicia George really enjoys talking to people. Which is good, given her new role as co-executive director of Indie Memphis, which has big plans for a rebooted film festival in the fall. As Indie Memphis bounces back from a year without its signature film festival, Alicia joined Eric Barnes on this week’s episode of to talk about the organization’s future.
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S7E2: Brantley Ellzey on intensity and relief he finds in his new art exhibit
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Artist Brantley Ellzey joins Eric Barnes on this week’s episode of “The Sidebar” to talk about work, his life and his Crosstown Arts exhibit, titled “Reflection + Ritual + Refuge.”
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S7E1: What to expect as Baron Von Opperbean gets closer to opening on Mud Island
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Jee Vahn Knight, the CEO of BVO, talks about the attraction’s opening on March 7, the next phases of expansion and how their business model works.
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S6E41: Why giving is essential to The Daily Memphian
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Sarah Leach, The Daily Memphian’s director of fundraising and development, joins Eric Barnes on this week’s episode.
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S6E40: How Merit Academy pursues excellence in literacy
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
For Lakenna Booker, Memphis Merit Academy is about so many things — helping young kids with literacy, creating a thriving school for parents and their children, investing in her neighborhood, and more. Booker, who is the executive director of Memphis Merit Academy, joined Eric Barnes to talk about the charter school she founded in Parkway Village in 2019.
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S6E39: Lauren Ready uses the skills of journalism in new ways
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Lauren Ready has spent decades as a documentarian and TV journalist. Now she’s become an author, using her foundation in journalism to help business leaders and others to, as she says it, reveal deeper truths. Ready joined Eric Barnes to talk about her first book, “.” Ready, who is also the co-founder of Forever Ready, a video production that works with many local nonprofits and business, spent many years as a TV journalist. And her documentaries have won numerous awards.
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S6E38: Everystory, formerly Playback Memphis
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Virginia Reed Murphy, founder of Everystory, joins Eric Barnes to talk about the organization's name change and how the mission stays the same.
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S6E37: The plan to create an arts middle and high school in Memphis
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Katie Smythe of New Ballet Ensemble joins Eric Barnes to talk about turning the old Humes Middle School into a school focused on the arts for middle and high school students. - a project with a scale that is incredibly ambitious. The funding needs are massive and the timeline is not short.
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S6E36: How Grind City Amp plans to expand live music in Memphis
The Sidebar with Eric Barnes
Nick Barbian joins Eric Barnes on The Sidebar to talk about the goals for the outdoor venue located at Grind City Brewing in North Memphis.
info_outlineExecutive Director of the Metal Museum Carissa Hussong joins Eric Barnes to talk about what the expansion to the former Rust Hall means for the museum's programming and discuss the renovation process.