The Daily Beacon • July 12 2025

‘Rockin’ Ears for 40 Years’: WUTK celebrates anniversary with year-long campaign

UT’s college radio station 90.3 WUTK The Rock turns 40 this year. Their “Rockin’ Ears for 40 Years” anniversary slogan headlines a campaign that will be a year-long fundraiser and celebration for one of the most successful college stations in the country.The “Forty for 40” fundraising campaign, with a goal to raise $40,000 by year’s end for a new transmitter and tower site, has become a reminder of how many local bands have been brought on air over the years and have made their mark by playing t...

The Daily Beacon • July 12 2025

UT exhibits, events highlight comics as art across the last century

The Art and Architecture Building is presenting an exhibit in the Ewing Art Gallery titled “A Serious Look at the Funnies: 100 Years of Comics,” which mostly shows the work of cartoonist, publisher and comicstorian, Denis Kitchen. The exhibit will be shown through Feb. 28.Kitchen chose 117 of his works to show among many others in the exhibit which represent a century of comic history in America, dating from as far back as 1906 and up to 2019. Other artists featured in the collection are R. Crum...

The Daily Beacon • October 11 2022

'Blonde' Review: An adaptation that belittles Marilyn Monroe

If you can handle watching non-stop vulgarity for three hours, then you might like "Blonde" on Netflix. I have watched the Amazon Prime series "The Boys," and I did not feel nearly as uncomfortable as I did while watching this film.

The film starts off at a very early start of Marilyn’s life. Pretty quickly, it’s recognized that her mother is mentally unstable, abusive to her daughter and that her father left before Norma Jean – Marilyn’s real name – was even born.

Shortly after, her mother is

The Daily Beacon • November 3 2021

Fanboy Expo: Knoxville’s comic, pop culture, sci-fi convention

With an average of 30,000 visitors every year, Knoxville’s Fanboy Expo returned this year after previous COVID-19 limitations, hosting many celebrity and comic professional guests.

The line up this year consisted of a lot of “Star Trek” cast members such as William Shatner, George Takei, Walter Koenig and many others. There were also members of “Supernatural,” “Cobra Kai” and “Terminator 2.” WWE stars such as Mick Foley, Money Inc. and Lex Luger also made an appearance.

Even some voice actors

The Daily Beacon • February 16 2022

Comedian and YouTuber Noel Miller fills out Student Union with dark humor

On Tuesday Feb. 15 at 6:15 p.m., the doors opened at the Student Union Auditorium for students to see YouTuber, podcaster, singer and stand-up comedian Noel Miller.

Most of Miller’s live shows sell-out so naturally, there was a line wrapped around the Student Union and out into the courtyard hours before the doors even opened. Some students had waited as early as 1 p.m. for Miller’s stand-up comedy show.

By 7 p.m., everyone was settled, and the 5’8” “short king” walked on stage to a roar of ch

The Daily Beacon • July 12 2025

Following UT housing complaints, students, faculty weigh in

Last year, the University of Tennessee’s “lottery system” was put into effect to aid in choosing which students would receive on-campus housing and who would have to find alternatives. With the 2022 fall semester bringing in the most freshman ever anticipated, there have been greater challenges than previous years.Now students are dealing with issues such as extremely long lines for food, full commuter parking spots and, for those that were in the lottery system, no place to live. Even average K...

The Daily Beacon • October 9 2024

River Breeze Event Center opens with ‘Fridays in Fall’ concert series

Parker Frost, a middle-aged “concert junkie,” visits on average 50 to 60 concerts a year and has found everything wrong with concert venues to create an ideal event center of his own.Frost envisioned a seamless concert experience starting from Downtown Knoxville. He pictured college students being able to walk about Market Square for food and then wanting to continue their evening at a concert venue.In 2020, Frost was looking to take a very large property — what used to be a drive-in in 1947, th...

The Daily Beacon • January 23 2023

Board of Trustees hear plans for new academic programs as spring semester begins

On Friday, the Board of Trustees Executive Committee held a virtual meeting to discuss updates from UT System President Randy Boyd, letters of notification approval for new academic programs across the system and the future for students trying to attend UT in fall 2023.

Boyd opened the meeting with a recap of last year's fundraising and enrollment numbers and records, titled “Igniting the Greatest Decade.” He covered events such as expanded access to dental care in rural communities through Hea

The Daily Beacon • December 1 2022

Spice and Tea Exchange opens on Gay Street, offers variety of custom blends

When people go on vacation, sometimes they’ll bring back a t-shirt or a snow globe. For Annette Morejon, owner of the Spice and Tea Exchange, she always brought back spices.

“I’ll always bring home whatever is food related,” Morejon said. “And I’ll say, ‘Oh, I brought you this amazing spice!’ And they say, ‘What the hell do I do with this?’”

For the last 22 years, Morejon has traveled a lot. She was a tour guide and a travel planner, traveling at least once a month varying from 10 days to six

The Daily Beacon • October 17 2022

Maple Lane Farms’ 24th year brings largest crowd yet

Maple Lane Farms, located in Greenback, Tennessee, opened for its 24th year this fall and it’s the epitome of a Hallmark movie.

The farm initially began in 1993, when owner Bob Schmidt grew his own pumpkins in the fall and sold them to the public. With such a successful event, Schmidt made the event annual and implemented the Maple Lane maze in 1999, which was Greenback’s first.

Maple Lane Farms is a great spot for an area full of plentiful activities. So far this year, every corner of the pro

The Daily Beacon • September 22 2022

Alumna Monica Brashears ('19) publishes debut novel 'House of Cotton' with another on the way

UT alumna Monica Brashears’s debut novel “House of Cotton” is set to be released everywhere April 4, 2023.

Brashears attended UT from 2015 to 2019 with a double major in English and Africana studies and a concentration in creative writing.

Brashears’s passion lies in writing books, but she is also interested in delving into screenwriting. Though her dream of writing has been with her since the fifth grade, she finally began her first book several years later.

Shortly after Brashears graduated

TheSmokies.com • October 9 2024

Sneak Peek: Big Expansion Unveiled at a Hobbit-Themed Attraction in TN

Bottom right: The new Elven and Luxury Elven Treehouses at Ancient Lore Village (photos by John Gullion and Lauren Ward/TheSmokies.com) As I drove up the winding driveway of Ancient Lore Village, I passed a golf cart in which the person behind the wheel had elf ears. I knew I had arrived at the right place. Ancient Lore Village is something out of a fairytale with cobblestone lining the houses and music that sounds like you’re in the middle of “The Princess Bride” movie.


Many bustling corresp...

TheSmokies.com • September 26 2024

The 4 Absolute Worst Times To Visit Dollywood, According to a Local

If you like to see lower wait times and fewer crowds, avoid these popular times to visit the Dollywood park (photos by Daniel Munson and Morgan Overholt/TheSmokies.com) As someone who has been to their fair share of theme parks like Walt Disney World and Dollywood, I know they all have one thing in common – they’re crowded. At times I am begging to find a park veteran who can give me their best-kept secret to keep the claustrophobia at bay.


Over the years, I have found that there are ways to...

Abeetz • June 4 2024

Hard Knox Pizza in Knoxville TN, Packs A Tasty Punch

Put your dukes up and work up an appetite in a place that’s as lively as hearing a bell go off to begin a match. Hard Knox Pizza is an undefeated champion.

As you walk in, you’re greeted with beautiful smells. To the left, a wall of cut wood ready to be placed in the brick oven nearby. To the right, plenty of seats, each table with an illustration of a famous fighter that you can read about while you wait for your pizza (I sat at the Mike Tyson table.). And just in front of you is where you can

Abeetz • January 2 2025

Is Cruze Farm Pizza Barn in Knoxville, TN worth the drive?

Looking for pizza in a vintage, down-home setting? Cruze Farm may be just the place for you. While the restaurant has four other locations outside of the pizza barn (though this is the only location that serves pizza), the successful farm is notorious for its assorted dairy products. But an equally-celebrated menu item is their pizza. With their pizza barn opening in 2018, it’s no wonder it and its ice cream has become a staple to the Knoxville area and a must-have stop for tourists.


Being on...