The Bijou Theatre is committed to supporting our community by providing access to our historic venue for events and performances that align with our mission. Since its inception in 2018, the Community Outreach Grant Program has offered local organizations the opportunity to use the Bijou at no cost, helping to amplify the voices and talents of those who may not have access to traditional performance spaces.
New in 2024: To better serve our community's evolving needs, we are transitioning the Community Outreach Grant to a rolling application process. This allows organizations to apply for support throughout the year, providing greater flexibility and ensuring we can assist groups whenever the need arises.
We welcome applications from organizations that align with the Bijou’s mission and values. Please review our application criteria, and submit your request anytime to be considered for this unique opportunity to utilize the Bijou Theatre.
Click here to access the grant application
Below is a list of upcoming and past Community Outreach Grant events:
Melodies of the Middle East
presented by
Arab American Club of Knoxville
Friday, October 17, 2025, 7:30PM
The Arab American Club of Knoxville (AACK) and the University of Tennessee’s Middle East Studies program invite you to a night of glamour, fun, and live Middle Eastern music.
Free and open to the public; general admission
Ramzi Aburedwan, Arabic Classical Music Composer from Palestine and his musical ensemble, Dal’Ouna
“An Exploration of the Levantine and Arab Musical Universe”
Established in 2000 when Ramzi Aburedwan lived in Angers, France, the Dal’Ouna Ensemble features original compositions as well as a wide range of Arab and Palestinian musical repertoire, both classical and folkloric. Dal’Ouna evokes the Levant’s vast musical universe and also that of the Mediterranean Orient which—from Syria to Iraq, from Egypt to Andalusia—has shaped the history of Palestinian music. Ramzi Aburedwan and his ensemble, Dal’Ouna, in playing the festive and folk music of Palestine, sing the daily life of that country inhabited by the hopes of a people who remain friendly, loving life, laughter, and singing. Ramzi Aburedwan also presents his own original compositions inspired by a wide range from the traditional Middle Eastern musical repertoire.
The Dal’Ouna Ensemble’s repertoire offers a blending of confluences of Oriental and Western music, with contemporary and jazzy accents. The musicians, who hail from different and diverse regions, invite us into their universe, their music, their poetry, and their traditions. In this way, they invite us into a journey to the sounds of Mediterranean and Arab instruments such as the bouzouk, the oud, oriental percussion such as the riq, the bendir or the darbuka, accompanied by the viola and the accordion. Their music can be instrumental, or accompanied by poetic songs speaking of love, freedom, and nature. The Dal’Ouna Ensemble is also a story of meetings, of sharing, a sensitive connection, devoid of borders, and a hope-bearing message.
Line up:
Ramzi Aburedwan, Bouzouk and musical direction
Moneim Adwan, Featured vocalist and oud
Ziad Ben Youssef, Oud
Michael Geyre, Accordion and keyboard
Bastien Anthoine, Percussions
Melodies of the Middle East is a fundraiser for the Arab American Club of Knoxville’s (AACK) Middle Eastern Cultural Engagement Endowment at the University of Tennessee, which funds UT student travel scholarships for study abroad in Arab countries.
In 2018, the Arab American Club of Knoxville (AACK) established the Middle Eastern Cultural Engagement Endowment at the University of Tennessee (UT). The endowment funds travel scholarships for UT students to do study abroad in Arab countries. While abroad, students often learn Arabic, participate in archeological digs, conduct research, or do other educational activities. The AACK believes that the best way to build intercultural understanding among Tennessee’s youth is to encourage more of them to travel to the Arab world to directly experience its cultural richness and beauty. Originally, the AACK’s endowment was $25,000 but this grew to $125,000 after a 2023 fundraiser. The AACK and the UT Middle East Studies program are working to increase the endowment to $200,000. This amount would fund four annual UT student travel scholarships of $2,000 each, in perpetuity.
Follow the link to learn more about the study abroad experiences of past UT student awardees of the AACK Travel Scholarship to Arab countries.
WDVX Kidstuff
with Sean McCollough,
featuring Billy Jonas Band
Saturday, July 27, 2024, 10:00AM
The best way to give somebody a love and appreciation of their culture is to start ‘em out when they’re young. Hosted by Sean McCollough, Kidstuff on WDVX is a show full of great music that kids and kids at heart will love. Most Saturdays the show is a mix of recorded and live music from inside the WDVX studio, but Sean hosts a special live performance edition every 2nd Saturday of the month that is free & open to the public! Click here for upcoming performance schedule. Singalongs, percussion, movement, and general chaos is the name of the game! Past performers include Jim Gill, Farmer Jason, Lunch Money, Four Leaf Peat, Miss Lynn and many others.
Billy Jonas believes that creating a bright future starts with singing along. Using homemade and re-cyclable “re-percussion” instruments, songs that celebrate community, as well as personal and planetary ecology, his all-ages think-outside-the-box performances occur at festivals, theaters, churches, and synagogues, schools, colleges, universities, and libraries around the country. Billy’s goal is to plant musical seeds that will help grow creative, open-minded, engaged, and open-hearted citizens of the world.
Some ask: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Billy Jonas asks: “What is the sound of 600 sets of keys jingling on the downbeat? and how shall we inspire the audience to do it?” For over thirty-five years, Billy Jonas; performer, singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and educator has perfected the art of the neo-tribal hootenanny around the globe; original songs performed with a generous dose of audience participation. Jonas performs solo or with his band, using voice, guitar, and ‘industrial re-percussion’ – homemade creations of buckets and barrels, keys and cans, bells, and body percussion. Each concert is a soul-spelunking, heart-healing, joy-filled journey of spirited music that is accessible to anyone and everyone, regardless of age or cultural background.
Variego3+
Music from El Rio de la Plata
with Knoxville Chamber Music Society
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 7:00PM
Music from El Rio de la Plata offers a blend between tradition and innovation which has been the main aesthetic focus of the Ensemble. The Variego3+ include Jorge Variego (clarinets and compositions) Taber Gable (piano), Matías Pedrana (bandoneón) and Rob Linton (bass). This concert is a collaboration with the Knoxville Chamber Music Society.
“… what I love the most about this album is the incredible variety of textures and organic sounds within. The ensemble has a warm, roomy tone which reminds me of old jazz records. On the other hand, the band is not afraid to experiment with distortion effects, li-fi dynamics and many other elements adding a grittier character to the mix. The sheer variety of sounds and influences in this release is also quite fantastic, giving the tracks a unique and memorable feel that truly stands out.”- Stacey Zering INK19
“…the Domino Ensemble’s debut album is an intriguing journey filled with contrasts and surprising shifts. The performers are all seasoned veterans who collaborate with ease and instinctively cross genres to form a style which is distinctly their own. Purple Ego is released by Centaur Records and is available on Spotify, Apple Music and from all major music retailers.” – Zachary Dierick – The Clarinet
“A great disc [Recompensa], and a treat for all jazz lovers. The range of styles is large; all three players are superb in their own right and even better together as one entity. A Want List candidate, for sure. […] five stars: A great disc, and a treat for all jazz lovers.” Colin Clarke – Fanfare