LISA DENTON: Barry, we got so excited about Robert Earl Keen's show last week that we had everybody heading to the Tivoli Theatre last Monday. Great news if you couldn't make it. It's actually tonight.
BARRY COURTER: There were two subjects in school that really gave me trouble: coloring inside the lines and reading calendars. Seriously, I don't mean to make light of getting such things wrong because it messes people up. I somehow convinced myself that last week was the last week of this month. It is good news that people haven't missed it. He brings his "Fam-O-Lee Back to the Country Jamboree" show to town tonight.
It will include tributes to some of country's greatest performances past and present, some of Keen's better-known songs and some Christmas material, including his "Merry Christmas From the Family."
LISA: Blame that calendar mistake on Thanksgiving. The last time we had five Thursdays in November was 2012. Of course, having that extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas is good for holiday shopping. I'm still a little sore from Black Friday.
BARRY: I didn't see your name in the arrest reports, so either you didn't get into any scrapes this year or you were stealthy. Either way, well done.
LISA: Black Friday and the World's Longest Yard Sale are like the Shopping Olympics for me. But there's plenty to do besides shopping this week. Just on Friday, the Secret Sisters are at Songbirds Guitar Museum, the Tri-Octaves are doing a Christmas concert at Christ United Methodist Church and there are tree lightings and community celebrations in East Brainerd, Sewanee and at Cravens House on Lookout Mountain.
Then Saturday, there's the big MainX24 festival on the Southside, the Chattanooga Boys Choir's Singing Christmas Tree at the Tivoli and the first of two "Comfort & Joy" concerts at First Presbyterian Church.
BARRY: It's pretty crazy isn't it? The good kind. So many things to do. I've been a big fan of the Secret Sisters since their debut in 2010. None other than T Bone Burnett produced their first record. "Tennessee Me" is still a favorite. They went on tour with Levon Helm and Ray LaMontagne and then later with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon. That's pretty good company.
And if folks have never experienced MainX24, it's a good time with lots to see, hear and taste.
LISA: There's so much to do, but they stretch it out from dawn to midnight so you can get around to most of it. There's a pancake breakfast, parade, adult Big Wheel race, chili cook-off, caroling and concerts and all kinds of food. And this year, for the first time, they'll have fireworks at 7 p.m.
It's the kind of frenzy that reminds me of Black Friday - a kinder, gentler version.
Get event details every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.