Liv Coffman and CJ Meffe from No Dezire performing at a local Chattanooga venue. Coffman is a feature vocalist for the band and performs with them occasionally. Saturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo by Lauren White)
In a city known for its vibrant outdoor scene, the indoor ecosystem of music thrives on homegrown and local musicians, such as bands like No Dezire, Cardboard Cutout, Penalty Shot and Post Psychosis.
Chattanooga’s music scene grows through musicians like these who teach themselves to record, bands that organize their own shows and audiences who return to hear them play. The recent closing of a local all-ages venue has prompted conversations about accountability and artists’ responsibility to their audiences.
C.J. Meffe is a member of No Dezire, a band contributing to Chattanooga’s local music scene. Through his experiences with the band, Meffe offers a look into the local music community and the work that goes into performing and connecting with audiences. His story highlights the musicians that help shape Chattanooga’s music scene, and how fans can keep live music thriving throughout the city.
Members of those bands describe different paths through the scene and the challenges of keeping music accessible, safe and sustainable.
Martha Meeks looks towards the window at the CHATT Foundation where she works as a Peer Support Specialist. She uses her lived experiences to guide and support unhoused individuals in the Chattanooga area. Friday, October 16, 2026. (Photo by Ashlyn Yoes)
Martha Meeks spent seven years unhoused, sleeping inside tents and under bridges, afraid to fall asleep. Today, she is a Peer Support Specialist at the CHATT Foundation, and spends every day helping people who are living through what she experienced.
Housing had been a struggle for Meeks since being put out of her home by her foster parents at the age of 16. In 2008, she was in college, working two jobs and raising a child, when an incident occurred that caused her to have a nervous breakdown. She became unhoused, an experience she says is far more common than people may expect.
“It really could happen to anybody,” said Meeks. “That could be your child.”
Camille Wilson makes a handle for the ceramic mugs she has been working on in the Scenic City Clay Arts member studio. Wilson is a student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and spends a lot of her free time working with clay in the studio. Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Photo by Ashlyn Yoes)
In a basement of a downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee building, music and the low hum of pottery wheels can be heard. The studio is full of members throwing pottery, cutting clay, and having quiet conversations.
What started as a community artist space for working potters to come together, evolved into a 300+ member arts studio that many Chattanooga residents use as a getaway. Scenic City Clay Arts (SCCA) allows for members and students alike to have access to ceramics and all things clay that are otherwise too expensive for them to participate in.
Members and students have made SCCA their home, using the space as an escape, a safe space, and as a creative outlet. “We have members who are working through grief in the studio, and this is their outlet. This is their therapy,” said Madeline Wright, executive director of SCCA.
Blake Pierce washing a bike outside of the WOBC warehouse in preparation to give it away at the Traffic Garden Jamz event. Pierce is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of WOBC. Friday, April 3, 2026. (Photo by Ashlyn Yoes)
In the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a quiet yet powerful movement is taking place. It is not built on grand gestures, but on simple acts of generosity and connection. White Oak Bicycle Co-op may look like a modest operation at first, but behind its doors, lives are being repaired one bike at a time. White Oak addresses two major challenges at once: access to transportation and access to physical activity.
At the center of it all is Blake Pierce, the executive director and co-founder, whose vision continues to guide the organization. What started as neighbors fixing bikes in garages has grown into something much bigger. For Pierce, White Oak is more than just a bike shop; it’s a direct response to real needs within the community.
White Oak Bicycle Co-op is a local Chattanooga non-profit that specializes in providing bikes and repair services to underprivileged and children in the community. Produced by Kara Newstreet.
“We saw early on that transportation was one of the biggest barriers people were facing,” Pierce says. “A simple bike can remove that barrier almost immediately.”
A group of adventurers navigate paths with adaptive gear. Each chair is built to handle the challenges of the trail. They’re able to enjoy access, freedom, and the joy of being outside. Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Photo by Andromeda Stewart)
A steady rhythm of metal and motion cuts through a quiet trail, the soft clicking of chains, the hum of wheels as hands push left, right, left along a path through Greenway Farms in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Somewhere between effort and ease, mechanics and mountainside, Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors’ Therapeutic Recreation department is bridging a gap. With the help of brand new GRIT adaptive junior wheelchairs, it’s not just about access to local trails, but a sense of belonging that all youth deserve.
Making Chattanooga’s scenic trails accessible to all is no single effort. It is the result of collaboration and dedication shared between GRIT Freedom’s All-Terrain wheelchair technology, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s quality-of-life grant, and the Chattanooga Therapeutic Recreation department’s intimate team. “Really zooming out and saying, all right, so we know it can be done, but it’s how is it gonna be done?” Therapeutic Recreation Department Head Elaine Gossett said. “Chattanooga is a great place to get outside, but it doesn’t necessarily make every trail accessible.”
Ellie Heinichen speaks at the Tennessee Riverpark. She aims to teach the audience about the Therapeutic Recreation Department as well as the many adaptive programs that are available for her son David. The Rec Department organizes adaptive biking and now offers all terrain wheelchairs.
At its core, the initiative addresses a simple, but substantial roadblock: traditional wheelchairs just aren’t built for outdoor trails. GRIT Freedom Chair CEO Derek Johnson explains, “Traditional wheelchairs get stuck on almost anything…rocks, cracks, sticks, stumps, mud, sand… They just aren’t suitable for off-road trails.”
St. Peters and Paul Basilica located in Chattanooga, Tennessee has been an influential part of the community since its construction dating back to 1888-1890 in bringing the community together in worship. Holding recognition for being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the potential development of a 12 story building nearby sparked conversations of the risk of shading the beautiful ambiance of the hand painted, stained glass windows. The church and community came together to protect their sacred foundations in harmony with local construction developers.
In the heart of downtown Chattanooga, TN, where brick and modern storefronts stand shoulder to shoulder, the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul rises with a quiet glory. For more than a century, its twin spires and complex stonework have anchored East Eighth Street, drawing worshippers, visitors, and observers into a space defined by reverence and light. It is a church known not only for its architectural beauty, but for its roots in the civic and spiritual life of the city.
In December 2025, word reached Father David Carter, pastor and rector of the basilica, that a zoning change had been proposed for the property directly behind and beside the church. Initially, plans indicated that an existing three-story building on Lindsay Street would be replaced by a six-story structure. Development is not uncommon in a growing city, and at first, the proposal seemed manageable.
Jackie Sims and Maggie Clark in the Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul. The pair go to different churches as they travel, and this is the first time they see the Basilica, with its stained-glass windows. Thursday, February 12, 2026. Photo By Cj Copeland
Suddenly, the plan changed, and the six-story concept became a 12-story apartment building.
The anonymous artist behind Potholes of Chattanooga cleans up her street installation. The 70s-classic smiley face is accompanied by morse code that reads “S-M-I-L-E” (Photo by Kayleyn McCaslin).
A dip of the steering wheel. An unexpected two-inch drop down. A sudden slosh of hot coffee. Another Chattanooga pothole deep enough to drown a tire, and wide enough to ruin a morning. While any street in the city has its own inconvenient imperfections, some gaps are filled by something unexpected: bright yellow mosaic smiley faces, grinning up from the asphalt.
They appear subtly, often overnight, on side streets that usually don’t warrant second thought. Evenly spread throughout town, there is no rhyme or reason to the installations other than the fact that they each take the place of a pothole. But this is not the city healing broken pavement.
Instead, it is the work of a faceless mosaic artist who has sought both personal revenge and silly enjoyment by filling potholes in secret.
Defend Systems’ active shooter training arrived at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga following a fake active-shooter 9-1-1 call on August 21, 2025. All UTC faculty and staff were required to attend a three-hour Defend Systems training designed to improve preparedness and response to armed violence threats. (Video by Kayelyn McCaslin).
Written by Malcolm Key
Malcolm Key speaks with Sean O’Brien and Brink Fidler about the false-flag shooting alert at UTC in August 2025. The pair discuss their hope to arm people with education in order to confront questions of public safety within higher education.
Run. Hide. Fight. A message of few words, but of massive impact for students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on August 21, 2025. Just one full week into the first semester, students had to act on instinct: barricading into closets and running to the closest outgoing car. Within minutes, city law enforcement redirected to UTC to join campus police in sweeping every inch of campus, prepared to find the threat and establish safety. After the dust settled, and no signs of injury or gunfire were found, UTC Police debriefed, with an emphasis on the question, “How can we do better?”
Kendra Norwood and her hula students hit the final pose of a dance combination. The free dance class was hosted at Studio 34 in Chattanooga by The Pop-Up Project. Monday, November 23, 2025. (Photo by Sydney Banks)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a blooming, bustling city in every sense of the words. Beyond its iconic natural landscapes, it thrives with a vibrant arts culture. Theater companies, music clubs, dance classes, the ballet, the symphony, and many other groups are among the most pivotal organizations in the community.
In January 2025, ArtsBuild, a private non-profit arts organization, announced a feasibility study to evaluate the need for a new performing arts center (PAC) in Chattanooga. Despite its vibrant arts scene, the city is grappling with a major issue: a lack of appropriate, flexible, mid-sized performing arts facilities. Local artists are restricted to rehearsing and performing in spaces that are unable to accommodate each type of audience; an aspect of the performing arts that is extremely important to the viewer’s experience.
This study examined the disconnect between local art groups and their individual struggles with limited space. Project manager Blake Harris, an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee and the artistic director of the local theater company Obvious Dad, initiated the study after recognizing these issues.
