Busy Month for MACC: Songwriters Series, Art Class and the Return of The French Family Band

The promise of warmer weather means things are heating up at the Chuck Sennett Center for the Arts.

Night of Music

The next Music on the Mountain songwriters series will be Tuesday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the arts center. Hosted by Mentone resident Craig Hendricks, award-winning songwriter and full-time touring performer, the event is free to the public.

Come out for a night of learning and listening to family-friendly stories and songs. If you would like more information on attending or participating, please email crosscountrymusicproductions@gmail.com or call 256-884-1101.

A work by artist/instructor
Margaret Scanlan

Color Theory Class

We will host Color Theory Weekend with visiting artist/instructor Margaret Scanlan April 5-6 at Moon Lake Village. The two-day class is limited to 10 students. Tuition is $195 (plus supply fee directly to the instructor, as she will furnish all materials). At press time, the class had filled up, but we have a waiting list in case of any last-minute cancellations. See contact info below.

The Class: Spend a fun-filled weekend learning about color theory and playing with high-quality acrylic paint and paper. Sharpen your sense of personal color choices while learning about color-theory terms: hue, intensity, and value. Plan to have a good time in this well-paced, no-failure class. No painting experience necessary. Open to all levels.

About the Instructor: Margaret Scanlan is a full-time studio artist in Knoxville, Tennessee, working in acrylic and watercolor, large- and small-scale work. She is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, and the Watercolor USA Honor Society. She is represented locally at Bennett and in Ireland at Kenny Galleries.

For many years she has taught painting, drawing, and color theory workshops at Arrowmont (TN), the John C. Campbell Folk School (NC), Penland School (NC), Le Petit Bois Gleu (France), Chateau du Pin (France), and Killarney, Ireland. Her work is in numerous private, corporate, and public collections in the U.S. and Europe, including the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Springfield Art Museum (MO), Sloan-Kettering Hospital (NY), and L’Abbeye de la Roe (France). She also plays keyboards in a Celtic band, Red-Haired Mary.

The French Family Band

The French Family Band

There were still a limited number of tickets available at press time for The French Family Band’s two shows in Mentone on Saturday, May 31 (7-9 p.m.), and Sunday, June 1 (3-5 p.m.), The payment link is available on our Facebook page or we can email it to you.

Originally from Australia and now based in Nashville, The French Family Band (core trio features husband-wife duo Stuie and Camille French and their son Sonny) takes inspiration from the country and Western swing icons of decades past, creating and performing American roots music that’s most assuredly vibrant and fully alive. The group appeared on the legendary Grand Ole Opry four times in 2023, which is all the proof of life any fan should need. They have had ringing endorsements from folks like Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, among other greats.

Stuie and Camille and their three children moved to Nashville in 2019 after building a strong reputation back home. Over the course of nearly 20 years as the duo Camille and Stuie, they became one of Australia’s best-loved musical acts. They won three Australian Golden Guitar Awards, which are equal to the CMAs, and won another one in 2023 as The French Family Band.

When Covid hit, The French Family Band pivoted from playing traditional gigs to doing Facebook Live concerts from home. This turned out to be a winning strategy that exposed their music to the world. They built a Facebook following of more than 180,000 followers and created a global fan base that loves their music.