Weekend Updates

How can the nightmare of cancer be made any worse? When your TennCare benefits are getting cut—you know, the ones that pay for luxuries like treatment. That's the dilemma facing Suzanne "Zanny" Caudet Parker. A musician who once defeated a pediatric bone cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma that rarely strikes adults, Parker moved here in 2000 and formed the duo Beyond Violet with Will Parker. They married in December 2004—and just when they should have been happiest, the cancer was found again.

Now Zanny Caudet Parker is too sick to perform. Worse, she has received notice that TennCare will no longer cover the cost of her chemotherapy, her prescriptions or her recovery. To help, a fund called Friends of Zanny (www.friendsofzanny.org) has been established to help meet her medical costs, and friends are trying every fundraising angle they can find.

How can the nightmare of cancer be made any worse? When your TennCare benefits are getting cut—you know, the ones that pay for luxuries like treatment. That's the dilemma facing Suzanne "Zanny" Caudet Parker. A musician who once defeated a pediatric bone cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma that rarely strikes adults, Parker moved here in 2000 and formed the duo Beyond Violet with Will Parker. They married in December 2004—and just when they should have been happiest, the cancer was found again.

The latest is the Zanny Gaudet "Cancer Sucks" Benefit ConcertTuesday at the Mercy Lounge. Performers include Andy Z & Appalachia Rock Therapy, Garage Deluxe, D-tox & the Redneck Rockstars, Johnny Few & The Holy Smoke Band and Old Union & Friends. A donation of $10 will be taken at the door, with a free appetizer buffet starting at 6 p.m. For more information, call 957-6949.

♦ One of the greatest rock 'n' roll movies ever made, 1964's performance film The T.A.M.I. Show captures the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, The Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson, Chuck Berry and Lesley Gore in their prime. It's been hard to find in recent years, but the Belcourt hosts a special outdoor screening 8 p.m. Sunday in its parking lot. The showing is free and open to the public, or for a few dollars you can watch from your car, drive-in style. Call 846-3150 in case of bad weather.

♦ One of the greatest rock 'n' roll movies ever made, 1964's performance film The T.A.M.I. Show captures the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, The Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson, Chuck Berry and Lesley Gore in their prime. It's been hard to find in recent years, but the Belcourt hosts a special outdoor screening 8 p.m. Sunday in its parking lot. The showing is free and open to the public, or for a few dollars you can watch from your car, drive-in style. Call 846-3150 in case of bad weather.

♦ Priscilla Sanders has traveled from Nashville to Hawaii honing her summery, lilting songs, only to return to her native Middle Tennessee with a well-reviewed new CD, Ride a Wave with Me. After filling clubs and getting radio play in Maui, she and Steven Liné are currently performing as a duo. They'll perform and sign copies of the CD at a special free concert 7 p.m. Saturday at Borders West End. She's also the city's only distributor of clothing made from bamboo fiber; you can find out more by checking out her website, www.priscillasanders.com.

♦ This weekend, help 3-year-old Kate Kirk in her ongoing medical struggle with the rare genetic disorder Niemann-Pick Disease by hitting the links. Saturday's "For Kate's Sake" Golf Scrambleat Shelby Bottoms is open to ages 5 to adult, though any team member under 8 needs adult supervision. Raffles and a silent auction cap the festivities. The suggested donation per player is $25, with all proceeds going to help the Kirk family with their medical expenses. See www.forkatessake.org for more information.

♦ This weekend, help 3-year-old Kate Kirk in her ongoing medical struggle with the rare genetic disorder Niemann-Pick Disease by hitting the links. Saturday's "For Kate's Sake" Golf Scrambleat Shelby Bottoms is open to ages 5 to adult, though any team member under 8 needs adult supervision. Raffles and a silent auction cap the festivities. The suggested donation per player is $25, with all proceeds going to help the Kirk family with their medical expenses. See www.forkatessake.org for more information.

♦ The view of the neon-strewn midway from the 90-foot Ferris wheel is worth the trip to the Williamson County Fair, as well as the line you'll wait in to get it. The county's first fair in 55 years closes Saturday, giving you just two more days of roasted corn, funnel cake, pony rides, cooking contests, bumper cars, geek-baiting and rocketing upside-down toward the stars. We recommend going at sunset for the effect of purest Americana, but the lines may be shorter after 10 p.m. Head down I-65 to the exit past Franklin and 96; you'll see the Ferris wheel above the tree line.

♦ Well, he doesn't look a half-century old. Western Beat impresario Billy Block, one of the country's most tireless champions of Americana music, celebrates his 50th birthday with an all-star hoedown Tuesday at the Exit/In. Well-wishers at this edition of Block's nationally syndicated Western Beat Radio show include Jody Evans, Dave Olney, Kevin Welch, Pat McLaughlin, Jubal Lee Young and Buck Jones. Call the fire department to help put out all those candles.