Fall 2024: Letter from the Editor

Credit: Ansley Murphy

My fellow Tennesseans,

Welcome to the very first issue of State & Beale. This magazine celebrates Tennessee from State Street in Bristol (in the northeast corner of the state) to Beale Street in Memphis (at its southwest corner). So, we celebrate the whole state. (Apologies always to Mountain City. State & Beale just had a ring to it.)

I grew up always proud to be a Tennessean. I felt that pride when I first woke to a Smoky Mountain morning. I felt it when I learned rock and roll was invented at Sun Studios. I’ve felt it abroad when folks say, ”Tennessee? Oh, yeah! Jack Daniels whiskey!” I still feel that pride any time I’m tooling around the rolling hills of my dad’s farm. Tennessee is where I’m from and I get to claim it all from State to Beale.

But I’ve realized Tennessee pride can be a rare thing. A reporter friend in Memphis loves to tell me that Bristol is closer to Canada than it is to the Bluff City (meaning our cultures may as well be, too). Talking with friends and family across our great state, I’ve heard much of the same.

We don’t just have division in this state, we have Grand Divisions — three of them, capitalized. So engrained are these boundaries that they are emblazoned on our state flag. (Yes, the blue circle is meant to unite them but the stars remain.)

I ain’t preachin’ here. I just want to give Tennesseans a new perspective, a new place to learn about and celebrate Tennessee — all of it — from East, Middle, and West and its cities, small towns, and amazing country places.

If that sounds good to you, dive into these pages and future issues of State & Beale. Drop by our website, leave us your email address and we’ll make sure to keep you in the know and deliver our next issue —the winter issue — straight to your inbox.

Thank y’all so much,

Toby Sells