Good morning, Cookeville.

Thursday looks wet. Friday and Saturday look like they might dry off in time for a gold-and-purple night, which is the kind of late-August luck this town can use.

In today's Cookeville Scoop:

Let's get into it!

Get a ticket for The DMBT at CPAC. Hip Cookeville's Dave Matthews Band tribute is Friday at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center, 10 E Broad Street. Doors open at 6 PM, an opening act starts at 6:15, and The DMBT takes the stage at 7. Tickets are $37. See the concert series details.

Choose Saturday's 6 o'clock plan before you buy two tickets. EmiSunshine and Sam Hatmaker play CPAC Saturday in A Night of Songs and Storytelling. Doors open at 6:30 PM, the show starts at 7, and tickets are $27. The show was rescheduled from January 31, and it starts while Tech is kicking off across town, so pick one. Find tickets or call 931-528-1313.

If 21+ is the assignment, Insufficient Funds is at Roasted Saturday from 8 to 10 PM. Cover is $10 at 1068 E 10th Street, Suite F. See the Roasted listing.

The Putnam Room is doing unlimited small plates and rotating wines Sunday from 4 to 8 PM at 319 E Spring Street. Sunday is otherwise listed as closed, so this is a one-night exception. The event price is not posted, so check the reservation page before you do dinner math, or call 931-644-3722. Reserve a table.

The Slice Pizza and Games still has scratch-made dough and sauce working in its favor, and this week the useful math is the summer party pack. Mention the offer at the register for 20% off Party Pack #1 or #2 through Monday, August 31. It cannot be combined with other discounts. Open 11 AM to 9 PM at 408 W Jackson Street, Suite C. See the current specials.

Some Saturdays in Cookeville are errands and a ballgame on the radio. This one is asking people to wear gold and show up in person.

Tennessee Tech opens the newly revitalized Tucker Stadium on Saturday, August 29, against Monmouth. Official athletics lists kickoff at 6:00 PM CDT. The August 17 AFCA FCS Coaches Preseason Top 25 has Tech at No. 15 and Monmouth at No. 23. It is the first home game of Tech's Southern Conference era, after back-to-back championships and 76 years in the Ohio Valley Conference. Athletic Director Casey Fox has called the rebuilt stadium the Upper Cumberland's premier entertainment venue.

Gold Rush is the dress code. Tech wants the stands in gold, and the athletics account has promised a t-shirt giveaway while supplies last. Individual game tickets start at $25 and vary by side and section. Students get in free with a valid student ID. Season tickets, three-game minipacks, and single-game tickets are on sale and fully digital. Buy through ttusportstickets.com or call 931-372-3940. Groups of 10 or more can reach Carter Saulat at 931-372-3790.

Pack a clear bag no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, or a one-gallon freezer bag. Concessions and food trucks are supposed to cover the usual stadium food plus a wider menu, with souvenir cups and unlimited refills. Suites were already sold out in May, so do not show up hoping for one. Do show up a little early.

If you have been waiting for football to feel like a town event again, this is the one! See Tech's opener details and the official schedule.

Moving for Better Balance meets Thursday from 9 to 10 AM at Cane Creek Recreation Center. This free beginner class is low-impact work on stability and everyday confidence, and the current session runs through Sept. 10. See the class details.

Dabgo and Bomb Shelter fill Thursday night at Roasted, 1068 E 10th Street, Suite F. Brook Jolley hosts free-to-play music bingo from 7 to 9 PM, then a 21+ open mic from 9 to 10:30 PM. Sign-ups are open. See Thursday Dabgo.

Train Tales is Friday from 10:30 to 11:30 AM at Cookeville Depot Museum, 116 W Broad Street. This free preschool story time covers trains, tracks, conductors, and Thomas. See the Train Tales listing.

Cookeville Farmer's Market stays open 6 AM to 6 PM all four days at 201 Mahler Avenue. It is free to walk, with seasonal produce and baked goods in the open-air shelter. See the city market page.

Becoming America: Voices of 1776 remains free at the Cookeville History Museum, 40 E Broad Street, Thursday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, with the Declaration Walk at the Depot Museum in the same hours. See the exhibit listing.

Sunday Dabgo is at Roasted from 3 to 5 PM. The music bingo is free to play from your phone and 21+ only. See Sunday Dabgo.

Dolly Parton died Tuesday in Nashville at 80, at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, after a brief battle with cancer. She had been in the hospital since August 21. Her family announced it. Her representatives talked about joy, laughter, hope, and the Imagination Library, which is the part that still lives in a lot of local childhoods.

I do not have a Cookeville service to send you to this weekend. I do have the feeling that a lot of kitchens will have her on anyway. Read the Times obituary.

If this issue gave you a Saturday plan, forward it to a Tech fan, a CPAC person, or the friend who still needs a Sunday reservation. Know about a local opening, a schedule change, or a restaurant update we should verify next week? Reply and send the source.

Thanks for reading, and for keeping one eye on the weather and one on the kickoff clock. I hope you get a dry Saturday and a good seat! 🧡

-- Travis