FRIDAY, MAY 1
Bud Light Stage (South) …
Spin Doctors 6:10 P.M.
Jenny Lewis 7:45 P.M.
Ryan Adams 9:20 P.M.
Lenny Kravitz 11:00 P.M.
FedEx Stage (Middle) …
Myslovitz (Poland) 6:15 P.M.
Awolnation 7:45 P.M.
Pixies 9:25 P.M.
The Flaming Lips 11:05 P.M.
Rockstar Energy Drink Stage (North) …
In This Moment 6:05 P.M.
Slash 7:40 P.M.
Breaking Benjamin 9:20 P.M.
Five Finger Death Punch 11:00 P.M.
Pearl River Resort Blues Tent …
Preston Shannon 6:10 P.M.
Ira Walker 7:45 P.M.
Alejandro Escovedo 9:25 P.M.
Robert Randolph & the Family Band 11:05 P.M.
MetroPCS Blues Shack …
Terry “Harmonica” Bean Times Vary
Butch Mudbone Times Vary
THE BANDS:
Terry “Harmonica“ Bean
MetroPCS Blues Shack (Times Vary)
Hailing from Pontotoc, Mississippi, Terry “Harmonica” Bean has worked with T-Model Ford, appearing on his 2008 album Jack Daniel Time. Bean comes from a family of Pontotoc bluesmen, and his father Eddie Bean frequently hosted informal concerts at their house “Bean Hill.” He’s also appeared in multiple blues documentaries and the television series Moonshine and Mojo Hands.
Butch Mudbone
MetroPCS Blues Shack (Times Vary)
Butch Mudbone wins the unofficial “best-name competition” of Beale Street Music Fest. This area musician has opened for everyone from James Brown to B.B. King but shouldn’t be labeled as simply an opening act. Butch Mudbone claims to live the blues, so keep that in mind when checking his set out Friday night.
In This Moment
Rockstar Energy Drink Stage • 6:05 p.m.
Get ready for a healthy dose of goth metal from In This Moment, who kick things off early on Friday night. Formed in 2005, the band released their early work on metal label Century Media before signing to Atlantic and releasing Black Widow, an album that has sold 80,000 albums to date. If their 2014 live album Blood at the Orpheum is any indication of what this band is capable of, metal fans should be in for a memorable experience.
Spin Doctors
Bud Light Stage • 6:10 p.m.
What time is it? It’s 4:30! No, actually it’s 6:10 p.m. on Friday when ’90s jam-rockers the Spin Doctors take the stage. But it’s not late, no. It’s early. Probably early enough to watch the beginning stages of sunset as lead singer Chris Barron croons those famous lines about his pocket full of Kryptonite.
Preston Shannon
Pearl River Resort Blues Tent • 6:10 p.m.
Preston Shannon’s southern fried soul music shouldn’t be missed this weekend. Originally from Olive Branch, Mississippi, Shannon moved to Memphis at the age of 8. This will be Shannon’s third Beale Street Music Fest appearance, and the North Mississippian also appeared on The Voice in 2012. Shannon is one of many local artists who are sure to put on a captivating performance this weekend.
Myslovitz
FedEx Stage • 6:15 p.m.
This Polish indie rock band combines elements of college rock and shoegaze to create a sound that’s accessible and commercial-ready. Influenced by everyone from Joy Division to My Bloody Valentine, Myslovitz take their name from their hometown of Myslowice, Poland. Show these Polish boys some southern hospitality when they play Friday night.
Slash
Rockstar Energy Drink Stage • 7:40 p.m.
Saul Hudson, aka Slash, has a rock-and-roll resume that cannot be questioned. He ripped the guitar in Guns N‘ Roses, was a member of Velvet Revolver, and partied hard in the ‘90s with celebrities like Charlie Sheen. His mother also designed costumes for David Bowie. He’s released multiple albums since going solo, and his latest features Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.
Ira Walker
Pearl River Resort Blues Tent • 7:45 p.m.
Recently nominated for a Grammy as a producer, Walker is a must-see act at Beale Street Music Festival. He won a Grammy in 2008 and has shared the stage with everyone from Steve Miller to Carlos Santana. Walker also wrote the hit song “I Wanna Go Back” for Eddie Money and has written songs for Travis Tritt and Randy Travis. His latest album, Blame Me, was released in 2014 and received rave reviews.
Awolnation
FedEx Stage • 7:45 p.m.
This band got the endorsement of Red Bull Records and free rein of the Red Bull Studio in Los Angeles, and released the critically acclaimed Megalithic Symphony in 2011. Featured in all kinds of commercials, you’re probably familiar with Awolnation’s brand of electro-rock even if you didn’t realize it. Their most notable song, “Sail,” has sold more than 5 million copies.
Jenny Lewis
Bud Light Stage • 7:45 p.m.
Formerly of Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis crafts dreamy indie-pop songs that get stuck in your head after the first listen. Lewis is primarily a solo artist at this point, but she’s also collaborated with Cursive, the Postal Service, and Elvis Costello in addition to contributing songs to the HBO show Girls and the Disney movie Bolt.
Ryan Adams
Bud Light Stage • 9:20 p.m.
This wildcard singer-songwriter is also a legendary producer, helping craft albums for the likes of everyone from Fall Out Boy to Willie Nelson. Not one to be tied to a specific genre, Adams has tackled everything from alternative country to pop punk. He recently released 1984, a punk album that was heavily indebted to the Replacements and, most recently, a live album of his performance at Carnegie Hall.
Breaking Benjamin
Rockstar Energy Drink Stage • 9:20 p.m.
Often referred to as a “post-grunge” and “alternative metal,” Breaking Benjamin’s late-’90s formation and debut album Saturation, released in 2002, chronologically makes them more of a “post-post-grunge” band, and their sound relies less on metal elements than it does basic hard-rock characteristics. The band commercially peaked with its third full-length, 2006’s Phobia, a concept album about the various debilitating phobias – flying, death anxiety, fear of the dark, and driving anxiety – suffered by founding songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Benjamin Burnley.
Pixies
FedEx Stage • 9:25 p.m.
This year’s inclusion in the Music Fest lineup will mark the second ever Memphis date for the Pixies; the first being a show at the Orpheum in late 2011. The Pixies have primarily operated as a live act since reuniting 11 years ago, but last year the band released its first full album of new material, the dubiously titled Indy Cindy, as a proper follow-up to 1991’s Trompe Le Monde. Oddly enough, later 2015 dates for the Pixies have them opening for Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
Alejandro Escovedo
Pearl River Resort Blues Tent • 9:25 p.m.
Escovedo’s been at it for a long time, releasing 14 albums since 1992. This former member of the Nuns has punk rock ties to Posh Boy Records and his brother was in the Zeros. For punk rock purists, Escovedo can be considered royalty, even if he’s moved on to country music.
Lenny Kravitz
Bud Light Stage • 11:00 p.m.
The headliner of Beale Street Music Festival needs no introduction. He’s a platinum-selling artist and one of the best guitar shredders of his generation. Recently, Kravitz has ventured into acting, but rest assured he’s got what it takes to leave Beale Street Music Fest in awe on Friday night.
Five Finger Death Punch
Rockstar Energy Drink Stage • 11:00 p.m.
Also known as 5FDP and named after the famous martial arts move, Las Vegas’ Five Finger Death Punch formed in 2005 around the mid-2000s version of groove-metal pioneered by Pantera and Sepultura (as well as that band’s offshoot, Soulfly) during the previous decade. Promptly becoming one of mainstream metal’s biggest bands, and staying that way, Five Finger Death Punch’s first two albums – 2007’s Way of the Fist and 2009’s War Is the Answer – were both certified gold in the U.S.
Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Pearl River Resort Blues Tent • 11:05 p.m.
This family band is a veritable super group led by seasoned veteran steel guitarist Robert Randolph. You should also know that Randolph is listed in Rolling Stone‘s top 100 guitarists of all time and most recently wrote a song for the show SEC Nation.
The Flaming Lips
FedEx Stage • 11:05 p.m.
This will be the third Music Fest appearance for the Flaming Lips. In 2012, the band chose Memphis as the starting line when it broke the Guinness World Record for Most Concerts Played in Multiple Cities in a 24-Hour Period. Consistently active since the mid-’80s and boasting an immense body of work that genuinely contains at least one stylistic era for anyone with more than a casual interest in underground rock, the Flaming Lips are festival legends at this point
