City’s longest-running music festival will be back in Tom Lee Park this year, May 5th to 7th, and as of today we know what artists will be performing. As usual, the diversity and quality of artists represented is staggering.
For starters, the headliners will include The Lumineers, Greta Van Fleet, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Earth Wind & Fire, HARDY, Jazmine Sullivan, The Roots, AJR and 311. For Memphians, Earth Wind & Fire’s appearance will be especially meaningful, given that the band’s late founder, Maurice White, was born and raised here.
“This year’s lineup reflects the broad musical tastes of our festival goers with a diverse lineup of some of today’s hottest artists as well past festival favorites and stars of tomorrow,” said James L. Holt,
President & CEO of Memphis in May. “At the Beale Street Music Festival, we endeavor to offer something for almost every musical taste, and we have a few more surprise additions to come.”
To that end, many other delights are in store, such as chart-topping hometown hip hop queen GloRilla, blues guitarist extraordinaire Gary Clark Jr., reggae icon Ziggy Marley, and others such as Young the Giant, Live, PJ Morton, The Struts, Gov’t Mule, mike., Andy Grammer, Yola, Dru Hill, Toadies, Lucinda Williams, Living Colour, Cameo, White Reaper, Shovels & Rope, Marcy Playground, Phony Ppl, Low Cut Connie, Beach Weather, Myron Elkins, Mac Saturn and more.
As always, Memphis area talent is well represented at the festival with hip-hop stars Finesse2Tymes and Big Boogie making their BSMF debuts. Legendary soul stars The Bar-Kays will be returning to the BSMF stage. and other featured Memphis area talent includes Jason D. Williams, Dirty Streets, Tyke T, Sleep Theory, The Sensational Barnes Brothers, and breakout Mille Manny.
Best of all, the Blues Tent, a mainstay of the Beale Street Music Festival, will be presented in Handy Park in the Beale Street Historic District as the Memphis Tourism “Blues Stage on Beale,”
featuring major headliners such as Los Lobos, Keb Mo, and the North Mississippi Allstars.
Ana Popavic, Bernard Allison, Colin James, Cedric Burnside, Selwyn Birchwood, Blind Mississippi Morris, Ghost Town Blues Band, Mr. Sipp, Reba Russell Band, Will Tucker, Rodd Bland Members Only Band, Mark Muleman Massey, and Ollie Moore will also be featured in the Blues Tent, which will be offered free of charge to local Memphians so they can “experience the festival and the musical genre born in our city,” according to organizers.
“Music just sounds better in Memphis, and there’s nothing like experiencing the Beale Street Music Festival in its home in Tom Lee Park next to the Mississippi River with the Memphis skyline and
lighted bridges as the backdrop,” said Memphis in May 2023 Board Chairwoman Leigh Shockey in a statement today. “We are so pleased to return the festival to its long-term home downtown on the riverfront at the foot of historic Beale Street.”
Tickets and other information about the 2023 Beale Street Music Festival are available at www.memphisinmay.org/bsmftickets.
