For more than 130-years A. Schwab’s motto has been, “”If you can’t find it at A. Schwab, you’re probably better off without it!” And that’s probably about right since you can buy everything from shower curtains and cookware to Elvis sunglasses and ridiculous felt stoner hats. But one thing you’re not better off without has always been missing: Live music. Now that Schwabs is under new management that’s about to change.
Mike McCarthy, Memphis’s multimedia provocateur, has gone to work for the historic Beale Street dry goods store and says he hopes to bring a little but of Midtown’s eclectic rock scene to Beale Street.
“Assuming there are people going to Beale who are interested in that,” McCarthy says.
The experiment kicks off with an Elvis birth-week show that includes performances by Amy LaVere and the Tramps, The Jason Freeman Band, The Memphis Dawls, McCarthy’s uncle Dan the Man (from Tupelo), and his daughter Hanna Star.
“There may be a little nepotism there,” McCarthy jokes. “Dan’s a blue-eyed soul singer and will perform some Elvis songs.”
The first A. Schwab’s concert kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday, January 7.
