Author: Jesse Davis

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Book Features Books

Harper Lee and Casey Cep’s Furious Hours.

As a part of PBS’ 2018 program The Great American Read, Americans cast more than 4 million votes for their favorite novels. Overwhelmingly and unsurprisingly, the country voted Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the 1960 book about Atticus Finch, Scout, and “Boo” Radley, as America’s favorite novel. The abiding love for Lee and her first book may explain why fans still wonder whatever happened to her followup, not 2015’s Go Set a Watchman, but the true-crime novel The Reverend that was to be the famed author’s second book. Journalist Casey Cep, in her debut Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee [Knopf], does her best to answer the question of one of the greatest losses to Southern literature.

The subject of Lee’s unwritten crime novel, Cep explains, was to be a series of murders in a rural town in Alabama, where a so-called “voodoo preacher” picked off family members — and got rich in the process, before getting murdered himself.

The Reverend Willie Maxwell was a dapper dresser, a hard worker, and a collector of life insurance policies, Cep writes. He was known around Alexander City for his fine suits, his pulpwood business, and his voodoo spells, which he used, it was said by his neighbors, to murder two of his wives, his brother, and others. He also maintained the lucrative habit of taking out insurance policies on almost everyone he knew. That everyone he knew seemed to come to an untimely end, the reverend could neither help nor explain.

As the years went by without an arrest or conviction, it looked like Maxwell would get away with murder, and not just once. Until, that is, a murder stopped him. At the funeral of his stepdaughter, Maxwell was shot and killed by Robert Burns. When the time came to arrange for his defense, Burns turned to one of the most well-known attorneys in Alexander City — Tom Radney, the attorney who had helped Maxwell collect on all those life insurance policies.

It’s no wonder that Lee was aware of the trial of Robert Burns and the grisly circumstances surrounding it. Alexander City is only 150 miles away from Monroeville, where Lee grew up and still spent time. And in Furious Hours, Cep traces Lee’s passions carefully, laying out evidence that makes her interest in the Maxwell murders (and Maxwell’s subsequent demise) seem inevitable. From her time in law school to her early short stories, many of them explorations of morality hinging on a courtroom scene, Lee seems to have been training all her life to write The Reverend, as she planned to call her book. Lee also had prior experience with true-crime, having helped her childhood friend Truman Capote do research for the New Yorker article that would grow to become In Cold Blood.

What stopped Lee from finishing the novel is where the mystery lies, and Cep revels in unraveling the tangle of facts and rumors. Furious Hours is meticulously researched, and Cep delivers her findings with confidence and an attention that neither shies away from or dwells overlong on the disturbing parts of the story. From the godly murderer and the hometown hero vigilante to the writer who made it her mission to tell their stories, the lives entwined, in fact and in Furious Hours, share a moral ambiguity, and Cep draws out the shared theme, acknowledging complexities other writers might try to burnish away to suit their needs.

For a book that deals with a legal case and insurance fraud, Furious Hours is a page-turner. Cep’s roots in journalism are evident in the research, but her prose has a poetic quality: “Ghost bells, war cries, the clanging of slave chains: if ever a land came by its haunting honestly, it is eastern Alabama.”

Cep set a challenging task for herself with her debut, confronting the mysteries of one of America’s most secretive — and favorite — authors. The challenge makes the success of Furious Hours that much more dazzling. While the book might not answer every question it raises, it tells the story Lee couldn’t, proving Cep is a writer to be watched.

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Blurb Books

Tom Graves’ White Boy

Memphis-based writer and publisher Tom Graves is set to publish his sixth book on Saturday, June 1st, with a booksigning to follow at Novel bookstore on Tuesday, June 4th.

The author of Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson and of Pullers, a novel about the weird world of competitive arm wrestling, has now set his sights on the art of memoir. The book will be released under the imprint of the Devault-Graves Agency (Graves’ Memphis-based publishing house, co-founded by Darrin Devault).

“Like every book I’ve ever done, this one came at me sideways,” Graves says of his new book, White Boy: A Memoir. The author had been working on a different book, when an autobiographical section expanded, seemingly of its own volition, blossoming far beyond the confines of its chapter.

“I’d been working on a cookbook,” Graves says. He is interested in soul food, specifically in learning to cook it. The only problem: “I wasn’t very good at it.”

So Graves set about trying to find a teacher willing to give him some one-on-one lessons in the great Southern art of soul food.

“I wanted somebody who was a good kitchen cook,” Graves explains. “I put this question to a reverend I know, Reverend Roger Brown, and he put me in touch with an 80-year-old lady, [Larthy Washington], who has been the church cook for him for 40-plus years. Every two weeks, we would meet at the church, and she would give me lessons.”

Graves still plans on finishing and releasing the cookbook he’s co-writing with Larthy Washington, but he decided he would first have to explore the autobiographical idea.

“Because I was working with an African-American lady and working on soul food, it had me thinking about all the different changes in my life regarding race in Memphis,” Graves explains. “I’m a lifelong Memphian; I’ve never lived anywhere else.”

As a witness to landmark events from his elementary school’s initial integration in the ’60s to the removal of the Confederate statues from city parks in 2017, Graves feels his perspective offers something valuable and relatable. So he set about expanding and editing that autobiographical chapter into a full-fledged memoir focusing on race in Memphis.

Graves lists banner moments in his memoir, times when he was forced to confront the injustices of society, and then, afterward, view the world in a different light. One such moment was a time he and his family were entertaining old family friends visiting from out of town.

“We were all picnicking at Overton Park,” Graves explains. They wanted to make a trip to the Memphis Zoo on a later day — a Thursday, which was, at the time, one of the only days that African Americans were allowed to visit the zoo. A young Graves pointed that detail out to his father, who explained that though their black neighbors were prohibited from visiting the zoo on “whites only” days, Tom and his family were not required to abide by the same rules. They could go to the zoo any day they wished. Graves was stunned: “I remember thinking, ‘Wait a minute. Something’s wrong here. That’s not fair.’”

In the memoir, Graves focuses on the multiple moments in his life when he was forced to acknowledge the injustices of racism. “[In White Boy], I talk about the day that my school was integrated,” Graves explains. “It would have been the ’64/’65 school year, and Bethel Grove integrated one black student. And what pressure must have been on that little girl … ” The author trails off for a moment before imagining the unfairness of shouldering so much pressure as a child.

Still, not all of White Boy is devoted to Graves’ childhood, and as the author ages and becomes more aware, he’s forced to confront still grimmer tableaus. And in his memoir, Graves hews close to the bone, not letting himself or his city off, nor shying away from acknowledging the gritty details when necessary. When asked how Memphis has changed, Graves is quick to answer. “It’s changed enormously,” he says of his hometown. “If you saw a fish fry or a barbecue, it was either all-black or all-white.” But, the author admits, “I think we have work to do.”

The author doesn’t intend the book to be a scholarly examination of racism in the South. White Boy is a memoir, and is intended to be read as such, which is why it ends on a personal note. “I ended [the book] with my tragic love story,” Graves says. He met his first wife in Senegal, but the marriage didn’t last long. Of course, like the rest of White Boy, that’s Graves’ story, and it’s best to let the author tell it himself.

Tom Graves will discuss and sign his new book, White Boy: A Memoir, at Novel bookstore, Tuesday, June 4th, at 6 p.m.

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Music Music Blog

New Festival Honors Omar Higgins

Memphians gathered at Clayborn Temple Wednesday, May 8th, for the unveiling of a new, multi-venue festival to take place October 5-6, 2019. Memphis MOJO Festival will be held Downtown, at a series of venues that includes the Orpheum, B.B. King’s Blues Club, Handy Pavilion, and the main stage at Church Park.

The festival is, in part, the brainchild of the late Omar Higgins, beloved frontman and bassist of reggae group Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, and the hardcore band Negro Terror. Higgins, 37, died on April 18, 2019 from complications related to an untreated staph infection. Higgins was named the Legacy Founder of the upcoming festival, which, like its founder, an avowed fan of a wide spectrum of musical styles, will celebrate multiple genres and promote unity.

The event on Wednesday was a who’s who of local musicians, activists, and business leaders, with Rosalyn Nichols representing Clayborn Temple, Anna Mitchell of Royal Studios, Dale Watson of Ameripolitan Festival fame, and Omar’s brothers and bandmates, Joseph and David Higgins, among the speakers. They praised Omar’s vision and activism and reminded their listeners to carry the torch. “The voice of Memphis is epitomized in the life and spirit of our friend and brother, Omar Higgins,” Mitchell said.

Joseph Higgins speaks during the announcement of the festival.

“This is something we’ve been trying to do for years,” Joseph said, as he stood next to a large photo of Omar. “He believed in unifying every single person.” David spoke next, saying that MOJO Fest was dreamed up when he, Omar, and a friend, a rockabilly fan, ate breakfast together, chewing the fat, dreaming of a festival that lifted up local acts and brought disparate communities together. That breakfast, with its meeting of reggae, hardcore, and rockabilly set the tone for the festival-to-be. David said that, even in the hospital, Omar mentioned the festival and wanted it to happen. He remembered his brother saying, “You know that festival we were talking about last year? Keep that going.”
MOJO is definitely going, and, as envisioned, it looks to be a party. In addition to the six stages of music, there will be a MOJO Expo Industry Event October 2nd-5th, before the festival proper. And the tone of the meeting to announce MOJO Festival wasn’t somber; it was more of a rallying of spirits. Memphis-based muralist Birdcap was on hand, painting a mural of three brilliantly multicolored birds. “They played ‘Three Little Birds’ by Bob Marley at [Omar’s] funeral,” he said, noting that the funeral was also held at Clayborn Temple. And the musicians on hand represented an array of genres and styles — soul, blues, singer-songwriter — who played songs before and after the speakers. There was a banjo and saxophone, electric and acoustic guitar, and violin.

Other guests spoke about Higgins and his vision of Memphis, as a unified city where citizens, artists, and activists can celebrate both its history and its future. Dale Watson said that he was pleased MOJO would feature “a little sliver of Ameripolitan,” in a festival with a lineup that proposes to include soul, jazz, blues, punk and garage rock, and gospel music. It’s evident that the festival organizers intend to honor their commitment to diversity, which looks to mean an embarrassment of riches celebrating Memphis’ multifaceted music scene and the life and legacy of one of its most generous musicians. 
Memphis MOJO Festival will be held at multiple locations, October 5-6, 2019. www.memphismojofestival.com

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Music Music Blog

A Powerful Shade: Black Pistol Fire To Play Hi-Tone

Black Pistol Fire’s Eric Owen & Kevin McKeown

Black Pistol Fire sounds like it could be the name of a cowboy-themed arcade game, but it’s the moniker of the duo made up of vocalist/guitarist Kevin McKeown and drummer Eric Owen. The two Toronto natives met in kindergarten and started playing music together in high school.

They’ve since relocated to Austin, Texas, known (among other things) for its psych- and garage-rock scene and home to the LEVITATION Festival. (With records like 1967’s “Levitation,” Austin’s 13th Floor Elevators pretty much invented the psychedelic rock genre). And the Toronto transplants fit in to Austin well with their scruffy appearance, blues-tinged guitar licks, and energetic live sets. On Sunday, Black Pistol Fire are making a stop at the Hi-Tone, with Emily Wolfe to open the show.

The band recently released a new single, “Black Halo,” on Rifle Bird Music. The track’s vintage slapback guitar sounds demand attention. A lo-fi psych-rock shimmer gives the song a hint of darkness and just enough edge to act as a counterweight to its toe-tapping groove. Though the minimal production on the single is pristine, live performances are where Black Pistol Fire shines the brightest.

On guitar and vocals, McKeown samples freely from the popular music mosaic, employing a tightly wound punkish energy, blues riffs, and a good ol’ fashioned rock-and-roll veneer. Owen on drums is all shirtless flailing arms, and long curly hair, as the sticks in his begloved hands bounce off the toms and cymbals. It’s like Animal the Muppet learned to play by watching old videos of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.

The result is far greater than the separate parts; the band sounds too lush and too dynamic to be just two people. While some reviews compare the duo to another famous blues-rock-influenced duo with “Black” in their name, I think the similarities are superficial. The comparisons that come to mind for this listener run the gamut from Bo Diddley to Buddy Holly to the Black Angels (yes, I know, another band with “black” in their name).

I spoke with Owen and McKeown via email about Austin, Goner Records, the band’s new single “Black Halo,” and why they like the word “black” so much.

Memphis Flyer: Austin seems to be a town that loves its psych-rock and garage rock. Do you find that your adopted hometown has been a big influence on you?

Eric Owens: It definitely has over the last few years. Our earlier records didn’t really have that psych element, but we’ve really tried to incorporate more psych elements into the records these last few years. I have personally seen the Black Angels five times in the last two years, and they blow my mind every time. Their sonics are incredible, bordering on full madness at times.

MF: With your sound, I definitely hear some blues tinges as well as more psychedelic influences. Do you get tired of people bringing up acts like 13th Floor Elevators and Roky Erickson when talking to you?

EO: Not at all! We’d love to hear more of that. Our music is pretty varied; we’re kind of all over the place. It’s all under the umbrella of rock-and-roll, but we try to incorporate as many other sub-genres as we can.

MF: I love the tone on the guitars on the new single. Do you spend a lot of time dialing in tone, or are you more “set it and forget it” players?

Kevin McKeown: Thank you! It definitely takes a while to dial in the tone. Hours! Pedal combinations, amp combinations, it’s a never-ending battle. Trying out several new pedals on this run alone, always refining.

MF: Let’s talk a little more about the new single. With lyrics like “got my shadow in a black halo,” it sounds like a song about being cursed. Am I way off the mark here?

EO: Not off the mark. It’s inspired by the California Wildfires of last year and how someone can lose everything they have yet still be holding out hope. Searching for that silver lining.

MF: In some ways, the protagonist in the song seems to find comfort in his black halo. I guess it’s a constant, something that can be relied on.

EO: Relied on yes! Comfort and solace, you be the judge …

MF: Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but it seems like you have an affinity for the color/word “black.” Is that rock-and-roll thing? Black leather, danger, and all that jazz?

EO: All that jazz! It’s just such a powerful shade, color, tone, whatever you’d like to call it. It’s kind of like the unknown.

MF: Where was the song recorded?

EO: This one was recorded in Austin at Arlyn Studios, where we’ve recorded the majority of the last three albums with Jacob Sciba.

MF: Can we expect more new music soon?

EO: Definitely. We’re dropping two tracks in early May and another later in the month, all leading up to the next album in the fall.

MF: Have you played Memphis before?

EO: We have not. We’re stoked though. Our opening act, Emily Wolfe’s bass player Evan is from Memphis, so it’ll be a homecoming for him. Plus Memphis has so much musical history. It’s the home to the King of Rock-and-Roll and Stax, for crying out loud. And we’re also big into Goner Records and what they’ve done.

MF: Is there anything else you want to add?

EO: The show’ll pretty rad ’n sweaty! Plus we’ll be playing some new tunes. Should be a gas!

Black Pistol Fire perform with Emily Wolfe at the Hi-Tone, Sunday, May 5th, at 8:30 p.m. $15-$20.

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Music Music Blog

Lord T. & Eloise Will Burst Your Bubble (Record, That Is)

Lord T. & Eloise

Prepare for an understatement: Memphis musicians have thrown a few good parties. But still there ain’t no party like a Lord T. & Eloise party. Memphians can experience the absolute insanity of a Lord T. & Eloise live performance this Saturday, April 27th, as the local crunk rap duo records the show for their forthcoming live album, Live From the Bubble Bath. LAPD, Damp Velour, and DJ Leroy will also perform.

Ever the embodiment of decadence, Lord T. & Eloise plan to perform for the occasion, “all from the comfort of their bubble bath, which they will have delivered to the stage.” The self-styled “intergalactic time travelers” and “horsemen of the Rap-pocalypse” have dubbed the affair a “Bring-Your-Own-Bubbles” event, but, they say, “if you cannot acquire bubbles they will be provided for you.”

The proposed live album will feature seven new tracks from the Memphis rap duo, who have not released a new album for some time, though their Bandcamp page has sported the occasional single release. With the bubble bath bash, Lord T. & Eloise plan to debut such new songs as “Get Up,” “Double Dip,” “Palm Beach 2,” and “Harem.”

To accomplish the bubble-filled feat, Lord T. & Eloise have recruited a stirring stable of local talent, including the “newly expanded and enforced rhythm section ‘the aritocrunk sound system’ (Lord Sri Alpha, Teddie Roosevelt, Biggs Strings, DJ Witnesse),” says Lord T. Al Kapone, KingPin Skinny Pimp, and more are expected to make guest appearances.

When asked why a live album, Lord T. responds, “Well, everyone always says you just have to see us live. So we figured it’s high time everyone got to hear us that way.” Eloise adds, somewhat cryptically, “Tell them to listen up close. They might learn a little something about the way the world works.”

The duo, possessed of impressive vocabularies and unburdened by false modesty (or any
modesty at all, for that matter), claim their stated intent is to “literally break The Guinness Book of World Records for most bubbles at a live performance in human history.” Will they succeed? Turn up at Railgarten this Saturday to find out.

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Book Features Books

T.C. Boyle’s Outside Looking In.

On April 19, 1943, Swiss chemist Albert Hofman dosed himself with the research chemical lysergic acid diethylamide-25 (LSD). Hofman, a scientist for Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland, had synthesized the chemical in 1938, but it wasn’t until he accidentally absorbed some of the chemical through his finger tip five years later that the drug’s psychedelic properties became known. After his self-administered acid test, Hofman became a believer in LSD.

Sandoz brought the drug to the U.S. in the late ’50s, for use in psychiatric studies. Harvard psychology professor Timothy Leary was already experimenting with psilocybin use, and when he discovered LSD, Leary became an immediate convert — and one of the most vocal proponents of the drug’s potential for mind expansion.

Leary’s experiments, with professor Richard Alpert and a gaggle of psychology graduate students, form the backdrop for the new novel from T.C. Boyle, Outside Looking In (HarperCollins). The novel follows a fictional couple, Fitzhugh and Joanie Loney, as they become enraptured by Leary’s experiments — and eventually pay the price of free love.

Close quarters and social experiments hold a special attraction for Boyle, whose 2016 novel The Terranauts focuses on a fictionalized version of the Biosphere 2 project, an early ’90s experiment in which four men and four women were locked in a glass-walled colony in the Arizona desert. The experiment, in life and fiction, was a disaster; the colony more a petri dish than a home. In Boyle’s newest novel, the close confines are Leary’s estate in Millbrook, where he and his coterie of grad students (and their families) live together. And the social experiment is the group’s game but ultimately failed attempt at perfect mental harmony, what Leary refers to as “group think.”

The novel begins with bliss and broken-down barriers, but a harsh comedown waits in the wings. Fitz and Joanie, at first reluctantly, begin to participate in Leary’s Saturday sessions. And they feel closer than ever, for a time.

But soon enough, Harvard fires Alpert and Leary, and the inner circle moves into Leary’s house and starts calling the drug the “sacrament.” The acid sessions aren’t just on Saturdays anymore.

The group of would-be psychonauts are run out of Harvard. They take up residence in Mexico — at least until the authorities deport them. All the while, the group becomes more in the thrall of Leary and his sacrament. The sleeping arrangements are fluid, and though the mantra is “live in the moment,” jealousy proves to be second nature, even to the psychedelically initiated. What happens in Mexico, apparently, does not always stay in Mexico.

It’s impossible to read Boyle’s patiently plotted novel without thinking of Leary’s group as a cult, with Leary as the charismatic figurehead. Their ideals are worthy, but beyond the communal living and the shared ecstacy lurk jealous spouses, abandoned theses, and neglected responsibilities. And a band of feral teenagers, the children of the psychonauts, roam the halls of the Millbrook estate unchaperoned, while their parents trip in search of universal truths or individual gratification. And it should be noted that Leary never seems to lack for gratification: “This was Tim’s show, Tim and Dick’s, and she was window dressing,” Joanie thinks as she prepares a massive meal for a special occasion. “But he was Tim and Tim always got what he wanted.”

Boyle walks Fitz and Joanie through different stages of enrapture and disillusionment. Their newfound way of life seems like an endless vacation, and Fitz and Joanie can be forgiven for falling under the sway of Leary. Attachments and conformity cause their fair share of misery, to be sure, but they’re necessary pillars of society. Ultimately, Boyle makes the case that Leary’s psychedelic lifestyle is a nice trip, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

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Book Features Books

Mary Laura Philpott at Novel

Mary Laura Philpott is a workaholic. That becomes abundantly clear as she reels off her long list of jobs. She’s an author, an editor, essayist, and she’s just published a new collection of essays, I Miss You When I Blink [Atria Books]. Philpott is making a stop in Memphis this Wednesday, April 17th, at Novel’s Lit and Libations event series to promote her new collection. Between book tour stops, she found a relatively quiet corner in the Atlanta airport to chat with me over the phone about her new book, penguins, and the joy of quitting.

Memphis Flyer: So, tell me about the new book.

Mary Laura Philpott: We’re calling it a memoir in essays. It’s an essay collection, but it reads like a memoir. It has that narrative arc to it.

And it’s your debut as a memoirist?

Yeah, we’re calling it a debut memoir even though I have another book. My last book, which was a book of cartoons, was totally different.
 


The Penguins with People Problems, right?

That’s right. I’ve actually gotten messages from people asking, “Are you the same person? Is that right?”

Okay, but let’s talk more about I Miss You When I Blink.

It started as a challenge to myself … about three or four years ago, I said to myself, “I wonder if I can make a collection of essays into a book and sell it.”

It’s come a long way from a challenge to yourself.

The scenes that come up again and again and again in these stories I’m telling — and some are from childhood, a lot are from early adulthood, and a lot are from this sort of midlife stage I’m in now — but the themes that come up again and again are reinvention, all the times I thought I knew who I was or what I was doing and then hit a wall and had to back up and take a turn and do things differently. And giving myself permission to change, which is a hard thing to do if you are a type-A person. Because you want to get things right, and you want to hang onto things until you perfect them. But sometimes the better choice is to let things go.

So, the theme was something that emerged, not something you outlined at the beginning?

Exactly I tried to do the thing where you outline a proposal, and you sell it, and they give you a pile of money and you just sit back and write the book. Did not work. I’ve learned about myself that I don’t really know what I’m writing until I’ve written it. I can’t even outline a single essay for you, because I generally don’t know what I think about something until I’ve written it. It was definitely a book that surprised me.

Do you find that writing helps you solidify or discover how you feel about things?

Totally. Joan Didion said, ‘I don’t know what I think until I write it down,’ and I’m very much the same way. … Even on a more micro level, there are essays that surprised me in the book. There’s one called “Wonder Woman,” and it is the essay that I meant to sit down and wrestle with, “Why am I such a perfectionist? Well, it’s probably my mom’s fault.” And as I wrote it, I couldn’t blame my mother. It wasn’t that I was being protective; it was that the more I took myself back in time to be a child, the more I was identifying with my mom then, as a parent myself, now.

I think there’s a flexibility you have to have. It’s wonderful to have an idea, but if you don’t allow the process to mold it in some way, you might miss something.

Totally. Well, as a reader, you can tell when you read an essay or a memoir, or even in fiction, you can tell when you read something and someone has just forced the thing they sat down to do, even when that was no longer the right thing to do with that piece. “I’m going to make this thing I set out to make.” You have to give your mind that flexibility and the project that flexibility to see where it goes.

So, this is the debut collection, you’ve published other essays elsewhere, and then there are the Penguins. And you’re the editor of MUSING as well. You really stay busy.

And I have a TV show on National Public Television. I have too many jobs. I’m a workaholic.

So tell me about the TV show.

It’s called A Word on Words. It airs on National Public Television, and you can also watch it online. It’s a reinvention of a show that aired for 40 years that was hosted by John Seigenthaler. When he passed away, NPT briefly decided to stop the show. … After a few years went by, they decided to reinvent it. … We make these mini shows, and they’re just interviews. And I have a co-host. J.T. Ellison is my co-host. She tapes half the episodes, and I tape half the episodes.

That sounds exciting. And National Public Television approached you about it?

They approached me, and probably they approached me because of what I was already doing at Parnassus [independent bookstore]. I started the digital magazine [MUSING] at Parnassus, which, in addition to publishing reading lists and staff reviews, relies heavily on author interviews. So, I was already interviewing a lot of authors who were coming to Nashville.

So, you were just a natural fit. And you probably have a reputation, where they thought, “Well, she won’t say no to a job.”

She seems like a workaholic. She already has eight jobs; I bet she’d do a ninth one. In my book, there’s an essay called “The Joy of Quitting,” and it’s about how hard it was for me to accept that sometimes you do have to quit a job, rather than just saying yes and piling them on and piling them on. … That essay explores the feeling that something is not right and how quitting something that does not belong in your life, if you look at it the right way, is also sort of a successful move.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I am a former Memphis resident. There’s an essay in the book about how I moved around constantly as a child. And I was in Memphis from second grade through seventh grade, so I lived a pretty formative chunk of childhood there.

Mary Laura Philpott reads from her new memoir-in-essays I Miss You When I Blink, Wednesday, April 17th, at 6 p.m. at Novel.

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Book Features Books

Cary Holladay on her new book, Southern Literary Festival.

Cary Holladay has had a busy year so far. She released a new work of fiction, her eighth, the collection Brides in the Sky: Stories and a Novella; she’s giving a reading at the Southern Literary Festival this Thursday, April 11th; and last week, she celebrated another release of The Pinch, the University of Memphis’ graduate student literary journal. Not a bad start for being less than four months into the year.

“I’ve loved stories all my life,” says Holladay, an author and a professor of creative writing at the University of Memphis. “I love the intrigue of how a story starts, the suspense of how it ends, and I love the lingering power that stories have.” Holladay’s passion for stories has led her to get involved with this year’s edition of the Southern Literary Festival, a traveling festival originally founded in 1930. This year, the festival is being hosted at Christian Brothers University, but Holladay says the U of M is offering assistance, as well. “Last year, it was held at UT Martin,” Holladay says. “It moves around.”

While the general public is encouraged to attend, Holladay notes that the festival is especially for students, who may not have had the chance to participate in that aspect of writing. “It’s a chance to go to panels and readings and workshops,” Holladay explains. “It’s a real celebration of books.”

Cary Holladay

Holladay will give a reading and Q&A from her new collection, Brides in the Sky (Swallow Press), which was released earlier this year, in January.

“The title story has to do with two sisters who marry two brothers, and they all go on the Oregon Trail in 1855,” Holladay says, before adding that she enjoys the research aspect of her profession. The motif of sisterhood in the title story became a unifying thread for the collection. “The theme is the bond between women, particularly sisterhood,” Holladay says, adding that she hadn’t planned to adhere to any particular theme, but as she wrote more stories, the recurring connection became apparent. So she ran with it.

“The stories vary by time period and subject matter and mood, but they’re all unified by women’s experiences,” Holladay adds, pointing out that not all of her stories are works of historical fiction. “The novella was actually based on my own childhood as the middle child of three daughters,” she says. “The title deals with a hornet’s nest that a minister supposedly tangled with. It’s my comic novella.”

When asked if she had roots in poetry (a rumor this writer heard), Holladay laughs and says she doesn’t, but her husband does. “My husband, John Bensko, is a poet and fiction writer.”

The couple met at Rhodes College, where they both worked for a time, before moving on to the graduate department at the U of M. And their shared profession adds a layer to their relationship. “You hear about some literary couples who used to fight over their material, … and we’ve never done that,” Holladay says. “The kind of writing that we do is different enough that it’s never been an issue. We encourage each other.” After 23 years working at the U of M, Bensko recently retired.

In addition to her upcoming reading at CBU, Holladay, herself a graduate from College of William & Mary for her undergraduate degree, and graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University, has been busy helping to organize celebrations for an important anniversary at the U of M. “The MFA program at the University of Memphis is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year,” she says. They kicked off the celebration with a release party for the university’s literary magazine, The Pinch, and the celebrations will continue throughout the academic year.

“Readers read for experience,” Holladay says. “And at a basic level, writers owe that to them.” And Holladay seems to be pulling out all the stops to give readers the best experience they can get.

The Southern Literary Festival is at Christian Brothers University, Thursday-Saturday, April 11th-13th. www.southernliteraryfestival.org.

Categories
Music Record Reviews

Movie Music: Michael Jasud’s Detective No. 1

CREDIT: Cover art by St. Francis Elevator Ride

Cover art by St. Francis Elevator Ride

The Memphis-based, self-proclaimed “city music” band Dead Soldiers went into retirement in 2018 at about this time. Their official final shows were April 18 and 19, 2018, though they broke their hiatus for a special New Year’s Eve performance at a still-not-officially-open Black Lodge Video. So for fans of Dead Soldiers (and, for that matter, the Memphis Dawls, Snowglobe, Mighty Souls Brass Band, and sundry other Memphis purveyors of clean, catchy songs of various genres), it’s exciting that former Dead Soldiers front man Michael Jasud, along with an impressive cast of local talent, is set to release an album of film-inspired instrumental music, Detective No. 1.

“I’ve always loved film, and I went to school to study film,” Jasud says by way of explanation for the seemingly sudden shift in genres. “So it seems like a natural confluence of my interests, to combine my love of film and my experience as a musician.” Jasud was also inspired by friends who work in other visual mediums — painters and sculptors, whose process isn’t about trying to capture the essence of a live performance and has nothing to do with lyrics or rhyme scheme. Jasud was drawn to the thingness of their work, and to the way the process influences the final product. So he decided to make some instrumental music.

Joey Miller

Michael Jasud

“It grew out of demos I’d done, and conversations I had with Toby [Vest, of High/Low Recording],” Jasud says. He and Vest had worked together before on Dead Soldiers recordings, and for close to a year, Detective No. 1 existed only in their conversations. “The more we worked on it, the more clear it became that it deserved more attention.”

With that in mind, Jasud and Vest started making moves. And, in keeping with the focus on films and by visual art, Jasud was determined that it would be collaborative. “We were more interested in finding the foundational ideas in the demos I had made and then building on those in real time.” He recruited Krista Wroten and Jana Meisner to arrange and record strings parts and vocal harmonies. “They were instrumental in the formation of this project and helping find the framework for these songs.” And as is fitting for an album inspired by other media, Detective No. 1 was going to need some smooth session players.

“We’re in Memphis. We’re surrounded by great studio musicians who will play for criminally cheap,” Jasud says, before introducing an all-star cast of characters: Paul Gilliam, Nathan Raab, Clay Qualls (all of Dead Soldiers fame), Danny Banks, Landon Moore, and the aforementioned Wroten, Meisner, and Vest, who played keys, guitar, and other instruments. Pete Matthews, also of High/Low, mixed the record. The idea was to recruit players who would bring their own interpretations. “We wanted the different players we were working with to have some freedom,” Jasud says. “Not so much that they were lost, but enough so that this horn sounds like his horn player, his style.”

So, equipped with a general direction, a year’s worth of conversations with one of Memphis’ talented multi-instrumentalists and producers, and a more-than-proficient group of performers, Jasud set up to make a record that would be, essentially, a film score for a non-existent film. “Instead of trying to orchestrate the process, let’s let the process guide us,” he says, embracing a spirit of discovery.

The result is sometimes exactly what you might expect, and sometimes utterly surprising. There are moments of Southern noire and of Memphis soul. With vocal harmonies, string sections, and horn lines, the players paint a picture that is, like the city that informed it, at times urban and at times rural. But there are also moments of dissonance, and occasional droning frequencies. Those surprises, though, never feel out of place, but rather serve to make Detective No. 1 feel like a shared hallucination made real. It would have been indelibly altered with a different crew.

Further extolling the artistic cross pollination that informed this record, Jasud adds, “One of the really cool things with this project was that I ended up working with Josh Breeden, who goes by St. Francis Elevator Ride,” Jasud says. “He did concept art for basically every song on the record.” And Breeden’s work emphasizes Jasud’s genre leanings and implied narratives, adding another layer to the multi-textured album.

Jasud has done his homework when it comes to film and film scores. The record owes much to the ’70s era of Stax Records (particularly the Shaft soundtrack), to Jasud’s career as a Dead Soldier, and to Angelo Badalamenti’s work on Twin Peaks. There are also synth shades of John Carpenter on display. And, like all good film scores, different themes are developed — and later reprised with variations. One could be forgiven for forgetting that the music isn’t helping to propel a specific narrative. Still, for all the attention paid to classic scoring tricks and tropes, the project never feels reductive, and as someone who has seen many of the players perform in different configurations, this listener can safely say the voices on display are authentic, and authentically the musicians’ own. But there are nods to classic film scores spanning different eras, with special attention paid to genre work, especially hardboiled crime genre. The end result is something familiar but all its own, with drama, mystery, and allure up to its eyeballs.

Michael Jasud’s Detective No. 1 is available digitally on all platforms, Tuesday, April 23rd.

Categories
Cover Feature News

Let’s Get Together! Your 2019 Guide to the Mid-South’s Fairs & Festivals

April

Overton Square Crawfish Festival

The crawfish, the crawdad, the humble mudbug has many names, but it’s something of a universal signifier of spring. Once the tents go up, the band strikes up, and the freshwater crustaceans get boiled, then spring has sprung in the South. This year, Midtown’s annual crawfish festival benefits A Betor Way foundation.

Overton Square, April 13th, noon-6 p.m. www.overtonsquare.com.

Overton Square Crawfish Festival

Southern Hotwing Festival

The 17th annual celebration of the chicken hot wing, the drummie, and everything in between. The festival is organized by nonprofit Wings Over Memphis and benefits Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis. Tickets include three “wing bucks,” which enable ticket holders to sample three wings at the festival.

Tiger Lane, April 13th, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. $10. www.southernhotwingfestival.com.

Southern Hotwing Festival

Southern Literary Festival
This festival dedicated to Southern literature was founded in 1937, and travels between different universities, which play host to it. This year’s edition, held at Christian Brothers University, boasts a packed lineup of guest speakers, readings, and Q&As. Author Chris Offutt is the keynote speaker. (For more information on the SLF, see my Books column on p. 36.)

Christian Brothers University, Thursday-Saturday, April 11th-13th.
www.southernliteraryfestival.org.

Kaleidoscope Food Festival

The Binghampton Development Corporation throws this third-annual festival to celebrate diversity in the Binghampton neighborhood, one of the most diverse in Memphis. The festival features multicultural chefs and entrepreneurs, as well as live performances and storytelling. Oh, and the whole thing happens at Wiseacre Brewing Co., so it’s a given that there will be plenty of great local beer on hand.

Wiseacre Brewing Company, April 13th, 1-5 p.m.

V & E Artwalk

The annual festival celebrating and raising funds for the quiet trail that runs through the Vollintine-Evergreen district is one of my favorite neighborhood festivals. There are food and beer vendors onsite, performances by local musicians, and rows and rows of artists’ and crafters’ booths, all in a tree-lined neighborhood park.

V&E Greenline, April 13th, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. www.vegreenline.com,

Lucero Family Block Party

Every spring, hometown heroes Lucero throw down in the heart of Midtown. As it does this year, the Block Party usually coincides with Record Store Day and a handful of other Memphis fairs and festivals, making it a great rock-and-roll start to the festival season. This year’s performance features special guests Blackberry Smoke, Will Hoge, Austin Lucas, Ben Abney and the Hurts, and the Mighty Souls Brass Band. May your beer stay cold, your Record Store Day bag stay full, and your ears be free of tinnitus.

Minglewood Hall, April 13th, $33-$151. www.minglewoodhall.com.

Nicole Kibert

Lucero Family Block Party

Mudbug Bash

Fifteenth annual crawfish festival, benefiting Palmer Home for Children. The bash features live music, all-you-can-eat crawfish, fare from DeSoto County’s best restaurants, a sponsor’s VIP section, and more.

Panola Street, Hernando, Mississippi, April 13th, 6-11 p.m.

Juke Joint Festival

Clarksdale comes alive for the Juke Joint Festival, an annual celebration of jukin’, jivin’, and raunchy blues and rock-and-roll. With 13 daytime venues and more than 20 participating venues after dark, it’s fair to say that the festival takes over the nearby Mississippi town for a raucous good time.

Various locations, Clarksdae, Mississippi, April 11th-14th. www.jukejointfestival.com.

Beale Street Wine Race

Irish novelist James Joyce was famously not much of one for exercise, but he said, “White wine is like electricity.” Hopefully wine can give the runners a jolt (and a buss) at this boozy foot race Downtown, in which local restaurants and bartenders compete for cash, prizes, and glory.

Downtown, April 14th, 1-4 p.m. Free.

Africa in April

This cultural awareness festival celebrates its 33rd anniversary this year. The festival highlights a different African country every year, and 2019’s festival salutes the Republic of Nigeria. It’s a family-friendly festival with live performances, food and merchandise vendors, and the annual International Diversity Parade.

Robert R. Church Park, April 19th-21st. www.africainapril.org.

Mid-South Hempfest

Sponsored by Whatever smoke shop, this heady festival is officially the biggest cannabis-centric event in the state of Tennessee. It’s an all-ages educational event to raise awareness about the benefits of cannabis, with over 90 vendors, live music, informational speakers, comedians, and an after party hosted by local hip-hop sensation Marco Pavé. Festival favorites Chinese Connection Dub Embassy headline the event.

The Greensward at Overton Park.
April 20th, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Spirits & Soul Festival

This whiskey tour stops in Downtown Memphis for a weekend of tastings, meet-ups, and demonstrations dedicated to the most American of spirits.

Various locations, April 25th-27th.

Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival

Celebrating 27 years, this festival is all about crawfish. With crawfish eating, crawfish bobbing, and crawfish racing, the Rajun Cajun makes the most of the mud bug.

Downtown on Wagner Place and Riverside Drive, between Union and Beale, April 28th, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

May

Memphis Made May Day

Memphis Made hosts this event celebrating music, bikes, bees, and brews. As part of May Day, the Cooper-Young-area brewery is home this year to the arts and music festival Bristerfest and to the Tour de Coop bicycle tour, visiting beehives, community gardens, and chicken coops throughout the city.

Memphis Made Brewing Co., May 4th.

Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival

The Beale Street Music Festival, or simply “Music Fest,” as it’s usually called, is the reason for the season. Grab your poncho or grab your sunscreen. Rain or shine, the festival draws crowds of Memphians and Southerners to the banks of the Mississippi for three days of genre-spanning performances from up-and-comers, old favorites, and local legends. The Killers, Cardi B., Lord Huron, Gary Clark Jr., Bettye Lavette, and Levitt Shell alums St. Paul & the Broken Bones are just a handful of the performers this year. And the Gibson SG-wielding Liz Brasher, soul sensation William Bell, and ultimate groovers Southern Avenue are just a few examples of the impressive local talent on display. I’ll catch y’all at Tom Lee Park.

Tom Lee Park, May 3rd-5th.
www.memphisinmay.org.

Brandon Johnson

Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival

Memphis Greek Festival

The Greek Festival celebrates its 61st anniversary this year. Sixty-one years. And I thought the Flyer‘s 30 years were impressive (That’s right. Didn’t you see the tab on the cover?). That’s 61 years of dancing, cultural cuisine, the Kostas Kastanis Band, and more. If you haven’t checked out this little cultural festival tucked away off Highland near Summer, isn’t it about time you did? Donate three canned food items to the Mid-South Food Bank for free admission.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, May 10th-11th, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
www.memphisgreekfestival.com.

Memphis Margarita Festival

Guests can sample from the city’s best margarita-makers, vote on their favorite, and the Memphis Flyer will crown a winner at the end of this fest. Each ticket to the festival is good for 15(!) margarita samples, so it’s as close as Memphis gets to Margaritaville. Food will be available for purchase, and there will also be a cash bar with full-sized drinks available. This festival, held Downtown in Fourth Bluff Park, is guaranteed to be awesome squared, rimmed with salt, and served up chill.

Fourth Bluff Park, May 11th, $34.
www.memphismargaritafestival.com.

Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest

It’s all about the party at Barbecue Fest. Seriously. The cooking is serious business, but for the pulled-pork pros competing in Barbecue Fest, the cooking is second nature. That means it’s important to tool up for the sauce-wrestling, the karaoke contests, and the drinking. And oh, lord, is there ever drinking. Pro tip: wolf down some ‘cue to soak up the suds, and try not to lose your flip-flop in the mud.

Tom Lee Park, May 15th-18th.
www.memphisinmay.org.

Celebrate Memphis

The folks at MiM put the tradition of honoring a foreign country on hold for the year, and are celebrating the Bluff City in honor of the city’s bicentennial. As part of the bicentennial festivities, MiM introduces a new event: Celebrate Memphis, honoring Memphis’ rich heritage and colorful history as we ring in a new century of soul.

Tom Lee Park, May 25th.
www.memphisinmay.org.

Memphis Italian Fest

With cooking demonstrations, bocce games, the Luigi 5K, and music from Ben Abney and the Hurts, Hope Clayborn and Soul Scrimmage, and more, there’s plenty to entertain at this cultural festival in East Memphis.

Marquette Park, May 30th-June 1st.
www.memphisitalianfestival.com.

Memphis Brewfest

Tenth annual Brewfest, with beer from dozens of local, regional, and national craft breweries. Hungry festival-goers can forage for something to soak up the beer at the food trucks onsite, like Central BBQ, New Wing Order, and Cousins Maine Lobster. Drunk Uncle performs.

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, May 11th, 4-7 p.m. $25-$100.

June

Juneteenth Urban Music Festival

The Juneteenth festival is an event that truly earns its slogan, “celebrating freedom.” Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., and every year, the Memphis edition of the festival is held Downtown in Robert R. Church Park, with musical performances, food, job fairs, kids talent contests, and the Ultimate Dance Showdown.
Robert R. Church Park, June 14th-16th. www.memphisjuneteenth.com.

July

WEVL Blues on the Bluff

Okay, full disclosure, I host My Morning Mixtape on WEVL, Memphis’ listener-supported radio station, so maybe I’m not the most impartial observer. But, that said, Blues on the Bluff is a party. And it’s not just the music. There’s a reason so many couples choose to get married at the Metal Museum. The grounds afford a sweeping view of the river and the bluffs, and old trees dot the lawn, offering shade. July, when Blues on the Bluff is usually held, is hot, but the wind off the river offers some relief. And last year, Memphis Made teamed up with WEVL to create a special edition version of Junt, the Midtown brewery’s cream ale, to celebrate the volunteer radio station’s biggest fund-raiser party. Oh, and then there’s the music. They don’t call it Blues on the Bluff for nothing.

The Metal Museum, date and time to be announced. www.wevl.org.

Memphis Flyer Burger Week

One of the best burgers I’ve ever had, I ate sitting on the tail of my uncle’s pickup truck, at a rodeo in White River, Arkansas. We were there to fish, not for the rodeo, but we’d gotten into town too late to eat anywhere but at the rodeo concession stand, the last place open at dusk in the sleepy town. I was theatrically starving, as only a 12-year-old on a fishing trip can be, and that burger, once I ate it, was 17 different kinds of satisfying. I’ve been chasing that same kind of burger high ever since, and Memphis Flyer Burger Week has offered my only way to come close to recapturing the beefy bliss of that rodeo burger. What really puts the carmelized onions on my bun, so to speak, are the $5.99 Burger Week prices. So, if you want to recapture your own slice of hamburger heaven, join me for some brand-new burgers and some old favorites all week long, at participating restaurants all over the Memphis area.

Various locations, July 10th-16th.
www.memphisflyerburgerweek.com.

Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis

Considering the time women spent excluded from theater in the early days of the art form, it’s about time that they had their own theater festival. And, good news. The Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis is now officially an annual occurrence. It’s four days of plays, readings, dance, and networking.

Various locations, July 11th-14th.
www.womenstfmemphis.org.

August

Elvis Week

Some readers may know about Elvis Aaron Presley’s identical twin brother, Jessie Garon Presley, who was delivered stillborn. Now, I don’t mean to suggest that my dad was too into Elvis, but my name is Jesse Aaron Davis. All that to say, I’m not entirely sure when I went to my first Elvis Week event, but I have vivid memories of watching concert and movie footage in big venues and tiny restaurants, and I’ve been to at least one Elvis laser light show at the Pink Palace planetarium. And all that was before the planetarium got a state-of-the-art overhaul, and the folks at Graceland built their entertainment complex. (It’s nice. They hosted the Flyer‘s Best of Memphis party two years ago.) And though I’m more of a Stax guy these days, I still love the way Memphis becomes Elvis-centric for a week. And I love the way Elvis fanatics from the world over converge on the Bluff City for special performances, Elvis film screenings, and the Candlelight Vigil.

Various locations, August 9th-17th.
www.graceland.com.

Memphis Bacon & Bourbon Festival

The Flyer‘s responsible for a lot of great things, but this pairing of bacon and bourbon has to be one of the best. Bourbon is strong and smoky; bacon is savory and smoky. They go together like peas in a pod, like crafts and drafts (but more on that later). The fourth-annual edition of the Flyer‘s Bacon & Bourbon Fest will contribute a portion of all proceeds to the Memphis Farmers Market. So, besides being a celebration of one of the tastiest pairings since peanut butter met chocolate, it’s a party for a good cause.

Beale Street Landing, August 24th, 6-9 p.m., $34. www.memphisbaconandbourbon.com.

Ostrander Awards

If a party keeps getting thrown year after year for 36 years, then it has to be doing something right, right? In that case, the Ostrander Awards, an annual celebration honoring the best in the local theater, are on a winning streak. Held at the Orpheum, usually on the last Sunday in August, the Ostranders are a Memphis theater tradition. Named after beloved Memphis theater icon Jim Ostrander, a long-standing member of the local theater community, these awards honor excellence in a variety of categories, in both the community theater division and the college theater division. All aspects of stage production will be recognized.

The Orpheum, August 25th, $15.
www.memphisostranders.com.

Delta Fair

The Sherman Brothers must have been thinking about the Delta Fair when they wrote that “a fair is a veritable smorgasbord.” With live music from rock to bluegrass, the Royal Hanneford Circus, fair food galore(!), livestock shows, competitions, and the Delta Dash 5K and 10K, the fair has something for everyone.

Agricenter International, August 30th-September 8th. www.deltafest.com.

September

30 Days of Opera

Month-long opera celebration with free events, including performances at the Levitt Shell, during the Central Gardens Home Tour, and during Cooper-Young Festival.
Various locations, September 1st-30th, www.operamemphis.org.
Germantown Festival

So you thought all the fun fairs were Downtown or in Midtown? Not so, Flyer-Friend. With the 48th(!) annual edition of this festival, Germantown gets in on the festival action. The G-town fest jump-starts the September season, as the festival season shakes off the mid-summer doldrums and kicks it into high gear for the home stretch. The Germantown festival boasts arts and crafts, a kids corner, an auto show, and probably the only weenie dog race in Memphis.

Germantown Civic Center Complex, September 7th-8th.
www.germantownfest.com.

Southern Heritage Classic

This weekend-long celebration is ostensibly about the football rivalry between Jackson State University and the Tennessee State, but there’s so much more going on. The Southern Heritage Classic is a cultural celebration, a tailgating extravaganza, and it’s jam-packed with food, live music, and more. Oh, and did we mention this year is the 30th anniversary of the festival? Oh, yeah.

Liberty Bowl, September 11th-14th.
www.southernheritageclassic.com.

Cooper-Young Festival

I live in the nearby Rozelle neighborhood, so Cooper-Young Fest is pretty much my home turf. And I love C-Y Fest for the food, the friends I unexpectedly bump into, and the live music. And to me, this neighborhood festival always marks the change from summer to autumn. It’s usually a sunny affair, the summer’s last hurrah. And though I court heat stroke every year, there’s something kind of nice about that.

Cooper-Young District, September 14th, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. www.cooperyoungfestival.com.

Mid-South Fair

Okay, so it’s not exactly cool in Memphis in late September, but the cool weather is on the way and there’s just something right about the lights and smells and sounds of a fair on an early autumn night. With live music, fair food, and rides and lights to spare, the Mid-South Fair is just the kind of fair I’m dreaming of.

Landers Center, September 19th-29th, www.midsouthfair.com.

Mid-South Pride Festival

One of the most fun gigs I ever played was at the Mid-South Pride Festival, about five years ago. The weather was mild, the lawn of the FedExForum was a riot of color, and the crowd seemed happy to dance. Best of all, there was an undeniable feeling of goodwill in the air. And though I haven’t been back to Pride Fest in some years, I imagine that feeling of goodwill is pretty much standard for the festival. As if that’s not enough, there’s a parade, vendors, and live music.

Downtown, September 28th.
www.midsouthpride.org.

Gonerfest 16

I discovered one of my new favorite bands at Gonerfest 15, last year’s edition of Goner Records’ annual festival celebrating alternative music. The band in question, French garage-rockers En Attendant Ana, played the penultimate show of their first U.S. tour at the Hi-Tone, and their harmonies, tasteful trumpet licks, and alternatingly crunchy and jangly guitar riffs hooked me. After their set, I interviewed members of the band in the alley behind the Hi-Tone, around the corner from a homemade barbecue cooker hitched to the back of a pickup truck. Smells of cooked meat wafted into the alley; bass throbbed through the walls of the venue. That year, I also saw people crowdsurf to the ecstatic yet haunting sounds of L.A. synth rockers Cobra Man. I heard Harlan T. Bobo play an intimate acoustic set and a barn-burning full-band set. I saw Bênní make talk boxes look cool. And if that doesn’t make you excited for Gonerfest 16, I’m not even sure it’s worth mentioning Lydia Lunch, Aquarian Blood, or Memphis Made’s special edition, Gonerfest commemorative beer.

Various locations, September 26th-29th. www.goner-records.com.

Gonerfest 16

Mid-South International Festival

This festival celebrates the multitude of cultures that mix and mingle in Memphis. With great food, music, and performances representing various cultures, there’s something on offer at this festival for just about everyone.
Railgarten, September 29th.

Memphis Japan Festival

The cherry trees lining the streets make the Botanic Garden an ideal spot for the Memphis Japan Festival, a celebration of Japanese culture. The festival presents Memphians with a family-friendly, hands-on way to experience Japanese culture, with food, music, entertainment, martial arts, and more.

Memphis Botanic Garden, September 29th.

Outflix Film Festival

This film festival is a celebration of film and LGBTQ culture and art. Founded by Brian Pera in 1992, Outflix has come a long way since it was housed in the University of Memphis psychology department and called Twinkie Museum: First Annual Queer Experimental Film Festival.
Various locations, dates to be announced. www.outflixfestival.org.

October

Pink Palace Crafts Fair

With great food, handcrafted goods, craft demonstrations, and a petting zoo and train for the kids, the annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair makes for an ideal daytime date, just in time for autumn weather.
Audubon Park, October 11th-13th.
www.memphismuseums.org.
Agricenter Harvest Festival

The 16th annual Harvest Festival is the quintessential fall festival, with pumpkin-painting, hayrides, arts and crafts, and a bluegrass band.

Agricenter International, October 19th, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. www.agricenter.org.

Cooper-Young Beerfest

The participating breweries for the 10th annual C-Y Beerfest haven’t been announced yet, but judging by the long list of brewers from 2018, there look to be plenty of options for the discerning beer nerd. And since the proceeds benefit the Cooper-Young Community Association, it’s a drink for a good cause.

Midtown Autowerks, Saturday, October 19th, 1-5 p.m. $45-$50. www.cybeerfest.org.

MEMPHOFest

I spoke with Mike Smith, who’s overseeing MEMPHOFest, Memphis’ new(ish) music festival. Smith couldn’t say much about the lineup yet, but he’s excited about MEMPHO’s role in the Bluff City. “We feel like we have a cool little niche we’re trying to fill,” Smith says. “We try to be on the cutting edge of booking artists, in all demographics — rock, hip-hop, Americana.” When I complimented Smith on the festival’s inclusion of local talent — I’m thinking Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, Cory Branan, and Boo Mitchell, for starters — he said his childhood in Memphis influences the booking decisions. “Growing up in Memphis, there’s so much great talent around us,” Smith says. “It would be horrible not to take advantage of that.” But Smith plays his cards close to the chest. When pressed about this year’s performers, all he says is, “We’re finalizing the lineup.”

Shelby Farms Park, October 19th-20th. www.memphofest.com.

Eric Allen

MEMPHOFest

Memphis Tequila Festival

There are a handful of songs about tequila, but most of them either have no lyrics or are super depressing (I’m looking at you, Eagles). So let me just say that with DJs, spooky face painting, a costume photo booth, and samples from more than 30(!) different types of tequila, the Memphis Flyer‘s Tequila Fest is a party to get anyone in the spirit of the season. Each ticket purchaser will be able to choose 15 tequilas to sample from. Proceeds benefit Volunteer Memphis, so every sip counts.

Overton Square, October 25th, $34.
www.memphistequilafestival.com.

RiverArtsFest

RiverArtsFest is an art walk, a street festival, and an educational opportunity all rolled up in one. The festival’s website claims it’s the largest outdoor juried artist market and urban street fair in the Mid-South, and with more than 180 contributing artists, live music, and demonstrations and hands-on activities, that’s a fair claim to make. And being a stone’s throw from the Mississippi in the usually gorgeous last week of October certainly contributes to the romance and scenery factors.

Riverside Drive, between Jefferson and Beale, October 26th-27th.
www.riverartsmemphis.org.

Indie Memphis Film Fest

In an email exchange with Indie Memphis Executive Director Ryan Watt, I gushed about some of my favorite moments from previous festivals (Boots Riley hosting screenings of Brazil and Sorry to Bother You, and a showing of Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me come to mind). Watt, however, was professional, and did his best to respond to my excitement with some actual information about this year’s edition of the ever-growing film festival. “We recently closed submissions to our Black Filmmaker Residency in Screenwriting. Barry Jenkins [who directed 2017 Best Picture winning Moonlight] is selecting two winners to develop screenplays of feature films to shoot in Memphis; they will participate in the festival events,” Watt told me via email.

Watt added that Indie Memphis is reprising last year’s successful Black Creators Forum, “to continue building support for black artists interested in working in film. This is an interdisciplinary event for black musicians, writers, and designers alongside the filmmakers to encourage collaborations.”
Watt stressed that, though there are always some showings from the film world’s underground, the festival is for everyone: “The main thing we want the community to know is the festival is accessible and a lot of fun. Some people may have a perception that it is only for the film industry, and that is not the case.”

Various locations. October 30th-November 4th. www.indiememphis.com.

Indie Memphis Film Fest

November

Memphis Parent School Expo

Parents, save the date for this inclusive School Expo presented by Memphis Parent magazine.

Meet face-to-face with school staff, see informational videos, and pick up take-home materials for planning your child’s education.

Memphis Botanic Garden, November 2nd. Free. www.memphisparentschoolexpo.com.

Crafts & Drafts

At Crafts & Drafts last year, I caught up with a friend who works at Crosstown Arts, drank a tasty craft beer, got my photo taken by Michael Donahue (and shared on his Instagram page, @flyerdonahue), and not only all that, I bought a lovely handmade coffee cup. Mark that down as a big, ol’ score in my book. Oh, and before exploring the arts fair, I ate a burger from Farm Burger in Crosstown. Now, I can’t guarantee that you’ll have exactly the same excellent experience that I did, but isn’t it worth a shot? You’re not going to get your photo taken by Michael Donahue by staying home and sitting on the couch.

Crosstown Concourse Patio, November 9th. Free. www.memphiscraftsanddrafts.com.

Seasonal

Levitt Shell Live Music Series

The Levitt Shell’s website says, on white text set against a dancing flower, that the lineup for this year’s free concert series will be announced April 26th. To say that I’m excited is to indulge a gross understatement. The Shell’s free concert series is a seasonal staple. Overton Park sits in the center of the city, biking distance from many folks. The Shell’s amphitheater shape, serious sound upgrades in recent years, and all those soundwave-absorbing park trees make for a concert series that can achieve acoustic bliss. Each season’s programming spans genres, bringing a diverse array of artists to the Bluff City, total music nerd nirvana. And did I mention it’s free? Or at least pay what you can, and for the level of community entertainment the folks at the Shell are offering, I’m always happy to toss a few dollars into the donation buckets when they make their rounds. So, yeah, I’m excited.

Overton Park, dates and times to be announced. Free. www.levittshell.org.

The Peabody Rooftop Series

The Peabody has been steadily racking up wins for Best People-Watching in the Flyer‘s yearly Best of Memphis competition, which makes their spring and summer Rooftop Series a go-to stop for live music, views of the Mississippi, and party vibes.

The Peabody, Sundays through August 15th.

River Series at Harbor Town Amphitheatre

This Goner Records-sponsored music series has already kicked off, but there are still a couple of events. On April 28th, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, of Wilco and the Memphis-based Mellotron Variations fame, will perform. Memphis garage-rock legend Alicja Trout opens. And on May 19th, Obruni Dance Band and Yazan will perform. Proceeds benefit the Maria Montessori School. (For more information on the River Series, see Flyer music editor Alex Greene’s post in the Music Blog on www.memphisflyer.com.)

Harbor Town Amphitheatre, seasonal. www.riverseries.org.

Time Warp Drive-In

It’s no secret that I love the Time Warp. No, not the song from Rocky Horror Picture Show (Well, yes, the song from Rocky Horror, too), but the monthly cult cinema celebration at Malco’s Summer Drive-In. The series started this year with the annual “Soul Cinema” night in February, and March saw the “Back to the Back to the Future” night, a screening of the entire Future trilogy, but the series runs for the rest of the year. The next screening is April 20th, with “Don’t You Forget About Me: The Teen Films of John Hughes.”

Malco Summer Drive-In, monthly, $10. www.malco.com.