Author: Jake Sanders

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Alliance Healthcare Services Brings a ‘New Day for Mental Health’

Groundbreaking of Alliance’s Children and Youth Crisis Center (Photo: Jake Sanders )

Last Friday, Alliance Healthcare Services held the opening of its new 24/7 Crisis Wellness Center on Broad Avenue, the final product of a $34 million project that broke ground in September of 2023. Along with 18 other locations, Alliance says it serves “as Shelby County’s only countywide mental health facility.” The organization also works to promote wellness and mental health awareness in Memphis.

A group of representatives attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including Mark Billingsley (executive director of the Alliance Foundation), Laurie Powell (Alliance Healthcare Services CEO), and Marie Williams (commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services). Local officials including Mayor Paul Young and Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis also attended the ceremony. 

Alliance’s expansion addresses a larger issue of mental health in Tennessee. According to the University of Memphis’ SMART Center, “There is a serious known mental health workforce shortage.” Further, “approximately 60 percent of Tennessee residents who need mental health services do not receive treatment.” A majority of these residents are located in rural and urban underserved areas where mental health support is not present. 

Alliance opened just over 40 years ago. They provide outpatient mental health services, addiction recovery services, and crisis services for the Memphis community. According to their LinkedIn, they employ “more than 350 caring, licensed professionals.” 

During her speech, Powell described how Alliance partners with first responders to direct arrested/detained individuals to proper care and treatment. She said Alliance “divert[s] around 400 people a year or more” from misdemeanor jail time. Once again, Alliance’s work is touching on a much greater issue: “About two in five people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness (37 percent in state and federal prisons and 44 percent held in local jails),” according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Powell announced how the new crisis center will be “the only detox facility in Shelby County that serves the uninsured.” Anyone in need of crisis services can get immediate care and attention, regardless of their income or socioeconomic status. The SMART Center reports, “Common barriers to treatment … include stigma, lack of insurance, and limited availability of providers.” Alliance has structured their services to help combat these barriers. 

A large number of benefactors helped fund the new Crisis Wellness Center. Alliance received $7 million from Tennessee and will continue to receive $4.4 million in annual funding. Other contributors include the city of Memphis, Day Foundation, First Horizon Foundation, Assisi Foundation of Memphis, and others. Billingsley also noted “angel” philanthropists who have donated to the project. 

The February 14th opening also marked the groundbreaking of Alliance’s new Children and Youth Crisis Center, located next to the new Crisis Wellness Center. This is part of a greater movement to address the need for youth mental health services and awareness in Memphis. A SMART Center study, conducted pre-Covid, found that “22.3 percent of youth had scores indicative of clinical depressive symptoms, which is higher than the 13.2 percent estimated prevalence of youth depression.” During his announcement of the youth crisis center, Billingsley emphasized that Alliance aims to serve everyone, “from 4 years old to 100 years old.” The Children and Youth Crisis Center is set to open in early 2026. 

Alliance’s new Crisis Wellness Center will be in full operation on February 25th. This marks a “new day for mental health in Memphis and Shelby County,” said Billingsley, but “our work is not over.”

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News News Feature

Sam Morril’s ‘The Errors Tour’ Stops in Memphis

Sam Morril (Photo: Matt Salacuse)

Comedian Sam Morril just kicked off “The Errors Tour” and is bringing his act to Memphis. A native New Yorker, Morril has been doing stand-up for 20 years. Last week, he talked with the Flyer about the tour, Bodega Cat Whiskey, and that one time he forgot his pants.

The slight wardrobe malfunction occurred last time Morril came to Memphis. “I forgot pants. I had to wear baggy Nikes.” He tried searching for alternatives, but only found cowboy jeans, which don’t exactly fit his style: “I’m gonna look dumber in this than sweatpants,” he says. That was two years ago, and, luckily, it wasn’t bad enough to keep him from the Bluff City. Since then, Memphians may have seen one of Morril’s six comedy specials, his recent Netflix performance, or his YouTube podcast.

Morril co-hosts the We Might Be Drunk podcast with comedian Mark Normand. Morril explains his role in the podcast as “the straight man,” meaning he maintains some composure while Normand can lean into his jokes: “Mark is literally farting on guests. … I kinda have to pull back a little bit.” The comedy duo started We Might Be Drunk roughly three years ago, and, with guests like Blake Griffin, David Spade, and Hasan Minhaj, have since amassed millions of views and nearly 200,000 subscribers. 

Last December, Normand and Morril took part in Netflix’s Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year, sharing the stage with Jeff Ross, John Stamos, Tim Dillon, and Ms. Pat. Morril and Normand cracked jokes about Luigi Mangione, Jeffrey Epstein’s pilot, and Ross’ unlikely resemblance to a fat Jewish dictator (Benjamin “NetanYoo-hoo”). Morril’s on-stage persona at this event seemed less of “the straight man,” but the duo’s banter was still on point. Evidently, Morril’s podcasting and stand-up roles are different. “On stage,” he says, “it’s my show and I can control the tempo.” 

Morril’s most recent solo work, You’ve Changed, premiered on Amazon Prime last summer. 

He’s been described as “reliably funny,” but what’s more distinctive is his genuine passion for the art: “I love stand-up. I love writing jokes. I love writing scripts,” he says. And he’s made this more than clear. Back in 2020, Morril released his second comedy special, Up on the Roof, which was shot during the beginnings of the pandemic. The special was quite simple, really. All Morril needed was a roof and some New Yorkers in need of surefire comedic relief. With just an amp and a mic, Morril is good to go. “That’s the beauty of stand-up,” he says. “I can go on stage drunk and pretty much be the same. I really just need a mic and a crowd and I’ll be good.”

Despite his podcast name, Morril isn’t known for being a stage drunk (he prefers “stage-whore”), but he and Normand did recently launch their own brand of whiskey: Bodega Cat Whiskey, named after the feline population of New York’s iconic bodega stores. It’s not yet available in Tennessee, but Morril says, “It’s coming.” 

Clearly, Morril is a busy man. Specials, whiskey, podcasting, touring, writing, the list goes on. This level of work can come along with the big stage of comedy. But Morril still reflects on his early days as a comedian (before people hit him up to do podcasts): “I do miss how much I was able to give to stand-up. … There’s something really cool about those low-stakes shows.” 

Despite his packed schedule, Morril’s game has never been stronger. His relatability hasn’t dwindled with his rise to fame, and neither has his material. He talks about his motivation as a young comedian: “No one knowing who I was … was kinda cool. … Having a chip on your shoulder as an entertainer or a writer is a good thing. … It pushes you.” 

Sam Morril’s The Errors Tour comes to Minglewood Hall, Sunday, February 16th. Hopefully he remembers pants.

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Music Music Features

Why Aren’t Big-Time Acts Coming to Memphis?

Photo: Courtesy Archimania

If you live in Memphis, you’ve likely heard phrases like “home of the blues,” “heart of soul music,” and “birthplace of rock-and-roll.” Ask anybody; even Google AI insists (so it must be true). Yet Memphians have also seen their favorite artist skip over FedExForum for a tour stop in Little Rock. Despite the rich musical talent and history, Memphis is not a popular destination for national tours. Last-minute cancellations are not uncommon either, as seen just a few years ago with Drake and Moneybagg Yo. Still, locals pride themselves on a vibrant and historical music scene, which is undeniably true. Stax Records, Royal Studios, the Memphis Drum Shop, Easley McCain Recording, Sun Studio — the list goes on. Online lists of the nation’s distinguished music cities frequently rank Memphis in the top 10. But, over the past couple of decades, Memphis has resembled a black hole in the major touring circuit. If asked why, artists would likely say it’s not personal, just business. 

Simply put, ticket sales here are unpredictable. Memphis has a reputation as a “walk-up” city, meaning tickets are typically bought as a last-ditch effort instead of far in advance. This could be related to Memphis’ relatively low socioeconomic level. This is not to say Memphis has no appetite for live music. Just look around: Music is everywhere. There are roughly 60 locations within Memphis city limits that provide live music and entertainment, and these locations would not be paying musicians without their ability to attract an audience. 

Last December, a partnership between national entertainment agency Live Nation and Crosstown Concourse spawned the construction of a new Memphis venue. Sitting right next to the Concourse, the 1,500-seat venue is expected to host roughly 100 events a year, ranging from comedy to corporate meetings to concerts. Similar types of events can be seen at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts or The Crosstown Theater, albeit with smaller crowds. According to a press release, the new venue is projected to bring more than 150 music industry jobs to Memphis, with base starting salaries of $20/hour, (theoretically) filling a Nashville-sized hole in Memphis’ professional music market. The press release steers clear of this comparison; rather, their plan is to “honor Memphis’ rich musical heritage while filling a key gap in the market, providing a platform for artists eager to perform in the city.” Here, in this almost-mission statement, lies the mysterious “black hole” of live music in Memphis. 

By filling a market gap, Live Nation means providing a more “legitimate” venue for big artists to schedule shows. But what about all the other larger venues in Memphis? There’s Minglewood Hall, Memphis Botanic Garden’s Radian Amphitheater, FedExForum, and even smaller locations like Lafayette’s Music Room that have boasted plenty of national acts. Is this “gap” due to a lack of venues, or is it a lack of artists’ interest? The latter seems more likely. But Live Nation’s massive list of nationwide artists likely bolsters their confidence to “fill the gap.” This is what Sherman Willmott, founder of Shangri-La Projects and local music expert, feels the public should be focusing on.

“I think the lede here … is not the venue; it’s Live Nation booking. They’re filling a big empty hole that started with the death of Bob Kelley. Over that time period of the last 25 to 30 years, there’s been no … full-service promotion in town,” Willmott says. Bob Kelley, booker and promoter of Mid-South Concerts, died in 1998. The booking world since then has become “monopolistic. … There’s very few providers.” Memphis especially is not known for large booking agencies/promoters or music business infrastructure, hence the potential impact of Live Nation booking on the Memphis music scene. Memphians will have access to hundreds more artists in pop, indie, electronic, hip-hop, country, and more. Even if the venue starts out slow, Live Nation will likely be able to keep it afloat long enough to catch on. “There’s no one with deeper pockets,” says Willmott.

The introduction of Live Nation to Memphis could point the city in a new direction regarding industry jobs, but 150 of them is a lot to promise. Willmott says he does not “see them hiring that number of people,” drawing on comparisons between the Orpheum Theatre and The Green Room, each of which has a smaller staff. But if the new venue does hire that many, it’s possible for a larger music business market to open up in Memphis. 

Naturally, there are some fears and questions about a nationwide corporation like Live Nation (recently involved in an antitrust lawsuit) digging their claws into the Memphis music community. But Willmott points out the role of Crosstown Concourse in the new venue’s booking process: “Bookings at Crosstown are … between 70 and 90 percent local artists.” After all, Crosstown was designed to uplift the community arts, and events at The Green Room or Crosstown Theater do just that. Further, the vertical village supports education (Crosstown High School) and healthcare (Church Health). It is hard to imagine Crosstown wavering from this community-focused vision, even when working with a corporate giant like Live Nation.

Sure enough, things are changing around Memphis. RiverBeat Music Festival is back for its second year in a row, boasting an even bigger lineup of global artists as well as a surefire program of lively and talented local artists like Jombi and Lina Beach. Grind City Brewing Company and Barbian Entertainment just announced a new venue, Grind City Amp, boasting a max capacity of 4,500 and a deep backdrop of Downtown Memphis. The outdoor venue is set to open in the spring of 2026. Although Live Nation and Crosstown have not specified their venue’s opening date, there seems to be a new era of shows coming to Memphis. Let’s hope our favorite artists start showing up on the bills.