Category: We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: Bardog Tavern Sweet 16 Alley Party

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date September 18, 2024

Michael Blackmer and Scott Nivens (Photos: Michael Donahue)

The Bardog Tavern Sweet 16 Alley Party was held September 8th in Center Lane Alley and inside Bardog Tavern at 73 Monroe Avenue.

The bar, owned by Aldo Dean, opened in 2008, but the first alley party was held in 2009. It grew into the Monroe Avenue Fest, a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraiser that included the Breakaway Bardog 5K, a dunk tank, and Grandma’s Heavenly Meatball Eating Contest. Monroe Avenue between Main Street and Front Street was blocked off.

**Melissa Griffin and**
**Eric Bourgeois**

“That was all pre-pandemic stuff,” says the bar’s marketing and events director Eric Bourgeois. “That was a huge thing to put on.”

This was more intimate. It featured Rowdy and the Strays, and DJ Michael Blackmer. People ate hamburger sliders grilled outdoors, played corn hole, and participated in raffles. “This was back to the basics: ‘Hey, thanks for being friends, neighbors, pals,’” Bourgeois says. It was “a celebration of all the friendships we made and maintained.”

Sitting at the bar, Colbey Lamberth says, “Aldo is a maverick at bars and restaurants that fit the Memphis scene. There’s something about Bardog. I love this place.”

Tags Aldo Dean, Bardog Tavern

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WE SAW YOU: Sierra Ferrell at Overton Park Shell

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date September 11, 2024
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Gabe Boyd and Jennings Goode (Photos: Michael Donahue)

The Sierra Ferrell concert, held August 31st, was one of the largest concerts so far in the Shell Yeah! Benefit Series at the Overton Park Shell, says Jeff Hulett, who manages PR and publicity for the Shell.

“That was a sea of humanity,” Hulett says. “As a fan of the Overton Park Shell, that was one of the biggest shows I ever went to.”

People from the West Coast were among those attending. “There were people there from all over the place. I think Sierra Ferrell is about to blow up in a big way. To where we won’t ever get her back to the Overton Park Shell.”

And this wasn’t a free concert. “Overton Park Shell offers the free concert series, but in order to do the free concert series, we have to do a series of fundraiser shows.”

And, Hulett says, “A lot of people don’t know that producing and putting on a free show costs a lot of money. So, we have to find the funds to keep doing that. The Overton Park Shell is all about providing for the community.”

About 2,700 attended.

Hell yeah!

Tags Overton Park Shell, Shell Yeah! Benefit Concert Series, Sierra Ferrell

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WE SAW YOU: The End of the World Party at Black Lodge

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date September 4, 2024
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Ellington Thomas, Ariel Thomas, Ilya Green, and Thelonious Thomas (Photos: Michael Donahue)

It was called “The End of the World Party,” but the closing night soirée for Black Lodge at its 405 North Cleveland Street address, which was held August 24th, wasn’t the end of the line, says Matt Martin, Black Lodge creator and co-owner.

He’s “working to open another location,” Martin says. He’s already looking at a couple of places.

The movie collection and the screenings will definitely move, but he’s not sure of the “club nights,” Martin says. And 901 Wrestling will move to another location.

About 1,000 people attended the party, which began at 7 p.m. and ended at 6 a.m. “Black Lodge has always been Memphis’ underground cultural crossroads for artists, musicians, movie makers, taste makers, lovers of night life,” he says. “It’s always been that. Even before we had a new place. Twenty-five years we’ve been that.”

People realized Black Lodge was going to “leave that home,” he says. “A lot of them had already fallen in love with that place and wanted to have one last giant party and have fun in it.”

Tags Black Lodge, Matt Martin, We Saw You

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WE SAW YOU: “Meet the Artists” at Palladio

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date August 28, 2024
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Mikayla Jordan, Cynthia Ham, and Minnie (the dog) (Photos: Michael Donahue)

More art is in the eyes of the beholders, thanks to Cynthia Ham.

Ham, who became the new owner of Palladio last December, instituted monthly shows featuring local artists. She opened her first exhibit, which will be on view through August, with a “Meet the Artists” reception, held August 15th at Palladio Interiors & Garden at 2215 Central Avenue (at South Cox). This month’s artists are Jay Crum, Kong Wee Pang, Carl E. Moore, and Amy Hutcheson. “They were the first four to be shown since I took over,” Ham says. “And I plan to have other shows featuring high-quality Memphis artists.”

As far as she knows, this hasn’t been done previously at Palladio, says Ham. “This, to my knowledge, is a new approach of featuring artists.

“I am going to use some work from the show to keep on hand in case anybody wants to look at their work when they come in,” she adds. “Even though the show itself is coming down, we’ll have at least two pieces of their work there on a longer term.”

Tags Amy Hutcheson, Carl E Moore, Cynthia Ham, Jay Crum, Kong Wee Pang, Palladio

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WE SAW YOU: Party on the Green

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date August 28, 2024
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Marsha and Mark Anthony (Photos: Michael Donahue)

Guests arrived in shorts and FedEx caps to “Party on the Green,” the fourth-annual bash thrown by Alex and Rick Gardner during the FedEx St. Jude Championship at their home on the 15th green at TPC Southwind.

The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital connection happened when they began using Evite Online Invitations for the party, says Rick, president of Fremont-Wright, which owns architectural and engineering firms around the country. Evite has “a great system where you can just link to a charity of your choice,” Rick says. So, donating to St. Jude was a “no-brainer.”

This year, they decided to “make it a true benefit for St. Jude” instead of just donating money online. Alex was “actually in communication with people at St. Jude that are involved with the tournament and they helped out with banners and pop-ups in the house.”

About 150 people attended. “I don’t think there’s anybody who hasn’t known someone who has a child that had to go to St. Jude,” Alex says.

The party “spread a lot of good cheer.”

Tags Alex and Rick Gardner, FedEx St. Jude Championship, TPC Southwind

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WE SAW YOU: Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date August 21, 2024

Reid Halford, Seth Cartwright, and Eli Christenbury (Photos: Michael Donahue)

More than 2,000 people attended the sixth annual Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival, which was held August 10th at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

“We say ‘a beer fest with a chicken twist,’” says Caroline Hall, regional events director for iHeartRadio, which puts on the festival. “Our goal is a tailgate for adults. Having a big play area for adults.”

The play area included inflatable basketball, cornhole, and other games, as well as, for the first time, a mechanical bull.

The event included 16 food vendors. The beer, which included brew from Meddlesome Brewing Company, Memphis Made Brewing Co., and Beale Street Brewing Co., was from Ajax Distributing Company Inc.

The next big iHeartRadio event will be the annual Wine on the River, which will be held October 5th at Tom Lee Park.

Tags Beale Street Brewing Co., iHeartRadio, Meddlesome Brewing Company, Memphis, Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival, Memphis Made Brewing Co., Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium

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WE SAW YOU: Skol-astic Book Fair

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date August 21, 2024

Michael and Diana Townsend (Photos: Michael Donahue)

Guests could raise a glass and shout “Skol” to toast the Skol-astic Book Fair, which was held August 10th at Soul & Spirits Brewery.

People put their noses in beer and in books at the event, which featured “Lyric,” a brew made for the occasion. Ryan Allen, who owns the brewery with his wife, Blair Perry, describes it as “a farmhouse ale with Earl Grey tea.”

“We just do it for the book fair every year,” he says. “So, it’s really only available that day. This year I doubled the amount I made last year, and it still sold out in the same amount of time.

“We call it ‘Lyric’ because lyrics are the words of a song. It’s a way to tie in the theme of the book fair and being a wordsmith.”

Melissa Justice, DJ Reitzel, and Rian Taylor

Describing their event, Ryan says, “We invited all the bookstores in town. And this year, I think a little more uniquely, we invited individual authors that could come in and sit and speak with people and sell their books.”

They want people to “connect directly with the authors.”

Tags Burke's Book Store, DeMoir Books & Things, Memphis, Novel, Skol-astic Book Fair, Soul & Spirits Brewery

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WE SAW YOU: Elvis 7s Rugby Tournament

Post author By Michael Donahue
Post date August 14, 2024

Jack Albert, 18, just played his first Elvis 7s Rugby Tournament, which was held August 3rd at McBride Rugby Field at Tobey Park.

“I thought it was really cool,” says Albert, who plays in the Eureka Kings (no Elvis affiliation) Rugby club in St. Louis, Missouri.

“It was fun to just enjoy the music and the environment and get to play the sport I love at the same time,” he says.

The music that played during the games was mostly recorded Elvis standards, as well as a mix of other artists. The event, presented by the Memphis Blues Rugby Club, features a sideburns contest and Elvis-themed prizes.

**Juliette Robinson, Gabrielle Naples, and Meredith Feltenstein**

Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” was played. “I think they only played that once,” says Albert. “We were walking on the field and that song came on.” Or, in rugby lingo, “I was about to go pour out my heart on the pitch, leave it on the field.”

Albert wore protective covering on his right leg so he wouldn’t mess up his new tattoo. It’s an anime symbol “from Berserk” and basically means, “Everybody has a bigger purpose in life and you’re destined for greater things than what you think.”

Tags Elvis, Elvis Sevens Rugby Tournament, Memphis, Memphis Blues Rugby Club