The P&H Cafe holds a special place in the hearts of Memphis music and comedy fans. Its walls carried the memorabilia and images of decades of shows where the performer/audience divide was blurry, to say the least. Many a night of inspiration took flight there, and it even inspired the title of Craig Brewer’s first feature film, The Poor & Hungry. The venue carried on for over 30 years at 1532 Madison Avenue until a few months ago, when new property development in the area forced them to close.
That has now inspired a small army of performers to pitch in with a fundraiser for the beloved venue. “Dive Bar Love Fest” will run from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. this Saturday in the Minglewood Hall parking lot, with food and drinks offered by B-Side Bar.
I spoke with the event’s organizer, singer/songwriter Tiffany Harmon, to get the scoop on what will be, for many, the first live musical outing in over a year.
Memphis Flyer: How did the Dive Bar Love Fest get started?
Tiffany Harmon: A few months ago, I brought up the idea of a benefit with Matt [Edwards], who’s one of the partners, with Robert [Fortner], at the P&H. A good friend talked him into doing a GoFundMe for the place. I think they’ve gotten $19,000 with that so far.
Right now they’re without a location to move to. They’re trying to find a new location that’s not being ruled and regulated by one of these big tycoons. It’s kind of like Monopoly in Memphis right now. So sad. Especially with the pandemic. That’s put a lot of local businesses into a vulnerable place where they can get easily kicked out.
What’s your relationship to the P&H? What’s it mean to you?
I’m just a musician and supporter of that place. I’m a longtime regular, and I used to host the open mic nights there for five years. This benefit is going to be 15 acts, mostly artists who have frequented the bar or headlined there.
We’ll also have five to eight comics doing five minute spots between the band breakdowns. We’re going to have mostly acoustic acts during the day, except for one punk band, the Lipstick Stains. And later in the evening we’ll have the other full bands: Pinky’s, Louise Page with a trio, Javi and the Hyenas, and Blvck Hippie. Chinese Connection Dub Embassy is headlining at 9:40.
What’s your goal for this P&H benefit, beyond raising money?
I hope this opens up the conversation about gentrification and how it’s affecting all of our bars. Everybody has been seeing this happen, where people come in and bring money and development companies. And we’re seeing a few of our favorite bars struggling. With Madison Avenue having all these apartment buildings and hotels popping up, it’s driving everybody out of the neighborhood. It starts with apartment tenants and people in low income areas, and that’s what really should be talked about, but bars and the culture of the city is being visibly affected too, now.
Featured performers will include:
Music:
Bigger Fish
Chris Davenport
Jeremy Stanfill
Ben Abney
Yubu Music
Ben Mitchell
Kitty Dearing
Alejandros Paredes
Luke White
Crockett Hall
Louise Page
Pinky’s
Blvck Hippie
Javi and the Hyenas
Chinese Connection Dub Embassy
Comedians:
Kate Lucas
Ross Turner
Josh McLane
Jowa Horn
Hunter Sandlin
John Miller
Mo Alexander
