🎸 Gonerfest 20
Railgarten
Through Sunday, October 1
Gonerfest returns for year 20, where exciting music from Memphis and around the world collides in four days of nonstop action, with more than 25+ bands playing and afterparties providing even more action. Here’s the rub: Advance tickets for Friday and Saturday are sold out, and so are golden passes, leaving only a limited number of tickets available at the door each day. So, do what you gotta do to get in — just please make sure it’s legal. Oh, and there’s always the afterparties — lots of them — too many for me to type out here but head over to our full calendar and you’ll see them listed there. (You’re welcome.)
📸 Photo Exhibit Opening Reception “The Bluff City Chinese: A 150-Year Retrospective”
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Friday, September 29, 4-6 p.m.
The Chinese Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South celebrate 150 years of Chinese-American history with the opening reception for the historical photo exhibition, “The Bluff City Chinese: A 150-Year Photo Retrospective.” The opening reception will feature distinguished speakers and light refreshments. The exhibition will be on display through October 31st.
🍽️ Black Restaurant Week
Friday, September 29-October 8
Discover Black-owned restaurants and culinary businesses in the community. To achieve its mission of growth in the culinary industry, Black Restaurant Week aims to create experiences that will cater to a diverse culture of tastemakers, professionals, and area foodies looking for exposure to delicious food and exquisite wines. Here’s a list of participating restaurants in Memphis.
🏮 Mid-Autumn Festival
Crosstown Concourse
Friday, September 29, 6-9 p.m.
The Vietnamese American Community of West Tennessee, Crosstown Arts, and Crosstown Concourse are partnering to present the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. There will be a lion dance, a youth performance, a soccer game, a magic show, arts, crafts, and more.
🎶 “Lights, Camera, Music” presented by the University Wind Ensemble
Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music
Friday, September 29, 7:30-9 p.m.
From the iconic themes of Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Jurassic Park to the suspenseful motifs of Jaws and the heartwarming melodies of Home Alone, John Williams has created a vast and diverse repertoire that has resonated with audiences around the world. The University of Memphis Wind Ensemble’s exploration of the musical world of John Williams is a fantastic event for fans of film music and orchestral performances. Chris McCoy, our very own film/TV editor, will expertly guide the audience through the iconic films and their sweeping scores. (Go Chris!) Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
🍃 Mental Health Awareness Day
Wolf River Greenway – Epping Way Section
Saturday, September 30, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Join the Conservancy and its partners as they promote mental wellness and well-being along the Wolf River Greenway. For Mental Health Awareness Day, mental health experts and partners will be on hand to help folks explore how to better navigate mental health issues. Shroomlicious (vegan), Inspire Community Cafe (wraps), and Let’s Be Frank will offer free healthy foods. Plus, a range of activities will be offered with all necessary equipment provided. Activities include kayaking, yoga, guided nature walks and hike, hanging with a comfort dog, goat snuggling, a sound bath, nature journaling, a DIY charcuterie bar, school supplies and activities for kids, and so much more. Register here.
📽️ Time Warp Drive-In: Gothic Dreams: The Surreal Fairy-Tale Worlds of Tim Burton
Malco Summer 4 Drive-In
Saturday, September 30, 7:45 p.m.
Descend into the eccentric, bizarre cinema of a cult film master, who went from oddball outsider to mainstream legend and whose movies redefined the fantasy film. Yep, this is an all-night Burton marathon, screening Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), and Batman (1989), with retro vintage intermission clips before and between each film. Gates open at 6:30, first film at 7:45. It’s $25 a car, for as many people as your car, truck, or van can hold.
🍻 10 Years of Beers Anniversary Party
Memphis Made Brewing Co.
Saturday, September 30, 4 p.m.
Memphis Made commemorates a decade of beer with an anniversary partaaaayyyy. The brewery is renewing its vows, with multiple new beers (and an old favorite) available all day. On the menu — Something Old: Lucid Kolsch; Something New: Mountain Drew Hard Soda and Tin Cup, a 10th Anniversary Beer; Something Borrowed: Burn the Witch Black Lager by Meddlesome Brewing Co.; Something Blue: Blue Raspberry Dockside. Jeff Hulett and the Hand Me Downs and the Church Brothers will be playing. Smoke N’ Rolls will be the food truck.
🥊 Rumble Self-Defense Pop-Up
Overton Park Shell
Sunday, October 1, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Get ready to rumble … and by rumble, we mean warm up with bodyweight exercises and shadow-boxing followed by a self-defense workshop, where you’ll practice physical techniques and learn about vigilance and threat prevention. Dress in comfortable clothes, and be ready to move on and off of the ground to practice certain skills. Bring a friend or workout partner if you would like. (If going solo, no worries! A partner will be found for you. That’s not a threat, it’s a promise.) Oh, and this class is free.
🪦 Roses, Dust, & Ashes: An Oracle Deck Premiere
Elmwood Cemetery
Sunday, October 1, 2-3 p.m.
Join Elmwood Cemetery for a presentation by Memphis artist and writer Stacey Williams-Ng, author of the new cemetery-themed card deck, “Roses, Dust, & Ashes.” This deck of hand-illustrated cards features headstones you might recognize from Elmwood and other historic cemeteries around the U.S. Williams-Ng will give a demonstration of how the cards are used, and afterward, attendees will be invited to sit for personal oracle card readings. Williams-Ng’s decks, expansion packs, and more will be available for sale. Refreshments are included; registration is required, so register here. The cost is $20.
🎸 Tab Benoit
Lafayette’s Music Room
Monday, October 2, 7 p.m.
Legendary blues guitarist Tab Benoit comes to Lafayette’s. Benoit is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has built a remarkable 30-plus year career on the foundation of his gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues, acquiring a devoted legion of fans along the way, as well as five Blues Music Awards, including BB King Entertainer of the Year (twice), and an induction into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Tickets to the show are $35 in advance and $40 day of show, and can be purchased here.
☁️ Walk with Amal
Historic Clayborn Temple, Orpheum Theatre, Tom Lee Park
Wednesday, October 4, 4 p.m.
Little Amal, the internationally celebrated 12-foot-tall puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, arrives in Memphis on October 4th for three stops — Historic Clayborn Temple, Orpheum Theatre, and Tom Lee Park — as a part of Amal Walks Across America, an epic 6,000-mile journey across the United States and one of the largest free public art engagements in the world. Amal will be joined by “Memphis Girl,” an 8-foot-tall puppet created by Jeghetto, a nationally celebrated puppeteer. A group of Memphis artists will help operate the puppet. Read more about the project here. (PS: On Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Jack Robinson Gallery, and Sunday, 2:30-4:30 p.m., at Beale Street Landing, you can join Clayborn Temple in making 300 puppets to welcome Little Amal. Register here.)
🎤 Tav Falco & the Panther Burns
Lafayette’s Music Room
Wednesday, October 4, 7 p.m.
Equal parts primal, early rock-and-roll, deviant hill country blues, and avant-garde art, Tav Falco & the Panther Burns are ramshackle, raw, unholy, and utterly amazing. Tickets to the show are $19.20 and can be purchased here.
🌊 The 7th Annual FREE Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: The Tempest
Downtown Wiseacre Brewery
Thursday, October 5, 7 p.m.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company performs Shakespeare’s final romance — and one of the few Shakespeare plays I’ve read — for the company’s free outdoor series, kicking off this Thursday at Wiseacre. Running without intermission, this production features 13 actors, including Michael Khanlarian as Prospero. Bring a chair and picnic; first come/first seated. A full schedule of upcoming performances can be found here.
📽️ Soul Cinema: Mr. Douglass’ Theatre
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Thursday, October 5, 7 p.m.
Screening at the Stax for free, this film frames Charles Henry Douglass’ unique life, from his birth soon after the Civil War in 1870 to his rise as a national business figure and Macon’s first Black millionaire to the time of his death.
