If you’re making regular contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), congratulations! You’re taking steps toward a more secure financial future. However, even those who participate in a 401(k) plan may worry they’re not contributing enough to achieve their retirement goals.
Unfortunately, as with so many financial planning challenges, there’s no single guideline to ensure you’re putting enough aside. Even if you have an idea of the dollar amount you’ll need to comfortably retire, the amount you need to save varies based on a wide range of factors, including when you start investing, your portfolio allocation, market events, lifestyle goals, spending habits, inflation, etc.
A general rule of thumb is to invest 15 percent of your income in a retirement account, but your exact savings requirements may differ widely from that number. Rather than focusing on a specific percentage, consider implementing the following tips to help maximize your employer-sponsored retirement plan benefits.
1. Start contributing early.
Thanks to the power of compound interest, it’s typically more advantageous to start contributing to a 401(k) as early as possible, even if you’re only able to commit to a small amount.
2. Maximize your employer match.
If someone offered to give you $3,000 each year with no strings attached, would you take it? Of course you would! Yet many people pass up retirement savings opportunities by not contributing enough to their 401(k) to receive the full value of their employer’s matching contribution. That’s essentially saying no to “free” money.
3. Increase your contributions by 1 to 2 percent each year.
Once you’re contributing enough to receive your full employer match, consider increasing your contributions each year or whenever you receive a raise. Even a 1 to 2 percent annual increase can have a big impact on your savings over time, and you’re unlikely to even notice the impact on your take-home pay.
4. Diversify your contribution types.
Many employer-sponsored retirement plans offer the option of contributing to a traditional (pre-tax) 401(k) or a Roth (after-tax) 401(k).
• Traditional 401(k) contributions provide the benefit of lowering your taxable income during the year in which they’re made. However, these assets and their earnings are taxed as ordinary income when you withdraw them in retirement.
Once you are retired and reach a certain age, the IRS requires you begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your pre-tax retirement accounts. These withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax.
• Roth 401(k) contributions don’t provide an immediate tax benefit, but assets can be withdrawn without federal income tax as long as you’ve reached age 59.5 and held the account for at least five years.
In addition, Roth 401(k) contributions aren’t subject to RMDs, which means your assets can continue growing within the account throughout retirement.
Contributing a portion of your retirement savings to both types of accounts offers a combination of tax benefits, including:
• An opportunity to lower your current taxable income when you’re in a high tax bracket by making pre-tax contributions
• Flexibility and tax-planning opportunities in retirement that allow you to draw from accounts with different tax treatments, based on your changing needs, market conditions, and tax exposure.
Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.
It’s been a minute since I’ve written in this space, dear readers. Time both drags and zips by, and I hope you’ve all been well in the interim. For anyone who has followed my columns since April when I broke my foot, I’m excited to report that I’m walking again — without training wheels, so to speak. I ditched the orthopedic boot a month or so ago. I battled with and lost to the ankle brace — it was uncomfortable and none of my shoes fit over it, so it was sent to early retirement. The wheelchair and walkers have been locked in the vaults of my mind, a memory I hope to never revisit (except when I return those items to their rightful owners — thanks for the borrow, y’all!). I’ve finished week four of physical therapy, and I’m able to walk — in supportive shoes — with minimal pain.
I say minimal. It still hurts, but compared to what I’ve endured since spring, this stage is a walk in the park. There’s nerve damage — a constant dull burn and numbness. My foot still swells if I’m up and about, even around the house, for more than a few minutes. And there are ligaments that feel like tight rubber bands pulling toward a snap with each step. I can’t seem to walk down a set of stairs — my foot doesn’t want to work that way — but I can walk up them.
I was thinking about a form I filled out at my last physical therapy appointment. It asked to rate things like putting on socks and shoes or walking a mile on a 1 to 5 scale of difficulty. I answered “little difficulty” or “no difficulty” on a few items, which, in hindsight, I still have quite a bit of difficulty doing. But as I gave each task a score, I was mentally comparing them to how I felt two or three months ago. The fact that I can even do these things feels like a miracle now. (Still no hopping, jogging, or running, which all received a side-scribbled “N/A” on the scale.)
Another miracle is that I’ve gotten back to my almost-daily ritual neighborhood walks. Those sacred meditations in motion where I can see the seasons change in the leaves, admire the sunlight shimmering across puddles, feel the cooler breeze against my skin. It seems I missed all of summer stuck inside mostly immobile, and my body knows it. My muscles have had to put in extra work just to be upright — my back, shins, and calves aching from a measly mile walk. But I’m gradually adding more distance, more time with shoes to pavement, taking care not to overdo it.
On a recent stroll, crisp leaves scattered the sidewalk in little cyclones, and the wind bent branches on decades-old trees towering overhead. I stopped, as I always have, to photograph flowers and butterflies and sprouts peeking through cement cracks. I spoke to my favorite old neighborhood dog, who, although she acknowledged me with a side-eye from her lounging spot in the yard, was too cozy in a sunning session to be bothered to rise and greet me. My lungs were full of fresh air and my soul filled with gratitude. For a while I walked with one earbud in listening to quiet tunes, but then there was a louder sound. Not the whir of speeding cars on the nearby thoroughfare or the chatter of neighbors conversing on their front lawn. It was a pulsing in my ear — my heartbeat. I paused the music and listened to my body’s life force, felt the drumming in unison with my steps. Reminding me that the past — that held so much pain — is gone. That my body — this extraordinary machine — is mending as it should. That this aching — this firing of blood and muscles — is necessary to fully heal. That my internal drum — pounding as I march ahead — forges on. As the last long sighs of summer give breath to fall, this path — right now (right now, right now) — is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
This coming weekend brings some overdue recognition to one of the city’s true jazz giants, Donald Brown. The pianist was born in Mississippi but raised in Memphis before going on to study at Memphis State (now the University of Memphis), where he was one of the “Memphis Three,” the trio of genius-level ivory-ticklers who emerged in the 1970s that also included James Williams and Mulgrew Miller. Of the three, Brown was arguably the most eclectic, ranging from classic straight-ahead jazz piano to more funk-influenced recordings over the course of 18 studio albums, plus appearances on records by the likes of Donald Byrd and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Through most of that time, he was a much-loved educator at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville from 1988-2020.
This Friday, September 6th, at 7 p.m., he’ll receive a Beale Street Brass Note and a tribute to his life in music at the Museum of Science & History (MoSH), complete with a concert by the Memphis Jazz Workshop (led by Steve Lee, one of Brown’s former students). And Saturday, September 7th, at 6 p.m., the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center will host a reading by Valeria Z. Nollan from her upcoming biography of Brown. It’s a pair of events befitting a career as distinguished as Brown’s, and yet the cruel irony is that he won’t be playing at any of them.
That’s due in part to his aging. “I’ve been having problems with my hands, so I haven’t really performed for the last seven years, so it’s been kinda rough,” he says with some resignation. Yet, at 70, his mind is as sharp as ever, which bodes well for Nollan’s biography, slated for release in 2025.
Brown’s life since college has been single-mindedly focused on his mastery of the piano, but it wasn’t always thus. “I came to jazz kind of late,” he says. “Originally, I was a drummer, and then I played tuba in the marching band, baritone horn in the concert band, and trumpet in the ROTC band. Through high school [at South Side High School], even though I was playing trumpet and drums, I still knew enough about piano and harmony that I was arranging for my high school marching band. Playing trumpet probably influenced my writing more than my improvising, but playing drums definitely influenced me more as a pianist.”
And then there were the keyboardists who showed him the way, influences that came pouring out once Brown took to the piano as his main instrument when starting college. “All the great players that were in Memphis at the time just made me want to play the instrument. Booker T. [Jones] was a big influence. Marvell Thomas, Sidney Kirk, and other guys that were contemporaries of mine.” Like most Stax-affiliated players, these were virtuosos who were equally at home in jazz or pop settings. And that was true of Brown, too, as he progressed through college and began working more steadily.
“I played in a lot of top 40 bands and a lot of studio work,” Brown explains, “so I was influenced by the music of Motown and Philadelphia International, players like Bernie Worrell with Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, Prince. I was really into the group Yes and Rick Wakeman. So it was a very diverse amount of keyboard players and pianists that influenced me.”
A grounding in funk is reflected in some of Brown’s greatest jazz work, where strong left-handed bass figures can be key, as in two of his tributes to civil rights leaders, “A Poem for Martin” and “Theme for Malcolm.” Yet even those reveal Brown’s subtle mastery of classic jazz piano as well, which comes to the fore in his piece “Phineas,” a tribute to the greatest of all Memphis pianists, Phineas Newborn Jr.
Looking back on his storied life in jazz, Brown himself can hardly believe it. “I was blessed to have worked with so many other legends, like Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Donald Byrd, Toots Thielemans, and Johnny Griffin. But still, the highlight for me was playing with Art Blakey. I still have to pinch myself when I see recordings or videos and see that it actually happened. Even though I haven’t been there walking the streets with Bird and Bud Powell, I tell my students that that’s about as close as you can get to the source.”
Memphis Yoga Festival (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Yoga Festival)
Along with the change in temperatures (or, really just the changes in the calendar) comes the return of fairs and festivals. Yes, that means your favorites are back, but so are some new ones, and maybe some that just haven’t been on your radar. Don’t worry, babe, we’ve got you covered here in this guide.
SEPTEMBER
Orion Free Concert Series
I don’t know why you say “Goodbye,” I say “Shello, shello, shello,” to the Orion Free Concert Series’ lineup of free concerts.
Overton Park Shell, various dates in September and October
Delta Fair & Music Festival
This festival is a fair shot at a great time, with games, rides, and all your fair classics.
Agricenter International, through September 8
30 Days of Opera
Thirty days of free opera? That’s music to my ears. And surely it’s music to your ears, too.
Various locations, through September 30
Germantown Festival
Weenies are all the rage at the Germantown Festival, where the annual dachshund race takes place along with arts and crafts, rides and games, live stage entertainment, car exhibits, and more.
Germantown Civic Club Complex, September 7-8
Goat Days Festival
If loving goats is baaaaad, I don’t want to be good. After all, the Goat Days Festival is all for the love of the goat, with a goat beauty pageant and a goat show, plus some non-goat activities.
Millington Sports Complex, September 7
Medical District Wellness Festival
Well, well, well, what do we have here? A wellness festival with heath-focused activities, community outreach, and live entertainment.
Sure, there’s the rivalry football game between Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Tennessee State, but there’s also a ton of non-football events to check out, from the parade to an exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum to a concert starring Tamia & Joe.
Various Locations, September 12-14
Mighty Roots Music Festival
Might I interest you in a mighty good time? Full lineup at mightyrootsmusicfestival.com.
Stovall, MS, September 13-14
Cooper-Young Festival
At the corner of Happy and Healthy — wait this isn’t Walgreens — at the corner of Cooper and Young is the festival where happiness and a healthy amount of art, music, and crafts flourishes.
Cooper-Young Historic District, September 14
Memphis Fitness Fest
You’re gonna want to fit this festival into your schedule. It’ll have workouts, nutrition insights, inspiring speakers, a marketplace, and more.
Ambishun Fitness, September 14
Mid-Autumn Festival
Celebrate the beauty of Asian culture with live music, traditional lion dance performances, a fashion show, and more.
Crosstown Concourse, September 14
Memphis Yoga Festival
It’s not a stretch to say that this festival will have all the yoga you could ever dream of.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, September 15
Mid-South Fair
Life isn’t fair, but life is better when there’s a fair around. The Mid-South Fair is a prime example, with rides, entertainment, and the best fair fare.
Landers Center, September 19-29
Memphis Greek Festival
Celebrate this fest’s 65th anniversary with Greek food, free Greek dancing lessons, vendors, and more.
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, September 20-21
Oktoberfest(s)
Listen, I’m going to be real with you: There are several Oktoberfests happening around town, and for me to write each one out and give them their own little blurb is just soooo much work. So here’s a short list because not to include any Oktoberfest would be a disservice to you, my reader.
• Oktoberfest | Soul & Spirits, September 21
• Wiseacre Oktoberfest | Wiseacre Brewing Company, September 28
• Zootoberfest | Memphis Zoo, every Saturday and Sunday in October
• Oktoberfest | Grind City Brewing Company, October 5
• Crosstober Fest | Crosstown Brewing Company, October 12
• Overton Square Oktoberfest | Overton Square, October 12
Fantasy Faire
Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Cordova, a library hosted a fantasy-themed fair, with a story time, local artists and vendors, demonstrations by the Memphis Armored Fight Club, a costume contest, crafts, games, and more.
Cordova Library, September 21
51st Annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair
In the words of the great Chappell Roan, I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair. (I’m pretty sure those are the lyrics.) With a petting zoo, choo choo train ride for the kids, artist demos, live music, food trucks, and more than 125 master craftspeople and artists, everyone will find something to dance to.
Audubon Park, September 27-29
8th Annual Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: The Comedy of Errors
You make me want to shout! Shout Shakespeare, that is. This year’s Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series features The Comedy of Errors.
Outdoor stages throughout West Tennessee and indoors at TSC, September 27-October 20
I’ll get straight to the point: artists, artisans, crafts people, and food.
The Point, September 21
Inaugural Memphis Pizza Festival
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby, but don’t you dare take another little piece of my pizza, especially at the inaugural Memphis Pizza Festival, where local makers will make all types of pizzas.
Agricenter International, September 21
Latin Fest
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with live Latin music, Latin food and drinks, activities for kids, and vendors.
Overton Square, September 21
Gonerfest 21
Oh yeah, you’re gonna wanna go to this fest with a unique and wide-ranging bill from Memphis and around the world.
Railgarten, September 26-29
Third Annual Memphis Black Child Book Fair
Promote literacy with authors from across the country and 100 Black Women of Memphis.
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, September 28
OCTOBER
Bartlett Festival
Expect music, arts and crafts, a car show, children’s activities, a barbecue contest, a 5K, and more.
W.J. Freeman Park, October 4-5
Black Arts & Wine Festival
Experience visual art by Black creatives and sample wines and liquors from Black brands.
Museum of Science & History, October 5
Mempho Music Festival
Headliners Jack White, Trey Anastasio & Classic Tab, and Cody Jinks will take the stage for this festival.
Radians Amphitheater, Memphis Botanic Garden, October 4-6
V&E Greenline Artwalk
You can talk the talk, but can you walk the Artwalk? Yeah, you can! The event is full of artist booths, entertainment, children’s activities, artist demonstrations, and more.
V&E Greenline, October 5
Wine on the River Memphis
Jesus didn’t turn water into wine for nothing, so drink up at the Wine on the River where you can sample wine from national and international vineyards.
Tom Lee Park, October 5
King Biscuit Blues Festival
Hear ye, hear ye, King Biscuit Blues Festival is back for its annual three-day event, complete with lots of blues music — on six stages.
Helena, AR, October 9-12
Tambourine Bash
Music Export Memphis presents a night of Memphis music collaborations you won’t soon forget.
Overton Park Shell, October 10
Soul of the City
Romance isn’t dead, but the residents at Elmwood Cemetery are. Yet this year’s Soul of the City won’t let their love stories die, as crowd-favorite characters regale you with tales of passion, devotion, longing, and a dash of heartbreak and scandal.
Elmwood Cemetery, October 11-12
Edge Motorfest (Photo: Courtesy Edge Motor Museum)
Edge Motorfest
Vrooom, vrooom, MFers (read: Memphis Flyer readers). You’ll be on the edge of your seat as more than 150 cars compete for 25 different awards.
Edge Motor Museum, October 12
Paint Memphis 2024
Sometimes making plans can be a paint in the butt, but when Paint Memphis is happening, you’re painted in a corner ’cause you gotta go. A hundred or so artists will be painting murals all day long and it’s a spectacle to behold.
Willet and Lamar, October 12
Ska-Tober Fest 2024
What even is ska? Find out at this fest.
Meddlesome Brewing Company, October 12
Memphis Pickle Fest
This fest will tickle your pickle with pickle-themed drinks and pickle-themed food.
Growlers, October 13
Deep Blues Festival
Hopelessly devoted to the blues? This festival is for you. It goes deep.
Clarksdale, MS, October 17-20
Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival
This one is for the players and the play lovers. Enjoy screenings, lectures, and performances.
Clarksdale, MS, October 17-19
Fall Fest
Benefiting Room in the Inn, this festival will have live music including a performance by 38 Special, a barbecue contest, a cash raffle giveaway, a car show, vendor fair, food truck fair, carnival, and more.
St. Brigid Catholic Church, October 18-19
Wolf River Conservancy Fall Fest
Take part in an arboretum scavenger hunt, meet some creepy crawly critters, participate in a costume parade, and more.
Wolf River Greenway, Shady Grove Trailhead, October 18
Spirit Fest
Don’t get too spirited away at this metaphysical and holistic expo.
Agricenter International, October 19-20
Cooper-Young Beerfest
Beer me, this festival brings all your favorite regional breweries to town.
Midtown Autowerks, October 19
RiverArtsFest (Photo: Courtesy Hemline)
RiverArtsFest
Ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to RiverArtsFest, the largest juried artist market and urban festival in the Mid-South.
Downtown Memphis, October 19-20
Memphis Tequila Festival
If tequila makes your clothes fall off, you’re gonna have a real problem at this festival where 50-plus types of tequila and mezcal will be available for tasting.
The Kent, October 25
Chêne Film Festival
This festival kicks off with a concert featuring Jordan Davis followed by the premiere of five short films showcasing the waterfowl community.
Live at the Garden, October 26
Memphis Comic Expo
This expo shines a spotlight on artists and writers in the world of comics, bringing the best local and regional talent.
Renasant Convention Center, October 26-27
Arts & Crafts Festival
Expect art, music, food, and, of course, fun at this second annual festival put on by Lakeland’s Arts Council.
Lakeland Town Square, October 26, 12-6 p.m.
NOVEMBER
Broad Ave. Art Walk
Any old broad will tell you that the Broad Ave. Art Walk is the place for artists and makers, live music, a craft area, and fun activities. Listen to that broad.
Broad Ave. Arts District, November 2
Día de Los Muertos Parade and Festival
Honor your ancestors and celebrate the cycle of life and death at this festival of art-making, face-painting, music, performances, and more.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, November 2
Memphis Japan Festival
Celebrate Japan at this family-friendly, interactive, and hands-on experience of Japanese culture featuring food, entertainment, games, crafts, and more.
Memphis Botanic Garden, November 3
Memphis Monster Con
This graveyard smash will catch on in a flash. There will be food trucks, the cast of Return of the Living Dead, merchandise, cosplay, an artists alley, panels, and much more.
Pipkin Building at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, November 9-10
Memphis Crafts & Drafts Festival: Holiday Market
This festival crafted the perfect experience; no, this isn’t a rough draft. Crafts & Drafts showcases local artists and makers for you to shop from for all your holiday gifting needs.
Crosstown Concourse, November 9
India Fest
Enjoy vibrant displays, Bollywood dancing shows, henna painting, Indian cuisines, shopping, and more.
Agricenter International, November 9
Indie Memphis Film Festival
You look like a movie, and I could watch you all day long. That pickup line probably won’t get far at this fest, but you will be watching movies all day long.
Various locations, November 14-19
Holiday Spirits: A Christmas Cocktail Festival
Have yourself a merry little cocktail, so says the tagline of this festival since that’s what you’ll be doing.
The Kent, November 22
DECEMBER
Raised by Sound Fest
Sound the alarm! Raised by Sound Fest is back. That means free live music all the day long, culminating in a fundraising performance.
Crosstown Concourse, December 7
Raised by Sound Fest (Photo: Courtesy WYXR)
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
This is THE Liberty Bowl, where football, parties, and more happen.
Bond has been set for a TV reality personality and a friend after a camel bite turned into a drug bust at a drive-through zoo.
Crockett County General Sessions Judge Paul Conley set the bond at $10,000 apiece for Brian Scott Lovvorn and “1,000-Lb. Sisters” star Amy Slaton Halterman.
Lovvorn (Credit: Crockett County Sheriff’s Office)
“It was no ordinary Labor Day in Crockett County,” wrote the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook Monday.
Deputies responded to Safari Park Monday near Alamo, Tennessee, just northwest of Jackson. A guest was allegedly bitten by a camel.
“Upon arrival, deputies were immediately overtaken by suspicious odors coming from the guest’s vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said. “Amy Slaton Halterman, ’1,000-Lb. Sisters’ reality TV star, was arrested on illegal possession of Schedule I, illegal possession of Schedule VI, and two counts of child endangerment.”
Lovvorn was arrested on the same charges.
Both were then booked into the Crockett County Jail.
B. Michael Patrick, a popular Memphis chef, will open his new restaurant, Magnolia Bend Grill, at the site of the old Bonne Terre in Nesbit, Mississippi. He’s slated to open the restaurant, which was previously BT Prime Steakhouse, on September 23rd.
Patrick was chef/owner of Rizzo’s Diner, a popular South Main eatery that he closed in March 2022. Rizzo then went to work as executive chef/partner at The Capital Grille.
“BT Prime, the old restaurant, was a steakhouse,” says Patrick, who plans to continue to selling steaks. But, he says, “It’s going to be that elevated comfort food I’ve always done.”
Asked why he wanted to open another restaurant, Patrick says, “I moved to Southaven last year.” And, he adds, “I want to be a part of the community again.”
Site of upcoming Magnolia Bend Grill in Nesbit, Mississippi (Credit: Courtesy of B. Michael Patrick)
Matthew Sweet is the perfect choice to headline the Memphis PowerPop Festival, happening at the Overton Park Shell at 5 p.m. this Saturday, August 31st. Being younger than the likes of the Who, the Raspberries, or Big Star, he’s nevertheless an actively performing link to the originators of the genre — first as a fan. The direct result of the first wave of “power pop” filtering down to younger denizens of the 1970s via radio and funky little record shops, he can well remember the thrill of discovering key LPs back when power pop gems were rare.
Sweet, of course, came to define power pop for a whole new generation after his third album, Girlfriend, blew up in 1991, not coincidentally featuring band members — Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine — who’d appeared on the very records he bought in high school. From the ’90s on, he’s been a reliably rocking and intriguing artist, and continues to mine the power pop vein today, with one album dropping during Covid and another on the way. A common thread through all of his music, as a both fan and an artist, is his love of melody, often paired with rock’s grit. And that, in a nutshell is what power pop is. Naturally, the topic of melody was where my recent conversation with him soon headed.
Memphis Flyer:As it turns out, you and I were growing up in eastern Nebraska at the same time [much discussion of this ensues]. I imagine you were a frequent patron of Dirt Cheap Records in Lincoln?
Matthew Sweet: Most of the records that found their way to me were from my older brother, or from someone recommending them to me at Dirt Cheap. People at Dirt Cheap knew all about everything. So you’d get to know a guy at a record store and he sort of knew what you liked. I remember going in Dirt Cheap one day and seeing one of the 45s that ended up on Singles Going Steady, by the Buzzcocks. That record was one that I really loved, because they were really melodic, but also very new wave.
I think of it as a British Invasion, that kind of new wave, punk, and everything, and it’s interesting, because my concern at the time was, How can I be like an American person, from a new generation or whatever, and do that kind of thing? And that’s why it was so, so critical for me to find [records by] the dBs or Big Star, because they became my American role models. Like on #1 Record, the voices were so pristine and beautiful sounding. The guitars were so incredible. It was everything I loved really melodic stuff that really hit me emotionally. Melody was always really important to me. It’s kind of what I heard first, even before lyrics. Even when the lyrics were important, it was the melodies that I really felt like I had, you know, inside me or something.
There was a lot of surprise in discovering the music then. And now I realize what a special time it was. I love the internet, and I love being able to find out instantly about anything I’m interested in, but back then, records were very special, at least to me and people I knew at the time. A record was this thing that was really personal.
It seems like those melodic records also led you to the South, in a way. The dB’s and Mitch Easter coming out of the North Carolina scene, and Big Star being from Memphis. Were you already into those bands when you moved to Athens, Georgia?
I had all these records in high school. I got into the dBs, and they were the gateway for me to find Big Star. As far as I was concerned, Alex Chilton was, you know, John Lennon, or something. He reminded me so much of Lennon, and does now even, because what I admired about John Lennon was the breadth of emotional things in his songs. He could write very beautiful, tender music that showed he really had a heart, and he could do more edgy stuff that was sort of sassy. And that was also such an Alex thing. From the soft and beautiful to the crazy and weird and electric. And I just loved those records as I was preparing to leave Nebraska, when I got out of high school. I guess that would have been May of ’83. I just told my parents, like, ‘I have to go to college in Athens, Georgia.’
The scene there was still really kind of going, and there was just kind of a magic. Growing up in Nebraska was so different from that Southern Gothic kind of feeling [in Athens]. It was a place that had a much longer history than we had in Lincoln or Omaha, you know. So it really felt kind of heavy and mysterious and kind of magical to me, as an 18 or 19 year old. Yeah, it was amazing.
And now you’re calling me from Athens, where you really got your career going when R.E.M. and that scene was taking off, and where your current full band tour is taking you now, just before playing Memphis. And you’re living in Nebraska again. A lot of full-circle moments are happening these days! How does it feel to hear the new release, WXRT Live in Grant Park, Chicago, IL, July 4, 1993, documenting a live show you and your band played at the height of the Altered Beast era?
It feels so long ago, I wanted it to be called Matthew Sweet, Live in Chicago, 1893. I thought it was funny, but no one would implement it. But that was a really memorable show. The Jayhawks were there, and I love Gary [Louris]. And Chicago was always a great place for me, so I had a lot of support there, not just fans, but from radio. It was one of the places where everything sort of went right, you know? So it’s always been a little bit of a second home area around Chicago. I wasn’t, you know, living in Nebraska at the time, but it still felt closer to home. You know, it was just sort of cool, the big Midwestern city. But maybe the real reason I loved that show was that the next morning, there was a newspaper headline in Chicago that read: The Pope, the Bulls, and Matthew Sweet. My mother came from a giant Catholic family, and she was pretty religious and so, you know, there could be nothing more thrilling for her than me being mentioned in the same breath as the Pope.
And here you are, 1993 is in the far distant past, and you’re still touring with a full band.
And playing this power pop fest! I’ve never heard of such a thing, except maybe in Spain, right? Power pop is a thing there, and we toured there a lot, and did really well. But to think we are in America, at a power pop festival! I heard it may get moved out of the bandshell to an indoor venue, due to weather, but we really want to play the Shell. It’s one of the last bandshells, I think. There’s only a couple left. And, I mean, you know, we’ve all seen those photos of Elvis standing in the middle of that stage…
The Memphis PowerPop Festival, part of the Orion Free Concert Series, takes place at the Overton Park Shell this Saturday, August 31st at 5 p.m., and features Matthew Sweet with openers Abe Partridge and The Sonny Wilsons. An after-party featuring Your Academy, 40 Watt Moon, and Lately David starts at 9 p.m. at B-Side.
At Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Metal Museum’s transition to its new home at the former Memphis College of Art building, Carissa Hussong showed off her decked-out hardhat, complete with diamonds and black flames sprawling across the cap. “Yes, the diamonds are real,” she said. “’Cause who doesn’t need a hardhat with their name and diamonds on it?”
The hardhat, she revealed, was gifted to her on her first day on the job 17 years ago by James Wallace, the museum’s founding director who preceded her. It was always destined that the museum would expand in some way, though it wasn’t always known that it would take over the Memphis College of Art’s campus. That suggestion wouldn’t come until 2018, and even then it was met with some hesitation, until eventually that hesitation subsided as the move became more and more logical.
“The museum has been called a hidden gem. This has a lot to do with our current location,” said Richard Aycock, the museum’s board president, at the ceremony. “Our programs have changed lives, and I can’t tell you how excited we are about the possibilities this expansion gives us to expand our educational opportunities. It will increase our educational offerings sixfold in a place that’s easily accessible by foot, by bike, by car, or by public transportation. The expansion gives us room and space to teach advanced metalworking techniques to more students.
“In addition to addressing the needs of our community, we are very excited and honored to become a part of the Overton Park family and to continue the Memphis College of Art’s legacy of art and education.”
Part of honoring the college’s legacy also means honoring its original architecture and architects Roy Harrover and Bill Mann, so the museum engaged the help of Los Angeles-based wHY Architects and Memphis-based LRK.
“This project is a true example of how you can work with the existing fabric to highlight its unique features, and then thoughtfully add on to it to serve future generations,” said Krissy Buck Flickinger, senior associate architect with LRK.
Quoting from the original National Register nomination for Overton Park, she continued, “‘The building is an outstanding example of contemporary architectural design, distinguished by its freestanding concrete sunbreak, folded plate roof structure and generous roof terraces, and balconies, all of which will be preserved and will live on.’
“The historic materials will be used, restored, and retained. I already talked about the folded plate roof. We have terrazzo floors. We have steel windows that are all original and in beautiful condition. We’re restoring the 350-seat auditorium. We’re reimagining the library and the cafe space. … And we’re letting the once art studio spaces live on as art gallery spaces. … And the second vital piece to this project is the addition of the innovative metalworking facility with its own expressive design that draws inspiration from and complements Rust Hall.”
The designs are complete, and construction is ready to begin, with a projected completion date of 2026.
The museum’s current site at 374 Metal Museum Drive will eventually be converted into a space to host an artist-in-residence program, as well as an events space.
As Aycock reminded guests at Thursday’s event, “The Metal Museum is the only institute in the United States dedicated to the art and craft of fine metalwork. There is nowhere else in the world where you can go and look at a beautiful exhibition of exquisite metalwork, then go to the shop and watch that metalwork being made, and even take a class and make some with your own hands. It is a special place. It is a place that metalsmiths from all over the world come and that many here in this country call home.”
The 901 Wrestling "Wild Card Rumble" was held on July 20th at Black Lodge. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The 901 Wrestling promotion has a new home: Minglewood Hall at 1955 Madison Avenue.
“We’re going to be moving to Sundays monthly at Minglewood starting September 22nd,” says Kevin Cerrito, 901 Wrestling host. Anthony Sain is his commentary partner. Both will be back at the helm at the new location.
And the shows, which will be held in Minglewood’s main room, will be from 5 to 7 p.m. instead of at a later time as in the past, Cerrito says.
One free entry for kids will be available with each purchase of a general admission ticket to the matches.
Tickets will go on sale at 9:01 a.m on 901 day, September 1st, at 901wrestling.com.
Fans can catch up on full shows, including the matches and interviews, by going to youtube.com/901wrestling.
Dorian Vain at 901 Wrestling’s “Wild Card Rumble” at Black Lodge (Credit: MIchael Donahue)
According to info from Cerrito, “Promoter Tommy Jax took over a Holly Springs, Mississippi-based wrestling promotion in 2017 with a group of underutilized talent that was mostly based out of Memphis. In 2018, the promotion moved their shows to Rec Room on Broad Avenue in Memphis and it was rebranded to 901 Wrestling in 2019. Covid ended the Rec Room era, and when 901 Wrestling returned in 2021 its new home was Black Lodge until they closed in August 2024.”
According to Jax, “With 901 Wrestling moving to Minglewood Hall, we all have the opportunity to present the biggest local wrestling shows this city has seen in over a decade. This brings us closer to reaching our goal of bringing wrestling back as a mainstay in Memphis once again. 901 Wrestling is not just putting on wrestling shows. We’re trying to make sure we keep something here that is inherently in our city’s DNA. Like barbecue, basketball, and music, wrestling is part of who we are as Memphians.”
And, as Cerrito says, “It’s going to be a new era. We’re really looking forward to it.”
Let’s have a look back at some huge (and hilarious) MEMernet anniversaries.
Posted to Facebook by WMC-TV
“Saucy Situation”
The MEMernet was obsessed this time two years ago with a truck accident that spilled enough Bertolli alfredo sauce to temporarily close I-55.
Coverage quotes from FOX13’s Kate Bieri went viral, including one used in a tweet from The New York Times that read: “Unfortunately this is Memphis, and we had some pretty intense sun beating down on that alfredo sauce, and also humidity. It was just not a great recipe for a highway full of alfredo sauce.”
#notmyjob
Posted to Facebook by Richie Esquivel
Richie Esquivel’s sad/hilarious Facebook post went around the world this time last year, picked up by WMC-TV, The Guardian, and The New York Post.
His photo showed a dead raccoon painted over by a road crew laying new traffic stripes along Getwell. It raises so many questions, but one thing was clear to Esquivel. It was “#notmyjob,” he wrote. “Memphis, Tennessee, baby. But Getwell Road looked real nice, tho.”
Neverending #buttholegate
Posted to Facebook by Imagine Butthole Cafe
The Imagine Butthole Cafe Facebook page always remembers.
The scandal was born seven years ago last month and internet scientists have yet to calculate the cumulative hours sunk into the hilarious, Memphis-only rabbit hole. Even researching this brief post, I was sucked into it.
But the wild story and the reaction to it went all over the world (and that’s not hyperbole). Here are some stories from Eater and Vice.
Susan Ellis, our food writer and managing editor at the time, listed ButtholeGate as one of the top food scandals in Memphis.
In the Best of Memphis issue of 2017, I picked ButholeGate as the year’s “Best Butthole Buzz.”
“The only butthole-related scandal that mattered this year was ButtholeGate, of course. This mighty beast of social-media hilarity and hurt feelings rose in July from a Google review (yes, a Google review) of Imagine Vegan Cafe in Cooper-Young. ButtholeGate paralyzed Memphis Facebook and Twitter for nearly two days, and the story finally spread as far as The Washington Post (yes, that Washington Post). Before it was all over, the humor harvest yielded “Butthole McYodelTown,” a puckered logo for “Hole Foods Memphis,” and #buttholesoutforchelsea. — TS”
ButtholegGate (SEE?! I can’t even stop writing about the thing now!) surged again on Reddit around its anniversary last month with some curious folks just wanting to know what the heck was going on. Delicious hilarity ensued. Check it out:
