When I started working for the Memphis Flyer as an intern (and senior at University of Memphis) in 2008, I’d already been reading the paper religiously each week since high school. Pre-college, living across the state line in Mississippi, I’d drive to the Southaven music shop Disc-O-Tech to pick up a copy from the rack before I browsed their selection of new and used CDs. Once I moved to Memphis for school and work, the Flyer could be found pretty much anywhere — in restaurants, bars, street boxes, retail shops, grocery stores, you name it. All the years spent as a reader, I knew the Flyer had its finger on the pulse of Memphis — hip people, cool music, local news, what to do, where to go. One thing I hadn’t known about was the huge celebration thrown each year for the Best of Memphis.
The first BOM party I attended, as a 20-something green journalist and part of the Flyer team (finally, as I’d dreamed), was held at the Metal Museum. Over the years, there have been many more at (and not in this order) Playhouse on the Square, the closed Imperial Lanes bowling alley on Summer, Minglewood Hall, the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms, Beale Street Landing, the Memphis Fairgrounds, and other venues that through the beer-soaked lenses of my BOM memories elude me at this moment. Each and every one of these events have been larger than life, with the best in local music, food, and drink on hand for partygoers to enjoy. It’s always been a celebration for the winners of our annual readers’ poll, but also for the staff, advertisers, Frequent Flyer supporters, and sponsors who keep this publication thriving, nearly 35 years after the first issue hit newsstands.
The 2023 event was held at the Ravine in the Edge District last week, and, as in years past, the shindig brought many faces together to drink, eat, dance, and mingle. There’s always been an undeniable energy at these parties, one that naturally comes with seeing hundreds of people light up as they pose for photos, hug friends or former colleagues they haven’t seen since maybe the last annual event, or shake hands upon making new connections. (You can see a selection of photos from this year’s BOM party beginning on page 16.)
One thing it did this time around, nearly a year after taking the helm as editor-in-chief, was remind me that the Flyer is still the coolest of the cool in this city, just as I thought it was when I was a teen. I’ve grown (as a writer) and grown up, literally, alongside so many of these faces — Paula Raiford, the Huey’s team, local news anchors, tattooists, brewery crews, and more, who attend these gatherings year after year. These are just some of the people and organizations that make this place so uniquely Memphis — and the Flyer does that, too. As has always been the case, we continue to create an alt-weekly paper with the type of coverage you won’t find produced by anyone else locally. There are tons of supporters out there who still seek us out, who love and appreciate what we do. And we can throw a hell of a party! Seeing that all in action in a real-life setting, off the page or screen, was a true joy.
We also host a number of events open to the public throughout the year. Don’t miss our Bacon & Bourbon Festival at FedEx Event Center this Friday, October 6th, from 6 to 9 p.m., or Crafts & Drafts at Crosstown Concourse, held Saturday, November 11th, and Sunday, November 12th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Keep tabs on other events we have in store for you and follow the fun, sometimes snarky, always informative news, politics, arts, music, food, film, theater, and sports reporting (and more) on our social channels or at memphisflyer.com.
Thanks for being here with us — and party on!
