Railgarten has long been a leader in supporting local musicians, as was clear when they were among the first clubs to resume presenting live music last fall. At the time, co-owner Jack Phillips noted, “We’re seeing a lot of musicians, and talking to a lot of artists in town, and people are struggling. Not to say that everyone in the hospitality and restaurant business isn’t hurting, but we’ve got somewhat of a captive audience and wanted to see what we could do to go the extra step and really show our love for Memphis musicians. Music is in our blood, and I hate to see musicians struggling.”
It wasn’t just because national acts weren’t touring that the venue remained committed to local performers: They want to see the local scene flourish. Now, to that end, Railgarten and their partner Old Dominick Distillery have announced the first ever “901 Fest,” celebrating everything that is Memphis, musically speaking. Starting on Wednesday, September 1, and running through Labor Day weekend, the Railgarten stage will host some of the crème de la crème of Memphis music.
The scheduled acts will include Mononeon (September 1); Lucero (September 2); Detective Bureau and Lord T & Eloise (September 3), Obruni Dance Band, The PRVLG, CYC, and Dead Soldiers (September 4); and Lucky 7 Brass Band, Max Kaplan & The Magics, and The Sensational Barnes Brothers (September 5).
As Mason Jambon of Railgarten emphasizes, “We are committed to promoting local Memphis musicians, so we thought that having a festival centered around all local acts would be something music lovers in the city would embrace.”
There will also be specialty cocktails for purchase for the extended weekend, provided by Old Dominick. “We love events like this that promote the culture of our community, and we are excited to be a part of it,” says Alex Castle, master distiller and senior vice president of Old Dominick Distillery.
And local Memphis artists from Arrow Creative will be selling their goods that Saturday and Sunday, September 4 and 5. “As a new business in the Central Avenue community, we love the idea of teaming up with neighborhood businesses to help promote our artists. Railgarten always does a great job attracting a diverse group of customers, and we look forward to having a similar offering with our local artists and
makers,” says Abby Phillips, executive director at Arrow Creative.
