Tag: Elvis Presley

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Spring Fairs & Festivals 2025

Art in the Loop (Photo: Courtesy Art in the Loop)

April showers bring April festivals, and then there are May festivals, and June ones, and July and August. And we don’t even have time to get to September. That’s right, friends (may we call you that?): It’s time for the Spring Fairs & Festivals Guide. 

April

Month of Jazz at Crosstown Arts
A monthlong celebration of jazz. 
Crosstown Arts, various dates through April 30 

Memphis Tattoo Festival (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Tattoo Festival)

Memphis Tattoo Festival
If you can dream it, you can tat it. 
Renasant Convention Center, April 4-6

TrollFest
Don’t be a troll; instead, learn how to take better care of the environment at this festival. 
Memphis Botanic Garden, April 5

Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival
Wine all you want. Notice I said “wine,” not “whine.” 
Beale Street Landing, April 5

Foodees Food and Culture Festival
Does it bother me that it’s not spelled “Foodies”? A little. Do I care? Not when the festival is bringing 70 food trucks and 100 crafters and makers. 
Riverside Drive, April 11-13

TrollFest (Photo: Abigail Morici)

Brewfest
You’re cruising for a brewski. 
Mississippi Ale House, Olive Branch, MS, April 12

Cooper-Young Porchfest
Get out of my head and onto my lawn (for free porch concerts, obviously). 
Cooper-Young Historic District, April 12

Juke Joint Festival
No need to be a juke box hero when you can go to the Juke Joint Festival. 
Clarksdale, MS, April 12

Orbit Fest
You’ll want this fest in your orbit: seltzers, vendors, music. It’ll be a blast.
Crosstown Brewing Company, April 12

Cooper-Young Porch Fest (Photo: Brandon Dill)

Shelby Forest Spring Fest
A Mardi Gras-themed fest with wildlife and cultural exhibits, plus music, food, arts and crafts, and more.
Meeman Shelby Forest State Park, April 12

Shop Black Fest
Black businesses for the win.
Bass Pro Drive + Riverside Drive, April 12

Taco & Tequila Fest
Taco ’bout tequila. 
Butterific Bakery & Cafe, April 12

The Mid-South Korean BBQ Festival
A backyard cooking competition of traditional American barbecue and Korean barbecue.
Grind City Brewing Company, April 12

Juke Joint Festival (Photo: Courtesy Juke Joint Festival)

Black Arts & Wine Festival
Shop visual art by Black creatives and sample wines and liquors from Black brands.
Pink Palace Museum & Mansion, April 13

Concerts in the Grove
Enjoy an outdoor concert or two.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, select Thursdays, April 17-June 26

Africa in April
Salute the Republic of South Africa.
Robert R. Church Park, April 18-20

Good Vibes Comedy Festival
LOL IRL.
Hi Tone, April 18-20

Earth Day Festival (Photo: Courtesy Shelby Farms Park)

Earth Day Festival 
Where fun meets sustainability, and sustainability meets you.
Shelby Farms Park, April 19

Shell Daze
Dazed and confused, more like dazed and I don’t know where I was going with this … so I guess I am confused. But this festival is not confusing! It’s all about music: Lettuce, Daniel Dato’s Cosmic Country, Grace Bowers & the Hodge Podge, and The Velvet Dog.
Overton Park Shell, April 19

Art in the Loop
Let me loop you in: It’s the art festival in East Memphis.
Ridgeway Loop Road, April 25-27

Double Decker Arts Festival
A two-day (a double-day?) celebration of food, music, and the arts.
Oxford Courthouse Square, Oxford, MS, April 25-26

Trolley Night
Explore galleries, restaurants, bars, and shops open late with activities on the street every month. 
South Main, last Friday of the month

23rd Annual World Championship Hot Wing Contest and Festival
Wing, wing, wing, this festival is calling for you. 
River Garden Park on Riverside Drive, April 26

Spring Craft Fair
Find crafts and one-of-a-kind treasures.
Meddlesome Brewery, April 26

Taste the Rarity
Get weird with beer.
Wiseacre Brewing Company, April 26

Mimosa Festival (Photo: Courtesy Mimosa Festival)

Mimosa Festival
Mimosa is a fun word to say, and this festival is even funner (and that’s a fun word).
Autozone Park, April 27

32nd Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival
Heads, you suck. Tails, you pinch.
Riverside Drive, April 27

May

Experience Memphis Gardens
Roses are red; violets are blue. I’d love to walk Memphis’ gardens with you. 
Various locations, May 1-June 15

Memphis in May International Festival
Salute South Korea at this festival.  
Memphis, May 1-31

Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Festival
Go wild with food, art, games, expos, contests, crawfish, and more. 
Downtown Leland, May 2-3

RiverBeat Music Festival
This year’s headliners are Missy Elliot, The Killers, and Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals.
Tom Lee Park, May 2-4

Cigar & Whiskey BBQ Festival 
Cigars, whiskeys, barbecue — it’s in the name. 
Agricenter International, May 3

Bookstock
This fest is for the books. Literally. 
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, May 3

Café du Memphis
Beign-yay! (And shrimp and grits and café au lait. Yay for all!)
Overton Park Shell, May 3

Overton Square Crawfish Festival
Go cray for the crayfish. 
Overton Square, May 3

The Big Squeeze Food Truck Festival
When life gives you lemonade, wash it down with food truck fare and music.  
Germantown Performing Arts Center, May 3

Memphis Greek Festival
Say: Opa! And bring three cans of nonperishable food for free admission. 

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, May 9-10

World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest 
Mind your Ps and ’cues — mostly your ’cues because I’m not sure how helpful those Ps will be.
Liberty Park, May 14-17

SmokeSlam
Talk about a smoke show.
Tom Lee Park, May 15-17

DreamFest Weekend
Sweet dreams are made of this: a weekend of Memphis music.
Overton Park Shell, May 16-18

Ruby Bridges Reading Festival
Enjoy book giveaways, children’s activities, and storytelling.
National Civil Rights Museum, May 17

Trans-Fest
A celebration of the trans community. 
Wiseacre Brewery, May 17

Uptown Arts Festival
Expect art, music, beer, and a good time. 
Grind City Brewing Company, May 17

Bluff City Fair
This fair isn’t bluffing when it comes to fair foods, carnival rides, and attractions.
Tiger Lane at Liberty Park, May 23-June 1

Memphis Dragon Boat Festival
Dragons will race. Well, dragon boats. 
Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms Park, May 31

Memphis Italian Festival
Where everyone’s Italian.
Marquette Park, May 29-31

Memphis Margarita Festival
Some people claim there’s a festival to blame, and it’s this one. Wastin’ away again at the Memphis Margarita Festival … 
Overton Square, May 31

Memphis Vegan Festival 
No animals were harmed in the making of this festival.
Fourth Bluff Park, May 31

June

Juneteenth Shop Black Festival
Shop from 100 Black businesses.
Fourth Bluff Park, June 1

Tupelo Elvis Festival
Get ready to rock and roll. 
Downtown Tupelo, June 4-7

Memphis Pride Fest Weekend (Photo: Courtesy Mid-South Pride)

Memphis Pride Fest Weekend
A four-day celebration embodying the spirit of the LGBTQ community.
Various locations, June 5-8

Memphis Crafts & Drafts Festival Summer Market
This event is no rough draft. It was perfectly crafted to fit all your summer market needs. It’s also put on by the Memphis Flyer, which I’ve heard is pretty awesome. 
Crosstown Concourse, June 7

Fried Chicken Fest
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the Fried Chicken Fest? That doesn’t sound right. The fest is fun for humans though! It’s got fried chicken (with apologies to the chickens that crossed the road), music, and lawn games.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, June 7

Craft Food & Wine Festival
Delicious food, exquisite wines, and live music, all while supporting Church Health.
The Columns, June 8

Betonia Blues Festival
With a lineup with the likes of Nick Wade, Jimmy Duck Holmes, Chris Gill & Sole Shakers, and Bobby Rush featuring Mizz Loew, you know you’re in for a good time.
Blue Front Cafe, Bentonia, MS 

Memphis Brewfest
Just brew it. 
Shelby Farms Park, June 21 

Record Fair
Girl, put your records on. Tell me your favorite songs from Goner Records, River City Records, and Shangri-La Records ’cause this is the place to buy all your music.  
Soul & Spirits, June 21

July

Delta Soule Picnic Festival
Expect R&B and Southern soul music.
Warfield Point Park, Greenville, MS, July 5

Memphis Summer Cocktail Festival
Get your drink on.
The Kent, July 12

August

Planted Rock Vegan Festival
We will … we will … rock you (as long as you’re a plant). This fest promotes vegan foods and will give healthy living tips. 
Collage Dance Center, August 5

FedEx St. Jude Championship
Here’s where I’d insert a golf pun, if I knew any. If you know about golf, I assume you know about this championship. 
TPC Southwind, August 6-10

Elvis Week (Photo: Courtesy Elvis Presley’s Graceland)

Elvis Week
The Elvii are coming! The Elvii are coming! And they’re showing up for music, panels, contests, movies, fan meet-ups, tours, and more. 
Graceland, August 8-16

Skol-astic Book Fair
Ah, book it. Book it real good. 
Soul & Spirits, August 9

Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival
People like chicken; people like beer. 
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Field, August 16 

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Music Music Features

All the King’s Heroes

If there’s one thing Preston Lauterbach excels at, it’s creating an almost novelistic sense of place in which his thoroughly researched histories can play out. It’s something many noted about his ambitious surveys of Memphis in the 19th and 20th centuries, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis and Bluff City: The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers, which conjure up scenes of a city buzzing on every corner, before zooming in to the subjects at hand.

That also applies to his latest work, Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King. True to its title, Lauterbach, who proclaims from the start that “Elvis Presley is the most important musician in American history,” delves into the stories of those geniuses of 20th-century Black culture who inspired Presley and made him what he was, offering a deep appreciation of their music and their lives as he does so. But he also evokes the sea in which they all swam, as waves of disparate cultures crashed on the bluffs of Memphis at the time. 

“The city in the years between 1948, when the Presleys moved there from Tupelo, Mississippi, and 1954, when Elvis recorded his hit debut single,” Lauterbach writes, “was the type of furnace in which great people are forged, fundamentally American in its devastating hostility and uplifting creative energy. Elvis came of age in a revolutionary atmosphere.”

And yet Lauterbach’s first deep dive is, counterintuitively, into the Nashville scene of the ’40s and ’50s. The revolution in radio going on there may have been the Big Bang of rock-and-roll itself, and a hitherto unappreciated element of Presley’s exposure to African-American music in Tupelo, as the 50,000 watt signal of Nashville’s WLAC carried it “from middle Tennessee to the Caribbean and Canada.” When pioneering DJ Gene Nobles broke precedent and began playing African-American jazz, R&B, and blues, he “cracked the dam of conservative white American culture,” and that included Tupelo, a full two years before the Presleys moved to Memphis. 

This, Lauterbach posits, was the most likely way a young Elvis would have heard Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right,” prior to making his own version a hit some years later. It had already been a hit for Crudup, who very likely did not play in Tupelo, as Presley later claimed. And from there, Lauterbach begins his fine-grained appreciation of Crudup’s life and career, including the ascent of “That’s All Right” up the charts in the ’40s, fueled in part by its spins on WLAC. 

Zooming out for context, cutting to close-ups of Black artists’ lived experiences, and periodically panning over to how young Presley soaked it all in are what make this book a tour de force of both history and storytelling. A host of African-American innovators are celebrated along the way: Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton and her “Hound Dog,” Herman “Little Junior” Parker and his “Mystery Train.” But lesser knowns also receive their due. The influence of guitarist Calvin Newborn’s performance style, and brother Phineas Newborn Jr. along the way, is thoroughly explored, with Newborn’s anecdotes of Presley’s presence on both Beale Street and the family dinner table. And we read the tale of Rev. W. Herbert Brewster, the African-American minister at East Trigg Baptist Church, who not only composed classic gospel songs, but pioneered multiracial services in the Jim Crow era. One direct result of that was Presley’s regular attendance there. But Brewster’s story also reveals how mercenary the music publishing game was, as Mahalia Jackson and her accompanist Theodore Frye claimed at least one of Brewster’s compositions as their own.

Lauterbach does not shy away from the matters of song theft or cultural appropriation that continue to haunt Presley’s legacy. But he notes that Jackson’s usurpation of Brewster’s rights to his own song “was a theft as bold as anything Elvis Presley has been accused of and worse than anything Presley actually did.”

Tellingly, Lauterbach reminds us of the courage it took to blur color lines that seem so hard and fast to many Americans, and for many African Americans this was seen as a positive change. In the final pages, we return to Calvin Newborn’s assessment, who harbored no bitterness over his protégé’s success: “He was a soulful dude.” 

Preston Lauterbach will discuss his new book with Robert Gordon at the Memphis Listening Lab on Friday, April 4th, 6 p.m.

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We Recommend We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: Mike McCarthy’s El-Bow Party

Anneliese Jones and Mike McCarthy (Photos: Michael Donahue)

Memphis filmmaker/sculptor Mike McCarthy threw his annual El-Bow party, in homage to the shared birthdays of Elvis Presley and David Bowie, on January 25th at McCarthy’s Midtown home.

Each icon got his own cake made by Kasey Dees.

John Marvel McCarthy
Rev. Neil Down and
Millet Vance
Thomas Woodley
Ross Johnson
Chris McCoy and
Laura Jean Hocking
Griffin Rone

The party, McCarthy says, “was for people who I worked with and sort of a payback to people I’ve been collaborating with.”

This year, the party was part of a longer series of events dealing with the history of rock-and-roll in Memphis. The Marcialyns with Marcia Clifton, Tim Prudhomme, Rev. Neil Down, and Memphis Flyer reporter Chris McCoy performed.

Tim Prudhomme
Colton Olds
Alison Heverly
Drew Whitmire and
Kasey Dees
Hanna McCarthy and
Jake Inman
Lisa Glaser and David Yandell

McCarthy kicked everything off with his Glam Rock Picnic last June, where he unveiled his 10-foot papier-mâché work-in-progress sculpture of Bowie, who performed in Memphis. 

John Beifuss
Hans Faulhaber and Jewell Roesler
Eldorado Del Rey, Tricia Parker, and Elliott Bexley

McCarthy will tentatively hold his “next Bowie sculpture awareness event”on February 25th. The four Bowie faces have been cast into bronze by the Lugar Foundry. The statue, which portrays Bowie in the “Tokyo Pop” jumpsuit by Kansai Yamamoto, has four heads, which represent Bowie’s predilection for taking on different identities, McCarthy says. 

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Head to Tupelo, It’s Festival Time

Tupelo invites you to celebrate its story, spirit, and most famous native son with Celebrate Tupelo 2025—a year-long tribute to the milestones that have shaped the city. From its deep-rooted history and vibrant culture to the enduring legacy of Elvis Presley, this celebration offers countless opportunities for visitors and residents to connect, discover, and be inspired.

One of the most significant highlights of Celebrate Tupelo 2025 is the 90th birthday of Elvis Presley. Born in a modest two-room house in east Tupelo, Elvis Presley’s journey from small-town boy to King of Rock ‘N’ Roll forever changed the landscape of music and pop culture. Fans from around the world gather in Tupelo to pay tribute to the legend, visiting the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum, enjoying Fan Appreciation Day each August, and experiencing the city that shaped the early years of the global icon.

Photo: Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau

The celebration isn’t just for Elvis’ birthday. Many of Tupelo’s most beloved institutions will also reach milestone anniversaries, adding to the city’s rich legacy. Reed’s, the iconic downtown department store, marks 120 years, while MLM Clothiers celebrates 85 years of timeless fashion and personalized service. Johnnie’s Drive-In, where Elvis enjoyed eating, commemorates 80 years, and Dairy Kream, a local favorite for burgers and ice cream, reaches 70 years. These longstanding businesses reflect Tupelo’s deep sense of community and tradition.

Photo: Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau

Spring in Tupelo is synonymous with festivals, and the 2025 lineup does not disappoint. The season kicks off February 21-23 with the World of Customs Auto Show at the Tupelo Furniture Market. As Mississippi’s largest indoor auto show, it features an impressive array of classic cars, showstoppers, and mouthwatering food. The excitement continues May 2-4 with the Tupelo Blue Suede Cruise, when more than 1,000 classic and antique cars take over Downtown Tupelo. To learn more about all of the city’s upcoming events and festivals, visit tupelo.net/events.

While you’re here, dive into Tupelo’s culinary scene. For a fresh and healthy meal, visit PoPsy on the courthouse square, known for its smoothie bowls, juices, and hearty toasts. Charcutie, located in Jackson West, offers a delightful summer lunch menu featuring hot honey chicken salad, Mediterranean pasta salad, and custom charcuterie boards. And for one of the best burgers in the country, Neon Pig’s old-school butcher shop serves up a burger paired with their famous parmesan fries.

Photo: Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau

With its incredible festivals, historic celebrations, and welcoming atmosphere, Tupelo is the perfect place for your next getaway. Stay close to the action at Tupelo’s newest downtown boutique hotel, Hotel Tupelo or enjoy a comfortable stay near the festivities at Tru by Hilton, Home2 Suites, or Spark by Hilton.

This year will be a celebration like no other, so pack your bags and head to tupelo.net to start planning your getaway today. Stay in the know on all things Celebrate Tupelo by viewing the calendar of events at tupelo.net/events/celebratetupelo and imagine what you can do here!

Photo: Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau

This article is sponsored by Tupelo CVB.

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Music Music Blog

Elvis’ 90th Celebrated with Exhibit of 90 New Artifacts

The new “90 for 90” exhibit at Graceland (Photo: Courtesy Elvis Presley’s Graceland)

The anniversary of Elvis Aaron Presley’s birth, January 8th, has always been a time of reflection and dual meanings, as it also marks the day in 1935 that his twin Jesse Garon was stillborn a half hour before baby Elvis emerged. Yet that’s just one among a host of dramatic moments that punctuated one of the 20th century’s most epic lives. And even after all these years, the exhibits at Elvis Presley’s Graceland have never captured the whole story.

With that in mind, Elvis Presley’s Graceland launched a new exhibit this Wednesday, January 8th, full of never-before-seen gritty objects from a life well lived. Four days of festivities surround the opening of the new yearlong “90 for 90 Exhibit” that celebrates Presley’s life.

The new exhibit features 90 curated “stories” told through items specially selected from the over 1.5 million artifacts housed at the Graceland Archives at Preseley’s home in Memphis. These artifacts, each embodying a unique moment from the singer’s life, range from iconic items easily recognizable by fans to rare, personal pieces that capture Presley’s private moments out of the spotlight.

The earliest known photo of the Presleys (Photo: Courtesy Elvis Presley’s Graceland)

One such artifact, never displayed until now, is the earliest known photo of the Presley family, taken around 1938, cataloged as inventory no. 1 in the Graceland Archives Collection database. This is the original black-and-white photo found inside the family’s steamer trunk. The exact date of the picture is unknown, but Elvis appears to be two or three years old. It’s a gripping slice of life from the earliest days of the young family.

Other artifacts range from the trivial to the profound. Few may realize that Presley’s ’70s passion for racquetball actually led to a business venture, Presley Center Courts, founded in 1976, intended to become a nationwide chain of branded racquetball and spa facilities. Commemorative paddle rackets from that time are included in the exhibit.

So is the original film reel of The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis television special; a poem, “Why God Made Little Girls,” that Presley treasured; a road case of stage scarves from 1977; and, arguably the most badass of them all, a special pair of nunchucks personalized for “Master Elvis Presley.”

Many of the artifacts in the new exhibit have never been seen on display until now. (Photo: Courtesy Elvis Presley’s Graceland).

This yearlong exhibit will run through December 2025 and can be toured as part of the Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex. Throughout the coming year, Graceland will unveil additional new exhibits and refresh some existing spaces to enhance the visitor experience, so stay tuned. A full schedule of events going on now is available at Graceland.com/Birthday.

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Arrest Made in ‘Brazen’ Fraud Scheme on Graceland, Presley Family

Graceland Mansion (Photo: Shara Clark)

Suspicious minds at the U.S. Attorney’s Office found a Missouri woman was a devil in disguise for a fraud scheme against Elvis Presley’s family that may now have her singing “Jailhouse Rock.”

Lisa Jeanine Findley (also known as Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins, and Carolyn Williams), 53, was arrested Friday morning for an attempt to steal the Presley family’s ownership in Graceland. The woman will appear later today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

“As alleged in the complaint, the defendant orchestrated a scheme to conduct a fraudulent sale of Graceland, falsely claiming that Elvis Presley’s daughter had pledged the historic landmark as collateral for a loan that she failed to repay before her death,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As part of the brazen scheme, we allege that the defendant created numerous false documents and sought to extort a settlement from the Presley family. Now she is facing federal charges. The Criminal Division and its partners are committed to holding fraudsters to account.”

According to court documents, Findley allegedly posed as three different individuals affiliated with a fictitious private lender named Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC. Findley allegedly claimed falsely that Lisa Marie Presley had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 from Naussany Investments, pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan, and failed to repay the debt. 

To settle the purported claim, Findley allegedly sought $2.8 million from Elvis Presley’s family. She allegedly fabricated loan documents on which Findley forged the signatures of Elvis Presley’s daughter and a Florida State notary public. 

She then allegedly filed a false creditor’s claim with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, and a fake deed of trust with the Shelby County Register’s Office in Memphis. Findley also allegedly published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in The Commercial Appeal, announcing that Naussany Investments planned to auction Graceland to the highest bidder on May 23rd. 

Finally, when Naussany Investments was sued by Presley’s family in Tennessee state court as part of an effort to stop the sale of Graceland, Findley allegedly submitted false court filings.

After the scheme attracted global media attention, Findley allegedly wrote to representatives of Presley’s family, the Tennessee state court, and the media to claim falsely that the person responsible for the scheme was an identity thief located in Nigeria.

“As a Memphian, I know that Graceland is a national treasure,” said Kevin G. Ritz, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. “This defendant allegedly used a brazen scheme to try to defraud the Presley family of their interest in this singularly important landmark. 

“Of course, all homeowners deserve to have their property protected from fraud, and the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits financial crimes or identity theft.”

Findley is charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for mail fraud.

“Fame and money are magnets for criminals who look to capitalize on another person’s celebrity status,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “In this case, Ms. Findley allegedly took advantage of the very public and tragic occurrences in the Presley family as an opportunity to prey on the name and financial status of the heirs to the Graceland estate, attempting to steal what rightfully belongs to the Presley family for her personal gain. 

“Postal inspectors and their law enforcement partners put an end to her alleged scheme, protecting the Presley family from continued harm and stress. This is an example of our relentless investigative work and commitment to bringing criminals to justice for their illegal activity.”

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Music Music Features

Elvis at the Shell

Elvis backstage at the Shell in 1955 (Photo: Robert Dye Sr. / Courtesy Overton pPark Shell Archives)

It seems like this should be national news — international, even. We’re talking about Elvis Presley, after all. And the 70th anniversary of his first great triumph as a live performer is fast approaching, although anyone who saw it advertised in the paper beforehand might have gotten his name wrong. Promoting the eighth annual Country Music Jamboree scheduled for July 30, 1954, an ad in the Memphis Press-Scimitar read, “In person, the SENSATIONAL radio-recording star, Slim Whitman, with Billy Walker, Ellis Presley and many others … Tonight at Shell, $1.25 reserved.”

Whoever this “Ellis” Presley was, he shared the Overton Park Shell stage with some mighty respected company amongst country music fans. Pretty good for only the second or third public performance of his life.

As it happened, it was more than pretty good: It was earth-shattering. In Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll, Peter Guralnick quotes Presley’s guitarist Scotty Moore as saying, “With those old loose britches that we wore, it made it look like all hell was going on under there. During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mic and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild, but he thought they were actually making fun of him.” They weren’t. After the show, dozens of teens rushed backstage for autographs from this new singer.

That validation was exactly what the young Presley needed, only 11 days after the release of his first single, “That’s All Right.” 

It’s a story that Cole Early knows well, being the content and archives manager of the Overton Park Shell, not to mention curator of the Shell’s excellent Connie Abston Archive & History Exhibition. That short set, Presley’s first live show with just his recording band of Moore and Bill Black, was akin to a big bang of pop music, in stark contrast to Presley’s one earlier attempt to sit in with a band unfamiliar with his style. 

“His first public performance ever was in a honky-tonk on Summer Avenue, and he wasn’t received well,” says Early of Presley’s previous experience. “The country music audience there at the club that night just saw this flashy kid wearing pink, and this was like a dive bar, a honky-tonk place.” Then came his appearance at the Country Music Jamboree.

Knowing that the Shell bore witness to one of rock-and-roll’s great moments, Early wanted to celebrate the memory of Elvis’ performance in style. Since the Shell already offers the Backstage Experience tour of the Connie Abston Archive, it was easy to imagine the Shell stage as the culmination of an even greater tour. What Elvis fan could resist seeing various key locations in The King’s ascension, working east from Downtown, then ending up at the very stage on which Elvis first made his mark, with music by a live band?

Done in partnership with Backbeat Tours and the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, the whole package, billed as The 70th Anniversary of Live Rock ‘n’ Roll, will be available one day only, on Saturday, July 27th. Early says the tour will “originate Downtown at the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. Of course, they have amazing exhibits down there. Then it’s going to do an Elvis-centric tour of Memphis, though not Graceland.” Expect stops at Sun Studio, the Presley’s Lauderdale Courts apartment, Elvis’ high school, the original Lansky Bros. clothing store, and the like. “And then they’ll come here to the Shell for a custom Backstage History Experience tour with mostly the Elvis points, and then at the end, a live re-creation of that first show, right where it happened.”

Finley Watkins & His Blue Moon (of Missouri) Boys will be playing, and Early says they’re a perfect fit. “You know, Elvis was a teenager when he played at the Shell, he was 19,” he says. “So it’s great having Finley, who’s also a teenager. And yes, he will have a Scotty and a Bill with him as well. That will be super exciting because they’ll have an upright bass, like Bill Black played during the original show. The Shell’s acoustics pick up that slap back really well. So we’re really proud that the Shell is the one venue where that can be realistic, in such a way that it couldn’t be in any other room or venue.” 

For more details and tickets, see the “special events” at backbeattours.com.

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News News Feature

MEMernet: Those Lights, ‘Fabulous,’ and Never-ending Elvis

Posted to X by Jason L.

Memphis on the internet.

Those Lights

Cosmic forces painted the skies around Memphis with the dazzling colors of the northern lights over the weekend.

“I actually gasped when I went outside and saw the pink hue in the sky between Arlington and Millington,” tweeted Jason L.

“Fabulous”

Posted to X by Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo wished a happy Mother’s Day on X with this photo of mom Wendy and her new calf, Fitz, born last month. To all moms, the zoo said, “Keep being fabulous.”

Never-ending Elvis

Posted to X by Argo Memphis

The whole “post a picture that says you’re from Memphis” thing is still making the rounds on X. Argo Memphis wasn’t playing with the meme above, but it certainly qualifies.

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Get Ready to Shake, Rattle, and Roll in Tupelo, Mississippi

Dean Z in Crowd - photo credit Tupelo Elvis Festival

While Tupelo, Mississippi, celebrates its favorite native son throughout the year, the city rolls out the blue suede carpet each June during the Tupelo Elvis Festival. Held June 6-9, 2024, the festival honors the legacy of Elvis Presley and his immense impact on popular culture in the city where it all began.

The celebration kicks into high gear June 6th with the “Becoming Experience” Youth Day & Competition at the Elvis Presley Birthplace. Young Elvis fans participate in workshops with Elvis tribute artists and compete to earn $1,000, a guitar from Tupelo Hardware Company, and the opportunity to perform on the main stage at the Cadence Bank Arena during the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist finals Saturday morning. A showcase featuring the 30 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contestants and the “Welcome Back to Tupelo” concert round out Thursday’s events, followed by the Tupelo Elvis Festival After Party at the Silver Moon Club.  

The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Competition begins June 7th at the Cadence Bank Arena with festival host Tom Brown and the Tributes in Concert band. Festival participants are invited to Food Truck Friday featuring Tupelo’s delicious food truck fare and a special Stax Museum of American Soul Music Pop-Up experience featuring the Stax Soul Mobile. Other events on Friday include the “Behind the Jumpsuits” Conversations event that delves into the stories of those individuals who keep Elvis’ memory alive, and the “From Tupelo with Love” concert. More after parties round out Friday night’s festivities.

TCB Fights is one of the newest festival events, and features fighters from UFM, HIT Fitness, and other local gyms. The TCB Fights “Decked Out” Weigh In happens June 7th, with the Boxing Event June 8th at 7 p.m. in the Cadence Bank Conference Center. Dress to impress and enjoy fight night with the king.

Lace up your running shoes for the Running with the King 5K at Veteran’s Park June 8th. This annual race takes participants past the Elvis Presley Birthplace and through the neighborhood where Elvis grew up. Sponsored by the Tupelo Running Club, the race is a fast, flat course and benefits the Northeast Mississippi Boys & Girls Club.

The Elvis Tribute Artist Meet & Greets and Tupelo Elvis Fan Club activities take over Downtown Tupelo June 8th. Visit Downtown retailers, meet the tribute artists, and enjoy living history demonstrations. Tupelo Hardware Company, where Gladys Presley purchased Elvis’ first guitar, holds a reenactment of the famous purchase, and guitars are still sold there today. The Stax Museum Soul Mobile makes another appearance Saturday with music, giveaways, and fun for the entire family.

With more than 200 restaurants in Tupelo, planning your next meal is as much fun as the festival revelry. Eat like the king with a visit to Tupelo’s oldest restaurant, Johnnie’s Drive-In, where Elvis liked to eat. Sit in the Elvis booth inside or enjoy carhop service at this operating drive-in. Try the doughburger, a North Mississippi delicacy. Tupelo’s restaurants serve up plenty of other Elvis eats including his favorite fried peanut butter and banana sandwich at Café 212 in Downtown Tupelo. Visit tupelo.net/blog/eat-like-a-king/ to explore all of the scrumptious food inspired by Elvis. Follow #tupelofoodie on Instagram and drool over all of the culinary delights just waiting to be enjoyed.

Johnnies Doughburger – photo: Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau

Looking for an experience you can only have in Tupelo? Mississippi’s first and only meadery, Queen’s Reward, is the only meadery in the world that makes mead with 100 percent Mississippi honey. Enjoy a tasting in their exquisite west Tupelo tasting room or enjoy mead by the glass. Mead slushies are a crowd favorite. Can’t decide which one to try? Order the mead slushie sampler and try them all.

Tupelo has more than 2,200 accommodating hotel rooms, so you are sure to get a great night’s sleep after a full day of festival fun. Hotel Tupelo is the city’s newest boutique hotel. Located in the heart of Downtown Tupelo’s Fairpark, Hotel Tupelo has 79 rooms, a bar and restaurant on-site, and an array of local touches that make it a truly unique stay. Just across the street, the Hilton Garden Inn offers guests a comfortable stay in walking distance of all Tupelo Elvis Festival events.  

The Tupelo Elvis Festival is the perfect excuse to visit the city where anything is possible. To learn more about the events or to purchase tickets, visit tupeloelvisfestival.com. Plan your trip by visiting tupelo.net and imagine what you can do there!

Elvis Festival Concert – photo: Tupelo Elvis Festival

This article is sponsored by the Tupelo Main Street Association.

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Humes School, Elvis’ Alma Mater, to Close

Humes Middle School in North Memphis will close at the end of this school year, in a last-minute decision by Memphis-Shelby County Schools. The closure coincides with the end of Humes' charter under the state's takeover district for low-performing schools. (Caroline Bauman / Chalkbeat)

Humes Middle School in North Memphis will close at the end of this school year as it returns to the Memphis Shelby-County district’s control after a decade in Tennessee’s failed turnaround district for low-performing schools.

The last-minute decision to shutter the nearly 100-year-old building, where a young Elvis Presley attended high school, is a change in plans since the fall, when teachers were told the school would stay open, said Bobby White, head of Frayser Community Schools, the charter company that runs Humes for the state’s Achievement School District.

“I just wish it had been sooner,” White said of the decision.

The school has long struggled with low enrollment. Students will be rezoned to Booker T. Washington, a grade 6-12 school three miles away in South Memphis, according to Memphis-Shelby County Schools documents.

The decision, shared with families and staff in recent days, happened with little to no public discussion in the community or by the school board. And the prospect of students having to shift to a faraway school has some education leaders concerned.

White and district leaders have known for years that they would need a plan for Humes’ students and the building. Schools like Humes that are taken over by the state typically spend a maximum of 10 years in the ASD.

Humes is one of five Memphis schools that are reaching the end of their 10-year term this summer. Of the other four, one will remain open and operated by MSCS, one received approval to operate under another state-run charter district, and one will continue to operate as a charter school under MSCS.

The fourth, MLK College Prep High School, operated by the Frayser charter network, is also set to close in its current building, but families have received more regular communication from the Memphis district about the changes there. MLK is set to merge with Trezevant High in the fall while a new neighborhood high school is built.

Meanwhile, the Humes community has been waiting for clarity. Last summer, the Memphis district rejected White’s application to continue running the school under Frayser Community Schools.

“When you’re dealing with poor, marginalized folks,” White said, “you respect them enough to communicate with them as soon as possible, and think through things in a way where they’re going to be valued and respected, where you’re doing right by them.”

For Humes, conversations changed after the district faced renewed concerns about the physical condition of the building, which turns 100 years old next year. When another charter school inquired about leasing the building during a January board meeting, then interim Superintendent Toni Williams said the building had “major issues.”

Around that time, Chalkbeat reported that a draft plan for all district schools suggested that Humes would close. Still, the district hadn’t communicated any new plans to Humes teachers and families since an earlier fall meeting, said White.

MSCS did not respond to Chalkbeat’s inquiries in time for the publication of this story. During a meeting with board members Tuesday, Superintendent Marie Feagins said the district reviewed several factors including the capacity of the buildings. Feagins, who became district leader on April 1st, told board members she was under the impression the news about Humes had already been shared.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places because of Presley, who graduated in 1953 from Humes when it was a high school.

But enrollment at Humes has remained low since even before it was taken over by the state. It can serve more than 1,300 students, but only 193 are enrolled. A previous charter operator, Gestalt Community Schools, also struggled with low enrollment at Humes.

White says the district’s plans to send students from Humes’ zone out of the neighborhood for middle school could result in lower enrollment at Manassas High School in North Memphis.

Memphis board members Stephanie Love, who has kept a focus on schools in the turnaround district, and Michelle McKissack, whose district includes Humes, Manassas, and Booker T. Washington, both said the board should revisit the district’s policy on school zoning.

“The culture in South Memphis and North Memphis is not the same,” Love said, adding that she understands why families and teachers could be upset by the last-minute closure.

The district and board face more decisions about remaining Memphis schools in the ASD, as their charters expire in the next two years. The takeover district itself could wind down, too.

In a letter to parents, Feagins suggested that they consider Cummings K-8 Optional School and Grandview Heights Middle School as alternatives to Booker T. Washington. White said some of the students have considered nearby charter school options as well, including KIPP Collegiate Middle or Frayser Community Schools’ Westside Middle.

The district is holding online meetings for family members on April 17th at 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. A community meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Porter-Leath location at 628 Alice Avenue.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.