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Cooper-Young Fest Announces Lineup

The musical acts at the annual Cooper-Young Festival always hit a little differently from your typical music festival. Maybe it’s because they’re performing in a swirl of other features, like the artisans, fine artists, and food vendors that congregate up and down Cooper Street and adjacent areas, or maybe it’s the neighborhood vibe that reigns supreme at the event, but there’s a certain intimacy to the experience. And that’s in spite of the huge numbers of people that congregate there, often upwards of 120,000 in a given year.

The 2019 Cooper Young Festival (Photo: Jim Weber)

This year, it’s officially the Guaranty Bank Cooper Young Festival, to be celebrated on Saturday, September 14th, and the musical schedule offers arguably the festival’s best lineup yet. The most fervent music lovers will want to arrive even before that lineup begins, when the Bellevue Middle School band, with its 32-piece drum line, kicks off the day by marching down Cooper Street at 9 a.m.

After that, consult this schedule to determine which stage to head for first. The Guaranty Bank Stage in front of the Young Avenue Deli will come to life at 11 a.m., and the Memphis Grizzles Stage, at the intersection of Young Avenue and Meda Street, snaps into action at 12:30 p.m.

StageTimeArtistGenre
Guaranty11:15Rachel Maxann & Her Emotional Support BandFolk/Soul
Guaranty12:15OakwalkerFolk
Guaranty1:15Tennessee ScreamersFolk, Country
Guaranty2:15JombiPsychedelic Rock
Guaranty3:15Salo PalliniProgressive Latin Jazz Rock
Guaranty4:15Cameron BethanyR&B
Guaranty5:15Carla ThomasSoul
Grizzlies12:30TurnstylesGarage/Surf Rock
Grizzlies1:30General LaborElectronic
Grizzlies2:30Late Night CardiganPower Pop/Rock
Grizzlies3:30Black CreamRock/Soul
Grizzlies4:30Steve Selvidge BandRock

The sheer eclecticism of the lineup is astonishing, and a testament to all that Memphis has to offer. Of course, the standout performer is the legendary Carla Thomas, whose frank and trenchant commentary in this year’s stunning HBO documentary, StaxSoulsville USA, has won her many new fans. Naturally, she’ll be backed by the 926 Stax Music Academy Alumni Band, comprised of the best and brightest musicians trained at the academy on McLemore Avenue, as she presents “B-A-B-Y,” “Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes),” “Tramp,” and other hits that made her the Queen of Memphis Soul. Not to be missed!