Local law enforcement agencies amassed Sunday for a “Sea of Blue” to honor fallen Memphis Police Department Officer Joseph McKinney.
Porchfest
Posted to X by @HopeInTheUSA
Dozens of bands and performers drew thousands to Cooper-Young Saturday for the fourth annual Porchfest. That’s where @HopeInTheUSA caught the photo of Grave Lurker above.
Memphis accent
Posted to TikTok by @iamjazzysworldtv
Thirteen-year-old Brooklyn-native and content creator Jazzy’s World TV tried out her Memphis accent on Moneybagg Yo. Yes, she said “junt” and “mane.” But Yo suggested she city-fy her pronunciation a bit.
Memphian Julien Baker first teamed up with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus back in 2018, but the 2023 version finds the trio mapping grander horizons. With a sound big enough and produced enough to conquer the world, it still retains much of Baker’s intimacy, as all three artists offer confessions of love and transgression. The new album encapsulates a Gen Z zeitgeist: “You were born in July, ’95, in a deadly heat …”
This latest from Memphis’ best kept synth secret is becoming a sleeper hit of sorts, especially the bubbling, burbling “Two Point Zero,” pairing pounding beats with wistful melodies like classic New Order. Chris McCoy called one track “a bouncy castle of ’80s synth pop,” saying another “drips with the narcotized seduction of Warhol-era Velvet Underground.” Extra points for Elyssa Worley’s guest vocals on “LV MCHNS” and others.
Chad Fowler, George Cartwright, Kelley Hurt, Christopher Parker, Luke Stewart, Steve Hirsh, Zoh Amba – Miserere (Mahakala Music)
Chad Fowler’s unique Mahakala imprint, focusing on sonically unrestrained music, is both composed and freely improvised, and here he’s joined by onetime Memphian Cartwright and others, including Tennessee’s rising “free jazz star” Zoh Amba. The dynamics and emotional arcs that develop, with Hurt’s haunting vocalizations matched by piano, saxes, flutes, guitar, and rhythms, are deeply moving for deep listeners.
Candice Ivory – When the Levee Breaks: The Music of Memphis Minnie(Little Village Foundation)
Ivory’s found the perfect producer in guitarist/bassist Charlie Hunter. Both regularly push back against jazz orthodoxies, and this ostensible roots album is really a work of alchemy, conjuring Afro-Caribbean rhythms, virtuoso blues guitar, and gospel pedal steel in a seance with Memphis Minnie. Some are stripped-down acoustic blues, some are stomping jams, but all are dominated by Ivory’s powerful and nuanced voice.
Tyler Keith – Hell to Pay (Black and Wyatt)
Keith has a way with a phrase: The words of the title song roll off the tongue like fallen fruit. That’s just what these big, pile-driving rock songs need. And pairing steamy Southern tones with the primitivism of the Ramones allows the words’ meanings to breathe. Most importantly, you get plenty of chant-worthy choruses over ace guitar riffs.
Sounding like a lost ’70s soundtrack, this album ranges from Augustus Pablo-like dub to funk bangers to smoldering Isaac Hayes-like ballads. Ear-catching synth sounds abound. Naturally, a trio of veterans like childhood friends Luther Dickinson, Steve Selvidge, and Paul Taylor are adept at “studio painting,” but this also finds these players pushing themselves, especially Dickinson, who focuses on bass and keyboards. Peabody’s first release in decades.
Moneybagg Yo – Hard To Love(CMG/N-Less/Interscope Records)
This Memphis icon continues to pull apart at the seams of his own myth. While the hit “Ocean Spray” celebrates the joys of being out of it in a world of botheration, he checks himself with tracks like “No Show” with the words “I fill my body up with drugs ’fore I even eat/Percocets, Xans, codeine, you don’t wanna see what I see.”
Optic Sink – Glass Blocks (Feel It Records)
Unlike many synth artists who construct tracks “in the box” of a computer screen, Optic Sink composes and performs on actual hardware in the moment, as three post-punk humans recording their basic tracks live. This sophomore album adds bass to drum machine beats from Ben Bauermeister, as Natalie Hoffmann’s dry, disaffected vocals, old-school synth lines, and guitar flourishes add richer soundscapes than the group’s debut.
Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band – Evolution of Fife and Drum Music (Rising Stars Records)
Sharde Thomas (playing, singing, and co-producing with Chris Mallory) takes her grandfather Otha Turner’s music to new heights with this rhythmic tour de force. Mixing tuneful choruses, heavy beats, deep funk, and even touches of Afrobeat’s cascading guitars with their fundamental “drum corps in the yard” sound, this group is forging a whole new genre right in our backyard.
Elder Jack Ward – The Storm (Bible & Tire Recording Co.)
When Memphis’ longtime pastor passed away this April, he had just left this masterpiece in his wake. In true Bible & Tire style, the gritty, swinging “Sacred Soul Sound Section” backs his original songs, but the most captivating sounds come from Ward’s own family, especially when Johnny Ward steps out with “Payday After While” — the track suggesting that his kin will carry his message on.
Two of Memphis’ biggest music exports have teamed up for a banger of a track. The only area of agreement between Moneybagg Yo and GloRilla in “On Wat U On” is that this relationship is over.
While their romantic prospects are dwindling, their commercial prospects are flourishing. As of this writing, “On Wat U On” is the #3 trending song on YouTube, with more than 3.6 million views. Add to those impressive numbers now:
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
After an accidental two-week hiatus, Music Video Monday returns with a big win for a Memphis artist.
Tonight is Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with the seven game series between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors tied 2-2. While we all wish the Grizzlies were still in the mix, the soundtrack for the finals have a distinct Memphis flair. Moneybagg Yo and Yo Gotti penned the official song of the NBA finals, “Big League.” It’s all about that moment when the stakes are as high as they get.
Speaking of “as high as it gets,” the video shows game day at the Yo mansion. It’s every bit as decadent as you would expect. Go Grizz, we’ll get ’em next year. Meanwhile, here’s a sick beat from Memphis.
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
When, with the flash of a press pass, I breezed through the Will Call checkpoint outside Memphis in May’s Beale Street Music Festival at Liberty Park on Sunday, I heard people checking the score of the Grizzlies’ first matchup against the Warriors. The Griz were down, but it was early in the game, and I couldn’t help but take it as a good omen. This year’s BSMF might be in a different location, but some things never change.
First on my list was genre-bending songsmith Cory Branan, backed by an ace crew of Memphis musicians including drummer Shawn Zorn, bassist Landon Moore, and Flyer music editor Alex Greene on keys. Is it a conflict of interest to say that Branan and band blew me away with their tight 25-minute set? Oh well, journalistic malpractice be damned! Though the band’s set was necessarily truncated by circumstances outside their control, thanks to the kind of behind-the-scenes logistical difficulties endemic to festivals as big as BSMF. One rule to keep in mind for any event with more than three bands on the bill: Embrace the chaos. We concert-goers were miles from the Mississippi River for this year’s MIM, but that wouldn’t stop me from going with the flow.
Cory Branan and band. (Credit: Jesse Davis)
Branan and band were locked in, ripping through a set of originals with precision and energy. The bass, drums, and keys, all high in the mix, evoked shades of Memphis music of yore, both soul and rock-and-roll, while Branan plucked notes from his Telecaster. The songwriter walks a weaving line between rock-and-roll, punk, and country, and his sound fit the tone of the Memphis festival. After a blistering rendition of “Prettiest Waitress in Memphis,” Branan quipped, “We appreciate your low standards.”
Jokes aside, as Flyer film editor Chris McCoy put it in his recap of Saturday’s festivities, “Judging from the reactions our folks have been eliciting from the throngs gathered in the shadow of the Coliseum, increasing the locals’ main stage time is the best decision Memphis in May has made in a long time.” Branan and band were proof positive.
Next up, I made my way to the Terminix Stage to catch a few songs from Indigo Girls. I made it to the stage in time to catch “Least Complicated.” Indigo Girls made use of two acoustic guitars, a violin, and vocal harmonies. It was soft and sweet, like a breeze on a sunny May afternoon.
Leaving the stage I met Flyer reporter Michael Donahue, who was working the crowd and getting photos and quotes for his “We Saw You” column. Not 60 seconds after Donahue and I met, someone approached the wild-haired writer to ask him if he was Brian May, best known as the guitarist for Queen. I laughed, and Donahue and I made our way to the Blues Tent.
Blind Mississippi Morris. (Credit: Jesse Davis)
The crowd at the Coca-Cola Blues Tent spilled out onto the pavement outside the tent. (Note: Asphalt is hot, much hotter than the turf at Tom Lee Park. Of course, asphalt doesn’t get muddy either, so any attempt at a comparison is more or less pointless. Again, I was reminded of the festival-goer’s refrain: Embrace the chaos.)
Without delay, a fan accosted Donahue for a selfie. I left the busiest man in party reporting to his work and wove my way through the crowd and into the shade under the tent. Inside, Blind Mississippi Morris was wailing on a harmonica, backed up by a tight trio of guitar, bass, and drums. The bass rumbled, the guitar jangled, and the harmonica growled and howled. It was a fine display of Delta blues, and I was again glad that the BSMF lineup was packed with local and regional acts.
After a bass solo and a veritable cannonade of drum fills, Blind Mississippi Morris’ set drew applause and cheers from an appreciative audience. “It’s time for us to go,” Morris said. “Thank you for coming out for us.”
By that point, I had settled on a loose plan to follow the natural path of the stages — they were arranged like the vertices of a giant “M” — so my next stop was the Bud Light Stage to see Ghanaian band Stonebwoy. I glanced at my phone to make sure I was more or less on time, and saw a text from the Flyer’s film editor: “I decided to come to the festival. Where you at?”
So, having just parted ways with Donahue, I met Chris McCoy and waited for Stonebwoy to finish their sound check. I heard someone in the crowd call out the score of the Grizzlies game. “Grizzlies are down 99 to 90,” he said. “It’s a game! It’s a game!” A few minutes later, the score sat at 99 to 93, with the Warriors leading.
Stonebwoy. (Credit: Chris McCoy)
A gentle breeze wafted across the audience, seeming to carry clean guitar notes and the sounds of saxophone. The bass and drums invited the audience to dance. Stonebwoy’s band wove Afropop and reggae grooves while the singer led the crowd in a call and response. “Say ‘Stonebwoy,’” he called. “Say ‘Memphis.’”
Next, McCoy and I made our way to the Zyn stage for the last half of Grace Potter’s set. When we arrived, the concert was in full swing, with the audience sprawling across the parking lot. With a Flying V guitar slung over her shoulder, Potter led her band in a riff on “Proud Mary.” Whether she was turning up for Memphis, or because her band is just that good, Potter and company suffused their set with samples of rock-and-roll, country, soul, and gospel. She’s a rock artist, but her sound is rife with elements of all the musical milieu that forms the bones of American music.
Grace Potter. (Credit: Chris McCoy)
“That was a dirty little carousing we just had,” the singer said. So, with the Liberty Bowl behind her and facing the Coliseum, Potter switched from guitar to what looked like a Fender Rhodes piano to tambourine, leading her band through high-energy song after song.
Potter sang a bit of Tom T. Hall’s “That’s How I Got to Memphis” before praising the Bluff City. “This place is so full of culture,” she said. Later in her set, someone from the audience called out for “Apologies,” one of the singer’s quieter numbers. “I’m a rock-and-roll musician!” Potter responded. “Don’t you want to hear some rock?”
Bryan Cox as Michael Donahue. (Credit: Jesse Davis)
On the way back to the Terminix Stage, I saw someone in a flowing wig who appeared to be cosplaying as Michael Donahue. When I asked him if that was true, Memphian Bryan Cox confirmed that and said, “People keep asking me that.”
Modest Mouse. (Credit: Chris McCoy)
Then Modest Mouse took to the Terminix stage, opening with “Dramamine” from 1996’s This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. The screen behind the band showed a shimmering rainbow seeming to cascade into an open cartoon casket.
The band worked their way through several songs spanning multiple albums. They played newer tracks, as well as hits like “Ocean Breathes Salty,” “3rd Planet,” and “Float On.” It was a solid set of layered songs from a band of indie rockers who have been at it for years.
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. (Credit: Jesse Davis)
At some point in the day, I caught some more groups in the Blues Tent, but nine hours of nonstop music has a way of making a jumble of my interior clock. I think I stopped by the Blues Tent on the way back to the Bud Light stage to catch Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo.
As the sun set, bringing blessedly cooler temperatures, music fans packed the area in front of — and anywhere near — the stage. Moneybagg Yo pulled in a huge crowd, and the energy was high as people danced, drank, and waved their phones in the air.
Moneybagg Yo. (Credit: Jesse Davis)
“If you from Memphis, what side of town you from?” Moneybagg Yo called out, proving he has his finger on the pulse of his city. The bass on “Pistol by Da Bed” had heads nodding along as jets of smoke shot into the air in front of a giant stylishly glitched-out screen behind the performers.
“Every lighter up,” he said later in the set. “This shit’s special. You know why? ’Cause I’m from Memphis. We dream big.”
And it was special, as his set turned into the de facto headlining concert to close out that stage, as news made its way around that Lil Wayne had been forced to cancel, allegedly because of mechanical problems with his jet. No matter, Moneybagg Yo made the most of it, name-checking Memphis neighborhoods to a crowd of dancing, cheering fans.
To close out the night, Weezer took to the Terminix Stage. They ripped into “Hash Pipe” from 2001’s green-hued self-titled album. (The band has something of a penchant for releasing color-coded self-titled albums. At this point, it’s kind of a thing.) Bandleader Rivers Cuomo sang in a falsetto over crunchy guitar riffs and a gut-rattling bass line.
The band played a set that spanned their 15-abum discography, delivering hooks and crowd-pleasers aplenty. They offered up “Beverly Hills,” “My Name Is Jonas,” “El Scorcho,” and “Undone (The Sweater Song).” After a cover of “Enter Sandman,” Cuomo joked “Hey, Memphis! We’re Metallica.”
With the “exit night” refrain rattling around in my thoroughly rocked head, I made my way back to my car. After two years of a pandemic-induced pause, BSMF was back and, chaos aside, a definite success. As I drove home, I heard celebratory fireworks explode in the air above the city.
“We’re back!” There ought to be a banner with those words draped over the Hernando DeSoto Bridge this weekend, marking the grand return of the Beale Street Music Festival. After being shuttered for the last two years, making it three years since the last edition, the perennial gathering of music lovers is roaring back to life with more momentum than ever.
The typical BSMF experience always runs the spectrum from your favorite blockbuster artist to that new unheard-of band that blows your mind. And as for the former, concert-goers need little additional information on why Megan Thee Stallion, Weezer, or Van Morrison are phenomenal. But for the typical out-of-town fan, too many artists based in Memphis fall in the latter category. Naturally, given that Memphis still rules the airwaves and charts as in days of yore, plenty of our local artists need no introduction, either. But chances are good that everyone will discover something new about the Bluff City after this weekend.
Randy Blevins, vice president of marketing and programming at the Memphis in May International Festival, thinks this makes BSMF especially valuable to the city. “People talk about going to other places and exploring to learn about new music,” he says. “Most of our ticket-holders come from over 200 miles away. They’re coming from all 50 states and five or six different countries. So most of the people there are not Memphians. There are a lot of people coming here from out of town; exposing them to these Memphis acts that Memphians know and love is part and parcel of helping promote Memphis. You might show up because you bought tickets to see Counting Crows, and out of nowhere you learn about Don Bryant. The average person may or may not know about him. That’s Memphis pumping through the blood. We’re helping to spread the word.”
Sure, we all love songs by Smashing Pumpkins or DaBaby or Sarah McLachlan. Of course the Indigo Girls and Shaggy and Lindsey Buckingham are phenomenal. Toad the Wet Sprocket, Soccer Mommy, and Robert Randolph are worth a special trip. But given that it’s such a point of pride for the festival, and in light of the fact that this year’s BSMF boasts the most local acts ever — “at least over the past two decades for sure,” Blevins says — today we celebrate the native talent that makes Memphis ground zero for so much musical innovation and style. Here, by the day of their appearance, are the hometown heroes that make this music festival a little different from most.
Al Kapone (Photo: SP Stylistic Photography)
FRIDAY
Three 6 Mafia Bud Light Stage, 10:35 p.m. No group represents the staying power of Memphis hip-hop like Three 6 Mafia, who’ve parlayed their relatively obscure, ’90s cult status into global celebrity through the staying power of their game-changing beats and attitude. Now their horror-movie soundtrack to life on the Memphis streets, which won them an Oscar, has morphed into the crunk and trap genres. See where it all began.
Al Kapone Bud Light Stage, 6:15 p.m. Kapone came up alongside Three 6 Mafia back in the day, and also contributed to the award-winning Hustle & Flow soundtrack. His “Whoop That Trick” from the film lives on as an anthem for the Memphis Grizzlies. Lately, he’s become more eclectic but always grounded, telling the Memphis Flyer’s Michael Donahue: “At some point I’m still just a songwriter, a guy from the projects and the hood.”
Amy LaVere (Photo: Todd V Wolfson)
Amy LaVere Zyn Stage, 5:45 p.m. This singer, songwriter, and bassist extraordinaire is such a fixture on the local scene that it’s easy to forget that she’s a Louisiana native. It was in Memphis that she really found her voice, and she even lured her husband Will Sexton here from his native Texas. We dubbed LaVere’s most recent album, 2020’s Painting Blue, “dark and beautiful.”
Kenny Brown Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 9:05 p.m. Hailing from North Mississippi, Michael Donahue calls Brown a “Hill Country Hero.” Given the way the blues ebbs and flows, only to be reinvented by stalwart artists like Brown, that’s not an exaggeration. He learned well from the likes of R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. No wonder his latest album, with The Black Keys and Eric Deaton, snagged a 2022 Grammy nomination.
Earl the Pearl Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 6 p.m. Born in 1936, Earl Banks is a living link to the blues in its rawest, earliest expression. Having first played with Joe Hill Louis, he went on to define the Memphis blues style for decades and can still be seen on Beale Street nearly every week. From Jimmy Reed to Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King, Earl the Pearl makes every blues his own, with a guitar tone like quicksilver.
NLE Choppa (Photo: @damnjohnnie)
SATURDAY
NLE Choppa Zyn Stage, 7:30 p.m. With “one of the greatest flows in current hip-hop,” as M.T. Richards wrote in 2020, NLE Choppa brings a unique angle to trap music. This “creature of Memphis’ strobe-lit skating rinks” honors his Jamaican heritage by “sprinkling patois in rap’s everyday vocabulary.” He’s created a unique sound and credits his hometown: “So many good artists are in Memphis,” he says.
Project Pat Zyn Stage, 6:15 p.m. Few artists are as close to the Three 6 Mafia orbit as Project Pat, self-described brother of Juicy J, whose biggest hits were on the Hypnotize Minds label owned by J and DJ Paul. Yet Project Pat has crafted his own identity with Dirty South classics like “Chickenhead,” “Ballers,” “Don’t Save Her,” and the ever-relevant “Ghetty Green.”
Duke Deuce Zyn Stage, 4:50 p.m. With his hit single “Crunk Ain’t Dead,” Duke Deuce has let it be known where he’s coming from. Son of Duke Nitty, a producer for Gangsta Blac and Nasty Nardo, the rapper’s name-checked his hometown in debut tracks, “Memphis Massacre” and “Memphis Massacre 2.” Last year, his debut album Duke Nukem debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.
Lil Wyte Zyn Stage, 3:25 p.m. It’s no accident that Lil Wyte is a natural ally of rapper Frayser Boy. Growing up in Frayser helped Lil Wyte transcend any racial barriers, as he proved himself in the world of Three 6 Mafia enough to release his debut on the Hypnotize Minds label, with hits like “Oxy Cotton” and “My Smokin’ Song.”
White $osa Zyn Stage, 3:25 p.m. Kicking off the Zyn Stage string of Memphis rappers, White $osa is unique in that his name inspired his rapping, rather than vice versa. Originally gaining fame through an Instagram account that’s now up to 129,000 followers, it turned out he had a flair for flowing rhymes as well. Since turning to music, his collaboration with NLE Choppa has garnered 21 million streams on Spotify.
Blvck Hippie Bud Light Stage, 2 p.m. As Jesse Davis wrote in the Memphis Flyer, this group’s 2019 track “Hotel Lobby” is “one of the catchiest Memphis-made songs in recent memory.” With indie-pop songs marked by “excellent arrangements” and group founder Josh Shaw’s “open and honest lyrics,” and fresh off a series of concerts at South by Southwest, Treefort Music Fest, and Audiotree promoting their new LP, If You Feel Alone at Parties, Blvck Hippie is one gem to keep an eye on at this year’s festival.
Tora Tora Terminix Stage, 2:15 p.m. If you thought that Memphis was all about blues, soul, and hip-hop, think again. These metal masters have been honing a distinctly Mid-South variant of their chosen genre since the ’80s, when a trio of hits like “Walkin’ Shoes,” “Guilty,” and “Dancing with a Gypsy” (the latter featured in the film Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) powered a career that includes 2019’s Bastards of Beale.
Don Bryant & the Bo-Keys Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 9:25 p.m. Don Bryant has lost none of the power of his voice since he began performing over half a century ago. Indeed, his delivery has matured as if aged in an oak barrel, and now that he has ace neo-soul group the Bo-Keys backing him up, we dubbed his latest LP, YouMake Me Feel, an “instant classic” of pure, down-home soul.
Ghost Town Blues Band Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 7:55 p.m. This group is proof positive that the blues still offers plenty of room for innovation. Not your typical bar combo, Ghost Town Blues Band blends traditional blues with Stax-era soul and even includes novel instruments like cigar box guitars and electric push brooms in their arrangements. Expect the unexpected.
Barbara Blue Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 2:10 p.m. Blue is a queen of Beale Street, a regular performer at Silky O’Sullivan’s who has worked with some serious contenders in the past (including three albums with Taj Mahal’s Phantom Blues Band in the 1990s). Her latest album even features the legendary Bernard “Pretty” Purdie on drums. World-class blues, soul, and jazz live on with Barbara Blue.
Moneybagg Yo
SUNDAY
Moneybagg Yo Bud Light Stage, 7:40 p.m. It was only five years ago that Zandria Robinson reported on Moneybagg Yo’s album release party for his debut, Federal 3X, and now he’s a leading star in the trap music universe. His 2020 album, A Gangsta’s Pain, debuted at No. 1 on the charts. Yet he continues to appreciate his hometown, gifting Covid-related supplies to local schools after that album conquered the charts.
Jucee Froot Bud Light Stage, 2:10 p.m. If Memphis hip-hop is dominated by male stars, Jucee Froot is bucking that trend with her meteoric climb to fame. Since 2020, when she released her debut Black Sheep on Atlantic, she’s had tracks featured in soundtracks for the film Birds of Prey and the series P-Valley and Insecure.
Cory Branan
Cory Branan Zyn Stage, 2 p.m. Rolling Stone got it right when they dubbed this consummate singer/songwriter “a country boy with a punk-rock heart.” Since the late ’90s, when he found his voice in the Memphis indie scene, he’s been perfecting the combination of those elements in his music and lyrics. He’s also a phenomenal guitarist. Watch for a new album later this year.
Blind Mississippi Morris Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 3:25 p.m. Blind Mississippi Morris is Beale Street royalty, and no festival named for the famed blues district would be complete without his uniquely powerful harmonica playing and singing. The recipient of the Mississippi Music Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a two-time winner of the Premier Player Grammy Award for Harmonica Player of the Year, Morris combines the grit and grind of the blues like no other.
Melvia “Chick” Rodgers Coca-Cola Blues Tent, 3:25 p.m. A vocal powerhouse, Melvia “Chick” Rodgers-Williams grew up in the historic Black neighborhood of Orange Mound, singing in her father’s church. Being steeped in the passions of gospel music stuck with her, as she followed her musical star on USO tours and a successful career in Chicago. With BSMF, she’s bringing it all back home.
BSMF 2022: Liberty Park Logistics
The Beale Street Music Festival is such an institution in Memphis, and so closely associated with Tom Lee Park, that any change to the winning formula is hard to fathom. Yet fathom it we must, as the BSMF situates itself on new grounds this year so that work may continue apace on the riverfront space where it typically lives. And if Tom Lee Park, once given its remake, promises to be better than ever, the 2022 iteration of the festival will have a glory all its own, nestled in the shadow of the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. To get a sense of what has changed and what has remained, Memphis Flyer asked BSMF’s Randy Blevins to give us the lay of the land.
Memphis Flyer:It must have caused quite a shake-up to relocate away from your usual home. How will the experience be different for festival-goers? Randy Blevins: We’re going to be at the fairgrounds at Liberty Park just for this year while Tom Lee Park is under construction. As far as the festival is concerned, the layout is a different shape. Where everything at Tom Lee Park is kind of lined up north to south, the fairgrounds at Liberty Park are in a big rectangle. It’s still a big site. Two of the main stages will have the Liberty Bowl in the background, and the other main stage will have East Parkway in the background. There’ll be two main entrances on the north and on the south. And in the middle is Tiger Lane.
It actually surprises people who may have only driven on Tiger Lane or to the Coliseum. Once you’re there, you realize that’s a really big space. The fairgrounds had the Mid-South Fair for such a long time, and there’s plenty of room for the experience. So it’ll include all the things you’re used to seeing, just placed a little differently. All three stages will be triangulated with plenty of space between them. From the fountain at Tiger Lane, you’ll be able to see one stage to the south and another to the north. So it’ll create a really electric atmosphere.
How will parking be handled this year? We’re trying the best we can to make things easy and nice for everybody. There is on-site parking, and that area is accustomed to holding big events. And there are all these other locations, like CBU and other places that turn their surface lots into parking. We’ve also arranged with MATA to have a free rapid shuttle coming from Downtown. Most of our fans are coming from 100, 200 miles away, spending on average two to three nights at a hotel in Memphis. And most of our hotels are Downtown. That’s why Tom Lee Park works so well. So this year we’ll have a rapid shuttle, which will pick up at two locations: B.B. King and Union, and on Second Street by the [Renasant] Convention Center. Ticket-holders will be able to hop on the rapid shuttle and get dropped off at two locations, then take the shuttle back Downtown to continue to hang out on Beale Street and enjoy all the nightlife down there. If you’ve ever been Downtown after the festival, it’s packed. So we want that to continue. And if people want to use that, it’s free, but they have to register online first. They just show their ticket and they can hop the shuttle and ride about every 10 minutes or so, depending on traffic.
We’re also coordinating to set up a couple hundred spaces at the University of Memphis, and you’ll be able to buy access to a parking spot next to the Holiday Inn there, and then ride a shuttle from the U of M to the site and back. That’s just for Memphians who might not want to go Downtown and don’t want to deal with congestion around Liberty Park. It might be a nice option if you’re coming in from Cordova or Germantown.
The festival’s been delayed for years because of the pandemic. What procedures are in place to address Covid? We have a disclaimer on everything and we have a plan ready to go if anything happens, as we did last year when we had a half festival with the barbecue cooking contest at limited capacity. Whatever comes down from the Shelby County Health Department, we’ll comply and do what needs to be done. The world’s used to this now.
Have artists made different requests as far as vaccinations and the like? There have been different requirements from artists, but that’s become less and less part of the conversation as the months and weeks have come along. Currently we’re not asking for proof of vaccination from the public. But currently, anything is possible. Some of the artists have different requirements for ground transportation that’s picking them up or in the backstage areas. They might request masks. The vendors and backstage crews will meet each specific artist’s requirements.
After the 2020 festival was canceled, did many ticket holders opt to just redeem their tickets when the festival resumed? We have a decent number of deferrals. We did not get a lot of refund requests. Many folks just decided, “Whenever you come back, we’re in.” It shows the staying power of the story. It’s a great deal of trust, if you’ve paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, in some cases, and you’re flying blind because you don’t know who we’re going to book. So we felt pretty good that 90 percent of the people weren’t just saying, “Give me my money back.” It could have happened. We were prepared for whatever.
Has it been difficult to gear up for this after such a long hiatus? Just a short time ago, we were at a skeleton staff of only five people and the future of everything was a giant question mark. A festival depends on bringing people together in big groups. We don’t receive money from the city or the state or anything to cover overhead. And we had a reserve saved up for a rainy day, but a rainy day is a bad year, not a year with literally nothing. Who would have ever predicted that, right? So it was really tough. To be in the situation we’re in now, back to doing a big, full-on festival, is really good. There were no guarantees just a short time ago, when everything was shut down and there were just five of us, basically, living month to month. We just started hiring people and getting back up to full staff this fall. And we’re glad to be back, and glad that we’re getting such a good reception to this.
Beale Street Music Festival Schedule 2022
Friday, April 29, 2022 Gates at 5 p.m.
Bud Light Stage Three 6 Mafia 10:35-11:50 p.m. DaBaby 9:15-10:05 p.m. Waka Flocka Flame 7:45-8:45 p.m. Al Kapone (Memphis) 6:15-7:15 p.m.
Zyn Stage Sarah McLachlan 10:15-11:45 p.m. Van Morrison 8:15-9:45 p.m. Kurt Vile & The Violators 6:35-7:40 p.m. Amy LaVere (Memphis) 5:45-6:20 p.m.
Terminix Stage Sammy Hagar & The Circle 10:30-midnight Dirty Honey 9-10 p.m. Glorious Sons 7:30-8:30 p.m. Black Pistol Fire 6-6:55 p.m.
Blues Tent JJ Grey & Mofro 10:45-12:15 p.m. Kenny Brown (Memphis) 9:05-10:15 p.m. Janiva Magness 7:30-8:35 p.m. Earl the Pearl (Memphis) 6-7 p.m.
Saturday, April 30, 2022 Gates at 1 p.m.
Bud Light Stage Death Cab for Cutie 9:35-11:05 p.m. Spoon 7:55-9:05 p.m. Grouplove 6:20-7:25 p.m. Toad the Wet Sprocket 4:45-5:50 p.m. Soccer Mommy 3:15-4:15 p.m. Blvck Hippie (Memphis) 2-2:50 p.m.
Zyn Stage Megan Thee Stallion 10:45-11:35 p.m. Sarkodie (Ghana) 9-10:15 p.m. NLE Choppa (Memphis) 7:30-8:30 p.m. Project Pat (Memphis) 6:15-7:05 p.m. Duke Deuce (Memphis) 4:50-5:45 p.m. Lil Wyte (Memphis) 3:25-4:25 p.m. White $osa (Memphis) 2:15-3 p.m.
Terminix Stage Smashing Pumpkins 10:15-11:45 p.m. Stone Temple Pilots 8:30-9:45 p.m. Chevelle 6:50-8 p.m. Rival Sons 5:15-6:20 p.m. Ayron Jones 3:45-4:45 p.m. Tora Tora (Memphis) 2:15-3:15 p.m.
Blues Tent Robert Randolph & the Family Band 11-12:15 p.m. Don Bryant & the Bo-Keys (Memphis) 9:25-10:30 p.m. Ghost Town Blues Band (Memphis) 7:55-9 p.m. Hurricane Ruth 6:25-7:30 p.m. Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88’s 5-6 p.m. Brandon Santini 3:35-4:35 p.m. Barbara Blue (Memphis) 2:10-3:10 p.m.
Sunday, May 1, 2022 Gates at 1 p.m.
Bud Light Stage Lil Wayne 9-9:50 p.m. MoneyBagg Yo (Memphis) 7:40-8:30 p.m. Shaggy 6:10-7:10 p.m. Stonebwoy (Ghana) 4:45-5:45 p.m. Third World 3:20-4:20 p.m. Jucee Froot (Memphis) 2:10-2:50 p.m.
Joe Kent spent his two minutes before the Memphis City Council last week talking about tax incentives and “obscene” amounts of money spent on public parking here, while wearing that hat.
By intent or accident, Kent in his cap is the video’s thumbnail.
Yo
Posted to YouTube by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone said Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo had a “massive 2021,” and in an interview he talked about his career, family, music, and spirituality.
There wasn’t a group prayer, but the anticipatory energy, the pop and rumble from the crowd, and the obligatory smoke (fog and otherwise), called for one. Someone in the hallway backstage at Minglewood Hall Friday night obliged. “You done turnt up on the city, mane,” the voice said. “The city f*ck with you.” Shouts of affirmation went up in succession and crescendo, rolling through the hallway. Then the crowd of some four dozen folks, more church family than rap posse or crew, climbed the steps up to the stage to bask in that fact and prophecy. Before the sold-out crowd and with Moneybagg Yo at the front, Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group continued its award tour on the home court.
The three dollar pop-up show, announced the same week, quickly sold out, a testament to Moneybagg Yo’s particular appeal, CMG’s enduring and broadening popularity, and the evolution of live music consumption in the city. Ostensibly, the show was a celebration of the release of Moneybagg Yo’s Federal 3x, the debut album follow-up to mixtapes Heartless (2017) and 2 Federal (2016). The release of February’s Heartless was accompanied by a show at The New Daisy, now familiar (if contentious) turf for hip-hop artists of all varieties. But Minglewood has become a marker of a rising hip-hop star’s ascent and a corollary to FedEx Forum. The call and response between Yo and Gotti, first deployed on the collaborative mixtape 2 Federal, was manifested here: If Yo Gotti’s birthday bash at FedEx Forum in June was an apex, Moneybagg Yo’s Minglewood show was a signal of what is to come from CMG. Friday’s show kicked off a run for the artist that includes stops in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
Travis Whiteside
Moneybagg Yo
Moneybagg Yo, like CMG compatriot Blac Youngsta, is part of a second generation of the label’s trap artists, men chronicling loss, trauma, gun violence, and intimacy live from the underground drug economy. Yo, however, pushes the mechanics and intricacies of the trap to the background, marshaling a heavy but nimble flow to ruminate on relationships, friends lost to incarceration and murder, and the specific perils of success and fortune. Across 2 Federal favorites, including “Doin’ Too Much,” “Pull Up,” “Lil Baby,” and “Reflection,” and adding new tracks from Federal 3x like “Doin’ It” and “Insecure,” the performance barreled forward with the undeniable rhythms of trap and Moneybagg Yo’s deft cadences.
There were no flourishes or live show transitions. Show openers, including M-Squad Entertainment’s Heroin Young and BlocBoy JB, were community favorites, and there wasn’t a set list per se. But the crowds, on the stage and on the ground, were there for a collective celebration of trap Memphis, trap music, and the ascension of yet another CMG artist to the global stage. The crowd all but expected Yo Gotti, such that when he arrived towards the end of the set and performed “Rake It Up,” the celebration reached a simultaneous fever pitch and relief.
Trap music is a kind of hip-hop blues structure, of which Memphis artists have long been inheritors and architects. Though Moneybagg Yo has not yet found a consistent footing in that trap-as-blues space, the path there is evident. Blues tropes of women, trouble, and heartbreak now find themselves in discussions of infidelities outed on blogs and Twitter timelines; more importantly, the crowds, a diversity of black Memphians not unlike that on the I-40 bridge last July, know. All kinds of church services happen across the city every day of the week, but Friday night was a kind of revival, a recommitment to the next generation of trap in Memphis.
As whispers and shouts about the “new” Memphis music scene reverberate throughout the city’s arts administration elite, Friday’s pop up show served as a notice that the city will only continue to discount black music, black artists, and black consumers at its own peril. Moneybagg Yo, signed to CMG last year with much fanfare, has a distribution deal with Interscope records for Federal 3x via his independent label, N-Less Entertainment, a coup for an artist working in any genre. He has thus far easily topped the iTunes charts, and next week’s sales will likely indicate similar successes across industry metrics.
CMG, like Hypnotize Minds before it, has created its own pocket in Memphis music and in the global music industry, with little support from a city that sells music like FedEx moves packages. The pop-up show alone reflected a robust wrap-around industry of jookers, photographers, videographers, deejays, and journalists, many of whom appeared to be the age of those “disconnected youth” about which there has been much handwringing over the past two years. The artists, performers, and crowds on Friday were about survival and revival, and Moneybagg Yo proved himself to be amongst trap’s preachers. A good portion of Memphis’s 65% black population already knew that. The rest of the city, like the rest of the world, would do well to take notice.
Travis Whiteside 
Travis Whiteside