Gabe Boyd and Jennings Goode (Photos: Michael Donahue)
The Sierra Ferrell concert, held August 31st, was one of the largest concerts so far in the Shell Yeah! Benefit Series at the Overton Park Shell, says Jeff Hulett, who manages PR and publicity for the Shell.
Sierra FerrellOlivia and Austin MerrymanGrant Vazzano and Sydney Carty
“That was a sea of humanity,” Hulett says. “As a fan of the Overton Park Shell, that was one of the biggest shows I ever went to.”
People from the West Coast were among those attending. “There were people there from all over the place. I think Sierra Ferrell is about to blow up in a big way. To where we won’t ever get her back to the Overton Park Shell.”
Ilaria Pisoni and Will SmithCam Braden and Kara Spencer
And this wasn’t a free concert. “Overton Park Shell offers the free concert series, but in order to do the free concert series, we have to do a series of fundraiser shows.”
Lonny and Kelly ClemonsAmber Johnston and Austin Kimpel
And, Hulett says, “A lot of people don’t know that producing and putting on a free show costs a lot of money. So, we have to find the funds to keep doing that. The Overton Park Shell is all about providing for the community.”
The finale of last year’s Tambourine Bash (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
You might imagine that today’s announcement of the featured artists in October’s Tambourine Bash at the Overton Park Shell was meant to synchronize with this week’s Memphis Flyer cover story celebrating Memphis women in music. After all, the new lineup for the annual fundraising concert for Music Export Memphis (MEM) is loaded with some of the city’s great sonic sisters. But Elizabeth Cawein, MEM’s executive director, swears the gender skew was sheer serendipity. “It’s funny because, to be totally honest, we hadn’t thought about it at all,” she says. “But it is so heavily representative of women — I love it!”
It’s proof positive of the ways Memphis music is evolving today, and typical of the kind of synergy that happens when an organization like MEM is so diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Guided only by the principle of lending Memphis musicians a hand, serving as an “engine and platform to grow their careers and elevate Memphis’ profile as a contemporary music city,” MEM has an embarrassment of riches to work with, from all corners of the music world.
What’s more, the Tambourine Bash, now in its sixth year, is a unique space where all of those corners can come crashing together, with some imaginative and inspiring results. That’s in part because Cawein chose early on to structure the event around the intense spirit of collaboration that characterizes this city. When artists play the Tambourine Bash, they don’t just appear with their usual performing bands. Instead, three contrasting artists or bands are thrown together to work with each other in any way they see fit. It’s all about the mash-up. Take this year’s lineup, for example:
Lana J + EsMod + Aybil
Tonya Dyson + Daykisser + ADUBB
Lina Beach + Jessica Ray + Ryan Peel
Wyly Bigger + MadameFraankie + Blueshift Ensemble
Sunweight + Oakwalker + Jeremy Stanfill
Southern Avenue + surprise guest collaborator
FINALE: Superjam featuring all Tambourine Bash performers, produced by Boo Mitchell
Mixing and matching such versatile artists makes the Tambourine Bash unique, for audience members and performers alike. “Curating this lineup is one of my absolute favorite things that I get the privilege to do,” says Cawein. “And artists around the city know about it, so they get excited. I send that email saying, ‘Hey, are you available on October 10th?’ And they get pumped. I love that.”
It’s indicative not only of how collaborative artists here can be, but also of how comfortable they feel when working with MEM. “I feel like they have a lot of trust, too,” Cawein observes. “When I reach out and say, ‘We’re going to put you together with some other artists, and I don’t know who they are yet, but I promise it’ll be good,’ they trust me. And that feels great because it means I can really just come up with some stuff that will be cool.”
One reason it works is because Cawein keeps an ear close to the ground of the local scene. “I have people in my head, and a sense of the scene and where it is and what’s popping. Maybe it’s artists I’ve been playing on my show on WYXR [Straight from the Source] or people that have come across my radar for other reasons. And I’ll have a working document for a solid year. Like, as soon as we do Tambourine Bash this year, I’m sure I’ll have another doc, where I’m dropping names of artists in that I want to feature next time.”
This year’s creative mix have some Tambourine Bash firsts. “One set from this year that I’m super excited about is Wyly Bigger, MadameFraankie, and Blueshift Ensemble,” says Cawein. “We’ve included horns several years. We’ve had the Mighty Souls Brass Band, we’ve had Lucky Seven Brass Band, but this year I really wanted strings. And so Blueshift just popped to mind. As I started putting that one together, I’m thinking about Wyly’s piano playing and just the sort of raucousness of that, mixed with MadameFraankie, who is so versatile as a guitar player, especially the stuff that she’s done with Talibah Safiya recently, just really funky and soulful and kind of gritty, but also going in a very experimental, electronic kind of direction. And then to have strings with that, I’m just so excited about the flavors that have been combined there. I can’t wait to see that one.”
It seems the universe delivered on Cawein’s wish for strings in other ways, too. “The funny thing is that we have strings in several places this year because we have Oakwalker, and we also have EsMod, who is a rapper in that first collaboration on the bill [but] is a violinist as well.”
Another favorite group of artists is a group who originally were competing for a single slot on the bill. “One that I’m really excited about is Lina Beach, Ryan Peel, and Jessica Ray,” Cawein adds. “Jessica Ray was one of the winners of a partnership we did with Choose901. We got them to call on their audiences to vote for artists they wanted to see on the Tambourine Bash lineup. And the secret, that you can totally reveal here, is that we ended up adding all three of them. We narrowed them to finalists, and we had people vote, but in the end, it was like, ‘I want all three of these artists,’ and that was Jessica Ray, Oakwalker, and Jeremy Stanfill.
“So Lina Beach sings and she’s a songwriter, but she’s such an amazing guitar player! And I knew I wanted a big, bodacious vocal to pair with her, and we had a lot of beautiful vocals on the lineup already, don’t get me wrong. But I wanted someone who is just a belter, right? And so I thought of Jessica Ray.”
That’s but a fraction of the sparks that are bound to fly come October. As usual, all artists performing at the Bash will congregate onstage for the finale led by Boo Mitchell. That too should offer some surprises, on a night when all should set aside their preconceptions and expect the unexpected, as these harbingers of the city’s musical future gather together for an unforgettable night.
Click here to reserve your tickets to the 2024 Tambourine Bash now.
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.
Kortland Whalum with Robert Moody behind him conducting the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (Photos: Michael Donahue)
About 8,000 celebrated the last Sunday evening of May listening to Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, and Sousa. They sat on blankets or chairs with their shoes off or on, and a full-scale picnic or just a flat box with a pizza in front of them.
Theo ThomasCarl and Amasa EalingAlexis Burnett and Abrian ClayCassandra Hopper. Matthew Houston, Arlo Hopper at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jill and Chris Williams at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Magnus Terry, Katherine Terry, Russ Thompson at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)
This was Sunset Symphony, which was held May 26th at Overton Park Shell. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra performed under the direction of Robert Moody and Kyle Dickson. Kortland Whalum and Marie-Stéphane Bernard sang.
“It’s just a beautiful display of Memphis,” says the Shell’s executive director Natalie Wilson. People were “spilling out” onto other nearby areas, including the Greensward at Overton Park and the grounds of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, to hear the symphony because the event was so crowded.
Daniel Amram and Danielle SchaefferJosh Russell, Maddox Russell, Nathalie Russell, Mason Russell, and Jessica RiveraAce and JJ Leonard (Credit: Michael Donahue)Sara and Cody Oscarson at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Elands Kelly and Robin Noel at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“This is what Memphis is about. We come together. We’re joyous. Children run and play. We enjoy the arts. We’re so blessed with these spaces that bring us together.”
This was the fourth year that Sunset Symphony, which many people associate with its Memphis in May predecessor at Tom Lee Park, took place at the Shell. “A joyous re-creation of a historic event at a historic place.”
Lilly, Venus, and Louis Hamric at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Lucy Nardo, Owen Isinger, Joseph Nardo, Lydia Nardo, Stella Isinger at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Paris Carter at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Matthew Hernandez at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Laurie Stark, Kathy Mitchener at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jeremy Plyler and Stephanie Beliles at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Pearson, Andrew, Rachel, and Emerson Black at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)We Saw You
Just a few of this author’s favorite summertime activities (Photos: Courtesy Patricia Lockhart)
Hopefully you’ve been reading my articles for a while and you know that my kids are 15, 12, 12, and 10 years old. I desire for my teens to love this city as much as I do, so I intentionally plan out fun, safe, and engaging things for them to do. Now I know that school is still in session and summer is a full month away, but prior proper planning prevents a poor performance! The streets are calling our name! Here are a few of our summertime favorites that we can’t wait to get into.
Redbirds Game
I’ve met several Memphians who have never been to a Redbirds game. And I always ask them, “What are you waiting for?” They usually shrug and reply, “I’m not a baseball person.” Then I have to explain that the Redbirds games are so much more than that. Recently, my daughter’s school choir sang the national anthem at the start of the game. I watched the players warm up and had my proud-mommy moment. Then I had the best time ever! There is just something mesmerizing about chilling at a Redbirds game. Maybe it’s the hot sun, with an ice cold drink and a hot dog. Or maybe it’s the intermittent games and crowd engagement opportunities. Whatever the case, I will be there!
My favorite games are on Thursday nights. My hubby says it’s because I can get $2 beers, but I promise it’s because of their throwback jerseys. Sundays are cool too because kids 12 and under can receive a free ice cream sandwich. There are also nights where they have post-game fireworks and where kids can run the bases. Definitely check out their promotions page. Pro-tips: 1. Bring a hat. 2. Bring a credit card: The stadium is cashless. 3. Got a purse or bag? Make sure it’s clear.
Overton Park Shell
As soon as school state assessments were over, I placed our picnic blankets, lawn chairs, mosquito spray, and incense in the trunk. I also tossed in a few empty water bottles and our picnic basket that has plates, napkins, and silverware. Those items will remain in my trunk for the entire summer and fall. I do all of this in preparation of one thing: the Overton Park Shell Orion Free Concert Series! The shows start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays starting this month. On weekdays, this gives us enough time to pick the kids up from their after-school activities, stop by the store for a few snackerdoodles, and score some perfect seats on the lawn. As the sun sets, I let the good music and cool vibes roll over me. I close my eyes and lay my head back. I don’t have a care in the world.
My kids have been to a variety of music genres that aren’t normally available to them through mainstream radio. Through this music, they learn acceptance and appreciation. This summer they plan to chill to the symphony, dance to Bodywerk, and regrow some roots to Talibah Safiya, just to name a few. Although if I’m honest, we’ll probably attend about 14 shows.
Gardening with Everbloom Farmacy
Gardening has been in my family for generations. My grandmother was a gardener. My great-grandmother was a sharecropper. Her mother worked the fields during slavery. We can trace our roots all the way back to Ghana where we nurtured the land to provide nourishment for ourselves. While we can go to big box stores for our gardening needs, we prefer to build relationships with people who positively impact our community. Everbloom Farmacy, a nonprofit organization, is the perfect place to go if you want to start growing your own food but don’t know how. Need seeds? Need seedlings or soil? Need knowledge so your garden can thrive? Reach out to Everbloom!
Kenneth Anderson founded Everbloom Farmacy on his 21-acre homestead. It promotes food production and food literacy to support urban homesteads and community and church gardens. While we don’t have the acreage for a homestead, Anderson has educated us on how we can make the most of the space that we have. We went to Everbloom and picked up sprouts of bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, and several gallons of soil.
This summer, Everbloom will offer culinary and medicinal herbs and a host of classes about growing your own food and canning for food preservation. Currently, they have almost 10,000 vegetable seedlings (grown by volunteers) for promoting at-home gardening as a community practice. Everbloom’s Community Nursery will also donate over 10,000 vegetable plants for fall gardens starting in September 2024.
Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. Her days are filled with laughter with her four kids and charming husband. By day, she’s a school librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend
Grammy-winner Cedric Burnside is among this year's featured local artists. (Credit: Jim Arbogast)
The lineup for the 2024 Orion Free Concert Series at the Overton Park Shell was announced today, and it’s in perfect keeping with the series’ steady evolution towards ever-greater diversity. Running May 17th through October 12th, the Series will showcase 34 free entertainment experiences, including more funk, soul, hip hop, and house music than ever before, not to mention country, Americana, blues, indie rock, and whatever MonoNeon is.
“This year, we are crossing all genres and creative programming to give access to The Shell’s mission boldly and without barriers, with special emphasis on Memphis artists,” Overton Park Shell Executive Director Natalie Wilson said in a statement. “We are truly honored to be a safe, joyous place for all walks of life in Memphis and Shelby County as we celebrate the incredible talent of our Memphis arts and music scene.”
Familiar local partnerships with the likes of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Country Blues Festival, the Stax Music Academy, the PowerPop Festival, Shakespeare at the Shell with Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Opera Memphis, and DreamFest Weekend will all make a return, along with this year’s notable additions, the Memphis Black Arts Alliance Gospel Night, featuring the Tennessee Mass Choir, and BODYWERK, the Shell’s first electronic dance event.
Some performances will resonate with Memphis’ rich music history, as when the iconic Bar-Kays, who have appeared at the Shell numerous times since their band’s beginnings, celebrate their 60th anniversary this September. And they’re just one example of the many local and regional groups that will take the stage this year. Lukah with Hope Clayburn & The Fire Salamander, Cedric Burnside, Black Hippie, Talibah Safiyah with MadameFraankie, MonoNeon, Cyrena Wages, Healy, Aaron James, the Memphis Harvest Band, and the North Mississippi Allstars will all make appearances, the latter with the great Ruthie Foster at the Country Blues Festival in October.
See the full lineup below, also available with more details here.
SUMMER SCHEDULE: All shows start at 7:30 p.m. Friday May 17th-Sunday, May 19th: Dreamfest Weekend Friday, May 24th: Lukah with Hope Clayburn & The Fire Salamander Sunday, May 26th: Sunset Symphony Thursday, May 30th: Black Opry Friday, May 31st: BODYWERK with Takuya Nakamura Saturday, June 1st: Laura Denisse Thursday, June 6th: Sister Hazel Friday, June 7th: King & Associates Saturday, June 8th: Perpetual Groove Thursday, June 13th: Cedric Burnside Friday, June 14th: Lamont Landers Saturday, June 15th: Black Hippie Thursday, June 20th: Magnolias Friday, June 21st: Talibah Safiyah with MadameFraankie Saturday, June 22nd: Sweet Lizzy Project Thursday, June 27th: Shemarr Allen Friday, June 28th: Cowboy Mouth Saturday, June 29th: Annual Stax Academy Summer Showcase
FALL SCHEDULE: All shows start at 7 p.m. Friday, August 30th: MonoNeon Saturday, August 31st: Power Pop Festival: Matthew Sweet Saturday, September 7th: Cyrena Wages Friday, September 13th: Healy Saturday, September 14th: MBAA Gospel Night: Tennessee Mass Choir Friday, September 20th: Canti Records Friday, September 27th: Aaron James (Unapologetic) Saturday, September 28th: The Bar-Kays Sunday, September 29th: Opera Memphis: Opera Goes to Broadway Friday, October 4th: Stax Museum Presents: Los Yesterdays Saturday, October 5th: Memphis Harvest Band Saturday, October 12th: Memphis Country Blues Festival Sunday, October 20th: Shakespeare at The Shell: Comedy of Errors
The Super Jam from Tambourine Bash 2022 (Credit: Greg Thompson)
Once again, it’s time to expect the unexpected. When Music Export Memphis (MEM) stages its annual fundraiser, The Tambourine Bash, it’s more than just a celebration of local artists in all their diversity. Rather, MEM throws together those diverse players in one-of-a-kind combos that might represent two or three bands at once, all collaborating on unique sets that lead to some intriguing cross-pollinations.
That time is upon us once more, with the event happening at the Overton Park Shell this Thursday, October 12, at 7 p.m. All ticket sales benefit MEM, the equally one-of-a-kind organization that gives Memphis bands a boost as no other nonprofit can.
To see what’s in store this year, I spoke with Elizabeth Cawein, MEM’s founder and executive director. With a Grammy winner headlining, and at least 17 different bands or artists represented, her enthusiasm was palpable.
Memphis Flyer:It seems the Tambourine Bash really came into its own when the Overton Park Shell started hosting the event.
Elizabeth Cawein: This is our third year at the Shell, so it’s our third year to really execute our vision of collaboration at this scale. And it’s really exciting and kind of satisfying to me that we typically put about 30 musicians on this stage, and I haven’t repeated any of those acts yet. You know, I have no doubt that I wouldn’t have a problem doing the same thing next year. You know, not everyone knows how deep our bench is, even Memphians. and so it feels good to be able to prove that year after year with this event. And what they come up with is just magical every time.
Do you personally curate the collaborations, selecting who will be in the ad hoc groups?
Yeah, I’ve put together all of the collaborative groups and it’s something that I definitely enjoy doing. In fact, I already have a note on my phone for Tambourine Bash 2024, where I’m jotting down ideas, and that’s pretty typical. I put them together and then we give them a few instructions like, “Here are some things you might consider. You could work up new arrangements of each other’s music, you could cover Memphis classics, or you could write a new song together.” I know for sure that one of this year’s collaborative groups has written a new song. Typically every year we have at least one or two that do, but every set is completely different in terms of how they’ve decided to embrace it, so we won’t know until tomorrow night.
Thursday’s headliner is Grammy-winner Cedric Burnside. Who will he be collaborating with?
It’s going to be the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band! So, of course, they’re no strangers to the Shell stage. And what I love about it is that both Cedric and the Rising Stars have headlined our AmericanaFest showcase that we do every year in Nashville. Cedric headlined it in 2018, and Shardé Thomas and Rising Stars headlined in 2019. So it’s kind of cool to have them now together doing some cool collaboration.
Will Boo Mitchell lead all the artists in a large group performance at the end, as in years past?
Yes, that is an every-year thing. It’s our finale that we call the Super Jam, and rehearsals for that happened at Royal Studios on Sunday. And the songs are always a secret. So you not do not want to leave your seat, because at the end you will definitely see every performer come on stage. The stage is totally full of people, and it’s just a really good time. Boo is gracious enough to produce that for us every year.
Have all the artists who are collaborating Thursday worked with Music Export Memphis?
Almost every single one I can think of. Maybe one or two haven’t specifically gotten a grant from us yet. But almost every single one has, and I will tell you that most all of them, or many of them, received support from us during the pandemic. And most of them have also received tour grants or merch grants, or they’ve been on festival showcases with us. So we certainly consider all of them to be Music Export Memphis ambassadors in one way or another.
How does MEM compare to nonprofits in other cities that support musicians and bands?
People should know that there’s not another organization in any other city doing this type of work. You know, we’re really unique nationally. And I think that should be a great point of pride and hope for us. I hope that people who want to support the Memphis music scene will get behind our work, because MEM is this unique thing we have that sets us apart from other cities, just like our music itself. And you know, when you support an event like this, it means that funding is going into musicians pockets. It’s going to grants, but it’s also going to things like the advocacy work we do, where we’re really trying to improve working musician’s lives in our city.
The featured artists in this year’s Tambourine Bash are: Cedric Burnside + Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band Cory Branan + Brennan Villines + Alice Hasen Qemist + Telisu + Raneem Dirty Streets + Alexis Grace + Deonna Sirod Chris Milam + Alexis Jade + Mighty Souls Brass Band Mak Ro + Ariel Reign + Tangela
Though the Drive-By Truckers may be considered a neo-Southern rock band, having adopted the sound decades after its heyday in the ’70s, a slight perspective change reveals them as the ultimate expression of the form. For it was with their albums that the genre evolved, like some advanced computer mainframe, into self-awareness. Sure, you can find traces of irony in classic Skynyrd, but when the Truckers came along at the turn of the 20th century, their songs suggested a deeper awareness of the South’s fraught history and contradictions.
The songs of band co-founder Patterson Hood expressed that awareness more and more as their albums advanced. In 2015, railing in a New York Times op-ed against fans who flew Confederate flags at Drive-By Truckers shows, he wrote of growing up with his father, renowned Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood, whose “views on the Civil Rights era were shaped by the time he spent playing with Aretha and the Staple Singers. He looked at George Wallace and Bull Connor with great disdain.” But while many young, progressive Southerners fled to bluer regions, the Truckers stayed in the fight, both rocking out and writing dispatches from the front lines of the culture wars as they witnessed them personally.
A quarter-century after they started, with America more divided than ever, the band’s head-on confrontation with those culture wars seems prescient. It’s no wonder they’ve continued to thrive, with an album of new songs released only last year and a new reissue of their 20-year-old classic, The Dirty South, revealing how on-point they were from the start. On the eve of the Drive-By Truckers’ October 7th show in the Overton Park Shell’s Shell Yeah! series, I spoke with Hood about how the band’s tales from deepest, darkest Dixie still resonate today.
Memphis Flyer:The songs of poverty, desperation, and corruption in the Truckers’ early work still ring true today. Though those songs were very much located in the South, do you feel they express something about our country as a whole?
Patterson Hood: I’m afraid what’s really happened is that some of the worst aspects of the historical Old South have become just part of America. The South did kind of rise again, in the worst of ways. I mean, the parallels between Donald Trump and George Wallace are huge. Though I think Wallace would be mortified with how bad Trump is. And I say that as someone who’s spent my entire life hating George Wallace and everything he stood for. But he had once been a progressive-minded person who sold that out in order to get power. With Trump, I don’t think there was even a notion of any kind of Greater Good anywhere in his makeup. That’s a cynical, awful thing.
It’s like the world caught up to your albums. Those things we once attributed to Southern culture are more widespread throughout the country. You moved to Portland some years ago — how does that affect your sense of the South, which is so key to your literary voice?
Portland’s known as one of the most liberal cities in America. But if you drive five minutes in any direction, you might as well be in Alabama. I accidentally got caught up in a Proud Boys rally with my oldest kid. I lived in the South a long time and never really saw a Klan rally, but there’s no difference between a Klan rally and a Proud Boys rally. It’s definitely made me more cynical than ever, and unfortunately less optimistic.
Is that related to the more introspective turn your lyrics took on last year’s Welcome 2 Club XVIII?
Club XVIII was a more personal record. It’s a bit of a reckoning with our paths through the lens of having kids. Now we’re watching our kids navigate the same things we did. I mean, I want my kids to have fun, but I also want them to be careful and not hurt themselves.
The new album also has a Memphis connection, no?
We spent a week in Memphis in 2018 and cut 18 songs, and there were three songs from those sessions that we didn’t want to put on The Unravelling. Those wound up on Club XVIII. And the other singer on that album is Schaefer Llana, and she’s from Memphis. She sings on “Wilder Days” and “The Driver,” and she’s amazing. And she’s a great artist in her own right. I love her records.
Catch the Drive-By Truckers in concert at the Overton Park Shell on Saturday, October 7th, 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $30. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit overtonparkshell.org.
There’s plenty of summer and animal fun to be had at the Memphis Zoo. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Zoo)
It sure feels like summer! The hot, humid days have moved in with full force, but that doesn’t scare us. Yet as we all sit inside next to our struggling AC units, it’s easy to forget all the cool things going on in Memphis. The city attracted more than 11 million visitors last year, and for good reason: Memphis is a place people want to see. So get outside and re-familiarize yourself with all the great places and people that make Bluff City unique. Whether it’s restaurants, museums, or a night out on the town, there are plenty of reasons why here at home remains a great option for remaining summer plans.
Free Art and Museums
A staycation saves money, right? Save even more with these free attractions.
• The Dixon Gallery & Gardens is free through the end of 2024 with 2,000 objects in its collection and a glorious spread of botanic brilliance.
• The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is free Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon, and also for family-oriented Community Day events.
• The National Civil Rights Museum is free for Tennessee residents with state-issued ID Mondays from 3 p.m. until closing.
• The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is free for kids 6 and under. Shelby County residents with ID get in free on Tuesdays from 1 to 5 p.m. And it’s free for everyone from 1 to 5 p.m. on Family Day, the second Saturday of each month.
The Memphis Zoo (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Zoo)
• The Memphis Zoo is free for wee ones under 2 years old. Tennessee residents get in free on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to close.
• Access to the Metal Museum grounds, including its sculpture garden and gift shop, is always free.
• Walking and driving tours of Elmwood Cemetery are free, and it’s pretty quiet as well.
As always, you should check with the venues first before you go. And as you visit these places, you might be tempted to buy a membership. Go ahead. Find the level that works for you and enjoy it year-round. — Jon W. Sparks
Hit the Town
A night at home curled up under a blanket to watch a movie or read a book is probably my ideal night. In fact, I’d say it’s so ideal that I do that practically every night, but, apparently, it’s good to shake things up a little every now and then. So this homebody did just that and dragged herself out of bed for a night out on the town. Sure, it was for a writing assignment, but I got out of the bed and that’s a start.
With a friend in tow, the night started at Bardog Tavern for dinner and drinks. I ordered something with rum that our server recommended — couldn’t really tell you what else was in it because I heard the word “rum” and that was enough for me. Turns out the name of the drink is James’ Cock, and I sucked it down like a Coca-Cola, so do with that what you will.
After that we headed to Blind Bear, a speakeasy I’d never heard about before, mostly because I rarely leave the house after 7 p.m. Then it was time for the Flying Saucer and, like, Beale and stuff. (I had a bit to drink at this point.) I think we headed to Paula & Raiford’s Disco after, waited in line for about 10 minutes, and then gave up and ordered a Lyft. But, yeah, it was nice to shake things up a bit for a bit of a “staycation,” but the best part was being able to fall asleep in my own bed. — Abigail Morici
Be a Tourist For a Day
More than 11 million people came to Memphis on vacation — on vacation! — last year. That’s roughly the population of Belgium. Why?! The crime! The heat! The potholes!
Daily Memphians might miss the mystique of the city’s cultural treasure trove that draws all those tourists each year. The Pyramid’s funny. Barbecue is routine. Beale is for tourists. Don’t get us started on Graceland.
But if you’re staycating this year, try (at least) vacating your house or your neighborhood. Go find out what makes Memphis a destination. Go reconnect with that everyday magic. Do it all while staying within your staycation budget, too.
Here’s a brief list of classic (and free!) tourist spots to hit for your Memphis staycation:
• Graceland — Brag that you’ve never been? Go. See what you think. Free walk-up admission to the Meditation Garden daily.
• Beale Street — Go for the people-watching. Stay for the music and a Big Ass Beer. Are your feet 10 feet off?
• Big River Crossing — A one-of-a-kind walk with Insta-worthy views of the river and the city. Free daily.
• Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid — Fish pond, gator pit, and massive aquarium? Check. The place is a tourist magnet for a reason. Free daily. — Toby Sells
Be a Homebody
Staycate means staycate. No need to go figuring out car trips to some semi-distant place or to rush out to some favorite or fetchingly rumored juke joint in the evenings just because you’ve got some spare time.
Stay home. Sleep late. Alternatively, get up early in the morning when it’s still cool enough and take long walks on your property or in your neighborhood.
Give yourself at least one good substantial grocery visit. Then put it to use. Cook something new, for yourself or guests. And back in that fridge somewhere is an item you bought backaways with some purpose in mind you haven’t got to yet. Do it now before the food goes bad.
Fix up that spare room you’ve been using as a warehouse space. Change those worn-out bulbs. Take care of those overlooked potted plants. They’re thirstier than you are!
Homebody starter kit (Photo: Jackson Baker)
You bought those books. Now read them. Ditto with those magazines that are lying around. Forget about social media for a while. If you’ve got to turn on the computer, then use it to catch up on news you missed.
Look at yourself in the mirror and take inventory. I don’t need to tell you that you’ll see something that needs changing. Change it. Or at least start the process.
For a little while, everything is in your hands. Enjoy the fact. — Jackson Baker
The Memphis International Restaurant Tour
Eating out at a great restaurant is my favorite thing to do on a vacation.
Eating out at a great restaurant is also my favorite thing to do on a staycation.
You can experience other countries by staying home and visiting Memphis restaurants that specialize in various types of food from across the globe. Sort of “Around the World in 901 Days.” Maybe choose cuisine from a particular country each day of your staycation. Some places serve lunch, which usually is cheaper. And if you don’t know what to order at these places, ask your servers what they’d recommend. Here are some restaurant ideas:
Taking a trip around town to try exotic food is less expensive than airfare to exotic places. Not to mention lodging. You can go home to your own bed. And you don’t have to worry about passports. — Michael Donahue
A Night at the Shell
There are a lot of places to see live music in Memphis: the Beale Street club packed with tourists, the Orpheum Theatre’s Gilded Age grandeur, the Green Room’s intimate sounds. But the best place in Memphis for a night of music is the Overton Park Shell.
Built in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project designed to help workers during the Great Depression, it is one of a handful of band shells from that era still standing.
PreauXX at the Shell (Photo: Chris McCoy)
I was recently reminded of how lucky we are to have a place like the Shell when I saw PreauXX play there on July 1st. It was one of the super hot days we’ve been having this year, so I was expecting to be uncomfortable, at least until well after the sun had set. But the towering trees of Overton Park provided enough shade that a steady breeze made it quite pleasant, especially after a couple of days spent indoors hiding from the heat. We found a spot near the front of the stage and set up our camp chairs next to a young mom corralling her toddler.
My wife LJ stayed with the chairs as I checked out the food trucks, which were parked next to the new, greatly improved bar facilities.
We were chowing down on some barbecue tacos when PreauXX hit the stage, backed by his friends from the Unapologetic crew. The young mother was joined by her partner, and, after ignoring the music in favor of rolling on the lawn, the toddler threw his energy into dancing. (Really, it was more of a body-wide twitch, but he was trying his best.) When AWFM joined in for “Slide,” folks were streaming down the hill to do the title dance. This stage has hosted everyone from Elvis to Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, but for this night, PreauXX was the king. — Chris McCoy
Drag Shows at the Atomic Rose
Thanks to the phenomenon known as RuPaul’s Drag Race, we’re able to appreciate the art of drag without leaving our homes. And while watching hours of Snatch Game makes for the perfect staycation activity, so does supporting your local drag performers and artists.
Voted as the number-one best drag bar in the South by Time Out, Atomic Rose is the top destination for your staycation entertainment fix. The club recently went viral, at the height of Tennessee’s anti-drag controversy, when local drag queen and activist Bella DuBalle informed the audience of the severity of the bill and what it meant for the drag community. But the clip that circulated around TikTok only gave viewers a tidbit of the magic the nightclub possesses.
Drag at the Atomic Rose (Photo: Drew Parker)
DuBalle is known as Slade Kyle outside of drag and says one of the things that makes the club so special is that it is a true melting pot, inclusive in multiple ways encompassing all genders, races, and sexuality. This diversity is showcased in one of their most iconic events known as the “War Of The Roses,” which Kyle describes as an eight-week drag competition, featuring a large and diverse pool of performers.
And if you happen to swing by after War season, the club also offers Friday and Saturday shows, as well as a drag brunch on Sunday. Friday and Saturday shows start at 10:30 p.m., and Sunday brunch service starts at 11 a.m., with the show starting at 12:30 p.m. — Kailynn Johnson
SPORTS!
We can never get enough Grizz action at the FedExForum. But they’re out of season (unless you’ve made the pilgrimage to the Las Vegas Summer League to watch Kenny Lofton Jr. hoop). Luckily, there’s another pleasant Downtown destination to get your fix of ’ball. AutoZone Park is home to the Redbirds and 901 FC, but it’s sometimes apparent that Memphians take the stadium for granted, evidenced by the quite noticeable number of empty seats during baseball and soccer games. It’s still hot outside, but an afternoon or night out at the ballpark is an excellent way to shake up a routine and try out a new experience in town.
Even if you’re not into sports all that much, there are plenty of additional perks that come tacked on to a game. A personal favorite of mine is an all-you-can-eat series at Redbirds games, which, for just a few extra bucks, gets you a pass into a roped-off section that provides drinks, snacks, hot dogs, and an endless supply of the featured entrée (anything from brisket, to nachos, to my personal favorite: hot wings).
901 FC’s Bluff City Mafia (Photo: Memphis 901 FC)
Other enticements include specialty nights for $1 hot dogs or $2 beers. And when those nights line up, oh man. Kicking back with a few brews in what can either be a pleasant or a raucous atmosphere, depending on the matchup, is a reliable recipe for a fun night out. And if there’s a fireworks show afterward, well, all the better. Don’t sleep on it, Memphians! — Samuel X. Cicci
Tend Your Garden
If you time your work hours right and stay hydrated, summer gardening can be a breeze — and yield delicious rewards. Why else would the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture host its Summer Celebration of ag workshops and activities in Jackson only last week? The summer means heat to some, but for others it’s known as peak growing season. While that might sound dangerously like work, once your garden is up and running, tending it can be the perfect break from both screen time and chair time.
Early mornings can be sublime even in July, especially with an eyeful of blooms and fruits of the vine. It’s also a good time to water those roots before the blazing sun can bake the water droplets off the leaves. And yet, assuming you’ve done your homework and have a little mulched, irrigated, squirrel-protected paradise outside your door, there’s still more awaiting the horticultural staycationer: a world of garden clubs and nonprofits to liven up the typically solitary pursuit of the perfect bloom.
Take a break from the screen and tend your garden. (Photo: Alex Greene)
You don’t have to be a master of the pursuit to join the Memphis Area Master Gardeners, and it can be a great way to learn from expert volunteers who offer classes, working closely with the local UT extension service. There are also long-established neighborhood garden clubs, like the Cooper-Young Garden Club with their annual garden walk, and even community gardens if you prefer your plant-tending to be more sociable. Check out memphiscitybeautiful.org for a registry of every community garden in the city. — Alex Greene
With the balmy breezes of spring in the air, music lovers know that live concerts at the Overton Park Shell are not far away, and last week the nonprofit announced the performers slated to appear there this summer and fall. And beyond the nationally touring acts brought to Memphis by the Shell, a host of local heroes will also play under the stars there. Such an appearance can often be a local group’s best gig of the year, and it can serve to remind casual music fans of the riches available in their own backyard.
For starters, the ticketed Shell Yeah! Benefit Concert Series kicks off with the force of nature known as Wendy Moten. Ever since she cut a deal with EMI in the 1990s, and the top ten singles in the US and UK that followed, Moten has been a formidable presence in the industry, whether singing harmony or as an especially eclectic solo artist, mastering styles from country to R&B.
Soon after that, the Orion Free Music Concert Series opens on May 28 with the time-honored Sunset Symphony series by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (MSO). This year, “symphony” is a bit of a misnomer, as the focus will be on the MSO Big Band, founded in 2010 to highlight the jazzier side of MSO musicians. Led by principal trumpet Scott Moore, the MSO Big Band performs swing classics spiced up with samba and other genres.
The Sunset Symphony tradition is a fitting season opener, harking back to the earliest days of entertainment in Overton Park, before the Shell was opened in 1936. Indeed, as detailed in this Memphis Magazine article, 2023 marks the 90th Anniversary of the first organized performance in the park, a staging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado in a dip in the landscape where the Shell now sits.
From there, a both national and local acts will play every weekend until the beginning of July. The local focus continues on June 16th, when both Star and Micey and the Dead Soldiers will grace the stage. That should prove to be the perfect pairing, with two local groups that bring their own respective approaches to the more rocking side of Americana. Given that both groups have eased up on their live appearances in recent years, this should feel like a real homecoming for those who love tight harmonies and arrangements with a funky, folk-rock feel.
On the following weekend, on June 24th, the Stax Music Academy will showcase its best and brightest in what has become a new tradition all its own. And then fans can catch a more contemporary take on the Memphis sound when Unapologetic takes over the Shell on July 1st. What’s known primarily as a hip hop collective actually showcases artists as diverse as Cameron Bethany, PreauXX, A Weirdo From Memphis (AWFM), and more.
That revue will close down the summer season, but the Shell revs back to life when cool temps return in September. The first weekend of that month starts, appropriately enough, with Memphis Powerpop Presents, a recurring event that showcases the city’s seminal roots and promising future in that genre. This year, the day’s highlight will be the Sonny Wilsons, a new power pop project featuring Adam Yancey (Solo artist, Afterglow, The Chain Hopsons, The Becky’s), Allen Couch (East Link), Danny McGreger (Lately David), Chris Swenson (El Dorado Del Ray, Black Oak Arkansas, studio engineer) and Johnny Norris (Crash Into June, Your Academy). Their first album, recorded at Ardent and High/Low studios with Jon Auer (Posies, Big Star) producing, will be released late summer of this year.
Two weeks later, in back to back concerts on Septemeber 15th and 16th, Memphians will have a chance to savor two versions of hard-hitting local music, both grit and grind. The grit comes from Pezz, practically grand-daddies of the Memphis punk scene by now, and still making vital, politically charged original music decades later. The grind will come on the 16th from Al Kapone, well loved for huge hits like “Whoop That Trick,” but also bringing things home in a deep way with his experiments in blues rap.
And finally, the Memphis Country Blues Festival on September 23rd will feature another African American artist who’s expanded the vocabulary of the blues in his own inimitable way, the axemaster Alvin ‘Youngblood’ Hart. Though based in Coila, Mississippi, Hart has won a considerable following here and exemplifies the Memphis tradition of music made at the crossroads. While the Shell’s season carries on to the end of September, Hart’s appearance will be a fitting local finale to a season peppered with the best the Mid South has to offer.
The full season and details on each band can be found here. Below is a list of what to expect, play by play, from the Orion Free Concert Series. 5/28 – Sunset Symphony (ft. the MSO Big Band) 6/1 – The Collection 6/3 – Magic! 6/8 – Tré Burt 6/9 – Anand Wilder 6/10 – Battle of Santiago 6/15 – The Heavy Heavy 6/16 – Star & Micey | Dead Soldiers 6/17 – Rumble ft. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. 6/22 – AvevA 6/23 – Jimmi Kinard presents Muzaic 6/24 – Stax Music Academy 6/29 – Jenny & The Mexicats 6/30 – Buffalo Nichols 7/1 – Unapologetic Night
9/1 – Los Rakas w/ Special Guests 9/2 – Memphis PowerPop Presents 9/8 – Thee Sinseers 9/9 – Black Joe Lewis 9/15 – Pezz 9/16 – Al Kapone 9/22 – Jeremie Albino 9/23 – Memphis Country Blues Festival 9/29 – Spree Wilson 9/30 – Telmary 10/6 – Morgan James 10/15 – Shakespeare at The Shell
