Tag: Silky O’Sullivan’s

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A Historic St. Pat’s Parade Down Beale, One Week Early

The Silky Sullivan St. Patrick's Day Parade, ca. 2019 (Photo courtesy Beale Street Merchants Association)

Silky O’Sullivan’s has been a mainstay of Beale Street for decades, so it’s only natural that St. Patrick’s Day should cause the street to erupt into celebrations. This year, the March 17 holiday is merely the culmination of a week’s worth of revelry that includes Silky Sullivan’s St. Patrick’s Parade on Saturday, March 11. Given that this is the parade’s 50th Anniversary, why not start drinking early?

The parade is presented by the Beale Street Merchants Association and sponsored by the Irish Eyes of Memphis, and is the public highlight of a full week of commemorations, including a motor caravan to pick up visiting dignitaries on March 9, the Africa in April Salutes Ireland luncheon and Beale Street Merchants dinner on March 10, and a Beale Street pub crawl and “raising of the goat” at Silky O’Sullivan’s on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

Throwin’ o’ the beads at a Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade (Credit: Vicki Gill)

The roots of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the oldest continuously running parade in Memphis, lie with the Irish Eyes of Memphis, a group led by the late politician Mark Flanagan and bar owners Thomas Boggs and Thomas “Silky” Sullivan. The group started in 1969 when Flanagan began hosting St. Patrick’s Day barbecues at his home. By 1973, the year from which the current event marks its beginning, the barbecue had grown so big it was a multi-venue event.

Of course, being centered on Beale Street, music will be front and center this year. That’s partly reflected in this year’s Grand Marshal, Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation and longtime host of the syndicated radio program Beale Street Caravan (and whose wedding was held on Beale during the parade years ago). Ron Childers, chief meteorologist for WMC Action News 5, will serve as King, complete with a crown forged by smiths at the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis.

Also in the court will be Moira Flanagan, niece of the parade’s co-founder Mark Flanagan. She will be crowned Queen of All Western Appalachia. Meanwhile, Benny Carter, the proprietor of Murphy’s, is the Irish American of the Year.

Music will figure more directly into the proceedings via the Christian Brothers High School marching band, the oldest high school band in America. It’s enjoyed a continuous existence since its founding in the fall of 1872 by Br. Maurelian, who served as the first band director. The first recorded performance of the group was in the Memphis St. Patrick’s Day Parade of 1873, and the band has performed every year since.

1888 Christian Brothers Band under the direction of Paul Schneider with Br. Maurelian (Credit: Patrick Bolton – Own work Christian Brothers Band Archives)

“One thing that makes the St. Patrick’s parade so special, and all of the celebrations we have for St. Patrick’s, is that it’s for everyone,” says Joellyn Sullivan, the former owner of Silky O’Sullivan’s and a St. Patrick’s Parade organizer. “This is a blanket invitation to gather our citizens together shoulder to shoulder sharing smiles, sharing cheers, wishes for good luck, wishes for friendships new and old, and peace to all.”

Named by the Beale Street Merchants Association in honor of Sullivan’s husband Thomas, who was considered Memphis’ “King of the Irish,” the parade started in Midtown Memphis, but has been held on Beale Street for the past 30 years.

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Silky O’Sullivan’s Hosts Weekly Virtual Happy Hour

Craig Schuster

On April 14th, Silky O’Sullivan’s hosted its first virtual Happy Hour, featuring a live performance by pianist, trumpeter, and singer Craig Schuster playing songs from his latest album Goodnight Jr., as well as taking requests from the audience.

“He’s been with us for more than 15 years as one of our Dueling Piano players,” says owner Joellyn Sullivan. “We were very pleased, and we look forward to the next one.”

Buddy Nemenz from Almost Famous played this week, and this upcoming Tuesday, Danny Childress, another one of the venue’s regular pianists, will perform. “Danny has been with us for over 20 years,” says Sullivan. “He’s almost one of our original piano players, really, since we opened up in 1992.”

Buddy Nemenz

During Tuesday performances, viewers are invited to a toast as the artist shares Silky O’Sullivan’s drink recipe of the day. The first week’s drink recipe was for Green Tea, which contains 1 oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey, 1/4 Peach Schnapps, and equal parts sour and Sprite.

“We figured we’d share a recipe somebody might not be that familiar with,” says Sullivan. “It’s just another social opportunity to get in contact and to help with isolation and the loneliness of not getting to come in and share time and experiences with others.”

In the videos, the performing artists also talk about Silky O’Sullivan’s Silky’s 2020 Season Pass, which will cover unlimited door charges for any event from whenever the venue is able to open back up until New Year’s Eve. Plus, purchase of the season pass enters new members into a giveaway for a Diver bucket full of cool Memphis-themed swag. Ultimately, however, proceeds from these passes benefit the musicians who have lost gigs at Silky’s due to COVID-19.

“Memphis has so many talented artists, and we have been so blessed with the venues to keep them busy,” she says. “Beale Street, as a grand example, is looking at live music day and night, seven days a week, at least 363 days of the year, if not 365.”

She says that’s a lot of time musicians aren’t getting paid for, especially considering that many of them play several other venues as well.

“There are not nearly as many resources out there [for them],” she says. “They’re independent contractors. They’re basically individually small business people. And these resources that are available to the rest of us are largely not available to them. They can’t apply for unemployment.”

Danny Childress

Likewise, the people who frequent Beale Street and other live music joints in Memphis can benefit from this, too. “Music is for the soul,” she says. “And Memphis is all about soul. So, at our core, wherever there is music, there’s community. There’s sharing, there’s bonding, there is support and love and friendship that is just shared among people. And whether you’re on Beale Street, whether you’re in a church, whether you’re at a concert, that community that music makes happen, reaches down into the soul and connects us and warms us. And we, as people, need that.”

To view weekly Virtual Happy Hours, stay tuned on Silky’s Facebook page every Tuesday at 5 p.m.

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Down at the End of Lonely Street: Beale Street in Quarantine

CREDIT: Connor Ryan

Connor Ryan

B. B. King’s Blues Club

A photograph shows B. B. King’s Blues Club with boarded-up windows.

Another photo is of the usually noisy, crowded patio at Silky O’Sullivans now empty and still.

They’re down at the end of Lonely Street.

Beale Street.

Connor Ryan, 24, a professional photographer, has been documenting Beale Street since the COVID-19 bar and restaurant closings.

“I live Downtown at the Chisca,” Ryan says. “And right after they started shutting the restaurants down, I was driving home one night and I rode by Beale to see what was going on. There was nobody on the street. And they moved the road blocks that are usually there. So, a car could drive down there. But there was nobody on the street. No cars. No anything. It was the first time I’d seen Beale like that.”

Connor Ryan

Silky O’Sullivan’s patio

He returned to Beale the next night with his Canon 5D Mark IV camera. “I was like, ‘Well, I think this might be the only time in my life Beale will be like this. At least I hope it is. I’m going to go get some pictures with everything closed down so maybe in 50 years or something, when people are talking about this whole situation again, they’ll be able to look and see how Beale Street was affected by the shutdown.’

“It’s the only place in Memphis that’s always got something going on; that’s always got people. So when you contrast a place like that that’s always busy to when it’s completely empty, it really shows the impact of COVID.”

Connor Ryan

Alfred’s on Beale (shot through a window)

The first photo Ryan took was the “No Live Bands Wash Ya Hands” sign on the Blues City Band Box bar marquee. “I walked over to A. Schwab. You know, it’s open all the time no matter what. It was closed down. “

Connor Ryan

A. Schwab

Silky O’Sullivan’s was “completely dead.”

Ryan took about 100 photos. “Not normal” was the best way to describe the experience, he says. “It was like things aren’t right right now. I really saw how it was affecting our normal lives. It was like crazy how the world can change so quickly because of a disease we can’t even see with our own eyes. And, also, how it’s attacking people’s jobs and medical care and people are dying from it.”

When he was in high school at St. Benedict at Auburndale, Ryan played guitar. He wanted to join a band, but that never happened. He began shooting videos after he graduated with a degree in finance from University of Memphis. He made a few “daily blogs” about what he was doing during the day. “One of the videos was just me skateboarding on the Greenline. And I tried to make it look cinematic and all that.”

Connor Ryan

Connor Ryan

He also made travel videos, including one about a trip to New Orleans, and tutorial videos about photography. Video led to still photography. “I started taking pictures of my cat, Milo. Him and then my car. I had a 1995 Honda Accord, so it wasn’t the greatest car ever. I took pictures of my girlfriend at the time. Things I was basically seeing in my everyday life.


“And then about six months into doing that I started going to Downtown Memphis more and taking pictures down there. People were like, ‘Oh, I like that picture …’ I spread my reach with Memphis pictures. People can share those. And everyone loves pictures of the bridge. So, it’s easy to get attention with them.”

A credit analyst with First Horizon bank, Ryan shoots photos on “nights, weekends, lunchtime.”

He recently began doing commercial real estate shoots, but, he says, “Making artistic photos is probably my main focus.”

Reactions to his Beale Street photos range from “powerful” to “iconic,” Ryan says. People are “usually pretty surprised” when he shows them the photos.

Ryan isn’t going to limit his photos to Beale Street. “I might go down to Tom Lee now since they closed that off. I’ll probably go around South Main, too. Shoot what I can.”

Asked if his photographs might be exhibited one day, Ryan says, “I think a book might be

appropriate. Not a show. Just a book of Memphis during the Corona virus.”

Connor Ryan

Timothy Kane

Connor Ryan

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Opinion The Last Word

Hold My Beer!

We really dodged a bullet that the upcoming holiday is St. Patrick’s Day and not Cinco de Mayo. Can you imagine the chaos if we were drinking Corona instead of Guinness this week? I told a coworker that I refused to think people are so stupid that they would believe the beer had anything to do with the Coronavirus. 

My co-worker said, “Hold my beer.”

The truth is, while reports emerged of Corona beer sales falling, it was only half the truth. All beer sales dropped, according to one fact-checking website. You’d almost believe the general public would drink more during a time of crisis. Apparently the general public opted to stock up on sanitizer, toilet paper, and water instead of alcohol. Are we maturing as a nation during times of crisis? Pfft. Don’t be silly.

Though on the subject of public panic, I’ve seen some pretty weird reactions. Take the end-of-the-world crisis predicted for 2012 by the Mayans, for example. My brother lovingly and thoughtfully gifted his whole family gas masks. Not the cheap ones either. These gas masks looked military issued grade A, sturdy as hell with all the bells and whistles.

My only thought was, “If you wankers are going to repopulate the Earth, I opt out.”

During the same time period, a friend took me for coffee and laid out a plan to move to Idaho. He felt — for reasons unknown to me or anyone, really — Idaho would be immune to global flooding due to magnetic shifts and whatnot. When I told him that I thought some 90-year-old Mayan woman tasked with chiseling the Mayan calendar out of stone had just simply gotten tired and quit around about the date December 20, 2012, he took me to the movie 2012 to back up his argument. It was his $22.50. I saw a free movie. 

Feeling the movie would sway my outlandish belief that the world would survive past 2012, he invited me join him in Idaho and build a new world.

Again, my only thought was, “If wankers like you are going to repopulate the Earth, I opt out,” followed by the spoken words, “No thanks. I don’t like potatoes.” Which is a damn lie. I love spuds.

Speaking of spuds, the Irish holiday looming before us will get special attention by those who want to use it as an excuse to act immaturely. According to Wallet Hub, Chicago is the best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I find this hard to believe. I’ve been to Beale Street for the Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade. Not only does Beale celebrate the Irish community, but they also have an annual raising of the goat. Raised goats are pretty cool. I don’t remember it, but my Uber receipt is proof. It will hold up in a court of law.

By the way, PSA: You don’t want to end up in a court of law. Uber if you are going to drink green beer and watch raised goats on Beale. If you must go to Chicago, it’s close enough to drive so that you aren’t accidentally served Corona on a plane by hordes of strangers who may potentially have pesky virus germs.

Also according to Wallet Hub, 57 percent of Americans plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 2020 and will spend $6.16 billion, roughly 10 times the amount Mike Bloomberg spent on his campaign to sway the American Samoa caucus in his favor. This has nothing to do with leprechauns and such, but while we’re doing math, might as well point out an election year fact.

The average partier will spend $43; 79 percent of them will wear green. Fifty pounds of green dye will be used to turn the Chicago River green for five hours while 400,000 onlookers gawk at the process. I guess when you don’t have a Beale Street and a Silky O’Sullivan’s in your back pocket, you rely on garish marketing antics. In fact, Chicago has relied on this particular antic since 1962.

Another presidential fun fact, the crystal ball of shamrocks will be given to the POTUS by Ireland’s prime minister again this year. Which will promptly be put to good use as the table centerpiece for the annual POTUS St. Patrick’s Day meal, Big Mac with a side of fries.

Getting back on track, people are stupid. And it’s St. Patrick’s Day this week, so let’s celebrate with a nice room-temperature Guinness wearing an overpriced paper face mask surrounded by all the wankers out there who want to repopulate the Earth after (insert current reason to panic here).

Julie Ray is the Flyer calendar editor and author of the Five Things To Do This Weekend in Memphis weekly web post for Memphis magazine.

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Barbara Blue Live at Silky O’Sullivans

The reigning queen of Beale Street will be recognized this Friday with a brass note on the Beale Street Walk of Fame. Barbara Blue has been at it for a while now, releasing 11 albums throughout the course of her career, in addition to playing on Beale Street five nights a week. Blue will join Elvis, Robert Johnson, and Justin Timberlake (along with many others) on the walk of fame, and to celebrate she will be officially releasing her latest album, Sweet, Strong, and Tight.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Blue visited Memphis in 1997 and paid $5 to sing with the famous dueling pianists at Silky O’Sullivans. Silky liked what he heard so much that he hired Blue on the spot, and she became a regular performer weeks after. Eighteen years later, Blue can still be found at Silky’s, playing original songs that are influenced by female vocalists ranging from Janis Joplin to Etta James.

Barbara Blue

Produced by Boo Mitchell, Sweet, Strong, and Tight is a collection of 13 tracks that definitely prove Blue belongs on the Walk of Fame. The Beale Street performer has claimed to know more than 3,000 songs, but she picked some of her best for her latest album, and tracks like “Rudy’s Blues,” “Rolling up on Me,” and “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” definitely capture the essence of what it means to be a legendary Beale Street performer. On the title track “Sweet, Strong, and Tight,” Blue claims to be the cure for a strong hangover, something she’s probably witnessed first-hand when dealing with the Silky’s crowd on a Sunday morning.

With Blue performing two shows Friday night and all the Blues Hall of Fame events happening this weekend, it’s a good time to have the blues in Memphis.