Tag: Tommy Peters

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We Saw You: Local Performers Honored at The Tommy Awards

Julien Salley, Lafayette's Music Room general manager, and Michael Donahue at The Tommy Awards

Tommy Peters probably would have vetoed the idea of having an awards show named after him.

The late businessman’s daughter Bethany Peters Stooksberry told me after he died, “He has a brass note on Beale he never wanted to accept. He never wanted to be in the media. He wasn’t very ostentatious.”

But I think Peters would have loved The Tommy Awards, a show honoring local performers, that was held March 20th at Lafayette’s Music Room.

Between 400 and 500 attended the event — a benefit for the Memphis Music Hall of Fame — that featured 15 acts and 22 awards, says Julien Salley, general manager of Lafayette’s, which Peters owned.

The awards show “was Paul Moreau’s idea,” Salley says. “I’m a marketing professional for FedEx now and I’ve been a musician since high school, so, I’ve always been doing both. I’m in three bands: Thumpdaddy, Led Zep’n, and Rock the Boat. I love marketing and I love music. So, the past several years I’ve started merging both passions.”

Shara Layne Matlock and Paul Moreau at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Shara Layne Matlock)

Moreau began doing Merry KISSMAS fundraising concerts two years ago. “We had 12, 15 bands paying nothing but KISS songs.”

He got the idea for the recent awards show after a reading a Facebook post. “A member from one band just made a post on his page out of the blue where he was giving kudos to a guy in another band.”

The post went along the lines of, “I always thought you were good. But you’ve really gone from good to great. And I just want to say that publicly.”

“I read that and it got me to thinking, ‘Hey, there really ought to be a forum, a way for us to celebrate all these hard-working bands in the Mid-South area. They bring so much happiness to others. They have so much talent and work so hard to do it.’”

I thought, “‘Why don’t we celebrate each other together?’ So, I noodled it around a little while. What would really be cool is if we did a Grammy-style awards show.”

He took his idea to Lafayette’s.

“When he came to us, we said, ‘Yes. We’d love to host this awards ceremony,” Salley says. “Paul was showing up at our weekly manager meetings. We were blowing up his phone, email, text. It was constant communication. We partnered with him. Our team and Paul were in non-stop contact for the last three months putting this together.”

“I wasn’t sure what we could call it,” Moreau says. And, he added, “I initially suggested, ‘What if we call it ‘The Julien?’ Like the Oscar.

“I made this silly little image of an Oscar body with Julien’s head on it. But then he kicked it around and he said, ‘You know what would really be cool? If we call the awards ‘The Tommy’ in honor of Tommy Peters, who basically brought Lafayette’s back to life.”

Moreau liked the idea. He’d heard stories of the old Lafayette’s, which opened in 1972 in Overton Square. “I’ve seen pictures from the heyday of Billy Joel and KISS. It must have been a magical place.”

Peters, who died September 5th, 2021, was founder, president, and CEO of Beale Street Blues Company, which includes Lafayette’s Music Room, B. B. King’s Blues Club, and Itta Bena and Moondance restaurants. In Orlando, he owned The Wharf and Lizzie’s BBQ. In Montgomery, Alabama, he owned B. B. King’s Blues Club, Lucille, and Itta Bena in Wind Creek Casino. He also owned B. B. Kings Blues Clubs in the Holland American Cruise Lines.

 “Tommy Peters wasn’t your typical leader,” Salley says. “He was a high-energy visionary that led from the front. Every day with him was exciting because we were always after something new. ‘How can we improve our live music program?’ ‘What new opportunities exist in the market?’ ‘What can we do to shake things up in Memphis?’ These were questions he was constantly asking.”

They used a few of the “guitar drop elements” from the Beale Street New Year’s Eve events at The Tommy Awards. These included the Sky Tracker, which flashed lights across the sky. Arriving guests were photographed on the black carpet runway. “Black is a little more rock and roll than a red carpet,” Salley says.

During one point, Loeb Properties president Bob Loeb introduced Peters’s daughters Bethany Peters Stooksberry and Sara Fay Egan, and Peters’s granddaughter, Grace Egan. 

Sara Fay Egan and Bethany Peters Stooksberry at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)

“We’re going to continue to carry on my dad’s commitment to Memphis,” Stooksberry said, “and his mission to support these musicians that are in this room tonight and this unique sound that can only be found right here.”

Six Feet Thunder did a tribute to Junior Grant, who recently died. They played Queensryche’s “Silent Lucidity.” That showed “just how united the band community in the Memphis area is,” Moreau says. “It was a beautiful moment.

Shawn Few and Shara Layne Matlock hosted the event.

Salley wore a glittering gold lame jacket, which also has a tie-in to Peters. Years ago, Salley had a Lansky Bros. jacket, which he was wearing the night when he had to break up a fight between two guys at Lafayette’s. One of the men left, but the other tried to fight Salley and also threatened to kill him. “I reached down to ball him up a little bit to drag him out,” Salley says.

That’s when the guy tore Salley’s jacket. “I felt it tear from top to bottom on my back. I was livid.”

The story ended when an undercover policeman arrested the guy and took him away. “Tommy felt sorry for me losing the jacket. The following Monday he shows up with this gold jacket.”

Originally Salley says he thought it was a lot of gold, a bit much. “Elvis, Prince, or the Bar-Kays could get away with wearing it, but not me. We wouldn’t be able to bring the lights down low enough for me to walk around in that thing.”

The Tommy Awards was only the second time he’s worn the jacket. Salley says he wore it to honor Peters.

 “I feel like at this point I’ve seen every shape, size, and temperament a boss can have. And Tommy Peters is the best of all of them. It stings that I’ll never be able to repay him for everything he did for me. Every single shift I miss him. The entire team misses him.”

Al Kapone performed at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Richard and Debba Ross and Pat Kerr Tigrett were at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Bob Loeb, right, introduced Tommy Peters’s daughters at The Tommy Awards. With him are Jennifer and Jason D. Williams. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Chris Pietrangelo was at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Geri and Hal Lansky were at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Cheryl Thomas and Helen Stewart were at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Nicole Johnson and Marc Meredith were at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Courtney Griesenauer and Justin Hodges were at The Tommy Awards (Credit: Michael Donahue)
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Businessman Tommy Peters Dies in Orlando

Tommy Peters with B. B. King and Peters's daughter, Bethany Peters Stooksberry

Tommy Peters, 66, a noted businessman, restaurant/club owner, and philanthropist, died Sunday, September 5th, in Orlando, Florida, says his daughter, Bethany Peters Stooksberry.

Peters reportedly contracted Covid-19 in August and had been in the hospital in Orlando for several weeks.

Born in Memphis, Peters was founder, president, and CEO of Beale Street Blues Company, which includes B. B. King’s Blues Club, Lafayette’s Music Room, and Itta Bena and Moondance restaurants. In Orlando, he owned The Wharf and Lizzie’s BBQ. In Montgomery, Alabama, he owned B. B. King’s Blues Club, Lucille, and Itta Bena in Wind Creek Casino. He also owned B. B. King’s Blues Clubs in the Holland American Cruise Lines.

“He has a brass note on Beale he never wanted to accept,” Stooksberry says. “He never wanted to be in the media. He wasn’t very ostentatious.

“My dad got so many awards he never shared with anyone because he was so humble.”

Her dad also was on the cover of his alma mater Memphis University School’s “U Today” magazine in 2020. He was dubbed “Master of Vibe.”

Peters graduated from University of Mississippi at Oxford. He began his career as an accountant and later a venture capitalist before his love of music led him to open B. B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street, which was “vital in the revitalization of Beale Street,” says his daughter Sara Fay Egan.

“Just going on Beale Street, [people would come up and say] ‘Your dad saved my life,’” Stooksberry says. “He loved his employees. He took care of his employees.”

“Dad created this community 30 years ago and has revitalized downtown and Overton Square,” says his daughter, Grace Peters. “He had a passion for music and a passion for helping others. Our best memories with dad always revolved around music.”

And, Egan says, “We feel strongly that we would like to continue our father’s legacy and continue everything that he started and built. We will continue to do so in his honor.”

In addition to his three daughters, Peters leaves his wife Liz Peters,  and a host of grandchildren. Joan Heflin is his former wife.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Moondance Grill Will Open Thursday, September 12th

CREDIT: MIchael Donahue

MIchael Donahue

Moondance Grill

Michael Donahue

Moondance Grill

Coinciding with a near full moon, Moondance Grill, a new Germantown restaurant, will open September 12th. Taking some liberties with Van Morrison’s lyrics, it should be a marvelous night for a “Moondance.”


But the restaurant, which will open at 11 a.m., will also serve lunch and dinner well before the moon rises.

“Cozy,” “warm,” with a “nice mellow vibe,” is how Tommy Peters describes the restaurant he and his wife, Liz, and the Beale Street Blues Co. are opening at 1730 Germantown Parkway. Tommy is president of Beale Street Blues Co., which owns Itta Bena, the restaurant above B. B. King’s Blues Club, and Lafayette’s Music Room in Overton Square.

Tommy’s description is right on the money. Throw in “classy,” too. The restaurant, which is decorated in brown and teal with lots of exposed brick, is elegant and casual at the same time. A painting above a fireplace in the bar area sums up the restaurant. The moonscape includes the Germantown water tower. There also are two people in the painting. “Liz and I dancing to ‘Moondance,’” Tommy says.

The restaurant, located in front of Germantown Performing Arts Center, was named in honor of Morrison, who is Tommy’s favorite artist. He’s seen him in concert 22 times.

Liz says she wanted the restaurant to be “a nice, social bar in Germantown and a place for people to have fun.” They didn’t want it to be formal or too casual, but somewhere in between, she says.

The expansive rectangular bar can seat 32 people, but there’s still an intimate feel. Same goes for the generous booths in one area and the tables in another. Moondance Grill is roomy, but, as Tommy says, cozy. And guests will probably hear “Moondance” played more than once on the digitally-operated Yamaha grand piano in the bar.

Joel LeMay, executive chef, will be in the open kitchen, preparing the fare, which includes pan-seared sand dab, shrimp and grits, grilled salmon, boneless braised short ribs, and some “Moondance”-themed items, including the “Moondance Club,” “Moondance Classic Burger,” and “The Moondance” — a salad made with mixed greens, ham, chicken, bacon, egg, cheddar jack cheese, tomatoes, corn, carrots, garlic roasted croutons, and honey mustard dressing.

Those who’ve eagerly awaited the opening of  Moondance Grill will probably agree with another line in Morrison’s “Moondance”: “And I know now the time is just right.”

Michael Donahue

Moondance Grill

Michael Donahue

Moondance Grill

Michael Donahue

Liz and Tommy Peters at Moondance Grill

Michael Donahue

Moondance Grill

Michael Donahue

Moondance Grill executive chef Joel LeMay and Beale Street Blues Co. corporate chef Oscar Pena.

Michael Donahue

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Moondance Grill Slated to Open Early September in Germantown

Get ready for “Moondance Grill,” a new Germantown restaurant from Liz and Tommy Peters and the Beale Street Blues Co., which brought you Itta Bena, the restaurant above B. B. King’s Blues Club, and Lafayette’s Music Room in Overton Square.

Peters, president of Beale Street Blues Co., came up with the name. “After my favorite artist — Van Morrison,” Tommy says.

The new restaurant, slated to open in early September, is at 1730 Germantown Parkway. The restaurant actually is “on Neshoba off Germantown Parkway,” Tommy says. “In front of Germantown Performing Arts Center.”

“We wanted to have a nice, social bar in Germantown and a place for people to have fun,” Liz says. “We didn’t want it to be stuffy. We didn’t want it to be formal. We didn’t want it to be too casual. But somewhere in between.”

“We can’t ever duplicate Itta Bena,“ Tommy says. But, he adds, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It’s influenced by elements from four or five of our favorite grills across the country.“

The restaurant will feature an oversized bar area with a rectangular bar with 32 seats.

Moondance will have a grand piano, acoustic guitar, and “some saxophone,” Tommy says. “All background music. Quiet music. Everything we do has elements of music to it.”

It will feature an open kitchen, “which we’ve never done before,” Tommy says.


Food will range from “good seafood to steaks and great salads,” he continues.


And a “large small-plate menu,” Liz says.


Moondance will feature a raw bar with a jumbo shrimp cocktail and other items.


All the food is “classic-style” with “good quality,” Tommy says. “Food with simplicity. Real butter. Lemon.”


They don’t plan to change their menu, unless something doesn’t work, Tommy says.

Moondance also will include a 42-seat weatherized patio with air conditioning, heat, and a roof.


So why is Morrison Tommy’s favorite artist? “He is a true artist ,and he plays from his heart and soul for himself,” Tommy says.

Tommy, who’s seen Morrison in concert “probably 22 times,” says Morrison “plays how he feels.”


And why did Tommy choose “Moondance” over other Morrison songs? “If you put that song on, it’s the vibe that I want from this place,” he says, quoting the line, “What a marvelous night for a moon dance.”


“What I do is create subliminal moods through the music,” Tommy says. And, he adds, “If you listen to ‘Moondance,’ that’s the vibe I want every piece of this place to evoke. If you listen to that song and have a glass of wine and you’re seeing people talking around you, it’s sensual. Music is spiritual. And it’s the one medium that can take you back and make you feel.


“People will want to escape and feel great when they’re in our environment. And hopefully get away from their troubles.”