The grand re-opening party for Young Avenue Sound, which was held September 25th, was a great Memphis music night. And it capped off a music weekend that included Gonerfest 19, which was having its after-party at Bar DKDC the same night.
I loved running into old friends I hadn’t seen in a long time at the studio at 2258 Young Avenue.
I got to hear Dylan Dunn sing and play guitar, along with Ryan Peel on drums and Rhyan Tindall on bass. What a great voice. Ditto to Ava Carrington, whose performance I heard on a video taken at the party. She’s fabulous, too. I had to leave for a while to attend the birthday cookout for my two-year-old great nephew, Bennett Michael Kerley, but I came back. The party was too much fun.
And I even sat down at the piano and played some late ‘20s type jazz renditions of music. Not something that probably is heard too often at Young Avenue Sound. I actually sat down more than once. Un-asked.
The public was invited to tour the studio and also view the short-term rentals, which are on the order of Airbnbs. And John Michael, who recently moved to Memphis from Santa Monica, California, was on hand at the new 96X FM studio, which he is setting up inside Young Avenue Sound.
Taylor Berger of Two Broke Bartenders, and Elliott Ives, a songwriter/co-producer and a longtime studio and touring guitarist with Justin Timberlake, bought Young Avenue Sound on Valentine’s Day 2022, along with some partners, including including Scott Bartlett from Saving Abel.
Guests toured the new studios, which included an editing suite that’s an homage to the late Leo Goff III, who was Yo Gotti’s engineer for 19 years. Goff’s mother, Jill Goff, was at the open house.
I like what Ives told me about Young Avenue Sound in a previous interview: “My ultimate goal is to eventually make Memphis better than a C+ market by bringing a viable music business infrastructure back to where we can provide our home-grown talent with the power and global reach that it deserves.”
And I like what Scott Bartlett told me the day after the party: “I feel like we’re making great strides. We’ve kept all the flavor and history of the building while adding a modern twist. And this is just the beginning.”
High Limit Room at Gold Strike
I attended another grand re-opening of a beautiful place on September 14th in Tunica, Mississippi. I was at the unveiling of Gold Strike Casino Resort’s $4-million dollar High Limit Room.
According to the press release from Gold Strike, the High Limit Room gaming area was “newly renovated and expanded.”
And, it says, it includes “111 high-limit slot machines and nine table games, including two Baccarat tables.”
Also, the High Limit Room includes “exclusive cage and credit services, dedicated cocktail service, and a VIP lounge.”
A quote in the release from Kelly Askosua Kena, principal at DESMOTIF Studios, says, “The character of the space is timeless and defined by its use of clean lines and the rich materials used combine for an impressive visual impact.”
Gold Strike general manager Max Fisher, cut the ribbon to signify the opening of the High Limit Room.
