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The Live Music Scene in Memphis With Sun Studio, the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and Graceland all at the heart of Memphis’ musical heritage, one might get the impression that Memphis is not just the Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll, but also their final resting place. The city’s musical heritage may have been built on the past, but it is its present that keeps the city rocking. No place better exemplifies this past-meets-present ideal than Beale Street. The historic center of the Memphis music universe is home to several live music clubs, including Alfred’s and Rum Boogie Café. At the east end of Beale, the New Daisy Theater offers one of the best aural spaces in the entire Mid-South, and a regular tour stop for artists of every musical genre. Complementing Beale is a handful of large concert and symphonic venues, including FedExForum arena and the historic Orpheum Theatre. A constellation of historic neighborhoods with names like Central Gardens, Idlewild and Evergreen, Midtown contains much of the city’s living present: students, artists, writers, doctors, lawyers, families and, of course, musicians. And most, if not all, of these musicians play the Hi-Tone Café, a small hipster bar located across from Overton Park and Memphis College of Art. Hi-Tone Cafe was voted “Best Place to See Live Music” by the Memphis Flyer six years in a row, and pop legend Elvis Costello recorded several intimate live shows here for his recent Club Date: Live In Memphis DVD. At the southern end of Midtown is Young Avenue Deli. Don’t let the name fool you, though; this popular bar/restaurant in the historic Cooper-Young District is a music venue first and foremost, showcasing an array of local and regional rock, pop, punk and alt-country bands. But this is still Memphis, and the blues rule here, including at Wild Bill’s, where you can grab a 40-ounce and a pickled pig foot and hit the dance floor at this off-the-beaten-path juke joint in Midtown. With a house band featuring a constantly rotating lineup of former backup players for, among others, B.B. King and Albert King, this shotgun-style venue is for the true blues explorer. For more information, please contact |
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