Memphis is the Subject of Huge Smithsonian Magazine Story

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:12:59 +0000

Memphis is the subject of a huge story in the Smithsonian Magazine’s May issue.

The story is broad and focuses on the true Memphis experience, one that’s slightly grittier than the bright neon of Beale Street. Reporter Jamie Katz visited landmarks all over the city, from Graceland to Cozy Corner to Goner Records and Cooper Young.

Tad Pierson's Cadillac, Memphis, Tenn.

Katz also took a ride around the city in Tad Pierson’s legendary 1955 Cadillac. Pierson gives tours of some of Memphis’ most out-of-the-way spots, including juke joints, barbecue dives and historical sites.

Read full text of the Smithsonian Magazine article

Memphis the Musical to Launch Tour in Memphis

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:04:38 +0000

When Memphis the Musical begins it’s tour in October of 2011, it’ll be on the stage at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tenn.

It’s the first time in the Orpheum’s history that a Broadway show will launch its tour on their stage. Memphis the Musical is a fitting first. The show will spend about a month at the Orpheum before moving on to other theaters around the country.

Twenty Thousand Tulips in Bloom at the Dixon

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:42:34 +0000

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tenn.

Earlier this year, the horticultural team at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens planted 20,000 tulip bulbs from all 15 types of tulips. There are 35 hybrid species represented, as well as 16 wild species that the gardeners at the Dixon are studying to see if they could grow in the Mid-South.

The tulips started blooming last week and will continue to bloom into mid-April.

View more photos of the Dixon’s tulips in bloom.

Take a Look Inside the New Playhouse on the Square

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:11:57 +0000

There’s been a lot of movement in the Memphis theatre community lately. The old Circuit Playhouse was taken over by Theatreworks and renamed the Evergreen Playhouse. Circuit Playhouse moved to Overton Square. Most notably, Memphis’s only professional, resident theatre, Playhouse on the Square, moved into its new building at the corner of Union and Cooper.

Inside the new Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, Tenn.

Playhouse’s intimate new theater opened in January. None of the 347 seats in the spacious, concrete and wood theater are more than 10 rows (30 feet) from the edge of the stage.

The new theater and office building are home to Memphis’ only professional resident theater company. The new Playhouse also serves as the midtown home of Ballet Memphis.

The new theater also is home to rehearsal space, costume and set shops and the company’s offices. There’s also a spacious lobby with a bar, and a cafe that will one day be fully functional. On the roof, there’s a sound-proofed roof garden that can be rented out for parties.

Right now, the Playhouse company is staging “Frost / Nixon”, a drama about the television interviews between journalist David Frost and President Richard Nixon. Check out Playhouse on the Square’s Web site for a full schedule of Playhouse’s productions.

Visit:

Playhouse on the Square

66 S. Cooper

Memphis, TN 38104

View more photos of Playhouse on the Square

View more photos of the new Playhouse on the Square

Memphis Musicians Head to South By Southwest

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:56:50 +0000

Every year, thousands of people from all over the world head to Austin, Texas for the South By Southwest Interactive, Film and Music conference. The Memphis Music Foundation and the Convention and Visitors Bureau work to send some of the best Memphis musicians to the festival to gain exposure for the city.

Writer Rachel Hurley has a preview of the Memphis bands heading to the conference next week.

If you’re unfamiliar with South by Southwest, the 23-year-old music showcase and conference that has become the Mecca for anyone connected to the music business, the easiest way to describe it is Rock ‘n Roll Spring Break.

Imagine the streets of downtown Austin filled with hipsters and punkers, writers and tweeters, bookers and radio programmers, fat cat label reps and wide-eyed bloggers, all walking around looking disheveled, confused and a little bit overwhelmed, music blaring from every direction. Its four days filled with fantastic new music discoveries, free booze, garbage cans filled with business cards and way too many breakfast burritos. And maybe, if you’re lucky, a connection that can spark a career. Every March, as soon as the first buds begin to bloom in Texas, 1400 musicians from all across the globe pack their bags and head to the city whose slogan is, “Keep Austin Weird.”

Memphis musicians have been a big part of the festival for the past few years, culminating with the largest number of Memphians playing the event in 2009 with both an official showcase from the Memphis Music Foundation and several Memphis-centric day parties.

Lucero, Amy Lavere and the late Jay Reatard all have made great strides in their careers through connections made at this widely respected music event. However, this year a much smaller group of musicians from Memphis will be attending and playing the conference. The recession and the current state of the music industry has made it harder and harder for musicians to pull together the resources to travel to Austin to participate in showcases – most of which is done on their own dime.

This year the official performers from our fair city are Cory Branan, Ben Nichols, Harlan T. Bobo, Hill Country Revue, 8Ball and MJG, Lord T and Eloise, Star and Micey, River City Tanlines, Magic Kids, Lucero and a very special performance from Big Star to commemorate the release of their quintessential box set Keep an Eye on the Sky.

So why is it important to play SXSW? With over 12,000 people registered just in the music portion of the conference (SXSW has added film and interactive conferences in the week that lead up to the music portion), it’s a fantastic place to network and get heard by writers, radio programmers, show promoters, and people who book tours and festivals.

Of course, it’s also a great place to be seen by people who are simply fans of music, both new and old. The festival sells about 12,000 wristbands to the general public for between $130 and $160 which usually sell out within hours. The wristbands are so hard to come by, only the most devout music fans usually have the stamina to stand in the long lines to obtain one.

Plus, the wristbands allow entrance – but don’t guarantee admission to the official showcases. This might seem like a deterrent to some, but with the plethora of corporate sponsored free events featuring the most talked about new bands and a lot of very well received reunions, visitors to Austin still seem to get a fair bang for their buck and more free swag than they can manage to carry.

“I think SXSW can be important, because any kind of interaction or connecting with other music people, regardless of how inane it can sometimes seem at the time, can end up being the beginning of something good,” says Roy Berry, drummer for Lucero. “Even things as simple as meeting a band you like and partying together could end up later becoming a tour together. A lot of what happens in the music world is arbitrary like that.”

It’s also a fantastic place to go to be inspired by other musicians.

“You may meet or hear the person or artist who gives you the advice that may completely change the way you live musically” says Josh Cosby, lead singer of Star & Micey.

As the conference has grown, more and more musicians have started to complain that it has lost the authentic vibe it once had. There are several mythical stories of bands that were touted as the next big thing in music only to fall back into obscurity by the next year – anyone heard from Tapes & Tapes lately?

Some even say that the festival has become more about selling jeans and cell phones than cultivating good music. The festival makes the performers choose between being paid an amount that would barely cover a nice meal for all the members or a few passes to the showcases that they can share. And then there’s the parking problem.

Of course, you have to take the good with the bad, there is no perfect system and there is still plenty to look forward to.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting up with fellow Memphis artists/friends in a weird Texas town (Austin)” says Dan Coburn, singer for Hill Country Revue, the side-project of Cody Dickinson of the Grammy nominated North Mississippi Allstars. “When this occurs, good times soon follow. Every family needs a reunion.”

“I look forward to running into bands and friends and people I know on the streets of Austin or at shows; that and getting to see/hear and supporting tons of good music, some of which I may not have ever heard before” says Berry. “I am NOT looking forward to finding parking and wrangling gear at SXSW. It’s little bit of a hassle, but all of the shows we play have that hassle to some degree; nothing new there.”

On Anyone Else, The Clothes Would Have Looked Silly

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:46:51 +0000

Everyone knows that Elvis Presley was a snappy dresser onstage. From the beginning of his career (the pink shirts with black pants) to the end (the jumpsuits, 88 in all), Elvis had a style all his own.

Elvis Presley: Fashion King at Graceland

The new “Elvis Presley: Fashion King” exhibit at Graceland features some of the most incredible pieces from Elvis’ private wardrobe. There are custom shirts, a fringed vest, patchwork jackets, suits and accessories (think hats, jewelry and guns – Elvis considered guns accessories).

Many of the clothes in the exhibit were pieces custom made for the King by his favorite clothiers, like Memphis’s Lansky Brothers. They made the black and white fur coat (with matching hat) that’s on display.

Elvis Presley: Fashion King, at Graceland until 2012

Some of the more famous items from Elvis’ wardrobe are included. There’s a pair of blue suede ankle boots, as well as the original TCB ring made by Lowell Hayes. The ring is currently on the media tour for the exhibit, but it’ll be back in the display case soon.

The clothing on display is just a small handful of Elvis’ total wardrobe. In all, Graceland has more than 3,000 pieces of clothing, pairs of shoes and accessories that once belonged to Elvis.

The exhibit will be on display at Graceland until 2012.

Courtyard by Marriott Opens in Downtown Memphis

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:04:23 +0000

Downtown’s newest hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott, has opened across from Court Square.

In the lobby of the new downtown Memphis Courtyard by Marriott

The hotel is the first one in Memphis to be built with Marriott’s “refreshing business” concept. The spacious lobby has a full-service bistro that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plenty of space for sitting and working, and private booths with TVs that are equipped with laptop and iPod ports.

The Courtyard also has a large workout room, guest laundry machines and a completely genius computer where guests can print their boarding passes for flights. There’s also plenty of meeting space. There are two boardrooms, a large conference hall that holds 120, and a media room that’s perfect for meetings (or movie screenings).

Guest room at the downtown Courtyard

The Courtyard has 131 guest rooms, all decorated with luxe furniture and muted colors. Some of the rooms have balconies, and all have ports to hook laptops, iPods and more to the TVs. Since Courtyard was designed with business travelers in mind, it’s also got free wireless internet.

The Courtyard is located directly across from Court Square in the center of downtown. It’s about a 15 minute walk (or short trolley ride) to Beale Street, and a five minute walk to the Cook Convention Center.

Stay there:

Courtyard by Marriott – Downtown Court Square

75 Jefferson Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 522-4433

View more photos of the Courtyard by Marriott

LeBonheur Team Returns from Earthquake Relief in Haiti

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:51:10 +0000

A volunteer medical team from LeBonheur Children’s Hospital traveled to Haiti to provide care for victims of January earthquake.

Mayor A.C. Wharton honors LeBonheur's Haiti team

The team of seven surgeons, anesthesiologists and orthopedists volunteered their time and clinical skills to work with children at Haiti’s Scared Heart hospital. On Tuesday, they were honored at a reception at LeBonheur.

The team performed surgeries, dressed wounds, and provided much needed care without the benefit of all of the technology available at hospitals in the U.S. “It gave us a very important perspective on life. Your clinical skills are all you can rely on,” said Sunny Anand, LeBonheur’s cheif of critical care.

The team was assisted by businesses throughout Memphis. FedEx donated the plane that took the team (and 40 thousand pounds of supplies) to Haiti. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital contributed medication, AT&T waived cell phone roaming charges for the team, and the players and coaches of the Memphis Grizzlies donated $50 thousand to fund the trip.

“[Memphis] is a city that cares,” said Mayor A.C. Wharton at the reception. “It’s a city that cares not only those that call it home, but for anyone in need.”

Haringey Young Musicians Come to Memphis

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:13:25 +0000

Haringey Young Musicans watch a film about Beale St. at the Center for Southern Folklore

The UK’s Haringey Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, Stage Band, Big Band, and Dancers are visiting Memphis this week to learn about the city’s musical and cultural history and to share music with area students.

The group includes 95 students and their 17 chaperones who will be in Memphis until February 21st. The Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau helped them plan their visits to many of Memphis’s major cultural and musical landmarks. When I asked what their favorite parts of the trip had been, they mentioned the National Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street, Bellevue Baptist Church and Graceland.

Filling up on Southern staples at the Center for Southern Folklore

Last night, the group gathered at the Center for Southern Folklore to listen to music, watch a short film about Beale Street produced by the Center, and eat a traditional Southern meal of lemon chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, cornbread and peach cobbler. Several of the students (and parents) noted that the food at the Center for Southern Folklore was the best food they’ve had since they arrived in Memphis.

The Haringey Young Musicians will be performing tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Douglas High School and Thursday, February 18, at the Orpheum Theatre at 7 p.m.

Free Things to Do in Memphis

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:06:37 +0000

Memphis is an incredibly affordable city – the cost of living is low, food is inexpensive, and many of the city’s great attractions have a free day during the week.

Check out these attractions on their free days:

- National Civil Rights Museum: See the Civil Rights Museum for free on Mondays between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

- Brooks Museum of Art: Check out the Brooks’ permanent collection of impressionist, renaissance, baroque and 20th century art for free on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, Tenn.

- Memphis Botanic Gardens: The botanic gardens are a great place to relax and see some beautiful and exotic plants and flowers. Kids will love the new “My Big Backyard” area – it’s got playhouses, sculptural gardens, a treehouse, and a wading creek. The gardens are free on Wednesdays from 12 p.m. – close.

- Pink Palace Museum: Learn about the natural and cultural history of the Mid-South from the Pink Palace’s permanent collection, and check out their special exhibits for free on Thursdays from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

- Memphis Zoo: Memphis’s world-class zoo is free to Tennessee residents on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Mud Island River Park, Memphis, Tenn.

- Mud Island River Park: Walk across the pedestrian bridge over the Wolf River and check out Mud Island River Park’s scale model of the Mississippi river. The park is free and open between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

- Rock’n'Soul Museum: The Rock’n'Soul Museum gives a great overview of the time, town, and talent that created gospel, rock’n'roll and soul music. The museum is free to Shelby County residents on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.

For more free things to do in Memphis, check this list.