Mardis Gras just made its happy noise, the nation’s ultimate pre-Lenten celebration.
While you’ll have to wait till next year to partake in another party this large, don’t despair. In another couple of months, Beale Street begins where the Big Easy left off.
The Beale Street Music Festival is set for April 29, 30, and May 1, not terribly far up the Mississippi in another mecca of American music: Memphis.
Over the years the festival has had featured the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Ray Charles. This year’s line-up isn’t bad either. John Mellenkamp, Greg Allman, and Stone Temple Pilots are just a few of the folks who’ll perform into the Memphis night. Jerry Lee Lewis is even back in town.
If you imbibe The Blues, there’s no place on earth you’d rather be this spring. Last time Cheapflights checked, general admission tickets to the festival were running $36 for Sunday May 1.
Memphis, like New Orleans, is real. Ersatz is out, plastic proscribed. If the music is authentic, so’s the food. Veggies play second fiddle to pork in this place, and the bars are legendary. Among the best are Silky O’sullivan’s, where Barbara Blue (a local legend in her own right) sings deep into southern the night. B.B. King’s Blues Club isn’t bad either.
While it’s a magnet for Blue’s buffs, know that the comparatively small confines fill up fast. New Orleans’ famed Pat O’Brien’s has an offshoot in Memphis nowadays, replete with world-famous Hurricane libation. In search of something more sedate? While not on Beale Street, The Peabody Hotel is worth a side trip. Locals know this is where the celebs congregate. Drinks are a bit pricey, but the ambience is authentically Memphis.
Where else can you witness a parade of well-mannered ducks waddle across the lobby?
Looking for a side trips just before the festival that are cheap or free? Here are some ideas:
Think pink: Southern Americana takes center stage at the Pink Palace Museum – from a shrunken head to a model Piggly Wiggly food store, and mammoth model circus. Admission is free from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays.
See ghosts: Ghost River Brewery hosts free tours Saturdays at 1 p.m. taste all the brews you will, but you have to RSVP in advance.
Head south: The Center for Southern Folklore is fabulous, the epicenter for all things homemade and Southern. Music abounds, and so does story telling. Admission is always free.
The folks who put on The Beale Street Music Festival offer these tips for making the most of the weekend:
Be mindful of clothing: Wear mud boots. It rains almost every year. Buy T—shirts in advance to save money.
Chow down at Texas De Brazil, one of hippest eateries. A meal will run about $50 a person, but it’s worth it. The place is just off Beale.
Get a room near Beale Street. The proximity’s worth it. While discounted hotel rates don’t abound around Festival time, there are some close—and reasonable—rooms to be had nearby. Consider the Hampton Inn Beale Street, the Holiday Inn Select, and the Sleep Inn Court Square.
Story by Jerry Chandler
