The Beale Street Music Festival is back after two years away, but not without some slight changes to this year’s event. The festival will not be held at Tom Lee Park or on Beale Street. Instead, the festival is venturing onto tiger territory to a venue close to locals’ hearts.
This year’s festival will be held at the Memphis Fairgrounds, a familiar spot for University of Memphis students and Memphis Tigers fans. When factoring in three stages, a Ferris wheel, tents, and food vendors, the festival will cover most of the Memphis Fairgrounds, including Liberty Park and Tiger Lane.
Due to ongoing renovations at Tom Lee Park, where the festival has been held since 1996, the Fairgrounds will serve as a temporary venue until the renovations are completed in April 2023.
Other Memphis in May activities, such as the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, will also take place at Liberty Park. However, the Great American River Run Half Marathon & 5K will continue to be held downtown.
“There’s not very many locations in Memphis that can accommodate the footprint size that we use for our large-scale events,” said Randy Blevins, the vice president of marketing and programming for Memphis in May.
In previous years, the festival has seen crowds of up to 100,000 people throughout the weekend, so it was essential to find a venue that showcased Memphis and could accommodate the event’s size.
“Everyone knows where the Liberty Bowl is,” Blevins said.
While this venue was not chosen solely with college students in mind, the proximity to campus was strategic.
“We always want to attract the college crowd,” said Blevins. We invite everyone to participate in Memphis in May activities, no matter where they are.”
Blevins claimed that 50 to 60% of ticket buyers for Beale Street Music Fest will travel in from 200 miles away. He also said that the demographic of ticket buyers generally covers 30 to 40 states and several foreign countries.
“People come in from around the world to attend,” Blevins said.
Students from the University of Memphis weighed in on this year’s venue.
“For students living on campus or in apartments close-by, the drive is much closer and more convenient than the 20-minute drive downtown,” said Autumn Lee, a senior journalism student.
“I just recently moved to Memphis, so this is the first time the festival has taken place since I’ve been here,” said Christian Walden, a senior journalism student. “I’m leaning towards going, but I’m trying to find someone to go with me.”
Walden, who has embraced Midtown as his new home, expressed his familiarity and comfort with this year’s venue.
“I’ve been to Tiger Lane more than I’ve been downtown, so I’m automatically more comfortable there,” said Walden. “I think more people will go this year, especially since it’s closer to campus.”
Lee admitted that although she wanted to go, mainly to see Megan Thee Stallion perform, the ticket prices were “too high” for her college student budget.
While the festival does not give student discounts on tickets, they offer an early bird deal: a three-day pass for $145. However, these tickets are limited and must be purchased six months in advance.
“We certainly want to make our events as affordable as possible,” Blevins said. “When you look at the Beale Street Music Festival in comparison with other festivals across the country, we are an incredible bargain.”
This year’s lineup includes Megan Thee Stallion, Van Morrison, Weezer, Lil Wayne, The Smashing Pumpkins, and more. The Foo Fighters were scheduled to headline Friday night but have since canceled due to the sudden death of the band’s drummer, James Taylor.
“We are very excited to get back. The Beale Street Music Festival is one of the largest events that happens in this city. We’re a music city, and our fans have missed it. We’re expecting it to be very big.”
The festival begins on Friday, April 29, and lasts through Sunday, May 1. VIP, three-day, and daily passes are still available for purchase online.
The University Center displays an advertisement for this year’s Beale Street Music Festival, which will take place at Liberty Park in Midtown at the end of April // Photo: Stevie Paige
