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THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com
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DEAD MALL
Oak Court Mall got the “dead mall tour” from YouTuber eMallFox recently. It’s packed with nostalgia, including perfect ‘90s-era smooth jazz. It’s also packed with history, including the fact that the mall was so named because it was built near a 200-year-old oak tree, according to eMallFox. H/t to u/ MomentClassic6309 on Reddit.
ACCIDENTAL ART
A digital photograph titled “Lost Dog in a Coat at Applebee’s on Union” is a masterful example of Midtown genre art captured by u/ HeyItsExactly8Bees on Reddit. Another masterpiece is the top comment by u/B1gR1g: “He’s just there for the dollaritas.”
{WEEK THAT WAS
By Flyer staff
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
Same Sex Marriage, Ford, & Mt. Carmel
GOP targets Obergefell, Ford goes gas, and a cemetery gets some love.
SAME SEX MARRIAGE
Legislation dampening federal rules on gay marriage in Tennessee passed the Tennessee House last week.
Opponents call it the ”Anti-Obergefell Bill,” relating to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows same-sex marriage nationwide.
e Tennessee bill would allow private citizens and groups to sidestep the national rule, not requiring them to recognize same-sex unions as marriages. It would protect attorneys from retribution from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility if they choose to not o ciate a same-sex wedding.
e rebranded Tennessee Truck Plant, formerly the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center
“ is is a bill that does not change existing law — it simply clari es existing law,” Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) said. “It provides that the Fourteenth Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) interpretation of that amendment in its Obergefell v. Hodges’ decision in 2015 are not binding on private citizens.”
Bulso said the bill does not deny equal protection by the state to anyone.
Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said if Bulso had a disagreement with the SCOTUS precedent, he should challenge it in the courts, not through violating the Constitution.
WHO TO FOLLOW
Duke’s Reels about Memphis are hilariously real. e one above is “how Memphis dudes walk out the store.”
Another is “how MLGW watching everybody accounts during the storm.” Follow. ank us later.
“We do not have the authority to do what we’re trying to do here today,” Clemmons said.
e Tennessee Equality Project said, “attacking the recognition of people’s marriages is one of the worst ways for the Tennessee House to spend its time. Hate won today, but those of us ghting for love and our families will prevail here or in the courts.”
FORD SHIFTS GEARS
e newly branded Tennessee Truck Plant (formerly the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center) is expected to begin production on gas-powered Built Ford Tough truck models in 2029, according to a spokesperson.
Ford employed 80 people at its facility as of midDecember, Ford spokesperson Jessica Enoch told Tennessee
Lookout on Dec. 17. e company anticipates employing about 2,300 people there, with signi cant hiring to begin closer to the start of production. Equipment will be installed at the plant to support gas-powered truck assembly.
“Ford remains deeply committed to West Tennessee and our substantial investments in the region,” the spokesperson stated. “Our agreements are designed to foster long-term economic growth and job creation, and our strategy shi is intended to ensure the sustained viability of these facilities and the jobs they create.”
A factory there will manufacture batteries for Ford under a supply agreement and SK On plans to supply batteries to other customers, including those for use in energy storage systems. Commercial production at the battery plant is now expected to begin in 2028.
CLEANING UP MT. CARMEL
Last week, volunteers cleaned up historic Mt. Carmel Cemetery, the resting place of Tom Lee.
Samuel Oldham, a Mt. Carmel Ally board member, said his group became a nonpro t in 2023 but cleanups on the site go back as far as 2014. Mt. Carmel Ally has scheduled routine maintenance such as grass-cutting and landscaping to keep the cemetery “passable” between community cleanups.
Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report.
Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
PHOTO: CASSANDRA STEPHERSON | TENNESSEE LOOKOUT
{ ENVIRONMENT
By Kailynn Johnson
Fighting xAI in Mississippi
Locals
E
nvironmental and advocacy groups urged the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to deny xAI’s air permit for its Southaven Facility.
On Tuesday, members of Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP); the Memphis Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Young, Gi ed, and Green; and Southaven’s Safe and Sound Coalition held a press conference at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Southaven, prior to MDEQ’s public hearing that night regarding the construction of 41 natural gas- red combustion turbines at the power plant located at 2875 Stanton Road.
cited in the study, said.
SELC said Whitehaven, Horn Lake, Westwood, and Southaven communities would be impacted the most by the pollution.
e NAACP called the company’s plans a “civil rights issue,” as opposed to a permitting one, in a letter sent to MDEQ o cials. e letter was signed by Abre’ Conner, director of the NAACP Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, and asked MDEQ to deny the dra permit.
Explore the intimate Songs of a Wayfarer, the triumphant Symphony No 1, and the heavenly vision of Symphony No 4
Music Director Robert Moody guides you through the mind of a composer who poured his soul into ever y note This performance will feature a special guest collaboration with Opera Memphis and a post-show coda of cocktails at the cash bar with Maestro Moody and the performers
“It is imperative that the Permit Board disapprove the Permit because both MDEQ and the community must understand the full impact of the MZX Tech and xAI site’s operations on air quality and address that impact as required by the Clean Air Act and Mississippi law,” the letter said.
“MDEQ and our public o cials need to put our communities before big-tech expansion,” Shannon Samsa, a representative from the Safe and Sound Coalition, said during a press conference on Tuesday. “ e MDEQ permit board has the authority to deny this permit, and they must deny this permit.”
Leaders not only asked MDEQ to deny xAI’s permit, but stressed the shared impact of xAI’s expansion. Many DeSoto County residents have been vocal about their opposition to xAI, and have also made noise-pollution complaints about the turbines.
Samsa said the noise has worsened since August and has caused sleep disruptions among nearby residents, adding that many have experienced migraines and other health issues as a result of the noise.
e Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) recently released a study showing that the proposed methane gas turbines could “worsen regional air pollution and cause tens of millions of dollars in annual health damages.”
Samsa said the health assessment should have been commissioned prior to the building of the power plant, rather than putting the burden on the community.
“Our analysis shows that operating 41 gas turbines in Southaven would worsen ne-particle pollution in vulnerable communities that are already near or above federal air quality standards and could result in $30 million to $44 million in annual health damages,” Michael Cork, a scientist
e NAACP called it a “civil rights issue.”
One
scientist put health damage costs between $30M-$44M.
Conner said the decision to expand the company’s reach across state lines would disproportionately a ect Black communities. ey noted that while they have continued to challenge these types of decisions, the state of Mississippi has continually upheld decisions that put “environmental burdens on its most vulnerable residents.”
If the permit is approved, the NAACP said the state would continue a pattern of “prioritizing development over the health, safety, and civil rights” of residents.
PHOTO: SOUTHERN EVNIORNMENTAL
By Jackson Baker
Sayonara
A farewell column — for now.
Habitual Flyer readers, of whom I assume there are no few, are surely aware that my regular column has been missing from its accustomed spot of late. Well, here it is, back — but only for a short while.
e fact is, this is a goodbye column, the last one of thousands I will have written for the Flyer in the years of its history, 37 — which is also the number of years that I have been a presence in these pages.
My soon-to-be-former colleagues, like the ones I started with back in 1989, are committed to the same ends that I have pursued — informing the public, adding a dash of entertainment, and engaging positively with the community.
ey’ll continue to do a bang-up job of it. ey are sel ess, even heroic types, and I will miss them, each and every one.
I will miss you, the readers, too, so many of whom I have met over the years, who inspired and informed me so I could inspire and inform them back — Democrats, Republicans, and partisans of no party; John and Mary Doe; grunts and grandees; all the members of a city and county and state whose far corners I have traveled in all weather, at all hours, and on all days of the week, holidays included.
won’t be done with that.
Beginning almost immediately, I’ll be hosting an online subscription space with Substack, providing political news and coverage of these ongoing marquee election-year moments with as much frequency and zeal as I can muster. For details, go to JacksonBakerPolitics.substack.com
Our rst task will be to fetch up all the extant info on county mayor candidates, probe their nancial readiness or the lack of it, and look at just where they are in their races to be our ruler/public servant. Ditto with incumbent Steve Cohen and challenger Justin J. Pearson in their mano-a-mano for the 9th congressional district seat.
I have logged signi cant newsgathering time also in foreign climes, turning in copy from places like Abidjan in Africa and the Bolshoi in Moscow. Having endured more than my share of hospitalizations, I’ve slowed down somewhat, but I’ve kept at the job for these 37 years, in the process winning some honors, including 11 rst-place awards in the Green Eyeshades competition held in the greater southeastern states — the latest of these as recently as 2024. (For a fuller biography, consult “Jackson Baker: A Man of His Words,” Memphis Magazine, August, 2025.)
e prizes I cherish most are the moments of illumination I’ve been able to share with you, the reader, and though my Flyer years are done, I
This is a goodbye column, the last one of thousands I will have written for the Flyer in the years of its history.
It’s gonna be a gas.
And now I get to say ciao, the Italian greeting which, as you know, means goodbye as well as hello. I’ll still be with you via Substack. And look for me on Facebook now and then, too. I’ll have things to say there, also, from time to time.
PHOTO: COURTESY JACKSON BAKER Jackson Baker
AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden
Top Secrets
What we don’t know is how much we don’t know.
PREACHING SERIES & WAFFLE SHOP ATCALVARY LENT
FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 27
WEDNESDAYS - FRIDAYS calvarymemphis.org
“Antiseptic judicial rhetoric cannot do justice to what is happening. Across the interior of the United States, agents of the federal government — masked, anonymous, armed with military weapons, operating from unmarked vehicles, acting without warrants of any kind — are seizing persons for civil immigration violations and imprisoning them without any semblance of due process. The systematic character of this practice and its deliberate elimination of every structural feature that distinguishes constitutional authority from raw force place it beyond the reach of ordinary legal description. It is an assault on the constitutional order. It is what the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent. It is what the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment forbids.”
ties, and with no mechanism by which he could identify those seizing him or meaningfully test the legality of their asserted authority.”
That issue — the legality of unidentifiable law-enforcement agents behaving without due process or constitutional constraints — is the foundation of the Trump administration’s “mass deportation” efforts. And Goodwin destroyed it: “Authoritarian regimes have used masked security forces to intimidate and control populations. In this nation’s history, the Ku Klux Klan relied on masks to terrorize victims while concealing accountability. … The ICE tactics of anonymous enforcement in this case contravene the history, purpose, and modern interpretation of the Fourth Amendment.”
You’re probably asking yourself, “What crazy Antifa whacko wrote that communist bilge?” Well, it was a U.S. district judge from the liberal haven of West Virginia named Joseph E. Goodwin. The case that inspired his opinion involved the apprehension of one Anderson Urquilla-Ramos, a 21-year-old man from El Salvador. He was pulled over, ostensibly because there was a plastic cover on the license plate of his vehicle. Ironically, the stop was made by masked agents in a black SUV that had no license plate.
Urquilla-Ramos had entered the country four years earlier as an unaccompanied minor and was then placed under the care of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, through the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement. He had a pending asylum application, a lawful work authorization, and a valid driver’s license. He was in this country legally. Nevertheless, he was taken to South Central Regional Jail in Charleston and detained, pending transfer to a detention facility or deportation, and was never cited or charged for a traffic violation.
Goodwin cut through the government attorneys’ arguments, such as they were, like so much soft, smelly cheese. “The overarching issue,” he wrote, “is whether the federal government may deploy anonymous agents to seize persons on American streets and highways for civil violations, without warrants, without identification, and without any due process before or after.”
Goodwin said Urquillo-Ramos’ stop, arrest, and detention violated multiple constitutional and regulatory protections. He continued: “Petitioner was arrested by unidentifiable, masked officers acting without a warrant, without articulable justification for concealing their identi-
Who knows whether a superior court will uphold Goodwin’s ruling? Meanwhile, in cities and towns all across this country, including in Memphis, procedures such as those used to imprison Urquillo-Ramos are used innumerable times each day. I say “innumerable” because we have no real way of knowing the scope of the operations, or any way to account for the whereabouts of so many of those sent off to the shiny new American Gulags. Or to countries unknown.
Goodwin cut through the government attorneys’ arguments like so much smelly cheese.
Secrecy surrounds so many of this administration’s actions — ICE deployments, the bombing of “drug boats,” the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the DOGE job cuts and concurrent lifting of millions of Americans’ personal and financial data onto unknown servers, the sudden demolition of the East Wing, the side-deals cut by Trump’s own family, and the curated and clumsy redactions in the released Epstein files. I could go on, but I don’t have space.
The administration has also eliminated most Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) staff, thereby ensuring that pesky journalists won’t be able to see what should be accessible public documents. I know — it’s all so overwhelming. This pack of amoral reprobates is “flooding the zone” with so many outrageous actions (and distractions) it’s hard to keep up. But we must keep up and speak out — and pray that secrets can’t be kept forever.
By Katie Stephenson
Prioritizing Forethought
Five ways a nancial plan can improve your outlook.
Most people realize the importance of saving and investing for the future, but only 32 percent of Americans have a written nancial plan in place to help them prioritize their goals and track their progress. If you’ve been putting o establishing a nancial plan, you may want to reconsider. Below are ve ways a comprehensive nancial plan can help improve your nancial outlook.
1. A nancial plan serves as a map to guide you toward achieving your nancial goals.
One of the bene ts of creating a personal nancial plan is that it identi es and prioritizes your goals and objectives. Achieving major goals such as planning for retirement, paying for a child’s college education, making a large purchase, paying down debt, etc. requires focus and determination. A nancial plan can guide your decisionmaking and coordinate the various elements of your nancial life to help ensure they’re working together toward achieving your goals.
helps you build wealth but can also help you protect it. If not properly planned for, risks such as a medical emergency, an accident, a lawsuit or a natural disaster can quickly jeopardize everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish.
A thorough and well-designed nancial plan will include personalized insurance and asset protection strategies to help protect your wealth and loved ones from unexpected risks.
4. A nancial plan can guide your investment strategy.
Without a nancial plan in place, it can be di cult to determine whether your investment strategy meets your ever-evolving needs and goals. Instead, a well-cra ed plan recognizes that your investments play a crucial role in supporting you as you navigate the different stages of your nancial life. By having a nancial plan in place, you can implement long-term investment strategies that allow you to take advantage of opportunities during periods of volatility while also protecting your assets against loss during market downturns.
2. A nancial plan can help you feel more con dent about your future.
A study conducted by Charles Schwab indicated that 54 percent of people with a nancial plan feel con dent they’ll be able to reach their nancial goals, yet only 18 percent of those without a plan have the same level of con dence.
Creating a comprehensive nancial plan to guide your decision-making can be a big step toward helping you feel more con dent and in control of your nancial future.
3. A nancial plan can assist in protecting your family and managing your risk.
A comprehensive nancial plan not only
5. A nancial plan can assist you in leaving a nancial legacy.
If your goals include leaving a nancial legacy for the people and causes that matter most to you, it’s important to have a proper plan in place. Incorporating estate planning as part of your overall nancial strategy can help ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes and in the most tax-e cient manner possible.
Your nancial plan can also help you identify opportunities to support charitable causes both during your lifetime and a er your death, such as through a donor-advised fund or charitable trust.
Katie Stephenson, JD, CFP® is a Private Wealth Manager and Partner with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisory rms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s nancial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.
Refinancing your vehicle loan could give you more cash in your pocket this winter. Plus, no payments for up to 90 days. Apply in branch, over the phone, or online.
PHOTO: FIRMBEE | UNSPLASH
TCOVER STORY By By
David Waters, Institute
By
Shane McDermott
THE TRUMP TOLL
Billionaires win, babies lose.
he rst year of the second Trump administration was a bountiful one for billionaires, including the President himself.
It was a bleak year for millions of babies here and around the world.
Trump and his family added about $4 billion to their personal bottom line in 2025, according to Forbes and other nancial news organizations. at’s billion with a b.
e total wealth of the 935 U.S. billionaires increased by 22 percent last year, reaching approximately $8.2 trillion. e combined wealth held by the top ve U.S. billionaires is more than $1 trillion. at’s trillion with a t.
Meanwhile, the Trump
administration and Republicans in Congress cut more than $1 trillion from programs that feed, clothe, shelter, educate, immunize, and provide health care and medicine for children here and around the world.
More cuts are coming.
Last year, for every $100 in discretionary federal spending, the U.S. devoted $1.59 to children under the age of three. Trump’s proposed 2026 budget would reduce that to 88 cents, accounting for in ation.
“Budgets are moral documents. ey reveal what a nation chooses to invest in and whom it chooses to value,” Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus on Children, a nonpartisan
advocacy group based in Washington, wrote last month in his annual report, “Babies in the Budget.”
“A nation that underinvests in babies pays the price later — in higher health care costs, weaker educational outcomes, lost productivity and wages, deeper inequality, and an uncompetitive future,” Lesley wrote.
“Conversely, a nation that puts babies rst reaps returns for generations. is is not ideology. It is economics. It is neuroscience. It is common sense.”
In 2025, it was not common practice.
USAID
Beginning last February, the world’s
richest man, Elon Musk, presided over the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), America’s foreign aid program.
At Trump’s behest, Musk laid o nearly all of USAID’s 13,000 employees and canceled nearly all of its aid contracts around the world.
Maternal and child health aid was reduced 88 percent. Epidemics and emerging disease surveillance was reduced by 87 percent. Programming for family planning and reproductive health was reduced 84 percent.
“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk, an immigrant from South Africa, explained on X a
year ago.
Not everyone sees it that way.
USAID funding “has played a decisive role in reducing preventable mortality over the past two decades,” e Lancet, a highly respected, peerreviewed medical journal, reported earlier this month.
USAID’s e orts to combat infectious diseases and malnutrition have saved 92 million lives — including 30 million children under age 5 — over the past two decades, e Lancet reported.
e Lancet’s study projects that global aid cuts could lead to as many as 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030. About 2.5 million of those deaths are projected to be children under the age of ve.
e dismantling of USAID “has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children,” according to Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols.
Musk ended 2025 with a net worth of $428 billion, according to Forbes e USAID (and related State Department) cuts saved U.S. taxpayers about $50 billion.
ICE
While the Trump administration was demolishing U.S. foreign aid to children around the world, it was detaining and deporting foreigners and their children in the U.S.
(above) No Kings protest January 11, 2026, in New York City; (below) People rallying against cuts to food, housing, and health care bene ts by the Trump administration in front of the Trump International Hotel on November 21, 2025.
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” enacted by Congress last summer, nearly doubled funding for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), adding $75 billion to the agency’s budget over the next four years.
ICE’s annual budget is now larger than the combined budgets for all local and state law enforcement agencies, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan policy institute.
While Musk was ring nearly 12,000 USAID workers, ICE was hiring 12,000 additional armed and masked agents to track down, detain, and deport “the worst of the worst illegal aliens.”
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security reported that “DHS removed more than 670,000 illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles,
“A nation that puts babies first reaps returns for generations. This is not ideology. It’s economics. It’s neuroscience. It’s common sense.”
rapists, gang members, and terrorists from American communities and another two million have self-deported” in 2025.
But according to DHS records analyzed by the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, only 5 percent of those detained and/or deported by ICE have been convicted of violent crimes. More than 70 percent of them
do not have criminal records.
Unauthorized entry into the U.S. is a misdemeanor, not a felony. Being in the U.S. without authorization is a civil o ense, not a criminal one.
e Trump administration “is wasting billions of dollars on deporting peaceful people who are a scal and economic bene t to the United States and are valued by their U.S. citizen
families and friends,” David J. Bier, director of immigration studies for the Cato Institute, wrote last December.
As of January, about 73,000 people are being held in ICE detention facilities, a record high. Most of them are families — fathers, mothers, and their children who have been taken out of their homes, cars, businesses, and neighborhoods by armed men wearing masks. at includes at least 3,800 children — and 20 infants — since Trump took o ce last year. At least 1,000 children were held longer than 20 days, a court-ordered limit on child detention. At least 32 people died in ICE custody last year and at least eight have died or been killed this year.
Trump’s mass deportation campaign has focused on large cities led by Democratic mayors, including Memphis.
ICE’s forces have been bolstered by local and state police forces through 287(g) agreements that deputized local o cers to identify, process, and detain noncitizens for potential removal during their regular duties or while in jail.
In December 2024, there were 135 such agreements across the country. A year later, there were 1,236 in 40 states, including more than two dozen in Tennessee.
Shelby County Sheri Floyd Bonner signed a formal 287(g) agreement with ICE in November. Bonner said the agreement only allows ICE o cers to “identify and process” immigrants currently in jail.
“Hundreds of Memphis families have been separated, their children traumatized, and vital portions of our community torn apart,” Tyler Foster, vice president of Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH), wrote to Mayor Paul Young earlier this month.
SNAP
e surge in ICE funding came from last summer’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — as named by Trump and approved by Republicans in Congress.
continued on page 12
PHOTOS: CPENLER | DREAMSTIME.COM
The bill was especially beneficial for the wealthiest U.S. citizens.
It reduced taxes by $500 billion for the 200,000 households with annual incomes of more than $2 million. Overall, it provided $1.4 trillion in tax cuts to households with incomes over $500,000 a year.
The bill was especially harmful to the poorest U.S. babies and children.
It reduced federal Medicaid spending by around $800 billion and federal spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $187 billion over a decade. Those were the largest cuts in each program’s history.
Medicaid and SNAP account for nearly half of all federal spending on infants, babies, and toddlers. Around 50 percent of U.S. children depend on some form of Medicaid for health care coverage. About 60 percent of SNAP recipients are in families with children.
First Focus on Children estimates that 34 million children, or roughly 45 percent of all U.S. children, now rely on SNAP or Medicaid. Roughly 14 million children are in “double jeopardy,” at risk of losing both food and health care benefits.
“Tennessee already struggles with high rates of medical debt, hospital closures, and child hunger,” said Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center. “This bill will make those problems worse and push more families into crisis.”
That doesn’t count the unknown number of children and families who will lose health care coverage due to Trump-led cuts and other changes in the Affordable Care Act.
Insurance premiums will more than double this year for most ACA recipients, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a nonpartisan health policy research group.
One million fewer people enrolled in an ACA plan this year. Up to 16 million people are projected to lose health care coverage by 2034.
“The combined effect of these policies is expected to disproportionately impact lowerincome, working-class, and minority communities,” the Economic Policy Institute reported.
The immigration crackdown isn’t just keeping kids from going to school. Three in 10 immigrant parents report their children delayed or skipped health care in the past year.
“These are children going without preventive checkups, treatment for illness, or management of chronic conditions at a critical time in their development,” KFF reported in November.
The immigration crackdown and the
safety-net cutbacks are putting millions of children into a triple jeopardy.
“When about half of children depend on Medicaid and CHIP for health care coverage, and a quarter have an immigrant parent, it’s important to understand how these policy threads weave together — and how they intensify an already dire situation for student mental health,” Anne Dwyer, a professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families, wrote last month.
People who care for children are seeing the dire impact.
Physicians at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital treated about 50 fewer patients for gunshot wounds last year, as compared to 2024. But the number of children treated for abuse was higher than ever.
“The number of gunshot victims already was declining before the Memphis Safe Task Force, but we’ve received even fewer since, and that’s great,” said Dr. Regan Williams, LeBonheur’s medical director of trauma services. “What worries me most are the children we’re not seeing,” Williams said. “The children who are not coming to the hospital because their families are afraid of ICE.”
“Tennessee already struggles with high rates of medical debt, hospital closures, and child hunger. This bill will make those problems worse.”
$TRUMP
A few days before Trump started his second term in January 2025, the Trump family started selling two meme coins — $TRUMP and $MELANIA. The two crypto coins earned the family $300 million, according to Forbes
Overall, the Trump family has received about $1.4 billion from crypto projects since he was re-elected, according to financial analyses by the Financial Times and other independent news organizations.
Billionaires were happy to help.
In February 2025, Justin Sun, a Chinese-born crypto billionaire, bought $75 million in crypto tokens from the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, a private firm that borrows, lends, sells, and trades cryptocurrency. Sun’s stake helped bring in an additional $550 million to the company.
A few days later, the Securities and Exchange Commission put on hold its pending case against Sun,
who was charged in 2023 with selling unregistered crypto securities.
Last March, World Liberty announced that it would sell USD1, a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoin, backed with short-term U.S. Treasury bills.
Last May, Eric Trump and Justin Sun announced that a company owned by the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates was buying $2 billion worth of USD1.
Two weeks later, President Trump declared that the U.S. would provide advanced computer technology to the U.A.E.
Last summer, U.A.E. officials said they plan to use the Trump family’s USD1 cryptocurrency as payment for a stake in Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Binance’s controlling stockholder is Changpeng Zhao, another crypto billionaire. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to charges he enabled money laundering during his time leading the company. He spent four months in prison.
Last June, a new Emirati fund, the Aqua 1 Foundation, announced that it would buy $100 million in World Liberty tokens.
Last October, Trump pardoned Zhao.
Trump made another $27.7 million last year by licensing his name, according to his 2025 financial disclosure form. That includes $1.1 million from a Trump guitar, $2.8 million from Trump watches, $2.5 million from “sneakers and fragrances,” $3 million from an illustrated book called “Save America,” and $3 million from a “God Bless the USA” Bible.
Billionaires also added to other portions of the Trump family’s 2025 portfolio.
A week after Trump took office for the second time, Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) agreed to pay the President $25 million to settle his 2021 lawsuit against the company.
Meta is owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, the fourth richest man in America.
In February, X agreed to pay Trump $10 million to settle his 2021 lawsuit against the social media company. X is owned by Musk.
In July, Paramount (which also owns CBS) agreed to pay Trump $16 million for what he claimed was the deceptive editing of a 2024 Kamala Harris interview.
Three weeks later, the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance. Skydance (and now Paramount and CBS) is owned by billionaire David Ellison, son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, the third richest man in America.
In September, Google (which owns YouTube) agreed to pay Trump $24.5
million to settle his 2021 lawsuit against the company. Google is owned by Larry Page, the second richest man in America.
Last summer, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced AI contracts of up to $200 million each with four AI companies either owned entirely or largely by Google, Amazon, and X.
Last week, Hegseth announced that the U.S. military will begin integrating Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, into “every unclassified and classified network” throughout the Pentagon.
In previous weeks, Hegseth made similar announcements about Blue Origin (owned by Bezos) and Gemini (owned by Page).
Trump is now worth a record $7.3 billion, up from $4.3 billion in 2024. The $3 billion gain vaulted him 118 spots to No. 201 on The Forbes 400.
“I think everybody, the American public, believe it’s absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last year.
KIDS
About a year ago, the White House trumpeted the President’s efforts to help children.
“President Donald J. Trump knows America’s children are our future — and he’ll never stop fighting for their right to a healthy, productive upbringing and childhood,” the White House announced.
The announcement listed six achievements.
• President Trump made it the official policy of the U.S. government that there are only two sexes.
• President Trump ended the unfair, demeaning practice of forcing women to compete against men in sports — which resulted in the NCAA changing its rules.
• The Department of Education launched investigations into the California Interscholastic Federation and the Minnesota State High School League over their failures to comply.
• Health systems across the nation stopped or downsized their sex change programs for minors following President Trump’s “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” executive order.
• President Trump ended the radical, un-American indoctrination of America’s children by eliminating support for divisive, radical “gender ideology” and “equity ideology,” and protecting parents’ rights.
• President Trump banned COVID-19 vaccine mandates at schools that receive federal funding.
David Waters is Distinguished Journalist in Residence and assistant director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis.
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The daughter of June Carter Cash and granddaughter of Maybelle “Mother” Carter, Carlene Carter begun singing with The Carter Family at the young age of 17 before beginning her solo career with her self-titled debut album. Following the advice that “all music is good if you’re being yourself” from her stepfather Johnny Cash, Carlene Carter creates music that is honest and evocative with songs like “I Fell in Love,” “Every Little Thing,” and “Me and the Wildwood Rose.”
Mended Therapy
Combining mental health with a love of fashion, creativity, and sustainability, Mended Therapy was born. Ashley wants to show that although things may seem like they cannot get better, there is hope. Just like a mended piece of clothing is brought new life, the same can be said of us. She is here to walk with you through this journey with laughter, creativity, and challenging your beliefs about yourself. She is MENDED (and constantly mending). She hopes you will let her join you as you MEND.
Ashley specializes in working with LGBTQ+ populations and mood disorders.
For more information or to book an appointment, visit mendedtherapypllc.com.
She currently accepts Aetna, Cigna, Quest Behavioral Health, All Savers (UHC), Health Plans Inc, Optum, Oscar, Oxford, Surest (Formerly Bind), UHC Student Resources,
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
AIN’T Just a
Word
By Kimberly Ham
In a city that has long de ned itself through movement and music, a new festival is asking Memphis to remember its grammar of resistance.
e inaugural AIN’T Film Festival is the brainchild of lmmaker and organizer Zaire Love, MFA, whose mission is “to honor, amplify, and immortalize the stories and voices of the Black South.” For Love, the name says it all.
“AIN’T is resistance and it’s also an a rmation,” she says. “We need to remember our ‘ain’ts’ — the movements that came before us and the power we have to build the city we want to be in.”
at dual mission guides a weekend designed to move audiences from spectators to participants. Opening night, ursday, February 26, promises what Love calls “a ball.” e kicko includes a world-building workshop by 5i h Floor Agency, lite bites (a slate of one-minute shorts), and a Memphis Makers screening block featuring local creatives. A festival zine invites artists working beyond lm into the movement, underscoring that AIN’T is as much about community-making as moviemaking.
On screen, resistance and a rmation unfold in intimate, everyday frames. Love points to “Frames of the South” by Kam Darko, a two-minute meditation on Black life in Mississippi — sh fries, landscapes, ordinary brilliance — as an example of how beauty itself can be de ance. Other selections tackle cultural erasure and food apartheid head-on. In Delta Grown, creative Aallyah Wright documents a Black woman who opened a grocery store in the Mississippi Delta to combat food deserts, grounding big themes like economic injustice in lived Southern experience.
Friday night shi s to a communal vibe at e Artist Table, with lms on Southern foodways sponsored by the Southern Foodways Alliance. Chef Daishu will serve a cat sh dinner with spaghetti, salad, and sweet tea — a quintessential Memphis spread. “People like to eat!” Love laughs, adding that with events, “If food’s involved, I might come!”
Saturday extends the festival beyond the screen with a self-guided AIN’T City Guide, spotlighting local restaurants, parks, and pop-up gatherings, from postcard-writing to encourage voter turnout at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church to black history trivia at e Four Way. e idea is simple: spark conversation, build connection, and o er what Love calls “another pathway” to activism through movies, meals, creativity, and community.
In a crowded cultural calendar, AIN’T stands a part by pairing entertainment with civic engagement. Success, Love says, looks like a packed room of people declaring, “ is is dope — and we need more of it.” Not just once a year, but again and again.
AIN’T FILM FESTIVAL, MALCO POWERHOUSE CINEMA, 540 S. FRONT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 6:30
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 6:30 P.M.; AIN’T CITY GUIDE TOUR, VARIOUS LOCATIONS, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES February 26th - March 4th
Drum Tao
Germantown Performing Arts Center, 1801 Exeter Road, Sunday, March 1, 3-4:30 p.m.
Founded in 1993, Drum Tao was created with the dream of producing the world’s greatest show built around Wadaiko, traditional Japanese drums known for their rare and dynamic range of sound. Based in Ōita, Japan, the troupe creates its own original music, stage designs, and costumes, blending thunderous taiko rhythms with the delicate melodies of Japanese utes and harps.
e result is a visually stunning, high-energy performance style that reimagines Japanese entertainment for a new generation. Over the years, more than 9 million spectators in 26 countries have experienced the group’s innovative and modern approach.
Drum Tao has appeared on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the opening ceremony of Japonismes 2018 in Paris leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and as a co-star with the Bolshoi Ballet for “Japan Year in Russia.”
Lunar New Year Tasting
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1934 Poplar Avenue, Tuesday, March 3, 6-9 p.m.
Close out Lunar New Year in glowing style at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art with a vibrant Lantern Festival celebration. Marking the joyful nale of the 15-day New Year observance, the adults-only (18+) evening channels the bold spirit of the Year of the Fire Horse with food, music, and high-energy entertainment in a festive, lantern-lit setting. Guests can enjoy live slap noodle
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making and elevated hors d’oeuvres from Good Fortune, plus a dynamic lion dance performance, live DJ, and karaoke. Come dressed to impress in red, gold, or your favorite celebratory look for a night that promises plenty of sparkle.
“Portraits and Perspectives” Opening
University of Memphis Box Gallery, 3715 Central Avenue, Room 100, ursday, February 26, 5:30-7 p.m. Join a night celebrating the opening of a dynamic mix of photographic styles, from striking black-andwhite documentary images to vividly theatrical surrealism. Each artist o ers a distinct take on the human experience. e exhibition runs from February 26th to March 9th. Admission is free. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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Above all, thank you for being part of our community. We’re in this together.
STREET,
P.M.; THE ARTIST TABLE, 412 S. MAIN STREET,
PHOTO: COURTESY ZAIRE LOVE Zaire Love
MUSIC By Alex Greene
For the Love of Luke
e Luke White Memorial Fund launches with a kicko concert by his besties.
Memphis has more than its share of gi ed session players, cats who can be called in to make any recording date sparkle with soul. Some, like the Hi Rhythm Section or Kirk Whalum, become celebrities in their own right. But there’s a subset of such players who are just as vital to the local musical ecosystem, yet ply their cra in relative obscurity. Before glioblastoma brain cancer caused him to pass away before his time last April, multi-instrumentalist Luke White was one such gure.
As Toby Vest, musician and producer/engineer at High/Low Recording, told the Flyer at the time, “I haven’t made a record of my music that doesn’t include Luke as a guitar player, singer, con dant, or co-writer.”
And player/promoter Tim Regan, who played with White in Snowglobe, mused that he “was a very gentle soul, very loving, but he was also very con dent. If there was something that wasn’t good in a piece of music, he would let you know. And the most powerful thing was that, in all his singing and playing, he was completely 100 percent focused and present on making those things as good as they could be.”
Indeed, White put his personal stamp on so many recordings, and in live shows with so many bands, not to mention his own recorded work, that his legacy will long outlast the days he walked among us. And that’s what lies behind a new initiative being launched by his closest friends and colleagues, the Luke White Memorial Fund, which o cially becomes a thing this Friday, February 27th, at B-Side, with a show featuring Je Hulett & the Hand Me Downs and Toby Vest & the Dream Machine.
Hulett, who also played with White in Snowglobe, explains how it all began. “When he died, we friends of Luke’s were trying to think of ways to keep his memory alive. And since I’ve used Music Export Memphis for projects, as have other musicians I know, it just seemed like a no-brainer to try to collaborate and do something with them. So we had an initial meeting with Elizabeth Cawein, and we started with this whole idea of, you know, what did Luke like to do? Luke liked to record. He was always at High/
“It’s just gonna be like, ‘All right, well, I guess I’m probably gonna cry tonight.’”
Low with Toby Vest, or as a hired gun for people that came in, playing on di erent sessions.”
us, the fund will provide grantees with a day-long session at High/Low Recording, plus mastering services by Jacob Church at JLC Audio. Grant submissions will be reviewed by a committee made up of White’s friends, family, and bandmates. “People on the review committee will include myself, Tim Regan, and Brad Postlethwaite from Snowglobe, Pam and Kenny White, Luke’s parents, Toby Vest, and a few other colleagues and peers,” Hulett explains. “And the whole idea is, we want to get young artists to apply.”
Elizabeth Cawein, Music Export Memphis’ founder and executive director, was delighted to be part of the initiative. “We’re a place where people can make a tax donation,” she says, “and we are obviously also an experienced grant maker, so we’re used to paying money out to individual
artists and managing that whole process. at just makes it really, really simple. ere was nothing that had to be set up by Luke’s friends. We had all the infrastructure ready to go.”
But ultimately, she says, she was content to simply facilitate what White’s associates wanted. “It’s de nitely Luke’s friends and family that are driving it and bringing it to life, and frankly, they’re the reason why it already has so much traction. ey have money raised before the event has even happened. is grant is going to be incredible for an artist to receive, and Luke would have loved that.”
Beyond the studio time and mastering services, Hulett says they hope to somehow involve photographer Tommy Kha. “We’re trying to weave in a way to get Tommy involved, because Tommy and Luke were super buds. So we’re trying to gure that out. One idea was to get Tommy to come to the session and take photos of bands
that win the grant. But that’s all aspirational at this point.”
Clearly the fund is a work in progress, but Hulett says the show will serve as the o cial announcement that the fund is up and running. “We’ll probably accept applications for six weeks, just so people have time to put their name in the hat,” says Hulett, “and then we’ll have a little bit of a review period, and then probably be able to announce the grant recipient in May.” But the ultimate goal is to raise enough funds to make this an annual event, Hulett says. To that end, B-Side will donate a portion of the night’s pro ts to the fund, in addition to what’s raised by the $20 suggested donation.
As a bandleader himself, Hulett is preparing some very Luke Whitespeci c music for Friday’s show. “Me and Luke were in a band together called Je rey James & the Haul,” he says, “so we’re gonna dust o some of those songs that we used to do, and I actually have a new song called ‘Song for Luke,’ that I wrote a er he passed, and we’re going to be playing that — if I can get through it.”
For Hulett, the presence and support of White’s parents will make the night that much more meaningful. “Pam and Kenny will be there, and they couldn’t be more excited about this way of keeping Luke’s memory alive, and his passion for Memphis music. You know, they both got tattoos in honor of Luke. So, once they give me a hug, then it’s just gonna be like, ‘All right, well, I guess I’m probably gonna cry tonight.’”
PHOTO: TOMMY KHA; (INSET) JEFF HULETT (le ) Luke White; (inset) White, Vest, Hulett, and Postlethwaite in 2023
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule February 26 - March 4
Memphis Soul Factory
Sunday, March 1, 6:30 p.m. |
Wednesday, March 4, 8 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Ashton Riker & The Memphis Royals
A high-energy blend of classic Memphis soul, funk, and blues. ursday, Feb. 26, 5
p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Baunie and Soul
Sunday, March 1, 7-11 p.m.
RUM BOOGIE CAFE
“Big Don” Valentine Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Brad Birkedahl
Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Brimstone Jones
A group featuring heavy grooves and a soulful sound. Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
“Buddy Albert”
Nemenz
Music on the patio. ursday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m. | Friday, Feb.
By popular demand, Gia Welch and JD Westmoreland return for their joint show. Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS
Elmo & the Shades ft.
Eddie Harrison
Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Five Fridays of Jazz It’s about to get jazzy at the library, connecting both enthusiasts and newcomers to the jazz world. Friday, Feb. 27, 6:30-8 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY - MEMPHIS PUBLIC LIBRARY
New York
Philharmonic’s
Audrey Wright Featuring Wright on violin and the MSO playing the energetic rhythms and lush melodic lines of Zwilich’s Violin Concerto. Sunday, March 1, 2:30 p.m.
SCHEIDT FAMILY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
The Debbie Jamison Band
Tuesday, March 3, 6-10 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
An Evening with Corey Lou & DaVillage
From smooth R&B to highenergy funk and hip-hop rhythms. Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Area 51
Friday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Big Head Todd & The Monsters - Winter Tour 2026
blends blues, funk, and rock into a distinct sound. Sunday, March 1, 7:30 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Black & Brutal
With Negro Terror, Yving Sick, G Wiz, F*ck U Joe, DJ Hype, Tanto Dubz, and Punk Soul. Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. B-SIDE
Candlelight: Coldplay & Imagine Dragons
Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multisensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Memphis. $38.41/general admission. Friday, Feb. 27, 8:45-10 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Candlelight: Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
A tribute to Fleetwood Mac by the Listeso String Quartet. $37.86/general admission.
Friday, Feb. 27, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Cody Clark
A Memphis-based singersongwriter who blends modern country music, rock roots and pop in uences. Friday, Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Cottage Chemistry: A Heated Rivalry Dance Party
Dance to the Heated Rivalry soundtrack, the hottest queer pop anthems, and nostalgic alt hits all night long. Saturday, Feb. 28, 9 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Demola is all ages show features Demola on violin. Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Devil Train
Bluegrass, roots, country, Delta, and ski e. ursday, Feb. 26, 10 p.m.
B-SIDE
DJ Funn
Prizes, drinks, food, fun, and the best music trivia with DJ Funn. Sunday, March 1, 6 p.m.
CELTIC CROSSING
Facerot
With Encircled rone, Ruined God, and Sibyl in the small room downstairs.
With Liquid L, Gill_Yum, e Depths, and Lumen. Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
GROWLERS
Ghetto Shit Volume 3 Friday, Feb. 27, 9 p.m.
HI TONE
Jazz Jam with the Cove Quartet
Jazz musicians are welcome to sit in. Sunday, March 1, 6-9 p.m.
THE COVE
Kashmir
A mix of soul and funk with a side of rock n roll. Come ready to vibe out and dance. Sunday, March 1, 8 p.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
Laser Rock: Pink Floyd - The Wall is one-of-a-kind show will take you on a journey through music in a way you’ve never seen before. Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
AUTOZONE DOME PLANETARIUM
Level Three Wednesday, March 4, 10 p.m.
LOUIS CONNELLY’S BAR
Monaleo: Who Did The Boyd Tour
A Houston-based rapper known for her aggressive, highenergy, and emotionally driven style of Southern hip-hop and trap music. Tuesday, March 3, 8 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
New York
Philharmonic’s
Audrey Wright
Featuring Wright on violin and the MSO playing the energetic rhythms and lush melodic lines of Zwilich’s Violin Concerto. $40/general admission. Friday, Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m.
CROSSTOWN THEATER
Prison Affair
With D. Sablu and Decoration Policy in the big room upstairs. ursday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Seize and Desist
With Shakira Chinchilla and under Gun in the small room downstairs. $13.50. Wednesday, March 4, 8 p.m.
Will Hoge
Will Hoge is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for Americana, heartland rock, and country-rock. It’s a blue-collar, roots-oriented sound o en compared to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty, blending introspective songwriting with anthemic Southern rock. Friday, Feb. 27, 9 p.m.
With Daundry, Accept It, Livid Noise. $10. Tuesday, March 3, 7 p.m.
GROWLERS
Superstition: A Gothic Gathering
With music by DJs Evonech, Roman Wilder, and St. Faust. Ages 21+. $5/cover. Saturday, Feb. 28, 10 p.m.
CANVAS
Techno Afro House
With DJ Pedro. 21+. $5/cover. Friday, Feb. 27, 10 p.m.
CANVAS
The Lawrence Graduate Bayreuth
Tuben Quintet is irreverent chamber music ensemble embraces camp, cringe, and radical vulnerability, wholeheartedly expressing queer joy, grief, and bravery.
Tuesday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN
ARTS
Tilt
Saturday, Feb. 28, 5 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Toby Vest & the Dream Machine
A fundraiser for the Luke
White Memorial Fund, which will work with Music Export Memphis to provide young artists with recording and mastering services. With Je Hulett & the Hand Me Downs. Friday, Feb. 27, 9 p.m.
B-SIDE
Trickmirror EP
Release Party
Mothi will also perform some of her songs live for the rst time.
$13.50. Friday, Feb. 27, 9 p.m.
HI TONE
Twin Soul
Saturday, Feb. 28, 9 p.m.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Valories
With Avon Park and Massey Lane in the small room downstairs. ursday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Wayne Alexander
Xavier Lynn Lynn’s music blends the smooth grooves of southern soul with the funk-driven energy of artists like Prince and Funkadelic, all wrapped in heartfelt emotion. With opener Black Cream. $20/advance, $25/at the door. ursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Big River Crossing
Big River Crossing is known for high-energy shows. ursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Chicken S#!+ Bingo
Play the game of the century with live music by Hillbilly Mojo. Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Dirty Streets
With the Eastwoods. Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Free Songwriter
Session featuring Boo Mitchell and Lina Beach
As part of the “Bettye Crutcher Exhibit Series,” enjoy a free songwriting session featuring producer Boo Mitchel and singer-songwriter Lina Beach.
Free. ursday, Feb. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.
STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
Shepherd brings his Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour to Memphis. $39.75/reserved seating. ursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE
Bach-a-thon
Hear members of the Memphis chapter of the American Guild of Organists present an exciting, wide-ranging program celebrating the music of J.S. Bach, as performed on St. George’s Goulding and Wood pipe organ, as well as ute, piano, and other instruments.. Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m.
ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Keith Anderson
Hear this country sensation at the Mid-South’s premier casino resort. Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
Emerging in the late 1980s, the Colorado-based group
$13.50. Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
HI TONE
Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m.
MURPHY’S
Flintwick
SATURDAY FEB 28TH
11AM-2PM directo get best
Discover the best camps, classes, and summer experiences for kids of all ages. Meet camp directors, ask questions, and get inspired for your family’s best summer yet — all at this FREE, family-friendly event!
CALENDAR of EVENTS: Feb. 26 - March 4, 2026
ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“A Memphis of Hope”
Art Show
An exhibit highlighting what is right about where we live through the eyes of its artists. Free. rough Feb. 26.
WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER
Anna Gregor, Chris Peckham, Bobby Smith
Works by these three artists share a certain harmony. rough March 28.
TOPS GALLERY
Ann Brown Thomason
Art Exhibition
omason is a retired physician who is an artist. rough Feb. 27.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
“Art in Bloom”
An art exhibit by Heather Howle, Leigh Anne Sandlin, and Jennifer Williams. rough March 31.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
“Bettye’s Bin: The Personal Archives of Stax Songwriter Bettye Crutcher”
Discover the story of a woman who transformed poetry into platinum hits, whose words echoed from South Memphis to the world, and whose rediscovered archives now return home. Free. rough March 31.
STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC
Black Artists in America: “From the Bicentennial to September 11”
e nal installment of the Dixon’s Black Artists in America series showcases artistic styles and viewpoints within African American art during the last quarter of the 20th century. rough March 25
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
“Ed Rainey: A Retrospective” Rainey brought a grounded yet fearless sensibility to his work. rough March 27.
ANF ARCHITECTS
“Food: Science, Culture, and Cuisine”
A multi-sensory feast of an exhibition that engages you in new ways to think about food through sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound. $21/general admission, Free. rough May 24.
PINK PALACE MUSEUM & MANSION
“From 200 to 250: America’s Bicentennial Bash of 1976”
Explore Bicentennial memorabilia, local re ections, and the sights and sounds of 1976. Free. rough April 18.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE
HISTORY
Keiko Gonzalez and Leanna Hicks Carey Gonzalez’s “Indoor Games” and Carey’s “ e Dark Coun-
try” are paired in this exhibition. rough Feb. 28.
SHEET CAKE
“Last Whistle: Steamboat Stories of Memphis”
Featuring detailed model boats and original steamboat artifacts. rough June 26.
PINK PALACE MUSEUM & MANSION
“Meet the Dixons”
Learn how the Dixon Gallery & Gardens began with Margaret and Hugo Dixon’s vision of creating a place to celebrate art, nature, and beauty. rough May 31.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Melody Weintraub Art
Exhibition
Weintraub’s beautiful paintings are larger than life. Nothing larger than 9x12 in. and all painted in oil on various substrates. ursday, Feb. 12-Feb. 27
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
“Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020: An Enduring Legacy”
It’s tting that the nal exhibition mounted by Brooks in its original home in Overton Park is a celebration of the Memphis College of Art, its sister organization. rough Sept. 30.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
MGAL 2026 Winter
Juried Exhibition
e Memphis/Germantown
Art League juried exhibit includes a variety of paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, oil on silk, and mixed media by over 40 area artists. rough Feb. 27.
ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
“Navigating Knowledge” is exhibition explores vessels and navigation as metaphors for the containment and transmission of knowledge. rough Oct. 31.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Pinkney Herbert: “In Between” Exhibition
Known for his expressive abstraction in oil and acrylic, Herbert translates energy, place, and sound into gesture, color, and form. rough March 14.
DAVID LUSK GALLERY
“Portraits and Perspectives” - An Intersection of Photographic Art is digital photography show features a diverse range of styles from elegant black and white documentary work to theatrically colorful surrealism. Free. rough March 9.
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS BOX GALLERY
“Portraits of Black Memphians 2026” is vibrant exhibition features artwork created by
Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.
DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
K–12 students from Memphis and Shelby County. rough April 30.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
“Redemption of a Delta Bluesman: Robert Johnson”
A series of 29 paintings reimagining the story of the mythical crossroads where the bluesman purportedly made a deal. rough June 30.
GALLERY ALBERTINE
“River Coral”: New Works by Anthony Lee Depictions of fantastic, uid gures and shapes. rough March 30.
BUCKMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Roger Allan Cleaves: “A World on Fire”
Cleaves’ Forget Me Nots Land series is a complex Afrofuturist fantasy that resists easy explanations. “A World on Fire” is the most recent chapter of this ongoing epic narrative. rough April 12.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
“Speaking Truth to Power: The Life of Bayard Rustin” is exhibit explores Rustin’s
innovative use of the “medium” to communicate powerful messages of non-violence, activism, and authenticity. rough Feb. 28.
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
“The Emmett” - Works by Emmett Award Recipients Installation of art works by past Emmett Award recipients. Free. rough Feb. 26.
ARTSMEMPHIS
“Three Visions of Nature”: Photography by Becky Ross McRae, Michael Pachis, and Allen Sparks
An exhibit exploring nature through the camera lenses of three photographers. Free. Monday, March 2-27.
WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER
“Through Tyré’s Eyes”
Experience the photography of Tyré Nichols up close and personal. Free. rough Feb. 28.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Town Beautiful Commission’s “Unofficial Town Flower” is community-inspired
“Portraits and Perspectives” Opening
An opening reception for this digital photography show. Free. ursday, Feb. 26, 5:30-7 p.m.
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS BOX GALLERY
BOOK EVENTS
Club de lectura
(Spanish Book Club)
Este club de lectura del Dixon les invita a compartir sus experiencias de lectura en español a través del título seleccionado del mes: Pedro Páramo por Juan Rulfo. Free. Tuesday, March 3, 6 p.m. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Lisa Patton: Kissing the Sky
From the bestselling author of Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter comes a soulful, nostalgic novel about a young woman coming of age in the ‘60s to the blare of the music that shaped a generation. Saturday, Feb. 28, 1 p.m.
HUTCHISON SCHOOL
Wadaiko are Japanese drums with a variety of sounds. Attend Drum Tao to see and hear them.
The New Romantics Book Club: To Love a Lady Join e New Romantics Book Club and discuss this work by Gabrielle Meyer. Saturday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m. NOVEL
CLASS / WORKSHOP
Adult Tap Class No experience need, just bring your tap shoes and a smile. $20/general admission. Tuesday, March 3, 10-11 a.m. GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
exhibition invited residents and students to imagine and depict which ower they would nominate as Collierville’s uno cial town ower. rough March 14.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
Tributaries: Kat Cole’s “Meditations” Cole captures ephemeral gestures in glass, enamel and steel, resulting in gleaming puddles of light and color. rough March 8.
METAL MUSEUM
“What We Surround Ourselves With” is exhibit serves as a love letter to the evolution of the cra , work, and stories shared through the museum’s community. rough July 31.
METAL MUSEUM
ART HAPPENINGS
“Ed Rainey: A Retrospective” Opening
Celebrate the work of distinguished artist Ed Rainey. ursday, Feb. 26, 5-7 p.m.
ANF ARCHITECTS
Advanced Figure Drawing: Hands and Feet
Elevate your art as you explore the nuanced details of anatomy. $20. ursday, Feb. 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Blacksmithing II: Chef’s Knife
A class designed for students with all levels of experience. $450. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. METAL MUSEUM
Flower Pressing Happy Hour Workshop Farmer- orist Marisa Mender Franklin will explain how to press fresh owers using a press. ursday, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.
MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM
Living History Lab:
Meet Tommy Heart
Explore how people lived, worked, learned, and connected in the past through interactive activities. Free. ursday, Feb. 26, noon-1:30 p.m.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
continued on page 20
PHOTO: COURTESY GPAC
continued from page 19
Metal Petals & Healing Roots: Copper Rose
Learn a variety of different metalworking techniques. $25. Wednesday, March 4, 1:302:30 p.m.
METAL MUSEUM
Museum Muses: Mandala Workshop
Part 2
Slow down, settle in, and let creativity take the lead. Friday, Feb. 27, noon-2 p.m.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
Rhythm & Roots
Presented by Memphis Youth Arts Initiative, this is a free community program offering high-energy music and dance lessons for youth ages 6–17. Wednesday, March 4, 6 p.m.
MEMPHIS YOUTH ARTS INITIATIVE CENTER
Sowing Seeds Together
A hands-on, communitycentered workshop designed to empower you to become an urban gardener. Saturday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
Studio Courses with Creative Aging: Mixed Media Collage
Cheeto Ryan leads this 6-week beginner-friendly course using mixed media collage techniques. 65+. Tuesday, March 3, 1:30-3 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Sunday Garden Club: Pruning Essentials
A relaxed, come-as-you-are series all about gardening $12/ members, $15/non-members.
Sunday, March 1, 1 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
The Fool’s Journey: Swords and Wands
The second workshop in a series, focused on the Minor Arcana suits of Sword and Wands. $10. Saturday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m.
THE BROOM CLOSET
Winter Workshops 2026
Students learn unique skills to help them stand out from other artists and expand their repertoire. Saturday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m.
PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE
COMEDY
Sammy Anzer
The NYC-based, Memphis comedy scene alum returns to headline a fun night of standup, hosted by Zach Williams. $10/discount online ticket. Saturday, Feb. 28, 8-9:45 p.m.
FLYWAY BREWING COMPANY
Open Mic Comedy Night
Open mic hilarity in the small room downstairs. Free show. Tuesday, March 3, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
COMMUNITY
Carnival Memphis Business & Industry
Salute
Honor the architectural pro-
CALENDAR: FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 4, 2026
fession. Wednesday, March 4, noon-1:30 p.m.
HILTON MEMPHIS
GiveCamp Memphis
2026
Join fellow developers and creatives at GiveCamp Memphis to build websites and tools that strengthen our community. Free. Friday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m.
FEDEX INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Guns to Gardens: Safe Gun Surrender Event
Guns to Gardens is an anonymous one-day safe surrender event where unwanted guns are dismantled to be transformed into garden tools and art. Saturday, Feb. 28, noon-3 p.m.
BUNTYN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND PRESCHOOL
Invasive Species Pull
Help keep our ecosystem healthy by identifying and removing non-native invasive species plants. Friday, Feb. 27, 9 a.m.
OVERTON PARK
Justice in Balance: The Courts, Civil Rights, and Our Democracy
A community convening to explore the judiciary’s integral role during the Civil Rights Movement and the courts’ recent efforts toward racial justice. Free. Thursday, Feb. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
Lunar New Year Tasting Food, music, and energy inspired by the bold spirit of the Year of the Fire Horse. $55/ general admission. Tuesday, March 3, 6-9 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Lupus Support Group
A space for individuals and families affected by lupus to connect. Saturday, Feb. 28, noon-2 p.m.
EAST SHELBY LIBRARY
Memphis Voices: Our Stories, Our City Gather, share, and record personal memories, cultural moments, family legacies, neighborhood history, triumphs, and more. Thursday, Feb. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.
RALEIGH LIBRARY
Mind, Body, & Spirit Wellness Fair
OUTMemphis’ 4th Annual celebration of Black History Month. Friday, Feb. 27, 1-6 p.m.
MEMPHIS SPORTS & EVENTS CENTER
MPL Repair Cafe
Don’t throw it out, fix it instead. Sunday, March 1, 1:30-4 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY - MEMPHIS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Our Stories Matter
African American Read-In
Adults and kid readers of all ages can participate. Saturday, Feb. 28, 1-2:30 p.m.
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Owl Prowl
Enjoy cookies and hot chocolate and hit the trails searching for owls in the Old Forest State Natural Area. Friday,
Feb. 27, 6-7:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
Teacher’s Night Out
An evening just for educators. Friday, Feb. 27, 5-7 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Thorsblot
A ritual to honor Thor for his protection during the worst of the winter and ask his blessing for the rest of the year. 21+. Sunday, March 1, 7 p.m.
THE BROOM CLOSET
Weed Wrangle
Protect the local ecosystem by participating in a weed wrangle with the lead invasive species volunteer Bill Bullock. Sunday, March 1, 1 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
DANCE
Su Casa’s Latin Dance Marathon
Enjoy a night of dancing, laughter, and purpose and celebrate the Latino immigrant community while raising money for Su Casa’s mission. $25. Saturday, Feb. 28, 5-10 p.m.
STREETS MINISTRIES
FAMILY
Memphis Parent’s Camp Expo
Discover the best camps, classes, and summer experiences for kids of all ages. Saturday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
PINK PALACE MUSEUM & MANSION
Mini Masters
Introduce your little ones to the arts and nature with crafts, movement, and more. $8. Tuesday, March 3, 10:30 a.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Story Time At Novel
Recommended for children up to 5 years, Story Time at Novel includes songs and stories, featuring brand-new books in addition to well-loved favorites. Wednesday, March 4, 10:30 a.m.
NOVEL
Story Time: The Arts Stories, songs, art activities, and creative play related to Collierville history. Ages 2-4.
Friday, Feb. 27, 10:30 a.m.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE
HISTORY
Super Saturday - Black History Month: Carl Moore
Inspired by a striking work from Memphis artist Carl
Moore in the museum’s permanent collection, this activity invites children to explore identity, representation, and color through collage. Saturday, Feb. 28, 10 a.m.-noon.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Youth Workshop: Mixed Media Painting
Discover new surfaces to paint on as we experiment with mixed media. For ages 10-13. $10/member, $15/nonmember. Saturday, Feb. 28, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
FILM
AIN’T Film Festival
All about resistance and affirmation, this festival is committed to guiding our city to resilient movements. Thursday, Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m.
MALCO POWERHOUSE THEATER
Dark Side of Light
An exploration of light pollution and the impact it has not only on us, but on nature as a whole. Thursday, Feb. 26,- March 4, 2 p.m. Closed Mondays.
AUTOZONE DOME PLANETARIUM
Forward to the Moon
A planetarium show about the Artemis program, NASA’s project to return to the moon, from landing humans on the surface, to building a space station in lunar orbit, to establishing a human lunar base.
Embark on a global odyssey film to discover the largest and least explored habitat on earth. New ocean science and technology has allowed us to go further into the unknown than we ever thought possible.
Thursday, Feb. 26-March 4, 3 p.m. Closed Mondays.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Seasonal Stargazing: Memphis Skies
Hop through constellations, learn cool star names, and groove to planetarium space music in this full dome audiovisual experience. Thursday, Feb. 26-March 4, 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.
AUTOZONE DOME PLANETARIUM
Slowdown Cinema Club: Back to the Future
Marty McFly, a 17 year-old
March 3, 7-9:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS
“Papa Bear Trivia” with Shawn
Bring your brainpower and your crew for a night of free trivia, testing your knowledge across a variety of topics and competing for bragging rights.
Thursday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m.
DRU’S BAR
Sightseeing Cruise
PHOTO: COURTESY BROOM CLOSET
How long has it been since you’ve honored Thor?
Attend Thorsblot and all will be well!
high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown. Friday, Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Superhuman Body: World of Medical Marvels
A film showing the extraordinary ways our bodies work and how science and technology help us to intervene when things go wrong. Thursday, Feb. 26-March 4, 2 p.m. Closed Mondays.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
The Sun: Our Living Star
Discover the secrets of our star in this planetarium show and experience never-beforeseen images of the Sun’s violent surface in immersive full-dome format. Thursday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m., 3 p.m. | Friday, Feb. 27, 1 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m. , 1 p.m. | Sunday, March 1, 1 p.m., 3 p.m. | Tuesday, March 3, 1 p.m., 3 p.m. | Wednesday, March 4, 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
AUTOZONE DOME PLANETARIUM
Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet
The film follows Pachyrhinosaurus youngsters through the seasons and the challenges of growing up and establishing themselves in this prehistoric world. Thursday, Feb. 26-March 4, 1 p.m. Closed Mondays.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
FOOD AND DRINK
Beer Dinner with Soul & Spirits Brewery
Enjoy an unforgettable evening celebrating craft beer and culinary creativity. $80/ general admission . Thursday, Feb. 26, 7-9 p.m.
MAEVE’S TAVERN
Dinner & Music Cruise
A two-hour cruise on Ol’ Man River featuring live entertainment and a meal. $57.25/ general admission. Tuesday,
The sightseeing cruise is a 90-minute tour that takes you down the Mighty Mississippi with a live historical commentary. $29.13/general admission. Sunday, March 1, 2:30-4 p.m. | Monday, March 2, 2:30-4 p.m. | Tuesday, March 3, 2:30-4 p.m. | Wednesday, March 4, 2:30-4 p.m.
MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS
Trivia with Cerrito Entertainment
Enjoy all the trivia fun with Cerrito Entertainment, along with prizes, drinks, and food. Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m. CELTIC CROSSING
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Aerobics Fitness Exercise
Partake in a fun aerobics exercise with Ms. Linda Epps.
Thursday, Feb. 26, 10-11 a.m.
RALEIGH LIBRARY
Taijiquan with Milan
Vigil this Chinese martial art promotes relaxation, improves balance, and provides noimpact aerobic benefits. 16+. Free. Saturday, Feb. 28, 10:3011:30 a.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Wednesday Walks
A pleasant stroll through the park can work wonders. Free. Wednesday, March 4, 4 p.m.
OVERTON PARK
Yoga
Enjoy the health benefits of light exercise with instructor Laura Gray McCann. Yoga style adapts to the needs of each group. Free. Thursday, Feb. 26, 6-7 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Zumba Fitness Class
An excellent workout that burns calories while having fun. Thursday, Feb. 26, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
RALEIGH LIBRARY
LECTURE
Flash Floods: Rain, Risk, and Resilience
In this Science Cafe, Dr. Claudio Meier will discuss urban resilience in the face of flooding, and “grey” versus “green” stormwater management systems. Tuesday, March 3, 5:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK GOLF CLUBHOUSE
Kickoff Meeting: Memphis’ Army of Normal Folks!
Partake in the kick off of the local service club, Memphis’ Army of Normal Folks. Free. Sunday, March 1, 4-5 p.m.
GRIND CITY BREWERY
Kyle Harper: Why the Humanities and Sciences Should Be Friends
Learn from the Department of History’s Sesquicentennial Lecture with Dr. Kyle Harper, the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, University of Oklahoma. Thursday, Feb. 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
UNIVERSITY CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
Munch and Learn: New Kids on the Block
Learn from Julie Pierotti, curator, at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Free. Wednesday, March 4, noon-1 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
PERFORMING ARTS
Afro Latino Week 2026
A week-long celebration honoring AfroLatino voices, history, and culture through storytelling, music, dance, and community connection. Thursday, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.
It’s time to turn the volume up and the lights down for one unforgettable night of talent, attitude, and pure stage magic. Friday, Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m.
DRU’S BAR
Creative Arts Ensemble: Music
Conversations with Iris Collective
Creative Arts Ensemble is a multidisciplinary experience that provides adults with special needs the opportunity to be understood and heard, execute self-expression, build confidence, and more. Friday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m.
GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Drum Tao
Dynamic, traditional Japanese drumming that is sure to surprise audiences. $44/general admission. Sunday, March 1, 3-4:30 p.m.
GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Storyfest
Storyfest is created and shared by the participants in their own words and voices, from their own point of view, and the Orpheum embraces all of them. Some material contains mature themes. Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m. THE HALLORAN CENTRE
SPECIAL EVENTS
Barrel Jam for St. Jude
An event benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food. Friday, Feb. 27-March 1
AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL, SHOWPLACE ARENA
Memphis Coin Club Show
The Memphis Coin Club Show is an event where visitors can buy, sell, trade all kinds of coins and currency including medals, tokens, and all types of gold and silver bullion. Friday, Feb. 27, noon-6 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | Sunday, March 1, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Monarch Gala & Auction
A night filled with incredible auction items, dinner and drinks, live music, and inspiring moments that highlight the the heart of the Madonna Learning Center. 21+. Saturday, Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m.
AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL
The Studio Karaoke Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting Community members are invited to attend and celebrate the opening of The Studio Karaoke, which is proud to be a Black-owned, woman-owned, Memphian-owned business.
Saturday, Feb. 28, 1-3 p.m.
THE STUDIO KARAOKE
SPORTS
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m.
FEDEXFORUM
Memphis Hustle vs. Texas Legends
Tuesday, March 3, 7 p.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Memphis Hustle vs. Wisconsin Herd
See the next generation of NBA stars. Thursday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m. | Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Memphis Tigers vs. Wichita State Thursday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m.
FEDEXFORUM
THEATER
As You Like It
This classic tale of love, exile, and transformation gets a fresh, musical twist in this adaptation with a contemporary score by Shaina Taub. Part Shakespeare, part block party, 100% heart. Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m.
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE
Back to the Future: The Musical When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. $46.70, $151.60.
Tuesday, March 3, 7:30-10:15 p.m. | Wednesday, March 4, 7:30-10:15 p.m.
ORPHEUM THEATRE
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Based on the award-winning children’s book from Mo Willems, audiences can hop on board for an unforgettable ride in this musical adaptation from TheaterWorks USA. Saturday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m.
BARTLETT PERFORMING ARTS AND CONFERENCE CENTER
Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls follows an all-girl Motown singing group on the path from obscurity to superstardom in the 1960s and ’70s. Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m.
HATTILOO THEATRE
Godspell
This musical revisits the idea of Jesus as a revolutionary figure, one who challenged authority and preached a new, radical message to the world: “Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors.” Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
Crossword
1 Stitches 5 Old workplace sitcom with Danny DeVito as a dispatcher 9 Flashy effect 14 Honolulu’s island
15 “Terrible” Russian despot
16 Many a New Year’s resolution prescribes getting into it
17 Not strict adherence to what really happened, say 20 Convenience at a business that doesn’t take credit cards
21 Confirmed the flavor of 22 Biblical garden
23 Surefire winner 25 Bewhiskered river swimmer
27 Touched down 29 “Be that as it may …”
33 When a fresh factory crew arrives 38 Singer Yoko 39 Elusive Tupperware components, often
Air quality watchdog created by the Nixon admin.
Norway’s capital
Web address 43 Archipelago forming the southernmost part of the continental U.S. 47 Gloomy pal of Winnie-the-Pooh 49 Auditioner’s goal
Newborn horses 53 Run for a long football pass 57 Singer Edith known as “The Little Sparrow”
Disappear 62 “Despicable Me” character voiced by Steve Carell
63 Member of an N.F.L. team transplanted to Los Angeles in 2017
66 “Could you, would you, with ___?” (Dr. Seuss line)
67 Black-and-white Nabisco cookie
68 Medics
69 Annual awards … like the one actor Shalhoub won in 2018
70 Fret (over)
71 Poker buy-in
1 Fizzy drinks 2 Our planet
3 Company that makes Frisbees 4 Redundant word in front of “total”
5 Passenger ship in
WSW’s opposite
Mama Mia!
This energetic and irresistible story, a classic jukebox musical based on the songs of the international pop group ABBA, is set on a remote Greek island where a young girl plans her wedding while trying to discover who of three men may be her father. Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m.
THEATRE MEMPHIS
Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through ‘The Change’ For these four ladies, menopause was not the end, but the beginning of a beautiful friendship where love conquers all, and friendships never fail. Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
ORPHEUM THEATRE
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s story begins as one of his great comedies but ends in perhaps his gravest tragedy. Laced with sword fights, dancing, timeless poetry, and the world’s most famous young couple, this outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet is a theatrical event not to be missed. Saturday, Feb. 28, 4 p.m.
TENNESSEE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
Edited by Will Shortz No.
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
Diners had a large time at “Fat Tuesday at Owen Brennan’s,” which was held February 17th at the restaurant at 6150 Poplar Avenue #150, in e Regalia.
A bu et with the requisite king cake, as well as smoked alligator and other items, was enough to ll guests up before Lent began the following day.
Some guests arrived in the requisite feathers and beads. General manager Becky Baker Cruci xio, who operates the restaurant along with her brother, Austin Baker, and Lawson Bae, went all out in her elaborate Mardi Gras attire as she and a group of children threw beads to diners from an indoor balcony.
Lannie McMillan & Second Line provided the appropriate music.
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE above: B. J. Worthy circle: Brody Haire below: (le to right) Freddie and Betty Veteto and Mark and Amanda McMinn; Trey Carter and Dr. Robin Hobbs-Carter; Jordyn Estes bottom row: (le to right) Vickie Carwell, Liza Lloyd; Lannie McMillan
above: Rick and Liza Lloyd circle: Chandler Strand, Yalaris Venson right row: (top and below) Tammy McInnis, Carole Kilgore, Kevin Kilgore; Doug and Sandra Janelle below: (le to right) Tony Maranise, Kevin Brazzell; Bryson Lochemes, Shegu a Dismukes; Becky Baker Cruci xio, Austin Baker; Sylvia Sutton, Garnette Stephens bottom: (le to right) Anca Marr, Jere Gerard; Dianne and Register Willie Brooks
FOOD By Michael Donahue
PERSONAL PROPERTY
PUBLIC NOTICE
As required by Tennessee Code
Annotated Section 67-5-903, the Shelby County Assessor will be mailing Tangible Personal Property Schedules to all active businesses Within Shelby County by Friday, January 9, 2026. The filing Deadline is March 2, 2026. Please call the Shelby County Assessor’s office at 901-222-7002, if you needassistance.
What’s Up With Kinfolk?
magine opening your dream restaurant to great acclaim — only to have to close it three months later. at’s what happened to Cole Jeanes, owner of Kinfolk restaurant in Harbor Town.
Kinfolk, which began as a pop-up in the old Puck Food Hall at 409 South Main and, later, Comeback Co ee, opened for breakfast and lunch in late March 2024 in a brick-and-mortar spot at 111 Harbor Town Square. “We took over a year to build,” says Jeanes, 36.
e restaurant was patterned a er a diner. “It kind of was inspired by Wa e House and country-style diners,” says Jeanes. Natalie Lieberman of Collect + Curate Studio designed the interior. “More like a ’70s diner instead of really, really country.”
Jeanes says.
But, he says, “Someone started to notice mold showing up in two particular walls, the north and south wall. Peeping behind the wood paneling.” One of their music speakers had fallen out. “We went up there with moisture meters and checked those. ose two walls were soaked.” ey still don’t know what caused those walls to be wet, Jeanes says.
e menu items, which ranged from traditional breakfast plates to chicken sandwiches on brioche buns, were locally sourced from places like Home Place Pastures and Jones Orchard.
But biscuits were always “the star of the show.”
“Kinfolk is a snapshot of my childhood. How I was raised. Country roots. And biscuits were a big part of my life. I love them deeply.” Biscuits are among “the foundational items we ate throughout my childhood.”
Jeanes remembers his mother making biscuits on weekends. “I would eat six biscuits with jelly and sausage. It was stupid. She’d put them in a brown bag and leave them on the counter. I had to eat one walking by.”
When they’d go hunting together, Jeanes and his dad would get sausage, tenderloin, or other biscuit combinations at the old Gurkin’s Drive-In on Hwy. 64. “ at’s why we call our food ‘gas station fancy.’ I have some nice restaurants I worked at, but my roots are really country. Gas station food.”
ose Gurkin’s biscuits were “cooked hot and then wrapped in plastic wrap. It actually is a really good technique, in a sense. It made all of it kind of meld together in a really weird way. A weird cool bite.”
His great aunt Nana also cooked biscuits, Jeanes says. Her husband, Carl, liked the “darkest” biscuits. “Cooked very, very well done. Not burnt. Super concentrated toasted buttery goodness.”
Jeanes began doing his own take on biscuits when he was in culinary school at the old L’Ecole Culinaire. He took the basic biscuit recipe he had and added Herbes de Provence — a blend of dried herbs that includes rosemary, thyme, and oregano. ey “really hit their stride” making biscuits before they closed Kinfolk, Jeanes says. ey used White Lily Flour, made with a “red winter wheat.” e resulting biscuits are “very u y. Not cakey,” says Jeanes.
Menu items also included “hash,” which he describes as “the dinner version of biscuits and gravy.”
Kinfolk was a success, Jeanes says. “It was great. We were also in our honeymoon period. A lot of momentum from the pop-ups and the anticipation of us opening.” eir so opening “wasn’t so at all,” with 260 meals going out that day. e weekdays were “hit or miss,” but Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays were booked. en at about 11 one night at the end of June, 2024, a Kinfolk employee, Olivia Holford, who was prepping for the next day, noticed water pouring down from the ceiling. “I was asleep at the house,” says Jeanes, who lives in Harbor Town.
Holford alerted the restaurant’s manager, who drove to the house, beat on Jeanes’s door, woke him up, and then they headed to the restaurant. By the time Jeanes got to the restaurant, employees had moved paintings from the walls to a safe spot in the restaurant. e water was coming from a washing machine on the third oor, says Jeanes, who heard someone with Harbor Town “didn’t know the code to turn o the water for the whole building. So, it ran for another three hours.”
“We closed at the end of June and were back open in the end of September, 2024,”
Jeanes closed Kinfolk again on July 16th, 2025. “We have employees. We have customers. But they can’t come into that space if there was mold.” So, he decided, “We’re going to have to move. We’re going to have to relocate.”
Jeanes found jobs for his employees. “Luckily, we know a lot of people. We have a good network. I was able to get on the phone the day we closed or the day a er, looking for people to nd jobs.”
As to where he might relocate Kinfolk, Jeanes says, “We have a plan, but, unfortunately, I can’t move forward on it until I get over this hill.”
Jeanes is involved with other culinary businesses, including Hard Times Deli, Etowah Dinner Series, and e Secret Smash Society smash burgers. He’s also a partner with Seth Stowaway in Chicken Fried Palace, a restaurant in San Francisco, California.
He and the other owners of Hard Times Deli are about to open Gussied Up, which he describes as “a neighborhood joint.” Jeanes also created a line of individual inexpensive organizational tools for restaurant operators.
Looking towards the future, Jeanes would like to do a “nice dinner spot,” which would be something di erent from Kinfolk, which is kind of limiting because it only o ers breakfast and lunch. “You can’t do too much crazy stu .”
He’d also love to do a “classic burger joint,” which he’d call “Clyde” a er his grandfather, and a “pizza joint” called “Baby Luca Pizza” a er his son. And he’d like to do an “approachable ne dining restaurant” that he’d call “Fireman’s Son” a er his father, who was a re ghter. Or he’d call it “Coal,” a take on his rst name. “I have a million concepts. My antenna works well. I always have ideas.”
And, Jeanes adds, “I want to be nancially stable, so I can create art freely. And my art is cooking.”
Popular Harbor Town restaurant still closed.
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Cole Jeanes
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
28 / 2PM
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Good Intentions
Based on the award-winning children’s book from Mo Willems, audiences can hop on board for an unforgettable ride in this musical adaptation from TheaterWorks USA. It’s not easy being a pigeon — you never get to do ANYTHING! When the Bus Driver has a crisis, maybe our wily bird can help! With catchy original songs and lots of jokes, this show promises to be even more fun than staying up late and having a hot dog party!
Check. And finally, failing a breath test once the police caught up with him? Check. The impaired impersonator’s breath analysis registered at twice the legal limit, adding a charge of excess breath alcohol to the already serious charge of impersonating a police officer. “It’s bad enough that this person thought it was okay to impersonate a police car,” Inspector Kerry Watson said. “It’s even worse to see impaired and dangerous driving.” [1News TVNZ, 12/21/2025]
The Litigious Society
Steven Pavlik, 63, of Stuart, Florida, is facing charges of aggravated assault and resisting arrest after his stint as a Salvation Army bell-ringer went very much awry on Dec. 23, WFLA reported. Pavlik was stationed in front of a Publix grocery store on Kanner Highway before “Drunk ringing, belligerent tidings, and assault took him from bell duty to booking blotter after a full blown charity tirade,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post recounting the incident. Having become intoxicated during the course of his charitable work, Pavlik began confronting passersby, who informed the Publix store manager; when the manager came outside to discuss the complaints with the inebriated volunteer, Pavlik attempted to impale the manager with the donation kettle tripod, then fled. The manager was uninjured, and Pavlik was arrested at his home. [WFLA, 12/26/2025]
Dude, Where’s My Seafood?
The FBI is on the case of a $400,000 shipment of lobsters that has gone missing, Boston.com reported on Dec. 30. The truck and its valuable cargo disappeared somewhere between its departure point at a warehouse in Taunton, Massachusetts, and its destinations at Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota. “It followed a pattern we’re seeing more and more,” said Dylan Rexing, president and CEO of Rexing Companies, “where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers using spoofed emails and burner phones to hijack high-value freight while it’s in transit.” U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement estimates that the U.S. economy loses $15-$35 billion annually to cargo theft, with high-value items like pharmaceuticals, electronics and alcohol among the most frequent targets. [Boston.com, 12/30/2025]
Bad Idea
A 38-year-old man was arrested on Dec. 20 in Auckland, New Zealand, for checking all of the wrong boxes, 1News TVNZ reported. Using flashing lights on the roof of his station wagon to pull over other motorists? Check. Attempting to pull over an unmarked police car? Check. Fleeing the scene upon realizing his huge mistake?
In the new year’s oddest legal twist, the National Rifle Association is suing the NRA Foundation, its own charitable arm, for trademark infringement and unfair competition. NBC News reported that on Jan. 5, the NRA alleged that the foundation passed “itself off to donors and the public as the NRA or an authorized NRA affiliate” and “misappropriat[ed] the many millions of dollars that NRA supporters contributed.” The lawsuit reveals ongoing internal turmoil within the NRA and its foundation. [NBC News, 1/5/2026]
Compelling Explanation
A Marion, Louisiana, resident called police in November to report a trespassing incident on her property, WKRC-TV reported on Jan. 8. When deputies arrived at the home, Elizabeth Sutton, 41, was swimming nude in the resident’s pond. At first, Sutton refused to exit the pond, telling officers she was “trying to be a mermaid.” When she finally complied, medics evaluated her (because of the cold weather) and tried to lead her indoors. At that point, Sutton charged at a deputy, causing them to use their Taser. She kicked and punched the deputy before being subdued and taken to a hospital. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and on Jan. 6, she surrendered and was charged with several crimes. [WKRC, 1/8/2026]
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In woodworking, “spalting” occurs when fungi colonize wood, creating dark lines and patterns that make the wood more valuable, not less. The decay creates beauty as long as it isn’t allowed to progress too far. Here’s the metaphorical moral of the story for you, Aries: What feels like a deteriorating situation might actually be spalting. Are you experiencing the breakdown of a routine, a certainty, or a plan? It could be creating a pattern that makes your story even more interesting and heroic. So keep in mind that an apparent decomposition may be transforming ordinary into extraordinary beauty. My advice is to play along with the spalting.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I suspect you will soon be invited to explore novel feelings and unfamiliar states of awareness. As you wander in the psychological frontiers, you might experience mysterious phenomena like the following. 1. An overflow of reverence and awe. 2. Blissful surprise in the face of the sublime. 3. Sudden glimmers of eternity in fleeting moments. 4. A soft, golden resonance that arises when you hear arousing truths. 5. Amazingly useful questions that could tantalize and feed your imagination for months and even years to come.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If I were your mentor, I’d lead you up an ascending trail to a high peak where your vision is clear and vast. If I were your leader, I’d give you a medal for all the ways you’ve been brave when no one was looking, then send you on an all-expenses-paid sabbatical to a beautiful sanctuary to rest and remember yourself. If I were your therapist, I’d guide you through a 90-minute meditation on your entire life story up until now. But since I’m just your companion for this brief oracle, I will instead advise you to slip out of any silken snares of comfort that dull your spirit, cast off perks and privileges that keep you small, and commune with influences that remind you of how deeply you treasure being alive.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Biologist Barbara McClintock won the Nobel Prize by developing what she called “a feeling for the organism.” She cultivated an intimate, almost empathic relationship with the corn plants she studied. She didn’t impose theories on her subjects. She listened to them until she could sense their hidden patterns from the inside. When you’re not lost in self-protection, you Cancerians excel at this quality of attention. Here’s what I see as your task in the coming weeks: Transfer your empathic genius away from people who drain you and toward projects, places, or problems that deserve your devotion and give you blessings in return.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Sufi writers
By Rob Brezsny
describe heartbreak, grief, and longing as portals through which divine love enters. They say that a highly defended ego and a hardened heart can’t engage with such profound and potent love. In this view, suffering that makes the heart ache strips away illusions and fixations, allowing greater receptivity, humility, and tenderness toward all beings. I’m not expecting you to get blasted by an influx of poignancy in the near future, Leo, but I’m very sure you have experienced such blasts in the past. And now is an excellent time to process those old breakthroughs disguised as breakdowns. You are likely to finally be able to harvest the full power they offered you.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In traditional Balinese culture, Tri Hita Karana is a concept that means there are three causes of well-being: harmony with God, harmony with people, and harmony with nature. When one is out of balance, all suffer. I’m wondering if you would benefit from meditating on this theme now, Virgo. Have you been focused on one dimension at the expense of the others? Are you, perhaps, spiritually nourished but socially isolated? Or maybe you’re maintaining relationships but ignoring your body’s connection to the earth? Here’s your assignment: Do a Tri Hita Karana audit. Which harmony is most neglected? Add to your altar, call a friend, or go walk in the great outdoors — whichever one you’ve been shortchanging.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You are a diplomat in the struggle between beauty and inelegance. Your aptitude for creating harmony is a great asset that others might underestimate or miss completely. I hope you will always trust your hunger for classiness even if others dismiss it as superficial. One of your key reasons for being here on earth is to keep insisting on loveliness in a world too quick to settle for ugliness. These qualities of yours are especially needed right now. Please be gracefully insistent on expressing them wherever you go.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The bad news: You underestimate how much joy and pleasure you deserve — and how much you’re capable of experiencing. This artificially low expectation has sometimes cheated you out of your rightful share of bliss and fulfillment. The good news: Life is now ready to conspire with you to raise your happiness levels. I hope you will cooperate eagerly. The more intensely you insist on feeling good, the more cosmic assistance you will garner. Here’s a smart way to launch this holy campaign: Renounce a certain lackluster thrill that diverts you from more lavish excitements.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In classical music, a “rest” isn’t the absence of
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Sufi mystics tell us that the heart has “seven levels of depth,” each one bearing progressively more profound wisdom. You access these depths by feeling deeper, not thinking harder. Let’s apply this perspective to you, Pisces. Right now, you’re being called to descend past surface emotions (irritation, worry, mild contentment) into the layers beneath: primal wonder, the wild joy you’re sometimes too cautious to express, and the sacred longing that can lead you to glory. This dive might feel risky. That’s good! It means you’re going deep enough. What you discover down there will reorganize everything above it for the better.
music. It’s a specific notation that creates space, tension, and meaning. The silence is as much a part of the composition as the sound. I suggest you think of your current pause this way, Sagittarius. You’re not waiting for your real life to resume. You’re in a rest, and the rest is an essential part of the process you’re following. It’s creating the conditions for what comes next. So instead of anxiously filling every moment with productivity or distraction, try honoring the pause. Be deliberately quiet. Let the silence accumulate. When the next movement begins, you’ll understand exactly why the rest was necessary.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Interesting temptations are wandering into your orbit. You may be surprised to find yourself drawn toward entertaining gambles and tricky adventures. How should you respond? Should you say “Yes! Now! I’m ready!”? Or is open-minded caution a wiser approach? Conditions are too slippery for me to arrive at definitive conclusions. What I can tell you is this: Merely considering and ruminating on these invitations will awaken uplifting and inspiring lessons. P.S.: To get the fullness of the blessings you want from other people, you must first give them to yourself.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The engineer Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) said he envisioned his inventions in intricate detail before building them. He didn’t need literal prototypes because his mental pictures were so vivid. I suspect you Aquarians now have extra access to this power. What scenarios are you dreaming of? What are you incubating in your imagination? I urge you to boldly trust your thought experiments. Your mental prototypes may be unusually accurate. The visions you’re testing internally are reconnaissance missions to futures that you have the power to build. Regard your imagination as a laboratory.
THEATER By Chris McCoy
Back to the Future: The Musical
How the beloved blockbuster made the transition to the stage.
When you create a perfect lm, you want to protect it.
When Bob Gale cowrote Back to the Future with director Robert Zemeckis, they knew they had something special. But they never envisioned that the lm would become such a classic.
Gale and Zemeckis had long talked about the possibilities of time travel narratives, drawing inspiration from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and H.G. Wells’ e Time Machine as ltered through the 1960 lm by George Pal. “We loved all the imagery of Raymond Loewy and Norman Bel Geddes — the 1939 World’s Fair, the Futurama exhibit there, all that Art Deco Modernism. We thought that was the future we were promised when we were little kids. What happened to it? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could tell a story where you had a character go to that future? It was called ‘Professor Brown Visits e Future.’ But we were never really able to make anything out of it.
“ is was back in like 1975-76. Every once in a while, we’d pull it out of the drawer and kick it around. Well, in 1980, I was visiting my parents in St. Louis. Our basement had ooded. My dad hands me this box full of stu that he salvaged. He said, ‘Go through this and see if there’s anything worth keeping.’ And in there was his high school yearbook. I’d never seen it before, and I went to the same high school my dad did. So I thought, oh, this would be kind of cool. What was my high school like in 1940?
“And lo and behold, my dad had been president of his graduating class. Something I had no idea about! I’m looking at this picture of my dad, and I’m thinking about the president of my graduating class, who was one of these rah-rah, sosh guys I would have never had anything to do with. And so I wondered, if I’d gone to high school with my dad, was that who he was? Would I have even been friends with him?’ And bingo, that’s when the proverbial bolt of lightning struck me. ere’s our time travel movie: e kid goes back in time and ends up in high school with his own father.”
It’s hard to believe now, but the concept was a tough sell for a couple of young screenwriters.“ e script had been rejected constantly,” recalls Gale. “We’d gotten over 40 rejections. People told us time travel movies don’t make any money — which was a true
Just like in 1985, those who doubted the power of Back to the Future: The Musical were quickly proven wrong.
statement in 1981-82.”
But even executives who rejected it recognized the sentimental core of the story. “ ey kept telling us, ‘Take it to Disney!’ It was like a Hail Mary. We thought, ‘Maybe they’re right. Maybe this belongs at Disney. ey said, ‘No, we’re not making a movie about incest.’”
Eventually, Steven Spielberg, whom Gale and Zemeckis had worked with on 1941, greenlit Back to the Future with his Amblin Entertainment, and the $19 million lm went on to gross $398 million. It is widely considered among the best of the classic ’80s sci- blockbusters, and spawned two sequels, both of which are also excellent.
Unlike many of the lms of the era, Back to the Future has never had a legacy sequel or reboot. at’s because Gale and Zemeckis consider the trilogy perfect as it is. But what the lm does have that its peers lack is a hit Broadway musical adaptation.
Gale says they decided to adapt the material for the stage because “Nobody was going to confuse us making a theatrical musical, a completely di erent medium, with a reboot of the
movie.”
anks to the original contract with Universal, Gale and Zemeckis retained the rights to make theatrical works based on Back to the Future
“We controlled it. We decided how it was going to get done, who was going to do it. And the most important thing is that, if we saw it going south, if we thought it was going to be crap, we could push the red button and no
more! It was done. Because this wasn’t a case where the world was beating a path to our door, clamoring for Back to the Future: e Musical. Not in the slightest. And when we announced it, there were a shitload of people who said, ‘Oh, this is the worst idea ever! You’re going to ruin Back to the Future!’”
Back to the Future spawned a pair of radio hits, “Back In Time”
PHOTOS: (TOP) EVAN ZIMMERMAN | MURPYMADE; (ABOVE) RYAN HARTFORD (top) David Josefsberg as Doc Brown and Lucas Hallauer as Marty McFly; (above) Screenwriter and producer Bob Gale
THEATER By Chris McCoy
and “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News, and included memorable ’50s music like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Earth Angel.” Composer Alan Silvestri, a frequent Zemeckis collaborator, and lyricist Glen Ballard were tapped to flesh out the musical. “We had just a wonderful working relationship. Nobody ever lost their temper,” says Gale. “Glen wrote this fantastic song that Doc Brown has in act two called ‘For the Dreamers,’ which may be the very best song in the show. And it’s just Doc Brown singing about who he is in his life.”
The part of Goldie Wilson, the young Black man Marty meets in 1955 who become Mayor of Hill Valley in 1985, was expanded for the stage. “This was one of the things that we learned
from the movie,” says Gale. “He was such a popular character, even though in the movie, he’s only in in it for like six minutes or so. He’s got a terrific number that brings the house down every night.”
Just like in 1985, those who doubted the power of Back to the Future: The Musical were quickly proven wrong. “We played 18 months on Broadway. We’re almost gonna make it to five years in London. We’re about to start our second year in Tokyo. We’re opening in Hamburg on March 22nd. We have the U.S. tour, which will run for two years. And we’re going to start a U.K. tour in the fall.”
Back to the Future: The Musical won’t need roads when it flies into the Orpheum Theatre March 3-8.
EMPLOYMENT
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THE LAST WORD
By Frank Murtaugh
November is Now
What will you do to protect your vote?
Sportswriters like to make predictions. We like to prognosticate. I learned these were dangerous paths long ago — it was the night in December 1997 when Peyton Manning’s Heisman Trophy was given to Charles Woodson — and I’ve generally stuck to reporting and analysis ever since. But I like to consider what I (or you) might have predicted when Donald J. Trump took the oath of o ce for his second term as president on January 20, 2025.
Looking into our crystal ball on that seismic day: “Over the next 13 months, thousands of Americans will be deported without seeing a courtroom … Canada will be o ered statehood (a 51st star on the ag?) … A Democrat will be assassinated in Minnesota … A Republican will be assassinated in Utah … e United States will bomb Iran … e United States will invade Venezuela (and kidnap its president) … e federal government will set a new record for longest shutdown … Greenland will be targeted for U.S. expansion (Greenland) … Two Americans will be shot and killed by immigration agents in Minnesota … e Kennedy Center will be shut down … and President Trump’s name will appear in the Epstein Files somewhere between 4,000 and one million times.” Had I o ered this package of predictions to you, your response would reveal your position on the great American divide. On one side: But he’ll end eight wars! On the other: Is that all??
Friends, the United States has never lived 13 months of “times” like the most recent.
I love presidential history, foremost because studying the lives of our past presidents — be he a Lincoln or merely an Arthur — is a great way to gain entry into the times of those presidents. And every term of every president has been distinctive, in part (large or small) because of the impact the leader himself made. Friends, the United States has never lived 13 months of “times” like the most recent. is doesn’t make our place in history worse or more painful than those who were alive at the outbreak of the Civil War or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But I’m here to tell you: We are living the most confusing time (so far) in American history.
And if you think the last 13 months were a crazed whirlwind, it wasn’t even an election year. As November approaches and American voters have the chance — we think, we hope — to correct some errors in Congress, President Trump and his band of powerful sycophants will be hammering away at the nal nail in democracy’s co n. If they are successful in making the 2026 midterms a charade for the autocracy, the ongoing confusion will at least subside a bit, as we’ll know King Trump is in place until mortality does its thing. “Nationalizing” elections? As recently as January 19, 2025, I would have shrugged and even chuckled at such a notion. It’s now part of the conversation, and a consideration for 50 secretaries of state charged with overseeing November’s election.
What the heck can we do? First of all, if you’re not registered to vote, register to vote. (Please, tell at least one person every week to register if they haven’t.) And do so now. e closer November gets, I predict, the more challenging the paperwork will become. Autocrats like fewer voters, not more. Secondly, become a name your congressman knows. Call or email with the same demand every time: “Keep President Trump away from my vote!” ird, contact your local election commission and ask for information. What’s being done to protect my vote this fall? What’s changed since the last time I voted? Autocrats don’t like sharing information. So demand information.
Bless the thousands of Americans who have taken to the streets — unpaid, to be clear — to peacefully protest this regime in the dead of winter. Imagine what we might see when spring and summer arrive. But here’s another thing about autocrats: ey don’t care what the people prefer. Truly, the only power most of us will ever have in this democracy experiment is our vote. Protect yours. Keep Donald Trump’s grabby hands away from it. If you don’t, here’s a prediction: You’ll never vote again.
Frank Murtaugh is the managing editor of Memphis Magazine. He writes the columns “From My Seat” and “Tiger Blue” for the Flyer
PHOTO: RAWPIXEL.COM | ADOBE STOCK
e only power most of us will ever have is our vote. Protect yours.
