Memphis Flyer 6/1/2023

Slider Inn’s Jameson Slushie

SHARA CLARK Editor

SAMUEL X. CICCI

Managing Editor

JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

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Arts and Culture Editor

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Editor’s note: Flyer writers will occasionally share this space. To stimulate sales for Pride Month (June), Target stores around the country put up displays of LGBTQ-centric clothing. Customers in some stores were o ended and showed their displeasure by knocking down the Pride merchandise, angrily confronting sales clerks, and posting threatening videos on social media. Target’s response to the vandalism and intimidation was to remove entirely some of its Pride merchandise, and move other items from displays at the front of the store to less-prominent areas.

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement last week. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most signi cant confrontational behavior.” In other words, Target gave in to the wishes of a loud minority of bigots and bullies who created those “volatile circumstances.”

And we let them.

ere were no major counter-protests of Target’s actions from LGBTQ activists. ere were no cries of outrage from those of us with LGBTQ friends, co-workers, and family members (which is all of us). We just let it happen. Oh well, who needs a rainbow Tshirt anyway, right?

is is how fascists take over a country: one small victory at a time. ey are the would-be thought police, the Christian Nationalist Taliban, afraid of anything that challenges their tiny-minded view of the world. ey are easily manipulated by leaders who stoke their fears and bigotry.

Sadly, there are now plenty of would-be autocrats in this country eager to lead the charge — one small victory at a time:

ey ban books about Black history, even about heroes like Rosa Parks. ey prohibit the viewing of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. ey try to re a teacher who shows a hgrade class a Disney movie suitable for 8-year-olds. ey want to force every pregnant woman to give birth. ey shoot cases of beer. ey make white-supremacist noises on social media and cable news. eir game plan is to intimidate a pliant majority and re up their own ignorant base in the process.

It’s time to say enough, time to stop conceding ground that was hard-won over decades to racists, bigots, misogynists, and other assorted morons seeking to force their prejudices upon us and our children. It’s time to emulate a group in Florida who stood up when the Escambia School Board banned a book called And Tango Makes ree, a true story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who lived in New York’s Central Park Zoo and raised an adopted chick. e book was banned at the insistence of one parent who said she was concerned “a second-grader would read this book, and that idea would pop into the second grader’s mind … that these are two people of the same sex that love each other.”

A group of parents, book publishers, authors, and PEN America stood up and said, “Enough.” ey led suit against the school board, alleging that the ban restricted books “based on their disagreement with the ideas expressed, an orthodoxy of opinion that violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. … State censors are spiriting books o shelves in a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices. In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand.” Hopefully, a judge will agree.

NEWS & OPINION THE FLY-BY - 4

POLITICS - 8

VIEWPOINT - 10

FINANCE - 11

COVER STORY

“FEELS LIKE SUMMER” BY FLYER STAFF - 12

WE RECOMMEND - 16

MUSIC - 17

SPORTS - 18

AFTER DARK - 19

CALENDAR - 21

But lawsuits are just one tool in the toolbox. Confrontation at every turn is how this stu gets sti ed. Bullies understand the power of numbers and volume. Progressives need to show out in number and shout their repressive asses down at every opportunity. e only reason Governor Bill Lee called for an August special session to deal with gun reform (of the mildest possible sort) is because thousands of outraged citizens lled the streets of Nashville for days at a time a er the Covenant School shooting. Now, the Tennessee legislature, which has essentially gerrymandered true democracy out of existence, is trying to cancel the special session, saying it’s a “publicity stunt” that will incite “the national woke mob.”

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 22

FOOD - 24

METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION - 25

NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 26

ASTROLOGY - 27

FILM - 28

CLASSIFIEDS - 30

LAST WORD - 31

As a member in good standing of the National Woke Mob™, I say it’s well past time for us to get “incited.” And stay woke. We’re all Targets now.

Bruce VanWyngarden brucev@memphis yer.com

PHOTO: CECILIE JOHNSEN | UNSPLASH

THE fly-by

ernet

Memphis on the internet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

City leaders remembered the city’s birthday last week in a Facebook post that read, “It’s true, we were founded on this day in 1819 (and we’re told we don’t look a day over 200). Starting as a quiet little spot along the mighty Mississippi, we grew, and grew, and grew into this amazing place so many of you call home today.”

GREAT PYRAMIDS

e MEMernet celebrated the world’s greatest pyramids in a meme making the rounds last week. Only one of the pyramids has waders and turkey fryers, though.

MEMGPT

Lauren Korleski asked ChatGPT last week to cra a Memphis-correct message to someone, asking them to come to work on time. Success? You be the judge:

“Hey there, buddy! Listen up, ’cause I got somethin’ important to tell ya. We need you to hightail it to work on time, no dilly-dallyin’. Time is tickin’ and we can’t a ord no tardiness, y’hear? So, lace up them boots, grab a cup o’joe, and hustle your way to the workplace pronto. We’re countin’ on ya to be here and give it your all. Don’t keep us waitin’ like a slowpoke on Beale Street. See ya bright and early, partner!”

{WEEK THAT WAS By

Flyer staff

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

Litter, Tourism, & the Special Session

Trash is down, tourism is up, and the GOP doesn’t want to talk guns.

NOT SO TRASHY

Litter on Tennessee roadways decreased since 2016, and while Memphis appears to be most littered city here, West Tennessee was the least.

All of this is according to a new state litter report that found litter along Tennessee interstates, U.S. highways, state highways, and local roads decreased by about 12 percent over the last six years.

e report said 88.5 million pieces of litter (larger than four inches that may be visible to passersby) exist on Tennessee roadsides at any give time, down from 100 million in 2016. e report found about 679.7 million pieces of litter that were four inches or smaller and may not be visible on roads.

A heat map in the report showed Memphis as the mostlittered place in Tennessee, though it did not provide any other data to prove it. However, a graph showed that West Tennessee was the least littered part of the state.

TENNESSEE TOURISM

Tennessee travel spending hit a record-breaking $27.5 billion in 2022, according to preliminary data released by U.S. Travel and Tourism Economics. e new data saw Tennessee rise from 14th place in 2020 to 11th in the national ranking for both 2021 and 2022.

e leisure and hospitality industry employs more than 352,000 Tennesseans. Tourism is the state’s second-largest industry and contributed $1.8 billion to the state co ers last year. A report released last year said tourism jobs in Memphis had returned to pre-pandemic levels and that tourists spent $3.4 billion here in 2021.

PRIDE TIME

Mid-South Pride will host the Memphis Pride Fest Weekend this week.

e weekend starts on ursday, June 1st, with a “Drag N Drive” event at the Malco Summer Drive-In with a viewing of Legally Blonde and a drag show to follow. Other events include a Big Gay Dance Party, the festival itself on Saturday, Pride Night at 901 FC that evening, and a drag brunch on Sunday.

SPECIAL SESSION

Last week, three Tennessee Republican lawmakers asked Governor Bill Lee to “abandon” a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly, scheduled for August to focus on gun safety, calling it a “publicity stunt” that will incite the “national woke mob.”

Rep. Bryan Richey (R-Maryville), Rep. Ed Butler (RRickman), and Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) signed an open letter to Lee last week saying any gun measures can be addressed during the next regular session in January.

In a pointed tone, the letter reminded Lee that Republicans le Nashville this year without taking up his gun legislation and promised they wouldn’t pass any such legislation. ey called the special session an “expensive, disruptive, futile, and counter-productive publicity stunt.”

e GOP letter warns that a special session will incite protests by le -wing activists in Nashville and will be in “service to the national woke mob that will descend on the Capitol.” All of it will “make the ‘Tennessee ree’ circus look like a dress rehearsal.” ey claim “heavy security” will be needed to protect lawmakers from “unruly agitators.”

RIDES TO RESOURCES

Innovate Memphis is o ering a new phone service targeted toward older adults and people with disabilities in Shelby County. e Rides to Resources program will provide these individuals with “reliable transportation options to get to their destinations,” with no mobile app required. Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY CITY OF MEMPHIS

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY ALLAN CREASY

PHOTO: KEVIN REED

Mid-South Pride will host the Memphis Pride Fest Weekend starting ursday, June 1st.

By Toby Sells

The mosque- ghting, antiBlack Lives Matter, anti-CRT, 9/11 truther, and insurrectionist Laurie CardozaMoore recently got more power to choose what’s in Tennessee textbooks.

According to a story rst published on the Popular Information Substack, Cardoza-Moore won an appointment this month from Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to sit on a committee to review social studies textbooks for the state’s public schools.

e state began a review of social studies academic standards last June. Since then, the public has weighed in, a teacher advisory group worked on the issue, revisions to texts were reviewed by another committee, and then the public was asked to weigh in on those revisions. In August, the state’s Social Studies Standards Recommendation Committee, to which Cardoza-Moore was appointed, will “submit the nal recommendations for standards” to the State Board of Education.

“ e materials we will be reviewing can only accomplish the mission of educating good, American citizens if our Tennessee textbooks are devoid of le -aligned historic revisionism and the toxic material found in the antisemitic Critical Race eory; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Social-Emotional Learning and Ethnic Studies,” Cardoza-Moore said in a news release statement from her Franklin-based group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN).

construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro. On e 700 Club television show, she told host Pat Robertson the mosque was a training camp for terrorists. In her news statement this month, she claimed one person on the mosque’s board was “actively recruiting Muslims to kill Jews on his MySpace page.”

In 2021, Cardoza-Moore was appointed by Sexton to the state’s Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission. In a con rmation hearing, Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) asked her about a recommendation from her nonpro t to revise a textbook statement about 9/11.

at release further cra s CardozaMoore as a controversial gure who recently “came under re for her criticism of Governor Bill Lee’s appointment of Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds as the new Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner.” Cardoza-Moore also beamed in the praise of a spokesman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for her review of textbooks there that “caught and corrected dozens of books to prevent political indoctrination of Florida’s children.”

Cardoza-Moore did not shy away from her past controversies in her news release. In 2010, she publicly fought against the

e passage from the textbook reads, “On September 11th, 2001, members of al-Qaeda carried out a terrorist attack on New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.” In the PJTN report, the phrase “members of al-Qaeda carried out” is underlined. e PJTN report said, “Given the plethora of evidence, the reviewer suggests removing the underlined section of sentence.”

“ is is a highly contested (per architects and engineers for 9/11 Truth, and demolition experts) argument,” reads the PJTN review. “ ere is ample evidence that refute the ‘o cial’ story of what was perpetrated that day.”

When Akbari pressed Cardoza-Moore to con rm that these were, in fact, the statements of her organization, CardozaMoore said, “What you’re quoting right now, I never would have said that.”

Cardoza-Moore then told the committee on the question of al-Qaeda’s involvement in 9/11: “I need to see the quote in the context you’re pulling it from. Is that from a Power Point? I would never say alQaeda never participated in [9/11].”

A er Cardoza-Moore’s testimony was complete, Akbari said she “cannot think of someone who is more uniquely unquali ed to be in this position.”

“[I] cannot think of someone who is more uniquely unqualified to be in this position.”

PHOTO: PROCLAIMING JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS | FACEBOOK Laurie Cardoza-Moore

STATE WATCH

A right-wing fringe ideologue gets even more power to choose Tennessee textbooks.

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Two Step Forward

As of last week, when the Shelby County Election Commission began making candidate petitions available for would-be o ceseekers, the 2023 Memphis city election can be said to have o cially started.

In reality, numerous campaigns, both for mayor and for city council, have been proceeding for some time.

e mayoral eld would seem to be all but set, and council hopefuls, many of whom have been lying back, waiting to be sure about the council’s still uno cial district lines, have begun lling in the blanks as well.

Two candidates for mayor — both destined, one way or another, to have a major impact on the election results — chose last week to enact rollouts of a sort. One was 83-year-old former Mayor Willie Herenton, who had a campaign kicko event last ursday at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn on Central.

e other, some 40 years his junior, was Downtown Memphis Commission CEO Paul Young, who formally opened his campaign headquarters last Saturday at Poplar Plaza.

Herenton is the senior eminence of this race (or, in some quarters, where his tenure wore too long, the éminence grise). He was elected mayor in ve previous elections, the rst being his 1991 epochal victory as the city’s rst elected African-American chief executive. For better or for worse, his name is known to virtually all Memphians who pay attention to their social or civic circumstances.

Young is, by contrast, a newcomer to most Memphians, despite having held numerous positions of importance in city and county government. ough he has signi cant backing among the city elite and is the leading fundraiser among all mayoral candidates, with cash on hand of roughly half a million dollars, Young acknowledges being

a relative unknown to the public at large. In an e ort to build up his name recognition, he has dutifully attended almost all the preliminary events, both large and small, that have been held so far for mayoral candidates.

In his own words last Saturday, “We can’t just play this as politics as usual … just to [select] whatever name you know. … We’ve got to do it di erently this time. … History is made when people step up to the plate, to do the thing that needs to be done to elevate our community.

“I’ll say it again. It’s not about the name, you know. It’s about what results those individuals created. As a result of the work that they’ve done in their present or previous role. I could care less about politics, I want to do the work. … For the past 20 years, I’ve been doing the work. I’ve been the person behind the scenes doing the work. It’s time to step up. I represent the next generation.”

Herenton, too, spoke of a “New Path” for the city and promised to unveil this week a package of proposals, including one for a “multi-million dollar restorative justice campus.” He pledged a “tough love” approach to public safety and advocated that the council repeal several recent actions restricting police actions.

As a token of his “strong-mayor” attitude, Herenton reminded his listeners that he had as mayor resisted calls for a public referendum on the nancial deal that brought the NBA Grizzlies, “a great team,” to Memphis.

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER Paul Young at his HQ opening

Herenton and Young have rollout events for their mayoral campaigns.

Missed the Mark

Ideas about men and manhood have been evolving for more than 50 years, but Sen. Josh Hawley has not gotten the message. Like so many others working to protect white male supremacy (see Carlson, Tucker; McCarthy, Kevin), he’s driving a gasguzzling Cadillac on a road increasingly filled with EVs.

Just as women are vigorously resisting returning to a pre-Roe v. Wade America, men aren’t going back either. Tone-deaf to shifts in the culture, Hawley published a book about men last month, perhaps as a ploy to revive his presidential ambitions.

Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs is a call for American men to “stand up and embrace their God-given responsibility as husbands, fathers, and citizens,” according to Regnery, Hawley’s far-right publisher. If you want to know what not to embrace in considering American manhood, it’s all in the 256 pages of this book. Claiming that our country’s all-male founders believed that the U.S. “depends” on certain masculine virtues ignores the realities of today.

There is much to appreciate about men; still, we’d be much better off if we talked about positive changes — embracing gender equality and rejecting white male supremacy. Calling men out as unemployed whiners, and trashtalking women while playing video games and watching pornography, misses the mark. Examples of new expressions of masculinity abound, from stay-at-home dads to younger men becoming curious about feminism.

Hawley’s thesis — that men are in crisis — does have a kernel of truth; there are men floundering, but that is not where the majority of younger men are headed. More and more men are abandoning expressions of masculine culture based on oppressing anyone not white or male. Sure, we still have a ways to go, but support among younger men for women’s reproductive rights, for gay and trans rights, for voting rights, is on the rise.

There are organizations around the country and across the globe promoting gender equality, challenging men’s violence, encouraging involved fatherhood, while rejecting men as top dog at home, work, and houses of worship.

Danger does exist; just not what Hawley is concerned about. It’s in young men enamored of gun culture, sucked into social media echo chambers of

hate. To see how out of touch Hawley is, there’s nothing in his book about perpetrators of mass shooting massacres — primarily young men.

“Ever since the January 6 committee showed the video of Sen. Hawley running from the insurrectionist mob he’d earlier encouraged with a fist in the air, we’ve all had a good laugh at his expense,” Jonathan Capehart wrote in The Washington Post

Although caricatured as a “manhood-obsessed hypocrite,” make no mistake: Hawley is dangerous precisely because, as Capehart noted, “He is selling a vision of masculinity to White America that has much more to do with prejudice than manliness.”

His message may still resonate with older white men, but younger men, even those who may enjoy watching Ultimate Fighting, are generally tolerant, accepting of their gay and trans coworkers, and are supportive of colleagues who have had an abortion.

The future is not white male supremacy, in part because patriarchy is dangerous for men.

In a March 31, 1776, letter, Abigail Adams, future first lady to our second president, wrote her husband John, urging the Continental Congress to remember women’s interests as they prepared to fight for independence from Great Britain. “[I]n the new code of laws … I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. … Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”

There have been “pro-feminist” men since at least the 18th century. While Abigail Adams may not have mentioned men, they were alliesin-waiting then, and are growing in numbers today. What is different now is that we’re stepping forward to say so.

Fifty years ago, Josh Hawley may have sold a lot of books. Today, I’m betting they’ll be remaindered by the Fourth of July.

Rob Okun (rob@voicemalemagazine.org), syndicated by PeaceVoice, writes about politics and culture. He is editor-publisher of Voice Male magazine, chronicling the antisexist men’s movement for more than three decades.

Josh Hawley’s new book on manhood is wrong on everything, everywhere, all at once.

VIEWPOINT By Rob Okun

Patients Targeted

Specialty credit cards and other products are moneymakers for lenders.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently published a report on high-cost specialty financial products, such as medical credit cards, that are sold to patients as a way to alleviate the growing costs of medical care. Patients are typically offered these products in a medical provider’s office even when their insurance may cover the procedure or they qualify for a hospital’s reduced or no-cost financial assistance program. The report finds these products are often more expensive for patients than other forms of payment, with interest rates often reaching above 25 percent. These products can add to the financial stress that comes with medical bills, including decreased access to credit, costly and lengthy collection litigation, and an increased likelihood of bankruptcy.

“Fintechs and other lending outfits are designing costly loan products to peddle to patients looking to make ends meet on their medical bills,” said CFPB director Rohit Chopra. “These new forms of medical debt can create financial ruin for individuals who get sick.”

Financial institutions and financial technology companies are generating a growing number of financing products for patients and their families. According to available public information, the financing terms for medical credit cards and medical installment loans include interest rates significantly higher than traditional consumer credit cards: 26.99 percent to 16 percent, respectively. These products often have deferred interest plans, with all accrued interest potentially becoming due at the end of a defined period, which can prove especially unaffordable for patients.

People used specialty medical credit cards or loans with deferred interest periods to pay for almost $23 billion in healthcare expenses for more than 17 million medical purchases from 2018 to 2020. They also paid $1 billion in deferred interest. These payment products are used for a range of basic medical care, including emergency room visits, medications, and lab work, as well as for dental and vision visits and treatment. The payment products may cover medical bills as low as $35 and as high as $40,000.

The growing promotion and use of high interest medical cards and installment loans can create a significant financial burden for patients and deter them from seeking needed healthcare in the future. In its research, the CFPB found:

• Medical financing companies market their products directly to healthcare providers: Financial firms market primarily to hospitals and other healthcare providers and give them marketing training and promotional materials to use when offering products to patients. The incentives financial firms market to healthcare providers include the promise of cost savings, payments within a few days, administrative ease, and minimal financial risk. Providers may be disincentivized to explain legally mandated financial assistance programs or zero-interest repayment options before offering these products to patients.

• Patients need guidance on terms and risks: While medical financing companies service the credit cards and loans, healthcare providers are the ones that offer the products to patients and disclose the terms of the products. Healthcare providers may be unable to adequately explain complex terms, such as deferred interest plans, to patients. Healthcare providers may rely solely on marketing materials and training that financing companies provide to them at no cost.

• Patients can get stuck with ballooned deferred interest and lawsuits: The CFPB found that over the past decade, purchase amounts as part of deferred interest promotions have decreased in all purchase categories except in the category of medical care. This may be because medical debt is not easily anticipated, and the costs are not known until after services are rendered. Additionally, financing medical debt on a credit card may increase patients’ exposure to extraordinary credit actions that healthcare providers would typically not pursue. For example, there can be a greater incentive for creditors to pursue lawsuits because unlike many providers, creditors can pursue a debt’s principal plus interest and fees.

To learn more about the CFPB’s work, including research reports and consumer education blog posts, visit consumerfinance.gov.

Feels ¿Like ? Summer

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COVER STORY

By Flyer staff

June is upon us, and with it comes the start of the fearsome Memphis summers: sweltering heat waves, thick walls of humidity, and plenty of time designated to sitting around a pool.

While true summer won’t begin for another couple of weeks, it sure feels like summer already, and an arbitrary start won’t stop anyone from seeking out early ways to beat the heat. Here at the Memphis Flyer, we asked our team for some advice on how they cool o , and our writers delivered.

Whether it’s sweet treats, canoe trips, or a jaunt to the drive-in, there’s plenty of summer fun to be had. Just don’t forget the sunblock.

Coney Island

I have this idyllic summer scenario in my head of swimming for hours on a hot day and then going to a local drive-in for a

hamburger and milkshake. at scenario dates to the 1950s and ’60s for me. But I relived it the other day (except for the swimming part) when I pulled into Coney Island at 2351 Elvis Presley Boulevard.

I’ve passed this place for years and years, but I never stopped. Driving over, I suddenly realized maybe the name “Coney” was a play on ice cream “cone.”

e friendly, e cient Darious Sumlin, 19, who’s worked at Coney Island for ve or six years, took my order at the window. I ordered a hamburger (double patty) and a vanilla milkshake. I asked Sumlin what Coney Island item he thinks is the most popular. He immediately said, “Everybody comes for the Chicago-style Polish sausage.”

It comes with mustard, relish, jalapeños, and grilled onions. It’s Sumlin’s favorite, too. “I just make mine di erent.” He gets his with just mayonnaise, peppers, and cheese. “A lot of people make it their own way. Some people get just plain meat and bread. I don’t like to eat it like that.” So, I also ordered the Polish sausage sandwich

with the works.

at hamburger was great. Just like they tasted in my scenario. And that Chicago-style Polish sausage was the bomb. It was so good.

And, yes, you can get a “vanilla cone” at Coney Island.

Coney Island is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sunday.

— Michael Donahue

Enjoy Memphis’ Signature Cocktail

If Memphis has a civic cocktail, it’s the Jameson slushie.

anks to Old Dominick Distillery, the city can lay claim to a host of Memphis versions of famous drinks, like the Memphis Mule. And, yes, Wet Willie’s has been serving frozen drinks on Beale for years, but it’s a chain. Now Willie’s is even competing with another frozen drink chain — Fat Tuesday — for dominance.

But Slider Inn’s signature slushie

PHOTO: CHRIS MCCOY Writers love a good Mississippi River canoe trip.

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Darious Sumlin at Coney Island

seems to have been born, raised, and celebrated here. e cocktail’s birthday is unclear. e Memphis Flyer and e Commercial Appeal rst mention the drink in 2015. But so many years on, one thing is clear: e Jameson slushie is a bona de Memphis institution.

“ e drink consists of Barritt’s Ginger Beer, house-made lemonade, delicious Jameson Irish Whiskey, and bitters,” according to a Flyer story from 2015.

First o , though — it’s coooold. Mixed in a frozen drink machine, its tiny pebbled ice grains drink like a milkshake. Yes, this is likely how the slushie rst beckons hot and sweaty Memphians to Slider’s patios.

But they stay for the avor. e lemon citrus is bright, sweet, bitter, and subtly spiced underneath with the ginger beer. While it’s clear the slushie is alcoholic (I mean, the name, right?), it’s not boozy. e Irish whiskey is present but not overpowering.

So sit a spell on a Slider patio with friends and a slushie. Jameson shows up and works some Memphis magic on the weather and your troubles. But watch yourself. One (or maybe two) is all the fuel you’ll need to get a start on a fun evening.

— Toby Sells

e Drive-In: Branded Cool

Ever since my eyeballs took in the glorious scenes of Grease while parked in front of a hotel TV at 6 years old, I longed for the day I could be as cool as the 30-somethingyear-olds playing teenagers going to the drive-in movie. e drive-in, I imagined, would be the pinnacle of my high school experience. It wasn’t. I wouldn’t go to a drive-in until a week a er my 24th birthday, just a year older than John

Travolta was when he crooned about being stranded in the drive-in, being branded a fool, worrying what his classmates would say Monday at school.

At the Malco Summer Drive-In, though, there was no swing set for John Travolta to sulk on, no gossiping in the girls’ bathroom, no Pink Ladies, and no T-Birds. But there was a movie playing on the big screen and air conditioning in the car — and that was enough to make me feel pretty cool. Plus, you can bring your own snacks, and you don’t have to sit next to a stranger who chews too loudly, like in a regular (read: not cool) movie theater. Not to mention that tickets are only $25 per carload. What’s not to love?

e drive-in has movies playing pretty much every night this summer — from Evil Dead Rise to e Little Mermaid. And, of course, there’s the Time Warp Drive-

In every month, where you can catch back-to-back screenings of some of your favorite lms. (Time Warp’s screening on June 24th is themed “It’s War! Human vs. Aliens,” featuring Edge of Tomorrow, Starship Troopers, and e Blob [1988].) So, if you consider yourself cool, head on over to malco.com for movie times.

— Abigail Morici

e Beach Within Reach

“For some Memphis summer fun, nothing beats hitting the beach!” said no one ever? Don’t forget that hidden gem, Wolf River Beach. Truth be told, some call it a sand

bar, but my bare feet did not care one whit as they stepped into the sublime cool of the Wolf River’s waters. And, looking 50 yards in either direction at the other parties dotting the white sands, I thought, “ is is a beach!”

It turns out that this shady getaway is hidden in plain sight, just o Germantown Parkway, South Walnut Bend Road, where signs lead you to Shelby Farms’ Gate 19, with a well-maintained road to the Germantown Trailhead of the Lucius E. Burch Jr. State Natural Area. Note that the beach itself can be elusive — and sometimes disappears completely.

Don’t be alarmed: It’s only the river submerging the sandy strip a er heavy rains. Luckily, wolfriverbeach.com provides a link to the current USGS water level readings for the site, which you can check before making the trip.

Once you park you’re only a few yards from the waterside, if you bear le from the trail head. Bearing right will lead you into a few miles of wild forest — a hiker’s and birder’s paradise — before looping back to the beach. ere, I said it: THE BEACH.— Alex Greene

Have a Snoball

Some of my favorite summer memories took place in the Mississippi Delta when I was growing up. My grandma would always treat me to a strawberry-daiquiriavored snow cone and nachos from a local food truck in our town. As I grew older, this combination became a delicacy. While there were local snow cone joints that were the envy of everyone’s Instagram stories, everything felt commercialized, and I couldn’t nd that balance and innocence associated with my childhood combo.

I remember scrolling on Instagram one day and spying a snow cone with a giant piece of cheesecake in the center of it. I had heard of sweet cream, and even ice cream paired with snow cones, but this was a rst. Intrigued, I clicked on the pro le for Suga Mama Snoballs, and I was instantly transported back to my childhood. Not only does the shop have your basic “snoball” avors (I tried the birthday cake with sweet cream), but the more adventurous patrons may be privy to the “Ain’t It Mane,” which comes with a piece of strawberry shortcake in the middle, or a Suga Mama Specialty.

What makes Suga Mama so special to me is that the shop also carries foods that are true fan favorites in my household but not necessarily sold in restaurants, such as Rotel tacos and Kool-Aid pickles. e shop has two locations, with one at 1717 East Holmes Road and the other at 7041 East Shelby Drive, Suite 117.

— Kailynn Johnson

Canoe the Mississippi

When I thought about it, I couldn’t believe I’ve been in Memphis this long and never gone canoeing on the Mississippi. I’d been

continued on page 14

PHOTO: ABIGAIL MORICI Summer Drive-In

PHOTO: ALEX GREENE Wolf River Beach

out on the river in riverboats with fake paddle wheels, but there were cocktails involved. But I had never been as close to Big Muddy as I was a few weeks ago, when I set out on a Saturday paddle with Matthew Burdine of Mississippi River Expeditions and a few colleagues from Contemporary Media, Inc.

e canoe, Burdine told us, is a modern version of the vessels Native Americans had perfected thousands of years before Columbus arrived. It would seat 20 comfortably and included a mount for a sail — although we were about to nd out that on this day, the sail would have worked against us.

Burdine radiated calm as he went over the safety procedures. en the boat full of greenhorns launched into the muddy waters. Seen from the point of view of the rst people to ever navigate it, the Mississippi seems vast and unforgiving. It had stormed the night before, and at one point we saw an entire tree rushing southward on the river. Paddling did not seem super strenuous, until I imagined doing it for days on end.

Our goal was to cross the river to Robinson Crusoe Island, a game preserve directly across from the mouth of the Wolf River, where we had put in. But as we paddled into the main channel, a strong

west wind whipped up, and it was obvious this boat full of novices lacked the muscle power to buck it. Instead, we paddled around the harbor, taking in the angle at which Downtown looks most fetching.

A er this taste of aquatic wilderness, I will de nitely go back for a full day trip when the wind is a little calmer. — Chris McCoy

Kick Back at Overton Park’s Abe Goodman Clubhouse

“We could just go play Overton.”

ose words were o en uttered by Memphis golfers over the past 40 years

or so — “Overton,” meaning the oncescru y little nine-hole course that wound through the Old Forest in Overton Park. For decades, it was a course of last resort, the track you went to when you couldn’t get a tee time anywhere else. Overton Park was short and funky, with tiny greens and erratic maintenance that made each round an adventure.

at’s decidedly no longer the case. In 2021, the course underwent a $4 million makeover, the result of a private/public partnership that produced a delightfully revamped course that opened last June.

It was a long time coming. e original course in Overton Park opened in 1906 and was reputedly the rst public course opened in the South. Twenty years later, in 1926, Memphis businessman and philanthropist Abe Goodman donated $25,000 for the construction of a clubhouse. In those days, $25,000 went a long way. As Memphis magazine’s Vance Lauderdale put it in a 2018 article about Goodman: “ e Tudor-style building featured a vaultedceiling dance hall, massive brick replace, snack bar, golf shop, and kitchen facilities on the ground oor. Downstairs, players could nd showers and changing rooms. Upstairs was a cozy apartment for the resident golf pro.”

I suspect there is no longer an apartment for a resident golf pro upstairs, but the newly remodeled Abe Goodman Clubhouse is now reopened — with its 100-year-old bones nicely intact. It’s a worthy companion to the reinvented links.

And I should mention that the shady patio is an inviting spot to enjoy a cool beverage on a summer a ernoon, even if you’ve never played a round.

— Bruce VanWyngarden

Brain Out on a Patio

Most summers, I nd myself craving a beer when the heat starts to creep in. And most times, I’ll seek out a patio to drink said beer upon. My balcony works, sure, but sometimes I need to just get outside

PHOTO: BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Abe Goodman Clubhouse

PHOTO: KAILYNN JOHNSON Suga Mama Snoballs

the con nes of my home space and nd a new spot.

But while I’ve done plenty of drinkin’ and patio relaxin’ in my time, I have a constant need to be entertained. So with that in mind, our crew set out to nd patios that could provide fun activities.

Like the nerds we are, we eventually settled on the weekly “Geeks Who Drink” trivia at Ghost River Brewing Co. that lets us chill outside (the end of South Main is quite nice and calm at dusk) and work those brains as we guzzle a Grindhouse or Riverbank Red. Trusty Mike behind the bar gives us the proverbial hat tip now that we’ve established ourselves as regulars, and then the games can begin.

ere’s plenty of brainteasing trivia fun to be had around town, but the chill vibe at Ghost River gives trivia some room to breathe, with this iteration providing some truly bizarre categories. Take, for instance, a music round that requires you to identify di erent songs, usually with a twist. My favorite is one that replaces all vocals with the sounds of chickens clucking, or another that features iconic Darth Vader lines dropped into the middle of a song. It’s a whole lot of shenanigans, a whole lot of beer, and a whole lot of patio. An excellent summer combo. — Samuel X. Cicci

WINNER!

PHOTO: SAMUEL X. CICCI Ghost River patio

Live music

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Michelangelo in Memphis

I’d walk a thousand miles just to be with you, dear reader, but that’s my limit. I won’t walk 500 miles more — or even a foot more — my body will crumble. So, if you ask me to meet you in Vatican City to stare at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which is 5,205 miles away from Memphis, I’d have to decline. But what if I told you that you could still see Michelangelo’s frescoes that adorn Sistine Chapel’s ceiling without having to renew your passport? at’s right, you can see them all at the Renasant Convention Center, thanks to the Los Angelesbased production company SEE Global Entertainment.

By Abigail Morici

“ e show came to be because my CEO went to the Sistine Chapel and had a miserable experience,” says Eric Leong, senior producer at SEE Global Entertainment. “I don’t like saying ‘miserable,’ but he felt rushed. He was only in there for 15 minutes before he got pushed out. He was shoulder-to-shoulder with other people, and the whole time guards are yelling to be quiet, no photos ’cause you’re not allowed to take photos there. And he just felt that he didn’t get to enjoy the art the way he wanted.”

So, the company got to making a version of the Sistine Chapel where people could really immerse themselves in the art of Michelangelo, the result being the traveling “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: e Exhibition,” which features the 34 frescoes reproduced as high-de nition photographic prints. Unlike the Vatican, Leong says, viewers can get up close to the prints and spend time witnessing each one individually, and to prevent over-crowding, the exhibit has a limited number of tickets per hour.

“We obviously can’t compete with the Vatican,” Leong says, “but we’re not trying to. We’re trying to give people a unique experience, a unique perspective. … And the ability to have a little bit of Rome or history come to you for the price of what a meal might cost you in Italy, you get to see the next best version of this timeless work of art. And you get to see it in an environment where it’s quieter, and you can actually take your time through it.

“If you haven’t been to the Chapel before, you’re gonna hopefully get inspired to go see the real thing,” Leong adds. “And you’re gonna learn about Michelangelo, you’re gonna learn new facts, and I always say if people have more time to spend being inspired by art, they’re gonna do better things, then the world’s gonna be better. It sounds extremely cheesy, but I believe it is true.”

Guests should expect to spend approximately 60 to 90 minutes in the exhibition. An audio guide, included in admission, will be available to download to accompany your viewing. All ages are welcome, and tickets can be purchased at chapelsistine.com/ exhibits/memphis.

“MICHELANGELO’S SISTINE CHAPEL: THE EXHIBITION,” RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER, ON DISPLAY THROUGH JUNE 10, $22.50/ADULTS, $19/CHILDREN, $21.50/SENIOR CITIZENS, STUDENTS, AND MILITARY.

Memphis Italian Festival Marquette Park, ursday-Saturday, June 1-June 3, $10

e Memphis Italian Festival returns this summer for three days of great food, great music, and lots of fun — all to bene t the children of Holy Rosary Catholic School.

Festival-goers can enjoy arts and cra s vendors, local Italian food vendors, Luigi Land Carnival rides and games, cooking demonstrations, grape stomping, a car ra e, and more.

e music lineup includes Bailey Bigger, Alice Hasen, Formerly Known As, Landslide (Fleetwood Mac Tribute), e Shotgun Billys, AMMM (Allen, Mack, Myers, Moore), and more.

e festival hours are: ursday, 4-11 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Kids (10 and under) and active military with ID get in free.

Mid-South Pride Fest Weekend

Various locations, ursday-Sunday, June 1-4

Mid-South Pride hosts a weekend full of events, kicking o on ursday with a Drag N Drive at the Malco Summer Drive-In. e event will include a screening of Legally Blonde, followed by a drag show.

e main event — the festival itself — is on Saturday at Robert Church Park, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission is $1. With more than 150 vendors o ering a diverse shopping experience, community organizations and support groups, a food truck park, a car show, a kids’ area, a VIP lounge, free HIV screenings, resources for health and wellness, and of course, the Pride Parade, Memphis Pride Fest has something for everyone.

Other events include the Big Gay Dance Party, Bacchus a er-

party, and Grand Marshal Drag Brunch. For more info on all the weekend’s happenings, visit midsouthpride.org.

“We Are Here: LGBTQIA+ Voices in the Contemporary Metals Community” Opening Reception Metal Museum, June 4, 3 p.m. “We Are Here” seeks to elevate and celebrate contemporary LGBTQIA+ voices working in the metal arts community today. Jurors matt lambert, Al Murray, and Lawrence Matthews worked to select 40 works of art from 26 metal artists across the country. Together, these pieces forge a fuller narrative of the metal arts community.

Visit metalmuseum.org to register to attend the pay-what-you-can opening reception. e exhibit will be on display through September 10th, following its opening.

PHOTO: ABIGAIL MORICI

You don’t have to go to Vatican City.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

A Song of Civil Rights

e No Tears Project lights up a renovated Cossitt Library.

When pianist Christopher Parker and singer Kelley Hurt composed the No Tears Suite to commemorate the Little Rock Nine, the Black students who de ed Arkansas segregationists and walked into the once all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957, they never suspected the piece would take on a life of its own. at was over six years ago, when the couple were commissioned by the Oxford American to create the piece, and it made perfect sense to premiere it at the Central High School National Historic Site on the 60th Anniversary of the Little Rock Nine’s actions. Beyond that, however, there were no plans.

“It’s completely amazing,” says Parker of the trajectory of the suite he and his wife composed. “It just keeps snowballing, and now it’s unfolding that this thing was destined to be more than just one performance in Little Rock.” Ultimately, an album of the piece was released on Mahakala Music, but it wasn’t long before it grew into a movable musical feast which, ironically, shrank the original suite’s length to make room for local voices wherever the show took root.

presented in Little Rock, followed by a live-streamed performance in New Orleans the next year, then shows in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, the year a er that. Most recently, the project was presented in St. Louis last month, soon to be followed by a series of events in Memphis from June 10th through 14th.

At the heart of the Memphis shows will be a June 10th performance of

e St. Louis show ramped up the local involvement considerably, with the involvement of a bona de jazz great, saxophonist Oliver Lake, founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet. “Oliver’s poetry was hitting it on the head,” says Parker, “with ve poems about Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Amadou Diallo. Not only was it very piercing, but it had this dark humor.”

Given the centrality of racial justice issues to today’s America, one might have predicted a second life for the piece, which blends orchestral jazz not unlike that of Gil Evans with Hurt’s invocations of the imagery and names from that day, inspired by Melba

Pattillo Beals’ memoir Warriors Don’t Cry. Before long, Parker and Hurt sensed that they had struck a nerve.

eir creation was resonating with cities across the region in ways they couldn’t have predicted. In 2019, a new arrangement by bassist Rufus Reid was

what has grown far beyond a suite, now known as the No Tears Project, at the newly reopened Cossitt Library on Front Street. It will be an apt use of the newly renovated library space, which has been carefully cra ed under the guidance of programmer Emily Marks and other team members into a multimillion-dollar arts hub featuring video labs, recording studios, and performance spaces. Indeed, it’s entirely appropriate that this space, shaped by and for the Memphis community, should play host to a project that’s become a community endeavor in its own right.

As Parker explains, it all began with the Oklahoma show. “We collaborated with these people in Tulsa, and that was really successful,” he says. “We were like, ‘What do y’all do?’ And they were more like the folk rock/singersongwriter type of ilk. ey weren’t really writing civil rights songs, but more about the moral life, folksy and spiritual. So it tied things together in kind of a cool way. People in the audience knew those people and we found some commonality.”

e original suite was shortened to make time for those poems, and others by Treasure Shields Redmond, not to mention the dancing of Ashley Tate. Now all those elements will be presented in the Memphis show, plus trumpeter Marc Franklin’s new arrangement of Memphis pianist Donald Brown’s song “A Poem for Martin.” And Parker’s especially excited about the native Memphians who’ll be in the band. “[Saxophonist] Bobby LaVell’s daddy was Honeymoon Garner! And he lived with Fred Ford, who was his saxophone teacher. en there’s Rodney Jordan, the best bass player I ever met.” Multiple Grammy-winning drummer Brian Blade will also participate.

Parker pauses a minute to let those names sink in, happy to minimize his own role in what was originally his baby. “I mean, with players like that, all I’ve got to do is just cut them loose. I don’t have to do a thing.”

Visit oxfordamerican.org/ntp-memphis for more information.

PHOTO: BRIAN CHILSON Christopher Parker and Kelley Hurt

“This thing was destined to be more than just one performance in Little Rock.”

SPORTS By Frank Murtaugh

Arm of Gold

Shortstop Masyn Winn is throwing heat-seekers for the Redbirds.

It was one of those rare plays you see on a baseball eld that makes no impact in the box score … but remains unforgettable. On a Tuesday night in mid-April, the Memphis Redbirds were hosting the Indianapolis Indians at AutoZone Park. Playing second base for Memphis, Masyn Winn took a cuto throw in short right eld. An Indian baserunner was cruising home from third base, not so much as looking where the baseball might be. Winn turned and red a heat-seeking spheroid to the catcher, who tagged the Indians’ runner … just a er he touched home plate. e throw covered at least 140 feet, maybe 150. (For perspective, the distance from third base to rst is 127 feet.) ere was no “hump” in the throw. It arrived in the catcher’s mitt shoulder height, precisely where Winn released it. And it arrived there fast.

“A lot of guys aren’t running anymore,” notes Winn with a grin sly beyond his years. “Coaches don’t send them. [My arm] is what I’m known for. But sometimes it still catches guys by surprise. Most [in elders] would just eat that ball, but I

thought I had a chance.”

Merely 21 years old and primarily a shortstop, Winn is the 48th-ranked prospect in his sport according to Baseball America. He’s building toward a future in the middle in eld despite having a right arm that would be the envy of many players who occupy the pitcher’s mound. (Four years ago, as a junior at Kingwood High School in Texas, Winn posted a 13-0 record as a pitcher with a 0.67 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 76 innings.) He made headlines in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game by hitting 100 mph on the radar gun with a throw from shortstop to rst base. at cannon of an arm, though, is a weapon that must be carefully utilized.

Winn rst recognized his extraordinary arm strength at age 12 when he made a traveling national team. “Sophomore year in high school, I was throwing mid-90s,” he says. “I knew it was serious then. But I was a pitcher at the time, so didn’t really consider what I could do from short.” In Winn’s rst full season as a pro (Class A in 2021), he made 24 errors in 98 games, most of them of the throwing

variety. Accuracy, it seems, can improve with a reduction in velocity. Winn credits a longtime Cardinals instructor — newly elected to the franchise’s Hall of Fame — with helping him dial back the power of his right arm when it can bene t the team.

“Defensively, José Oquendo may be the best in the world,” says Winn. “He told me that I don’t have to show o my arm with every throw. I can go 80 or 85 percent and still make the play, then dial it up when I need to. Shortening up my motion and throwing like a shortstop [as opposed to a pitcher’s motion].”

At the plate, Winn is focused on making better contact, becoming a catalyst at the top of the Redbirds’ batting order. “I started o the year striking out a lot, so I’m trying to hit more balls on the barrel [of

the bat],” he says. “It’s an approach thing. We’ve got sluggers like Jordan Walker, Luken Baker, and Moisés Gómez. I’ll let them hit the bombs. I need to be more direct to the ball, get my singles, steal, get a double. Know my game.”

Winn is climbing toward a crowded middle in eld with the St. Louis Cardinals. Paul DeJong has reclaimed the shortstop position a er a rehab stint with Memphis. Tommy Edman (a Gold Glove winner at second base), Brendan Donovan (utility Gold Glove in 2022), and Nolan Gorman are also in the mix. “I’m gonna play a long time,” notes Winn. “I don’t need to rush anything. I’m enjoying every step. I can’t wait to be [in the big leagues], but I’m having a lot of fun. I get to play baseball.”

PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS REDBIRDS

Masyn Winn

901 Live!

e Jingle Jam team brings back 901 Live, a vision that highlights and showcases some of the established musical artists who make up Memphis. $45. Saturday, June 3, 7 p.m.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

Andy Tanas

Saturday, June 3, 8:30 p.m.

WESTY’S

Ayana Contreras

Ayana Contreras is a cultural historian, memory worker, radio DJ, and archivist. Friday, June 2, 9 p.m.

CENTRAL STATION HOTEL

Chad Perry

Friday, June 2, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 3, 6:30 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Derek Lersch

Friday, June 2, 10 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Donna Padgett Bowers

Presents

Variety show of Memphis talent. Friday, June 2, 8:30 p.m.

WESTY’S

Graber Gryass

ursday, June 1, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

CENTRAL STATION HOTEL

Jarred Kingrey

Saturday, June 3, 3:15 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Mick Kolassa, Jeff Jensen, and Doug MacLeod

It’s a good ol’ fashioned guitar pull with these blues legends in the house! Saturday, June 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

Music Export Memphis:

NXNE Preview Party

Enjoy music from the full NXNE lineup: Jordan Occasionally, Daz Rinko, Cameron Bethany, Qemist, and TANGELA, plus food trucks, spirits from Old Dominick, and local brews! Free, $20/ open bar wristband. ursday, June 1, 7-10 p.m.

CONNECT MUSIC GROUP

Peabody Rooftop Party: Rock the Boat

$15. ursday, June 1, 6 p.m.

THE PEABODY HOTEL

River Series: Aquarian

Blood / The Turnstyles

$5-$10. Saturday, June 3, 4 p.m.

MARIA MONTESSORI SCHOOL

AMPHITHEATER

Robbie Bletscher on Piano

A singing waiter with talent. Wednesday, June 7, 5:30-8 p.m.

WESTY’S

Rodell McCord

Saturday, June 3, 10 p.m.; Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, June 7, 8 p.m.

TIN ROOF

AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule June 1 - 7

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

As one of the most in uential and beloved Americana artists of the 21st century, Ryan Adams & e Cardinals have captivated audiences since their formation in 2004.

$39.50-$99.50. Tuesday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

STONEBREED

All the way from Los Angeles, California, STONEBREED delivers a unique brand of hard rock with a Southern metal kick. ursday, June 1, 8 p.m.

KING’S PALACE CAFE

Trevor Berryhill

Saturday, June 3, noon.

TIN ROOF

51 Stones ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s rock. What can go wrong?

Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m.

HADLEY’S PUB

John Williams and the A440 Band

$10. ursday, June 1, 8 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

Kaleidoscope: Faculty Recital

Summer camp faculty members come together to perform chamber music. Let yourself travel around the world through dance, rhythm, and folk music. $15.

Wednesday, June 7, 7-8:30 p.m.

SHADY GROVE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Live at the Garden: Lady A e Live at the Garden Summer Concert Series kicks o with country vocal trio Lady A. Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

PRIZM International Chamber Music Festival

Season Opener

New England Conservatory’s graduate piano trio in residence, Trio Gaia will open PRIZM’s 14th annual Chamber Music Festival. $15.

Monday, June 5, 7-8 p.m.

SHADY GROVE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Ronald Borjas & Nelson

Arrieta

Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m.

MEMPHIS MUSIC ROOM

Son and Father Annual Soiree

Stephen and Josh Haynes will present a show of 90 years of combined excellence in Memphis music, plus special guests you’ll love. Sunday, June 4, 6 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

The Brian Johnson Band

Wednesday, June 7, 6 p.m.

SIDECAR CAFE MEMPHIS

Almost Elton John & the Rocketmen

Friday, June 2, 10 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Amygdala, Adaje, Lachange

$10. Tuesday, June 6, 9 a.m.

HI TONE

Bad Omens

Saturday, June 3, 7 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Camp Culture, Shorty and the Grooves

Friday, June 2, 10 p.m.

HI TONE

Darsombra, General Labor

Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Earnestine & Hazel’s Band

A unique happy hour experience with discounted apps by Loaf, stunning art, and much more. Wednesday, June 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

East of Eden with Discard and Incipient

$10. Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Evan Dando

$25, $30. ursday, June 1, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Jay Jones Band

Friday, June 2, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Joe Restivo 4

Sunday, June 4, 11 a.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Lance & Madison

Saturday, June 3, 2 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Landslide Memphis’

Fleetwood Mac Tribute ursday, June 1, 8-10 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Loose Opinions, Jeff Hulett & the Hand Me Downs

Saturday, June 3, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Lucky 7 Brass Band

Saturday, June 3, 8-10 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Luz: Amaro Dubois & David Cordoba

Violist Amaro Dubois and pianist David Cordoba perform music from Dubois’ new album Luz. $10. Wednesday, June 7, 7:30-9 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Marcella Simien

Friday, June 2, 8-10 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Memphis Concrete Presents

With Fosterfalls (8 p.m.), Amy Bestevez (8:40 p.m.), Argi ex (9:20 p.m.), and Pas Moi (10 p.m.). $10. Wednesday, June 7, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Moxie with The Doozers & Massey Lane

$15-$20. Saturday, June 3, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Mudflap King

Tuesday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Orion Free Concert Series: Magic!

Picnic baskets, beverages, blankets, and lawn chairs are always welcome. Free. Saturday, June 3, 7:30-9 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Orion Free Concert

Series: The Collection

Picnic baskets, beverages, blankets, and lawn chairs are always welcome. Free. ursday, June 1, 7:30-9 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Overton Square Music Series: Abbye West Pates Band

Grab a chair or blanket and rock out under the stars on the courtyard stage, located on Trimble Place o Cooper Street. Free. Friday, June 2, 7 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

Ra Kalam Rob Moses + Pop Saw, Memphis Free Jazz Initiative

$10. Sunday, June 4, 7:30-10 p.m.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

Red Curtain Records

Presents: Out on the Eaves The Ride Out Record Release Party

Celebrate the o cial launch of Red Curtain Records, and the debut vinyl release for Out on the Eaves. Live performances by Crystal Shrine, Yesse Yavis, Cheyenne Mars, and Out on the Eaves. Friday, June 2, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Rick Camp and the Suburban Trunk

Monkeys

Sunday, June 4, 3:30 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Shell Yeah! Benefit

Concert Series: Squirrel Nut Zippers

All proceeds from Shell Yeah! Bene t Concerts directly support and power the Shell’s Free Concert Series while keeping the mission of the Overton Park Shell accessible for all. $35. Friday, June 2, 7:30 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Songwriters Open Mic Open mic for original songs. Tuesday, June 6, 8 p.m.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

Souled Out

Saturday, June 3, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Steve Hopper

Monday, June 5, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Strictly Jazz: The Music of Nina Simone

Saluting classic jazz music as contemporary musicians perform the work of the legends. $15-$20. Saturday, June 3, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

continued on page 20

PHOTO: COURTESY ABBYE WEST PATES Abbye West Pates

PHOTO: MALIK THA MARTIAN Idi X Teco

continued from page 19

Sugar: The Nu-Metal Party

Featuring Korn, De ones, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Rob Zombie, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, Disturbed, Drowning Pool, Coal Chamber, Kittie, P.O.D. , and more. $12-$16.

Friday, June 2, 8:30 p.m.

GROWLERS

Susan Marshall & Kortland Whalum

Susan Marshall and Kortland Whalum will be performing live at the Lab! is is a fundraising event. $10. Sunday, June 4, 6-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

The Evergreen Sessions

Vol. II

Hosted by Brandon Blvd, e Evergreen Sessions Vol. II features Idi X Teco with Saturday Sunset, Camm, Kiva Richardson, Austyn Michael, and D’vonna Taylor. $15-$20.

Friday, June 2, 7:30-9 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

The ShotGunBillys

ursday, June 1, 7 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Todd Snider | WEVL

Benefit

Friday, June 2, 7 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Tommy Stinson’s Cowboys in the Campfire in a backyard in Memphis

Tommy Stinson’s Cowboys in the Camp re celebrate the release of their debut album

Wronger in a backyard in Memphis. Buy a ticket at https://tinyurl.com/44scf7vp and you’ll be sent the address.

$25-$100. Wednesday, June 7, 9 p.m.

MEMPHIS

AFTER DARK: JUNE 1 - 7

Omens

Tonya Dyson & The Ainitmanes

$15-$20. ursday, June 1, 7:30-9 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Waxed, Aenemoia, Childhood, Seize and Desist

$10. Saturday, June 3, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

Electric Watershed

Featuring Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Logan Garrett, Drew Beats, DJ Ben Murray, and special guests. $10, $15. Friday, June 2, 9 p.m.

CAROLINA WATERSHED

Duwayne Burnside

$15. Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY

Willy Tea and the Turkey Buzzards

$15. Wednesday, June 7, 7 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY

Amber McCain Duo Monday, June 5, 7-10 p.m.

TAVERN 018

Bluegrass on the Collierville Square

Bring a chair and have a picnic. Free family fun open to all spectators. Musicians welcome. Acoustic only. Friday, June 2, 7-10 p.m.

COLLIERVILLE TOWN SQUARE

Concerts in The Grove at GPAC: Germantown Symphony Orchestra

Pops Concert

Enjoy music, food trucks, and cornhole, all in the beautiful, park-like setting of the TruGreen Lawn. $7. ursday, June 1, 6-8 p.m.

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS

CENTER

Happy Hour in the Grove

Enjoy live music by Josh relkeld and friends and beverage specials created by a master mixologist under the canopy of trees on the TruGreen Lawn. is Happy Hour will be a Ladies Night Songwriter Showcase. Free. Friday, June 2, 5-8 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GPAC

Richard Wilson Smooth and soulful. Wednesday, June 7, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

JACKIE MAE’S PLACE

PHOTO: ATOM SPLITTER PR Bad

CALENDAR of EVENTS: June 1 - 7

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“Band of BrothersCBHS: America’s Oldest High School Band”

Take a trip back in time to explore the 150-year history of the Christian Brothers High School Band. Through Oct. 23.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Build a Heaven of My Own: African American Vernacular Art and the Blues”

This group show explores how the musical and verbal tropes, meaning, and context of the blues not only share traits but have informed the visual culture of African-American artists from Memphis. Through June 24.

ART MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS (AMUM)

“Every Picture Tells a Story”

Art exhibit by local artist Jana Jones. Through June 25.

ST. GEORGE’S ART GALLERY AT ST.

GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

“Falling Water”

An exhibition of photographs by Dan Torop. Through June 3.

TOPS GALLERY

“Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative”

Paintings by Harmonia Rosales who challenges the concept of the master narrative. Through June 25.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Iterations”

John Salvest’s solo exhibition of articulate works developed out of obsessive collections of objects and a keen social awareness that has driven his practice for decades. Through June 24.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“Juan Rojo”

Recent paintings by Juan Rojo. Through June 27.

JAY ETKIN GALLERY

“RE(de)FINED”

A solo exhibition of new and recent paintings by Nigerian artist Johnson Uwadinma.

Through July 31.

UREVBU CONTEMPORARY

“Reimagining the Real”

Artists Ana M. Lopez and Natalie Macellaio utilize the visual language of the everyday to create unique works of art. Through July 9.

METAL MUSEUM

“Rich Soil”

Created by American artist Kristine Mays, these 29 sculptures are inspired by the movements and gestures of Alvin Ailey’s dance composition “Revelations.” Through Oct. 1.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Southern Summers Exhibition”

Learn how early Memphians kept their cool during the summer! Through July 16.

WOODRUFF-FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM

Spring 2023 Exhibitions at Crosstown Arts

Work by McLean Fahnestock, Khara Woods, Tangela Mathis, and Carl Fox. Through Aug. 6.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

“Susan Maakestad: The Expansive Moment”

Exhibition of Susan Maakestad’s abstract watercolors.

Through July 9.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“The Best BBQ Joints in Memphis”

Palette knife paintings by J.M. Croy of the most iconic BBQ restaurants in Memphis.

Through June 5.

CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE

“The Clarene Russell Collection”

Exhibition dedicated to the life and accomplishments of Collierville’s town historian, Clarene Pinkston Russell.

Through Aug. 12.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE

HISTORY

“Waddell, Withers, & Smith: A Requiem for King”

Honoring the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the artwork of Memphis-based artists: James Waddell, Ernest Withers, and Dolph Smith.

Through Aug. 28.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

“We Are Here”

Exhibition of jury-selected pieces that showcase the importance and richness of LGBTQ artists working in metals. Tuesday, June 6-Sept. 10.

METAL MUSEUM

“Zao Wou-Ki: Watercolors and Ceramics”

Exhibition of Chinese-French artist Zao Wou-Ki’s lyri-

cal watercolors and designs for ceramics blending the dynamic energy of expressionism with the formal qualities of traditional Chinese calligraphy. Through July 16.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

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 EVENT LISTINGS, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL

ART HAPPENINGS

7th Year Anniversary Celebration with artist Rodney Ramos!

Rodney will be in store signing autographs and doing sketch and remarks. Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.

901 COMICS

Arrow Creative Art Club

Join Terri Scott for an evening of creating and crafting at June’s Art Club. $35. Monday, June 5, 6-8 p.m.

ARROW CREATIVE

Arrow Creative’s Marketplace in Motion at Loflin Yard

Enjoy the great outdoors with drinks, snacks, and shopping from local artists and makers.

Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

LOFLIN YARD Glassfest

Key Glass Gallery is incredibly stoked to present their first-ever public event featuring brand-new work from Distortion Glass, Higgs Glass, Leviathan Glass, OJ Flame, Phase Glass, and Prozak Glass. $5. Tuesday, June 6, 7:10 p.m.

GROWLERS

Jewelry Class with Brandy Boyd: Earring Sampler

Learn three techniques for making unique earrings, no torch required! $52-$60. Saturday, June 3, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Memphis Potters Guild Spring Show and Sale

A weekend full of the finest pot-

tery the Mid-South has to offer. Free. Friday, June 2, 5-8 p.m.; Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, June 4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

ST. ANNE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Nature Journaling at Memphis Zoo

Learn the basics of nature journaling, and head out on an artistic excursion to journal some of your favorite animals and habitats at the zoo. $30. Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.-noon.

MEMPHIS ZOO

Summer of Photography Workshops

Grind City Meet co-founders

Jasmine Marie, Tre’bor Jones, Jordan Danielz, Brandon Dill, and Amanda Willoughby will take participants through a series of photography workshops.

Saturday, June 3, 4-6 p.m.;

Wednesday, June 7, 4-6 p.m.

COSSITT LIBRARY

Super Saturday:

Harmonia Rosales

Enjoy free admission and art-making led by art educator Mrs. Rose. Free. Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.-noon.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Teen Workshop: Handbuilding in Clay with Kate Roberts

This workshop, led by artist Kate Roberts, will introduce teens to simple hand-building techniques. $10-$15. Saturday, June 3, 1-4 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“We Are Here”

Reception

Exhibition of jury-selected pieces showcase the importance and richness of LGBTQ

artists working in metals. Sunday, June 4, 3 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM

BOOK EVENTS

Explore Memphis Reading Challenge

Read each week to be entered into weekly prize drawings. Read up to 600 minutes to be entered into the Grand Prize drawing. Register at memphislibrary.org/explorememphis.

Thursday, June 1-July 31.

MEMPHIS PUBLIC LIBRARIES

COMEDY

Bill Bellamy $30-$60. Friday, June 2-June 4, various times.

CHUCKLES COMEDY HOUSE

Good Vibes Comedy

Hosted by Nate Jaxon. With musical guest The Smoking Jays. $15. Saturday, June 3, 8:30 p.m.

HI TONE

Laughs at Lafayette’s Laugh with the Comma Comedians. Wednesday, June 7, 7-8:30 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

COMMUNITY

Community Health, Wellness, and Safety Fair

Free screenings, free food, giveaways, entertainment, over 20 vendors, CPR demonstrations, and tons of fun. Free. Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

continued on page 22

RALEIGH LIBRARY

PHOTO: SAVANNAH SMITH, SISTER GRIM, 2020. ALUMINUM, CAST IRON, STEEL. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. The Metal Museum’s latest exhibit, “We Are Here,” opens this week and celebrates LGBTQ metal artists.

Jay Etkin Gallery hosts an exhibition of Juan Rojo’s recent paintings through June 27th.

continued

page 21

Decarcerate Memphis

If you’re interested in learning more about Decarcerate Memphis and getting involved in community-led solutions, join the group at their in-person meeting. Wednesday, June 7, 6 p.m.

THE COMMONS ON MERTON

Explore Memphest

Enjoy free food and learn about what your libraries and community organizations have to offer at this family-friendly event. Saturday, June 3, 1-4 p.m.

POPLAR-WHITE STATION BRANCH LIBRARY

Levi Branch Teen Innovation Center Grand Opening

Join MPL as they demonstrate the latest tech and programming opportunities for teens in the community. Monday, June 5, 1-3 p.m.

LEVI LIBRARY

National Trails Day: Hike and Clean Up Hike the paved Wildlife Habitat Area and pick up any litter found along the way. Saturday, June 3, 9 a.m.-noon.

T.O. FULLER STATE PARK

National Trails Day Walk and Trash Pickup

Learn about the flora and fauna around you while picking up some trail trash along the way!

Saturday, June 3, 9-10 a.m.

OVERTON PARK

CALENDAR: JUNE 1 - 7

Project Pop-up! (all ages)

Explore a new part of the Dixon with an inspiring project for all ages. Supplies are provided. Free. Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.-noon.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Rhythm of Life: Cancer Survivor

Celebration and Awareness Day

A special celebration to honor Mid-South cancer survivors and promote cancer screenings and healthy living. Free. Thursday, June 1, 5-8 p.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

EXPO/SALES

Neighborhood Yard Sale

Conveniently located right off of Walnut Grove, there will be loads of different kinds of things to get good deals on. Saturday, June 3, 8 a.m.

WALNUT GROVE LAKE SUBDIVISION

FAMILY

Family Yoga

This outdoor yoga class is open to all ages and family members, with a creative focus on children ages 1-6. Wednesday, June 7, 10-10:45 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Kidokinetics Sportsfun

environment. Free. Saturday, June 3, 9 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Meeman-Shelby Forest at the Library

Visit MPL as Meeman-Shelby Forest brings some animals to learn and interact with. For ages 5-12. Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

“Ocean and Me”

Spend the day in imaginative underwater play. Through Aug. 13.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS

Story Time

Enjoy stories, songs, art activities, and creative play. Friday, June 2, 10:30 a.m.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY

Story Time at Novel

Recommended for children up to 5 years. Saturday, June 3, 10:30 a.m.; Wednesday, June 7, 10:30 a.m. NOVEL

Summer Splash!

Overton Park Conservancy is popping up waterslides on the Greensward. Free. Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

OVERTON PARK

FESTIVAL

friends. $10. Thursday, June 1, 4-11 p.m.; Friday, June 2, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

MARQUETTE PARK

Memphis Margarita Festival 2023

Your ticket gets you entry to the event and 12 margarita samples from your favorite restaurants, with awesome entertainment. Saturday, June 3, 3-6 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

Memphis Pride Festival

A vibrant celebration of the LGBTQ community and its allies in the region. $1. Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

ROBERT R. CHURCH PARK

Memphis Pride Parade

A magnificent showcase of the region’s inclusivity and diversity, drawing thousands of people to witness the spectacle of over 100 units featuring 3,000+ participants of all ages and backgrounds. Saturday, June 3, 1-2:30 p.m.

BEALE STREET

FILM

Drag N Drive

A screening of Legally Blonde, followed by a drag show. $35/car. Thursday, June 1, 7 p.m.

SUMMER DRIVE IN THEATRE

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation

Memphis Italian Festival

620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018

This program provides a unique experience that introduces children to basic concepts of a variety of sports, all in a safe and noncompetitive

For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550

For Release Monday, January 28, 2019

Crossword

Great food, great music, and lots of fun with

Edited by Will Shortz No. 1224

Encanto

Enjoy a family-friendly movie in a beautiful, park-like setting. $10. Saturday, June 3, 7-9 p.m.

THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Hidden Figures

Blankets, pets, and folding chairs welcome. Thursday, June 1, 8 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

Shoot & Splice: On Writing with Craig Brewer & Hennah Sekander

A conversation on film and TV writing between filmmaker Craig Brewer and writer Hennah Sekander. Tuesday, June 6, 7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Suture

One of the most outstanding neo-noirs of the 1990s. $5. Thursday, June 1, 7-9 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Training Room Premiere

Catch the movie premiere for the independent film Training Room by Antonio Perry — a dramedy where things aren’t what they seem. $15. Thursday, June 1, 7 p.m.

MALCO STUDIO ON THE SQUARE

FOOD AND DRINK

Crawfish Boil & Launch Party

An epic crawfish boil to celebrate the launch of Spice Krewe. Sunday, June 4, 5:30-7 p.m.

HI TONE

Fries & Wine

Combine McDonald’s world-famous fries with the perfect beer or wine for a fantastic day of live rock and soul music by Southbound and giving back to RMHC-Memphis families. Sunday, June 4, 3-6 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Grand Marshal Drag Brunch

The Drag Show will be hosted by Jr. Stone and have Brenda Newport, Demonte Knight, Trey Alize, Iris Lefleur, Aubrey Ombre, and Akasha Mazzaratie Steele Adonis! $5. Sunday, June 4, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

LOFLIN YARD

Headspace: IPA & Sour Fest

Live music, food trucks, and games to round out the best day of the summer. Saturday, June 3, noon-10 p.m.

GRIND CITY BREWING CO.

HEALTH AND FITNESS

IRONYTEAGHANA

NUTSMEATYYSER

PEIRCENEMESES

TRASHYSITINS

Cardio Line Dance

Get your feet moving. All you need to bring are your dancing shoes, water, and a towel if you think you’ll need it. Free. Wednesday, June 7, 6 p.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

PUZZLE

Celestial Sound Bath

A meditative sound experience using crystal singing bowls, gongs, chimes, and multiple instruments. $20.

Monday, June 5, 6:30-8 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

Memphis Jookin

Class and Dance

Demonstrations

Local Memphis jookin’ legends invite you to join them for this weekly class and dance session open to all ages and abilities.

Thursday, June 1, 5 p.m.

COSSITT LIBRARY

Miles for Melanoma

Miles for Melanoma is a nationwide series of 5K run/walks that allows participants to support and raise funds for the MRF.

Saturday, June 3, 7:30 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Tai Chi

Join instructor Marjean for free tai chi lessons. Thursday, June 1, 7:15-8 a.m.; Tuesday, June 6, 7:15-8 a.m.

OVERTON PARK

Yoga on the River

All experience levels welcomed. Don’t forget your mat/towel and water! Free.

Tuesday, June 6, 6-7 p.m.

RIVER GARDEN

LECTURE

The Resolve:

Eliminating Systemic

Racism & Toxic Cultures

The panel discussion will exam-

CALENDAR: JUNE 1 - 7

ine how structural racism has influenced toxic cultures that negatively impact law enforcement and produce bias-based policing strategies. Wednesday, June 7, 6-8:30 p.m.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

PERFORMING ARTS

Miss Ima’s “Moon Dust Saloon”

A rootin-tootin, night of Pride! Friday, June 2, 9 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

Once Upon a Drag Show

Hosted by Jenna Dunn and Miami Rose. 18+. $10. Thursday, June 1, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Pride Show 2023

Mid-South Pride 2023 continues at Dru’s for two exclusive shows, featuring the BEST in Memphis/Mid-South entertainers! Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m., 11 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

Pyramid Dance Company Spring Hafla Hafla/costume fashion show.

Saturday, June 3, 7 p.m.

ANTIGUA MEXICAN BAR & GRILL

The Four Seasons

Presented by Collage Dance Collective, this highly-anticipated audience favorite is an awe-inspiring opportunity to witness and invest in the promise of Memphis area youth. $10. Sunday, June 4, 5 p.m.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

SPECIAL EVENTS

Bacchus!

The official after-party of the Memphis Pride Fest. Step into an ethereal world inspired by the Greek god of wine, revelry, and celebration. Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

NEW DAISY THEATRE

Barktender Happy Hour

Have fun with your frrriends while enjoying treats, freebies and games and to enjoy music under the stars! Saturday, June 3, 6-11 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Big Gay Dance Party:

Hate Is a Drag

Come out dressed as your favorite celebrity! Come out dressed in your favorite decade (hello to all our Disco Divas)! Cross-dress and dance the night away with DJ AD

The Memphis Italian Festival returns this summer for a weekend of great food, great music, and lots of fun.

and enjoy entertainment. $15. Friday, June 2, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

Pup Party - First Fridays on Broad Ave

Bring your pup to Broad Avenue for treats, games, and lots of fun “pup-tivities”! Friday, June 2, 5-8 p.m.

Silent Disco

Tune in and dance all night to the music of your choice, as three different DJs spin simultaneously with three entirely

different genres and styles.

Friday, June 2, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

SPORTS 901 Wrestling

M.J. Davis, Chris Evans, Gio Savage, Kevin Bless vs. D.J. Fury, Don Montana, Bobby Ford, Andy Mack. Saturday, June 3, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Alan Angels & Danny Limelight

Wrestling star Alan Angels and United Wrestling World Champion Danny Limelight are coming to Memphis Wrestling! Sunday, June 4, 1:45-4:15 p.m.

MEMPHIS WRESTLING WRESTLECENTER

Memphis 901 FC vs.

Miami FC

Saturday, June 3, 7:30 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

Memphis Redbirds vs.

Durham Bulls

Tuesday, June 6, 7:05 p.m.;

Wednesday, June 7, 7:05 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

THEATER

Clyde’s

A truck-stop sandwich shop in Reading, PA, becomes a place of employment and redemption for the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff. Through June 4.

CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE

Mora Play

A modern twist on the classic medieval morality play. Through June 4.

THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE

Sistas: The Musical

After a matriarch’s death, the women in the family clean Grandma’s attic and find love and old memories packed away. Friday, June 2-June 25.

HATTILOO THEATRE

TOURS

Haunted Pub Crawl

Visit three local bars for ghost stories, dark history, and tales of the paranormal. Friday, June 2, 7:30-10 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

Through Our Garden

Gates

Tour gardens created by Memphis Area Master Gardeners; meet with plant experts and plein-air artists. Free. Saturday, June 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

MEMPHIS

True North: A Compass History Tour of Elmwood Cemetery

Find your way to Elmwood. $20. Saturday, June 3, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY

Walking Ghost Hunt

Explore the macabre and dark history of the historic South Main district. $15. Saturday, June 3, 8-9:30 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

We are proud of the strength our defense team brings to the table. When people come to us, not only is someone’s freedom being threatened, but their good name as well. No one wants to be a victim of the criminal justice system. Our firm practices only criminal defense law. We protect and guide people when the government is investigating.

We defend people when the government is prosecuting. We work as a team and present a team defense. It’s just stronger that way. If you are in need of protection and a strong defense, call us. We bring the experience, knowledge and skilled advocacy you will need. We also bring the heart for the fight. Our clients expect that from us, and so do we.

Seated: Lauren Massey Fuchs

Standing, left to right: Joseph McClusky, Jason Ballenger, William Massey, and Seth Segraves

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Doing the Dancing Peppers Salsa

Ican personally vouch for at least two Dancing Peppers Salsa avors.

I took a jar of Memphis style, a barbecue sauce- avored salsa, to a dinner party. It was a huge hit. e hostess couldn’t get enough.

e next day, I took a jar of the mild chili lime to a kindergarten graduation reception. A friend loved a particular taste, which she couldn’t identify. It sets the salsa apart, she says. (I later found out it’s the fresh poblano peppers.) is is all probably great news to native Memphians David and Tracy Murrell, Dancing Peppers Salsa owners and founders.

David, 66, who was an engineer at Sharp Manufacturing Company, retired as a lab technician at ABB. Tracy, 59, was at International Paper for 11 years.

Dancing Peppers Salsa “is a hobby that we turned into a side business,”

Tracy says. eir son, Sidney, 26, handles the social media and deliveries.

David got the salsa bug in the 1980s a er trying Pace salsa for the rst time during a trip to Texas. “I had never had salsa before,” he says.

salt and pepper. No cilantro or anything. Just a basic type of salsa.”

David didn’t get his salsa to taste like Pace’s until he added bell peppers. But he discovered new spices, including Mexican oregano, on a business trip to Monterrey, Mexico. He began adding those to his salsa.

Tracy was a fan of David’s salsa. “I loved it,” she says. “I’d rather have chips and salsa than popcorn and Coke.”

He began to make his own salsa by looking at the ingredients on the jar. “ e main ingredient was canned tomatoes. I also used tomato sauce, a little tomato paste. I heated it up and put in onions and garlic. It started with that. My main spice probably at that time was cumin. And chili powder and

David kept tweaking. And he acquired a name for himself. “I was kind of just ‘the salsa guy.’ at’s what I did.”

In late 2010, he dropped o a jar of his salsa at the old Easy Way produce distribution o ce on Mendenhall. He also le a note with the secretary that read, “If you’re interested in putting this in your stores, give me a call.”

A month later, he got a call from the

owner of Easy Way. He said he wanted 50 cases. He asked David, “How far along are you with this? Have you got a label? Have you got a co-packer?”

David replied: “I have nothing but a recipe.”

But David eventually got his ducks in a row and began selling his salsa under the brand name Rojo Gold in 2011. But he later rebranded because

the name was too close to another company.

e Murrells’ medium salsa, which has a pepper blend to give it a little kick, was the rst avor. “It took me forever to get the rst one made. e medium hot recipe came out in about a week. I added some habanero and some chipotle powder.”

e Memphis style avor originated a er David and Tracy visited Memphis Italian Festival. ey were still hungry when they got home, so David pureed some commercial barbecue sauce with some of their salsa. ey loved it.

e barbecue sauce recipe he now uses is based on one from his friend’s mother. “I always loved her barbecue sauce. It’s like our Memphis style. Sweet and spicy.”

His recipe includes tomatoes, jalapeños, brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, onions, garlic, and then the barbecue spices.

Mild chili lime is the latest Dancing Peppers Salsa avor. In addition to fresh poblano peppers, the salsa includes fresh onion, garlic, and lime juice. It also includes ancho chili pepper.

Naomi’s Homestyle Marinara, which uses San Marzano tomatoes, is just the latest salsa idea from the Murrells. And the blend is based on one of David’s mother’s Italian recipes.

Dancing Peppers Salsa is now in about 175 stores, including selected Kroger stores.

David has other Dancing Peppers Salsa business ideas dancing around in his head. But he’s not ready to reveal all of them just yet. For now, he’d like to get Dancing Peppers Salsa into more states. But, he says, “I don’t want to get stressed out. I like low stress. I want to keep it manageable.”

David and Tracy Murrell know all the steps.

Dancing Peppers Salsa is now in about 175 stores, including selected Kroger stores.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE/DAVID MURRELL David, Tracy, and Sidney Murrell

By Emily Guenther

A Healing Source

e wonder of water as a conduit and cleanser.

he summer solstice may not occur until June 21st, but summer is o cially here in Memphis. We can look forward to high temperatures and humidity for the next few months, with little relief, with one exception: water. Being able to cool o in a pool, water slide, sprinkler, or lake has been the saving grace of Memphis summers my whole life.

Memphis is known for its water. We sit above an aquifer that supplies our area with sweet, so water, but that is not the only interesting part of Memphis’ water story. In the 1800s, the city of Raleigh, Tennessee, now the Raleigh neighborhood in the northern part of the city, was known for its healing spring waters. ere is a story that in the early 1800s, a family was traveling along the stagecoach road, which is now James Road, and stopped overnight because their baby had fallen ill. ere was a natural spring nearby and the family bathed the baby in the spring, hoping to ease its discomfort. Supposedly the next day, the baby had completely recovered, and that began the tales of the healing waters of Raleigh.

to people who partake of it mindfully. Some believe that water has the ability to hold and carry energy and prayers and to cleanse. Water is the source of all life and is a powerful medicine.

To take advantage of all the bene ts water has to o er us, partake of your water intentionally. Next time you drink water, put an intention into it. Bless it with the power of good health, or mental clarity, or whatever you need. e water will hold that intention and you will absorb it when you drink. If you have a water bottle that you use regularly, you can write an a rmation or create a sigil and put it on the water bottle to empower the water there. You can change your a rmation as o en as you like and always have blessed water with you.

Many people are familiar with the idea of creating and drinking moon water. You simply ll up a cup or jar with water, and place it near a window where the moonlight will shine onto it, blessing and empowering the water with lunar energies. You can also do this with the sun and create sun water.

In 1842 the rst spa was built, and in 1892 the Duke family of North Carolina built a spectacular inn o of what is now James Road. e Duke family built a fanciful retreat with gazebos, stone walkways, and a ballroom where orchestras and dances were held regularly, all with electricity and indoor plumbing. It was named the Raleigh Inn and was the place to go to be seen in society and also to partake of the healing spring waters. A er about 10 years, the water table in Raleigh dropped and the springs dried up.

Memphis water still has healing bene ts, as does all water. It helps keep our bodies hydrated and nourished, especially during the summer, and historically water has been known by many cultures to o er healing and energy

Water is a powerful cleanser, which is why so many cultures incorporate it into their traditions. When done mindfully, a bath or shower can cleanse negative energy from your body and spirit, leaving you energetically cleansed a erwards. You can even enhance your spiritual baths with water that has been blessed in the sun or moon, or with speci c intentions. Moving water is best for cleansing or the releasing of prayers, as the water will run away from you and out into the greater water source, carrying the energy to a place it can be cleansed and healed, or to where the Universe can hear and answer your prayers.

Regardless of how we use it, water is important to life. We must respect it and our water sources and do our best to cleanse and heal the water so that it can continue to cleanse and heal us. As Chief Seattle said, “We are part of the earth and it is part of us. … Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.”

Emily Guenther is a co-owner of e Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.

PHOTO: DAVID BECKER | UNSPLASH

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication

Creme de la Weird

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, a ritual event took place at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo on April 22, The Guardian reported. The traditional “crying sumo” event features pairs of infants, held up by the parents facing each other, who are frightened into crying by staff wearing oni demon masks. The first baby to cry wins the match. “We can tell a baby’s health condition by listening to the way they cry,” said Hisae Watanabe, mother of an 8-month-old. “I want to hear her healthy crying.” Crying sumo events are held throughout the country. “In Japan, we believe babies who cry powerfully also grow up healthily,” explained Shigemi Fuji, chairman of the Asakusa Tourism Federation, which organized the event.

[The Guardian, 4/22/2023]

Clothing Optional

Police in Mesa, Arizona, responded to the One Life Church on April 16 after receiving a call about a naked man in the church’s baptismal fountain, AZCentral reported. Officers said Jeremiah Sykes, 20, was asked to leave repeatedly but wouldn’t comply; he then wrapped himself in a blanket and wandered about the property. Sykes told officers he was baptizing himself. During his booking procedure, he punched two officers, compounding his charges.

[AZCentral, 4/18/2023]

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Shivdayal Sharma, 82, died in a freak accident in the Alwar region of India on April 19, LBC reported. As Sharma urinated near a train track, a Vande Bharat Express train struck a cow, launching it 100 feet into the air before it landed on him. Sharma was killed instantly, and another man narrowly escaped being hit also. Ironically, Sharma worked at Indian Railways before retiring 23 years ago. Officials are calling for metal fencing to keep cows away from the tracks, along with the removal of garbage and vegetation.

[LBC, 4/24/2023]

It’s a Dirty Job

The Blackpool Zoo in England is hiring! Wanted: “A team of people to join our Visitor Services team as ‘Seagull Deterrents.’” You, too, can dress up in a large bird costume and scare away pes-

ky seagulls, which steal food from both visitors and animal enclosures. The Daily Mail reported that candidates must be “outgoing, as you need to be comfortable wearing a bird costume,” and hours will be variable. [Daily Mail, 4/23/2023]

The Passing Parade

On April 19, Viktoria Nasyrova, 47, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for a bizarre plot she cooked up against a look-alike friend from Ukraine, NBC News reported. Nasyrova wanted to avoid being sent back to Russia, where she faced charges in a 2014 murder, according to the Queens district attorney’s office. So in 2016, she laced a cheesecake with phenazepam, a powerful toxin found only in Russia, and fed it to her “friend.” The victim survived, but her Ukrainian passport and $4,000 in cash were stolen. Nasyrova’s attorney said that she will likely be deported after serving her sentence. [NBC News, 4/19/2023]

The Continuing Crisis

In Carmarthenshire, Wales, residents have responded to the condition of a rural road that they describe as the “worst in the county” with a clever road sign, Wales Online reported on April 27. “Caution: Remove dentures. Adjust bra straps. Secure your nuts,” the sign reads. Abergorlech Road is full of potholes, and while some have been filled, residents believe “the road is so worn and damaged that it requires complete resurfacing in many places,” a spokesman said. “Whilst the sign is intended to be funny, the constant wear and tear on our vehicles is a real issue.” The Carmarthenshire Council contends that there is no money budgeted for resurfacing, but residents say it’s “ironic that the police can check our vehicles to ensure that they’re safe for the road, but no one is ensuring that the road is safe for our vehicles.” Maybe it’s time to call the Terminator. [Wales Online, 4/27/2023]

News of the Weird is now a podcast on all major platforms!Tto find out more, visit newsoftheweirdpodcast.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): History tells us that Albert Einstein was a brilliant genius. After his death, the brain of the pioneer physicist was saved and studied for years in the hope of analyzing the secrets of why it produced so many great ideas. Science writer Stephen Jay Gould provided a different perspective. He said, “I am less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.” I bring this to your attention, Aries, in the hope it will inspire you to pay closer attention to the unsung and underappreciated elements of your own life — both in yourself and the people around you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Human life sometimes features sudden reversals of fortune that may seem almost miraculous. A twist in my own destiny is an example. As an adult, I was indigent for 18 years — the most starving artist of all the starving artists I have ever known. Then, in the course of a few months, all the years I had devoted to improving my craft as a writer paid off spectacularly. My horoscope column got widely syndicated, and I began to earn a decent wage. I predict a comparable turn of events for you in the coming months, Taurus — not necessarily in your finances, but in a pivotal area of your life.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): One study reveals that British people own a significant amount of clothing they never wear. Other research suggests that the average American woman has over a hundred items of clothing but considers just 10 percent of them to be “wearable.” If your relationship to your wardrobe is similar, Cancerian, it’s a favorable time to cull unused, unliked, and unsuitable stuff. You would also benefit from a comparable approach to other areas of your life. Get rid of possessions, influences, and ideas that take up space but serve no important purpose and are no longer aligned with who you really are.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In July 1969, Leo astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon. But he almost missed his chance. Years earlier, his original application to become part of NASA’s space exploration team arrived a week past the deadline. But Armstrong’s buddy, Dick Day, who worked at NASA, sneaked it into the pile of applications that had come in time. I foresee the possibility of you receiving comparable assistance, Leo. Tell your friends and allies to be alert for ways they might be able to help you with either straightforward or surreptitious moves.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Great shearwaters are birds that travel a lot, covering 13,000 miles every year. From January to

By Rob Brezsny

March, they breed in the South Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Africa and South America. Around May, they fly west for a while and then head north, many of them as far as Canada and Greenland. When August comes, they head east to Europe, and later they migrate south along the coast of Africa to return to their breeding grounds. I am tempted to make this globe-trotting bird your spirit creature for the next 12 months. You may be more inclined than ever before to go on journeys, and I expect you will be well rewarded for your journeys. At the very least, I hope you will enjoy mind-opening voyages in your imagination.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): One of the central myths of Western culture is the Holy Grail. For over 800 years, storytellers have spun legends about the search for a precious chalice with magical qualities, including the power to heal and offer eternal youth. Sober scholars are more likely to say that the Holy Grail isn’t an actual physical object hidden away in a cave or catacomb, but a symbol of a spiritual awakening or an enlightening epiphany. For the purposes of your horoscope, I’m going to focus on the latter interpretation. I suspect you are gearing up for an encounter with a Holy Grail. Be alert! The revelations and insights and breakthroughs could come when you least expect them.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): June is Dare to Diminish Your Pain Month for you Scorpios. I hope you will aggressively pursue measures to alleviate discomfort and suffering. To address the physical variety, how about acupuncture or massage? Or supplements like boswellia, turmeric, devil’s claw root, white willow bark, and omega-3 fatty acids? Other ideas: sunshine, heating pad, warm baths with Epsom salts, restorative sleep, and exercise that simulates natural endorphins. Please be equally dynamic in treating your emotional and spiritual pain, dear Scorpio. Spend as much money as you can afford on skillful healers. Solicit the help of empathetic friends. Pray and meditate. Seek out in activities that make you laugh.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A hungry humpback whale can hold more than 15,000 gallons of water in its mouth at once — enough to fill 400 bathtubs. In a funny way, their ability reminds me of you right now. You, too, have a huge capacity for whatever you feel like absorbing and engaging with. But I suggest you choose carefully what you want to absorb and engage with. Be open and receptive to only the most high-quality stuff that will enrich your life and provide a lot of fun. Don’t get filled up with trivia and nonsense and dross.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Funny story: A renowned Hollywood movie

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I am weary of gurus who tell us the ego is bad and must be shamed. In my view, we need a strong and healthy ego to fuel our quest for meaning. In that spirit and in accordance with astrological omens, I designate June as Celebrate Your Ego Month for you Geminis. You have a mandate to unabashedly embrace the beauty of your unique self. I hope you will celebrate and flaunt your special gifts. I hope you will honor your distinctive desires as the treasures they are. You are authorized to brag more than usual!

mogul was overheard at a dinner party regaling an aspiring actor with a long monologue about his achievements. The actor couldn’t get in a word edgewise. Finally, the mogul paused and said, “Well, enough about me. What do you think of me?” If I had been in the actor’s place, I might have said, “You, sir, are an insufferable, grandiose, and boring narcissist who pathologically overestimates your own importance and has zero emotional intelligence.” The only downside to speaking my mind like that would be that the mogul might ruin my hopes of having a career in the movie business. In the coming weeks, Capricorn, I hope you will consistently find a middle ground between telling the brazen truth to those who need to hear it and protecting your precious goals and well-being.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When faced with important decisions, most of us benefit from calling on all forms of intelligence. Simply consulting our analytical mind is not sufficient. Nor is checking in with only our deep feelings. Even drawing from our spunky intuition alone is not adequate. We are most likely to get practical clarity if we access the guidance of our analytical mind, gut feelings, and sparkly intuition. This is always true, but it’s extra relevant now. You need to get the full blessing of the synergistic blend. PS: Ask your body to give you a few hints, too!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Has your intuition been nudging you to revise and refine your sense of home? Have you been reorganizing the domestic vibes and bolstering your stability? I hope so. That’s what the cosmic rhythms are inviting you to do. If you have indeed responded to the call, congratulations. Buy yourself a nice homecoming present. But if you have resisted the flow of life’s guidance, please take corrective measures. Maybe start by reorganizing the décor and furniture. Clean up festering messes. Say sweet things to your housemates and family members. Manage issues that may be restricting your love of home.

The Whispering Woods Hotel & Convention Center Olive Branch, MS June 8-10, 2023

Veteran movie and television actors will be appearing there to meet their fans, take part in panel discussions, and sit in on screenings of their work. The invited guests include “CHIPs” stars Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, and Robert Pine; Robert Fuller from “Laramie,” “Wagon Train,” and “Emergency,” his wife, Jennifer Savidge, who was featured on “St. Elsewhere” and “JAG,” Patrick Wayne, who worked alongside his dad in “Big Jake” and “McLintock!,”

Terence Knox, another “St. Elsewhere” cast member who also starred on “Tour of Duty,” Buck Taylor from “Gunsmoke,” “Yellowstone” actor and technical advisor Mo Brings Plenty, and Darby Hinton from the “Daniel Boone” TV series.

For more information, contact Ray Nielsen at rnielsen@sjbulldogs.org or call 501-499-0444.

A Fish Out of Water

e Little Mermaid is the latest useless live-action remake of a Disney animated classic.

Ever since roughly 2016, when Disney company man Jon Favreau helmed the live-action remake of e Jungle Book, the question on my mind has been, “Why?” What, exactly, is the point of trying to redo masterpieces from the golden age of Disney animation with modern CGI tech? A live-action Cinderella that uses the 2,000-year-old fairy tale as a jumping o point, sure. Go for it. But no audience ever said, “ e problem with Dumbo is that the elephants weren’t realistic enough.”

e real answer is that executives who are terminally infested with latestage capitalist brain worms want to reuse these free intellectual properties Walt Disney appropriated from the public domain because they have a whole lot of capital invested in theme park attractions based on these stories.

ey want the goose to lay some more golden eggs without properly feeding the goose with new stories.

But just because you’re bringing new lm technology to bear on an old story doesn’t mean that the results are going to look better. Look no further than Flounder, the best friend of Ariel in e Little Mermaid. In the 1989 Disney animated lm, Flounder is a pretty simple yellow and blue sh with a friendly, humanlike face that ts his bubbly middle-schooler personality. In the 2023 version of e Little Mermaid, Flounder is an actual sh. His colors are now silver on black. His face is as impassive and free of human emotion as, well, a ounder. When he is scooped from the ocean by a passing shing boat along with Ariel (Halle Bailey), he ops around on deck like an actual sh out of water. ere’s nothing young kids like more than watching the

character they’re supposed to identify with su ocate slowly!

Did the suits at Disney who have been shepherding this $250-million behemoth since 2017 think the “kids these days” don’t like hand-drawn animation? Anime is all the kids want to talk about! Disney would have been better o poaching some Japanese animators from one of Tokyo’s notoriously thri y anime houses and turning them loose on the story of the mermaid princess who lives “Under the Sea” and wants to be “Part of Your World.” Instead, we got something that cost as much as Avatar: e Way of Water but looks like crap.

It’s a shame because Halle Bailey, half of a pop duo with her sister Chloe, gives 100 percent to the role of Ariel. She’s got vocal chops, passion, and a love for the material that shines through the crowded frames she shares with swarming sea life. But when she climbs up on a rock to recreate

the poster image of “Part of Your World,” the epic wave that’s supposed to add an exclamation point to the climax evaporates like sea spray. It’s a metaphor for the entire production.

e lm’s other bright spot is Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the Sea Witch. Like Bailey, she clearly understands the assignment better than her director. Her rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is the kind of camp romp you want from an over-the-top Disney villain.

Too bad director Rob Marshall treats The Little Mermaid ’s music like he’s embarrassed of it. Did you think “Under the Sea,” the showstopper that earned Samuel E. Wright an Academy Award, was a little too edgy? You’re in luck, because Hamilton ’s Daveed Diggs sucks all the life out of it. The new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, particularly the hip-hop flavored “The Scuttlebutt,” flop like a fish out of water.

e 1989 original is 83 minutes long; this one is 135 minutes long, but I’ll be damned if I can gure out what they did with the extra time. Marshall and screenwriter David Magee could have explored the tragic implications of Hans Christian Andersen’s original story of lovers trapped between worlds, which ends with Ariel sacri cing herself because she refuses the Sea Witch’s order to kill her Above World paramour Eric. Nope. Disney’s regressive ending, which celebrates Ariel’s decision to change everything that’s unique about herself to please a man, remains more or less intact.

Like e Jungle Book and e Lion King before it, this abby, dull remake of e Little Mermaid will be forgotten by this time next year — just in time for the live action remake of Moana

e Little Mermaid

Now playing Multiple locations

FILM By Chris McCoy

Disney makes poor unfortunate souls out of its audience with this latest live-action remake.

NOW PLAYING By Chris McCoy

Our critic picks the best films in theaters.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The sequel to the 2018 animated superhero picture sees Miles Morales again sucked into multiversal mayhem. Does this one include Peter Parker, Spider-Woman, Vulture, Spider-Man Noir, or Yamashiro the Japanese Spider-Man? The answer is yes to all of the above and more. That’s right, we’re going full Rick and Morty, and the advance word is good. Look for eyepopping visuals with an inclusive spirit.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) has a nice suburban life until her brother (Denzel Whitaker) is killed, as so many other Black youths have been, by gun violence. She becomes obsessed with bringing him back

to life, which, as all available literature suggests, is a terrible idea. But who knows? Maybe it will work out this time. Writer/ director Bomani J. Story updates Frankenstein for our era of senseless shootings.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Ahead of Harrison Ford’s final fedora fitting in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the original returns to theaters for two special engagements on Sunday, June 4th, and Wednesday, June 2nd. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created the ultimate summer blockbuster in 1981, and while there have been many films that tried to recapture that magic, none has ever achieved this level of perfection. Watch for future movie star Alfred Molina in his debut role as Indy’s “Throw me the idol!” betrayer.

901-575-9400

classifieds@memphisflyer.com

EMPLOYMENT

AUDIT SUPERVISOR

needed at InternationalPaper in Memphis, TN. Must have bach in Accounting, Business, Finance, or related & 7 yrs’ exp in internal or external audit. Must also have 5 years of exp in the following:Public

accounting or internal auditing;

Accounting expertise: US GAAP & IFRS; Complex audit scope, planning, execution; SAP; Teamsupervision in a matrix environment; Understanding of ICFR (internal control over financial reporting) / SOX certification process.

Must also have 2 yrs’ exp with IIA professional practice standards & Data analysis tools: Power BI, Tableau, or ACL. Must be fluent in Spanish.

Must have audit or accounting certification (CPA or foreign equivalent, CIA, or CISA); Must be able to travel 50% of time to domestic and international locations.

Email CVs to jenny.skow@ipaper.com.

Salary: 87,600.00 - 146,000.

Equal Opportunity/affirmative action employer including vets and disabled.

MANAGER IT APPLICATIONS

Manager IT Applications needed at Terminix International Company, L.P. in Memphis, TN. Must have bach in Comp Sci or related & 8 yrs’ exp in a software development environment, including: Designing & developing RESTful APIs using Microservices architecture in large complex system environments; Utilizing SDLC & IT governance methodologies, tools & approaches; Programming using C# or Java, .Net, JavaScript, SQL, SOAP/REST Web Services, XSLT, XML, JSON; Utilizing Enterprise Integration Patterns. Must also have at least 3 yrs’ leadership exp, including SDLC & methodologies.

Remote work is an option.

Email CVs to Judy.maus@rentokil.com

Mel Gurtov

National Insecurity

TikTok is no more a threat than the U.S. government’s own surveillance.

High-tech spying is in the news because of the one-sided, hypocritical debate in Congress on whether the popular app TikTok is actually a tool for Chinese government data collection on American users. e sensitivity of the issue has to do not only with rivalry with China but also the fact that the U.S. government has recently been the target of hackers. In November 2021 President Biden banned use of Pegasus, a powerful Israeli-made surveillance tool, by all U.S. government agencies. His order came in the wake of two developments: hackers who used Pegasus to break into the phones of some State Department employees, and investigative journalism that revealed use of Pegasus by many governments, democratic as well as autocratic, to break into the cell phones of political opponents and human rights activists.

As the New York Times recently found, not all U.S. agencies have apparently gotten the message; an unnamed government agency is said to be using the nearly undetectable surveillance device in Mexico. Meantime, the phones of 50 more government employees have been hacked. e U.S. case against TikTok, however, sidesteps two matters: the government’s own spying on citizens under cover of law, and the questionable political motives that seem to dictate the speci c e ort to kill TikTok. Congress members are far more concerned about the U.S. government as victim of spying than as perpetrator. We’ve been reminded of that with the top-secret documents hacked by an Air Force reservist that revealed U.S. spying on various allies as well as on Russia. at spying is widely considered legitimate, but Congress members prefer to forget the long history of government spying on unsuspecting citizens, a history that goes well beyond the Cold War. Various agencies — Homeland Security, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the State Department — have monitored social media to report on “national security” dangers. Leaders of Black Lives Matter, le and right political parties and resistance groups, immigrants from Muslim and socialist countries, environmental activists — the list of targeted groups is long. To that list should be added the mainstream social media — Facebook, Twitter, Google — that have given government agencies access to users’ personal information and communications. eir data collection probably exceeds TikTok’s, but somehow they are not considered national security threats.

Legislation passed with strong bipartisan support in Congress has cemented the government’s right to invade privacy, most recently to combat terrorism. e Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 permits electronic and other means of surveillance of U.S. citizens suspected of being “agents of foreign powers.” A FISA court, consisting of 11 federal district judges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, considers applications to carry out surveillance and may issue warrants based on probable cause. FISA has been amended several times — the USA Freedom Act (2015) is the latest version — but has been challenged as an unconstitutional violation of personal liberty. at’s because catching terrorists was used to justify creation of a huge database that went well beyond counterterrorism. e Freedom Act puts some limits on metadata collection but still has provisions for warrantless surveillance, for instance against whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden. Courts have rarely ruled against U.S. government intrusion, usually when national security is the justi cation. But then there’s the 2013 case in which the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, decided that Amnesty International lacked standing to challenge FISA. e case was brought against James Clapper, then director of national intelligence.

To judge from the virulence of the rhetoric, TikTok is one of China’s biggest threats to U.S. national security. Congress members actually seem to believe that killing o TikTok would be a major victory over a malevolent foreign power — a way to “protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party,” as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy put it. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company, but its CEO claims the company does not share data with the Chinese government, has independent management, and is willing to store its U.S. data in the U.S.

Now I have to say that I have never used TikTok, nor do I even know anyone who does. But the roughly 150 million Americans who use it swear by it; TikTok has become an icon of U.S. culture. A number of countries, including the European Union, Denmark, New Zealand, and India, have restricted government use of TikTok or banned it altogether. But I have yet to see evidence that TikTok is channeling Chinese propaganda or amassing anyone’s personal data to be o -loaded to Beijing. Yet Congress members, and the Biden administration, are determined either to ban TikTok or force its sale, which the Chinese government opposes on the grounds that would harm investments in the U.S. e political lineup against TikTok mirrors the bipartisan consensus in Congress that is hostile to most anything Chinese made or owned.

Allowing TikTok to continue operating but ensuring that its database resides in a U.S. server such as Oracle would seem to be a reasonable answer for those who insist TikTok is a security threat. At one time the administration supported that idea.

But now we learn that Biden has “endorsed a bipartisan Senate bill that would give the Commerce Department the clear power to ban any app that endangered Americans’ security.”

at’s the authoritarian solution, but it would probably satisfy the China hawks, who love the prospect of turning public attention away from America’s real security issues. eir posturing on TikTok may fool some people, but far from strengthening national security, it reveals how insecure government leaders are when dealing with China.

Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University and blogs at In the

Human Interest.

PHOTO: FRANCK | UNSPLASH