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EVERYTHING

JUSTIN HARDIMAN

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

BLUES IS HOT AGAIN

APPRECIATING THE LATEST REINVENTIONS OF A TIMELESS GENRE.

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JERRY D. SWIFT Advertising Director Emeritus KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, HAILEY THOMAS Senior Account Executives MICHELLE MUSOLF Account Executive ROBBIE FRENCH Warehouse and Delivery Manager JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com CONTEMPORARY MEDIA, INC. ANNA TRAVERSE FOGLE Chief Executive Officer LYNN SPARAGOWSKI Controller/Circulation Manager JEFFREY GOLDBERG Chief Revenue Officer MARGIE NEAL Chief Operating Officer KRISTIN PAWLOWSKI Digital Services Director MARIAH MCCABE Circulation and Accounting Assistant KALENA MATTHEWS Marketing Coordinator

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CONTENTS

JESSE DAVIS Editor SHARA CLARK Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers ABIGAIL MORICI Copy Editor, Calendar Editor LORNA FIELD, RANDY HASPEL, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH, MEGHAN STUTHARD Contributing Columnists AIMEE STIEGEMEYER, SHARON BROWN Grizzlies Reporters ANDREA FENISE Fashion Editor KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

OUR 1739TH ISSUE 06.23.22 Not long ago, my fiancée and I helped my sister pack up her belongings and move into a new house. My sister hates packing — it gives her the rabbit-in-the-headlights panic that makes anything difficult, especially when you’re also juggling childcare, transferring utilities, signing leases, balancing a job, and all of those other little delights that come with moving. So, since Sydnie, my fiancée, has a particular flair for organization and I don’t really feel strongly about packing one way or the other, we helped out in that arena. It’s just part of what family does. In the process, I rediscovered a handful of mementos from our youth. My sister has held onto a few things — Grannie’s special colander for making jelly and jam, a sweatshirt from Catalina Island, old books and T-shirts, and other assorted items. It was an interesting exercise in memory. These days, remembering anything before March 2020 or, for that matter, November 2016 seems like trying to vividly conjure memories of a different universe. So much has changed, and for at least the first year and a half of the pandemic, time seemed to take on an odd immeasurable quality. I’m sure my job plays some part in it, too — on any given day I might work on projects with deadlines that afternoon, next week, and next month. It can be a bit tough to keep track. (Allow me to take this opportunity to say I’m sorry if I missed your birthday, friends and family.) Maybe that’s why packing my sister’s possessions had such an effect on me and why Sydnie and I ended up looking through an old notebook of mine last weekend. We were trying to find some tome hidden in one of our bookcases when she spotted a folder designed to hold yellow legal pads. She asked what it was, I said it probably held unused song lyrics, and then nothing would do except to go through and unpack each half-finished sketch of a song. It was like our own private Get Back, except not for the most famous band in the world. Some people keep journals; some people PHOTO: JESSE DAVIS keep diaries — I’ve never been able to tell Reminiscing on old memories the difference. There are scrapbookers and compulsive photo-takers. I have several notebooks’ worth of almost-songs. Most of them aren’t worth looking at. There’s a reason they were never finished, or they’re an odd archipelago of one-liners, nothing coherent enough to tell a story. Then there are the songs I cannibalized to finish other songs. “Hey, this chorus would make a third verse for that tune I can’t seem to finish.” Or maybe the two tunes with suspiciously similar themes meld together, and like alchemy, a collection of chorus-less verses begets a fully fleshed out song with verses, chorus, and a bridge. Work smart, not hard, as the old pros always say. And there were the silly songs. The things I heard a friend or bandmate or stranger say and just had to write down. “Curse These Metal Hands” is a great title, but the lyrics, such as they are, should remain forever locked away in my memory — or on a well-used yellow legal pad. Among all that were the little snapshots of life, often bolstered by poetic license and imagination. In songs, if not in newspaper columns, getting the rhyme and rhythm is more important than total adherence to fact. Still, there were lyrics about Syd’s and my first date, about holidays spent working and missing family, about someone who got a new dog (that one has the ring of truth, in my mind, though I can’t remember the actual event it references). So it was fun, if a bit nerve-racking (as I said, most of these unfinished sketches didn’t become actual songs for a reason), to share these memories with someone. Syd caught glimpses of my life before we met, when we first began dating. She saw both clumsy and careful attempts to make a rhyme. Times I stuck the landing and times I slipped off the balance beam, fell down the stairs, and landed in an arrhythmic heap on the floor. NEWS & OPINION Does that time spent reminiscing and THE FLY-BY - 4 puzzling out meaning deserve a column NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 in the paper? I don’t know. Maybe I’m POLITICS - 8 AT LARGE - 9 just trying to capture it for some future COVER STORY me. Maybe I hope I can give the reader “EVERYTHING BLUES IS HOT a chance to pause, take stock of the slow AGAIN” slip of time in a world that, at present, feels BY ALEX GREENE - 10 stuck in fast-forward. Maybe it’s as simple WE RECOMMEND - 14 as wishing I could jog a happy memory for CALENDAR - 16 THEATER - 18 someone else. FOOD - 19 In the end, who knows? All I can say is, FILM - 20 whatever feat of storytelling I’m attemptCL ASSIFIEDS - 22 ing, I hope I stick the landing. LAST WORD - 23 Jesse Davis jesse@memphisflyer.com

THE

fly-by

MEMernet

June 23-29, 2022

Edited by Toby Sells

CITY REPORTER B y To b y S e l l s

Memphis on the internet.

A Tough May in Memphis

DIXIE QUEENED

Memphis in May posts low turnout and a record financial loss.

POSTED TO TIKTOK BY HONEY_DRIP_

{

Questions, Answers + Attitude

“I’m back with another review and this time — Dixie Queen — I’m on your ass, big fellow,” promises a TikTok from @honey_drip_. And she delivers. Visiting Dixie Queen? HoneyDrip says bring cash because “these bitches, sometimes, the machine be down, and be sure to bring your bulletproof vest because, bitch, this is Memphis. Okay?” “Raggedy-ass sign.” Check. “Raggedy-ass intercom.” Check. “Raggedy-ass customer service.” Check. HoneyDrip said a Dixie Queen employee once repeated her order, which included a “murkshake” (milkshake) and a burger with “purkles” (pickles), spoken in beautiful Memphis-ese. She didn’t correct her because “I don’t play with people who make my food.” Good tip. The signs may be busted and you probably won’t have it your way, says HoneyDrip, “but, bitch, you know where you at when you came here.” The video had more than 111,500 likes as of press time and had been shared nearly 7,500 times. SUBMITTED WITHOUT COMMENT

POSTED TO TWITTER BY @SHIRTSTHTGOHARD

Memphis in May (MIM) attendance fell to a 20-year low this year yielding a record-setting financial loss, officials said last week, “as a result of being held outside of the traditional riverfront home Downtown in Tom Lee Park.” Combined attendance for Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest fell below 115,000, officials said. The figure was 178,478 in 2018 and 175,330 in 2019. Low attendance brought a recordsetting financial loss of PHOTO: MEMPHIS IN MAY $1.9 million for 2022 Attendance this year hit a 20-year low. festival operations. The previous record loss of $1.8 million was set in 2020 when the festival was rocked to Was turnout a surprise this year? completely cancel on Covid concerns. Smaller festival events We expected there to be a decline. Our social media chatwere presented in 2021 due to ongoing Covid concerns. ter [was down], and we were hearing from our fans. Some “Our fans were pleased we presented the full-scale festival people would say — and they were generally nice about it — in 2022, for the first time in three years,” said James Holt, “We’ll just sit this one out.” MIM president and CEO. “We knew we would experience a We suspected that would be the case. We just didn’t significant decline in attendance because of our displacement expect it to be this much of a drop. It was more than we from Tom Lee Park. were expecting. “The ongoing Covid pandemic, inflationary environment, and artist cancellations at Beale Street Music Festival also Did MIM see a similar decline when Barbecue moved to the partially contributed to the decline in attendance.” (then-called) Mid-South Fairgrounds in 2011 because of the However, MIM said its 2022 programs were a “boon” to Mississippi River flood? local hotels. Occupancy rates across the city peaked at 88.8 We haven’t looked at the numbers, but that was a drastipercent during Music Fest and Barbecue, according to MIM. cally different situation. The flooding happened a week out. The 46th edition of MIM is slated to return to Tom Lee People had already bought tickets. The teams were all ready. Park next year. People were committed to coming. Randy Blevins, MIM spokesman, said no formal surveys It was a last-minute change as opposed to something or studies were done to directly link low attendance to the where we started from the get-go saying that neither of temporary relocation. But he said the correlation was easy to these events would be held in Tom Lee Park. see. — Toby Sells From accounts I’ve heard, MIM made it work in Liberty Park Memphis Flyer: So, the move from the park this year was a this year, especially the shuttles to and from the park. major factor in low attendance? That doesn’t replace being within walking distance in Randy Blevins: It’s hard to hold an event in Memphis where Downtown where people can hop a trolley or leave Beale you’re not Downtown. Downtown is where the tourists want Street [Music Festival] or leave Barbecue and stop and grab to be. Downtown is just so much an easier place to invite a bite to eat on your way to the hotel. people to attend an event. It’s hard to beat the Mississippi It’s just set up better to be back in Tom Lee Park. Check the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for more local news River as a backdrop and the skyline and all of that. Then, all just like this. the restaurants and nightlife and entertainment.

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The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, December 10, 2018

Crossword ACROSS 1 Pulsate, as with pain 6 What a red traffic light means 10 Container for soup or cereal 14 ___ acid (protein builder) 15 “Very funny!” 16 Eye layer 17 Chocolaty candy on a stick 19 500 sheets of paper 20 Realtors’ showings 21 Endless, in poetry 23 Guard at an entrance 26 Length x width, for a rectangle 27 Desertlike 28 Breakfast cereal with a naval officer on its box 33 Put through a blast furnace, say

35 Dissolute sort 36 Rope-a-dope boxer 37 ___-relief 38 Two marks in “résumés” 41 Easy-to-chew food 42 It ends with diciembre 43 Danny who co-starred in “White Christmas” 44 Make red-faced 46 Brittle, spicy cookie 50 Besides 51 Hilarious person 52 Plan going forward, as for peace 54 As originally placed 57 Constantly rising things in gentrifying neighborhoods

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

W I N D

C A M E O

C A N T O R

S I T S P A T

A G R E E T O

I N A T R A P

M A R T I N A

A P P A R A T

L E A D E T H

N O N H E R O

T P B L S A N S I L

A L A M A N I N T D I D V E A E E X D M X E T E E R M S Y C E M U R O S S N O

G I M P

P A C T E M C E C O R E R I T C O D I U S E M L O R E

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58 Where Hartford is: Abbr. 59 Broadcast news snippets … or an apt description for 17-, 28- and 46-Across? 64 Grand-scale production 65 ___ Krabappel, teacher on “The Simpsons” 66 Love, love, love 67 Meyers of latenight 68 Most mammals have four of them 69 Core belief DOWN 1 Tit for ___ 2 Care provider, briefly 3 2016 Olympics host, informally 4 Hush-hush, slangily 5 ___ buddy 6 “For Your Eyes Only” singer Easton 7 Water spigots 8 “Look what I found!” 9 Slice from a book? 10 The “B” of F.B.I. 11 On top of 12 Withdraw gradually (from) 13 Unfunny, as a joke 18 Apple desktop 22 Mother canonized in 2016 23 Long-winded sort

Hate on a Plate

Edited by Will Shortz 1

25 28 34

40 44

19 21

20 23

No. 1105

45 50

PUZZLE BY ROLAND HUGET

24 Italian designer Giorgio

32 Rap, by another name

48 Stadiums

25 Attaches using string

34 “Grab this!”

53 Hitter’s turn to hit

39 Amusement park ride that goes around and around

54 Helps reduce the swelling of, say

26 Unknown author, for short 29 Fuss in front of the mirror 30 Incendiary weapon used in the Vietnam War 31 Category for a minor-league team

49 Duck’s habitat

55 Slangy refusal

40 Growth under the 56 Foul mood skin 57 Step on a ladder 45 Unflattering 60 Poem of praise angle of one’s 61 2,000 pounds face 62 Before, poetically 47 Christmas stealer 63 “On your mark, in a Dr. Seuss get ___ …” book

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ny agency that gets federal funds for food must now investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and Tennessee’s Republican Attorney General is leading the fight against the move. In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) included gender identity and sexual orientation in its interpretation of Title IX. The 1972 law outlawed discrimination based on sex for any program or activity receiving federal assistance. The move by the USDA is to keep its programs open to everyone, to help ensure “all Americans have access to nutritious foods that promote health and well-being regardless of race, ethnicity, identity, or background,” USDA said in a statement in May. The move is also in line with President Joe Biden’s executive order in January on “preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.” “USDA is committed to administering all its programs with equity and fairness and serving those in need with the highest dignity,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “A key step in advancing these principles is rooting out discrimination in any form, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. “At the same time, we must recognize the vulnerability of the LGBTQI+ communities and provide them with an avenue to grieve any discrimination they face. We hope that by standing firm against these inequities we will help bring about much-needed change.” But this is wrong, according to Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery, because agencies that don’t comply with the order will lose federal funding. So, Slatery is leading a coalition of 26 state attorneys general to stop it. The USDA’s move “imposes” new

and “unlawful” regulatory measures on state agencies and other agency operators that get federal help from the USDA. Slatery’s letter claims the new rules will cause “regulatory chaos that threatens essential nutritional services to some of the most vulnerable citizens.” The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the letter gives as an example, serves nearly 30 million students each day and could be in danger under the new rules. “This is yet another attempt by the executive branch and unelected regulators to do what only Congress is constitutionally authorized to do: change the law,” Slatery said in a statement issued Tuesday, June 14th. “They intentionally misread the [Bostock v. Clayton County] to fit their social policy preferences and exclude the people and their elected representatives from the entire process. As attorneys general we cannot just sit on the sidelines, and we will not.”

PHOTO: ANNIE SPRATT | UNSPLASH

NSLP serves millions of students. The USDA said the LGBTQ+ community has faced “striking economic and social disparities, such as higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and nutrition insecurity.” It said a U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more than 13 percent of LGBTQ+ respondents faced food insecurity compared to 7.2 percent of non-LGBTQ+ respondents. “Whether you are grocery shopping, standing in line at the school cafeteria, or picking up food from a food bank, you should be able to do so without fear of discrimination,” said Stacy Dean, Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services deputy undersecretary. “No one should be denied access to nutritious food simply because of who they are or how they identify.”

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POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Blunt Talk Of baseball bats and bombast on the occasion of Trump’s local foray.

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Donald Trump’s open insurrection in the U.S. Capitol visit to the Memon January 6, 2021. He told of how, phis area over the barricaded in his office, he picked up a weekend, at the prized possession for potential self-deLanders Center in fense — a souvenir baseball bat given Southaven, may to him once by former Chicago White have served as Sox baseball great Minnie Miñoso. many Democratic “Ironically enough,” Cohen said, purposes as Republican ones. “Minnie’s son, Charlie, tweeted me, The former president’s “American as did many other people during the Freedom Tour” netted a few thousand event, and he asked, ‘How’s everybody butts in seats on Saturday to hear his in the office?’ I said, ‘Everybody’s okay,’ familiar litany, at prices ranging from and told Charlie, ‘I’m sitting here with $45 to $3,995. As a payday, that’s not your father’s bat.’ He texted me back, small change, and it was followed by and he said, ‘If he was there, he’d be another well-attended bonanza for there with you — ready to use the bat.’” Trump in Nashville. Host for the Friday evening affair, at But Democrats in Memphis, a few which several Democratic candidates miles north, got some profit from the in the August election took speaking occasion, as well. Among other things, turns, was D.A. candidate Mulroy, who they used the then-pending Trump in his own remarks was at pains to visit on Saturday for an “anti-Trump connect the persona of Donald Trump GOTV Rally & Happy with that of his own elecHour” on Friday tion opponent, incumbent evening at the Poplar Republican D.A. Amy Avenue campaign Weirich. headquarters of DemSimultaneously with ocratic D.A. candidate the Democratic rally, a Steve Mulroy. new TV commercial on After flashing Mulroy’s behalf was getting some signs at the airtime. Just as Mulroy did late-Friday driveverbally to his audience, time traffic on Poplar, the commercial, entitled the group went inside “Peas in the Pod,” yoked and got together a the images of Trump and PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER counternarrative of Weirich, cast against a Steve Cohen sorts. The star of the video of the January 6th occasion was 9th mob in action. District CongressA voice-over said, man Steve Cohen, who compared “Trump is bringing his mob to Mempublished ads for the Trump event to phis. Trump and D.A. Amy Weirich poorly done commercials he used to both break the rules and are out of see on local TV for slapped-together control.” The ad continued: “On D.A. country music shows. Amy Weirich’s watch, crime has jumped Despite reports that the Trump afalmost every year,” and a graph or two fair was sold out, Cohen jested to his was shown by way of documentation. listeners that they could get “two for The soundtrack continued: “Now Shelby one” on the $9 seats. As for the $3,995 County has the worst violent crime tickets, he said, “You get to go and anywhere. The worst president, the worst shake hands with the president, and district attorney. We can do better with then they give you some stuff to clean former federal prosecutor Steve Mulroy.” your hands.” Mulroy and Weirich are not playing Referring to the ex-president as beanbag with each other. Last week, afa “narcissistic sociopath,” Cohen reter Mulroy had announced the results of flected on allegations of illegal activity a poll, which he said showed him with by Trump recently made public by the a 12-percentage-point lead, Weirich ongoing congressional January 6th responded, “It sounds like Professor investigative committee. “He is openly Mulroy is having trouble raising money and notoriously committing criminal and is cooking up bogus poll numbers acts against our government, like no to try and get donations. When your other person in our political history entire platform is built around freeing has ever done,” Cohen said. criminals from jail, it’s hard to raise The congressman recounted how money beyond the radical out-of-town he feared for his life on the occasion of Defund the Police activists.”

A T L A R G E B y B r u c e Va n W y n g a r d e n

View From a Boat Memphis may be well-poised for the (eventual) post-pandemic era.

PHOTO: BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

The Manhattan skyline, far and wee in the distance It brought to mind a story I’d read in The New York Times earlier in the week called “A Full Return to the Office? Does ‘Never’ Work for You?” The current return-to-office rate for office workers around the country is 43 percent, but in New York City, recent data puts the number of workers who have returned to the office five days a week at 8 percent. Most of the buildings in that impressive skyline are half-full at best. At-home workers cite Covid fears, the cost of commuting, gasoline prices, childcare, and the inability to concentrate in a cubicle/desk situation as reasons to continue working remotely. Management fears that if their workers stay home their organizations will lose the benefits of cooperative brainstorming, a teamwork ethic, and, yes, a lack of direct oversight — not to mention that companies continue to have to pay for their office facilities whether they’re used or not. But it’s clear the pandemic has unmasked a myth: that people need oversight

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’m tempted to quote T-Pain: “I’m on a boat, mother … .” But I’ll spare you. I was on a boat on my vacation, though, a funky single-masted sloop owned by a sailing co-op my son belongs to in Rockaway Beach. We went out one evening with eight locals for a sunset sail in Jamaica Bay. The only sounds were gulls, congenial conversation, and the occasional snap of the mainsail. As the sun fell to the orange horizon, we took pictures. I noticed when I enlarged the photos that you could see the entire skyline of Manhattan below the setting sun, far and wee in the distance.

to be productive. Different organizations are trying different ways forward. Some are experimenting with three-day-a-week office hours or flex scheduling around meetings, school schedules, etc. Others are downsizing office space to a few meeting areas and shared workstations. It’s all in flux, but one thing seems certain: The office out-migration is going to greatly impact the nation’s cities, where commercial real estate has traditionally been a driver of business, employment, income, and tax revenues. Full Downtown office buildings mean full restaurants, full bars for after-work happy hours, full parking facilities, and bustling retail. Now, maybe not so much. But in a weird way, the workfrom-home trend may favor a city like Memphis. For years, we’ve marveled at Nashville’s building boom, its Downtown seemingly permanently decorated with a half-dozen cranes attached to under-construction office towers. But if you’ve been to Downtown Nashville at night lately, you’ve seen a congested, noisy, tourist hell-hole. Housing prices are skyrocketing. A recent piece in the Nashville Post reported that “6 percent of homebuyers moving to Memphis in the first quarter were from Nashville, twice the rate of the same period in 2021. In April, the typical home in Nashville sold for $455,000, compared to $280,000 in Memphis.” Welcome to Bluff City, cowpokes. Downtown Memphis is anything but overbuilt. We’ve still got the finest 1970s skyline in America. Plus a pyramid. Sterick Building, anyone? But maybe we got lucky. Nashville, New York, Austin, and all those other “it” cities are going to have to figure out what to do with all those shiny “big empties.” Not us. And let’s not forget that thousands of Memphians don’t have the privilege of working from home. Warehouses, factories, retail cash registers, bars, grocery stores, etc. don’t exist without people leaving their homes and clocking in. Without these essential workers, everything breaks down. The Memphis economy is filled with those kinds of jobs. Which, it turns out, is a good thing in the eventual post-pandemic world. So, maybe the future is livability and affordability. Maybe the future is funkiness and soul and big trees and big water rather than tall, gleaming — empty — buildings. Maybe it’s finally our turn. Maybe we’ve been there all along, patiently waiting for the world to find us — out there on the horizon, far and wee in the distance.

NEWS & OPINION

Someday, my baby, when I am a man And others have taught me the best that they can They’ll sell me a suit, then cut off my hair, And send me to work in tall buildings … — John Hartford

COVER STORY By Alex Greene

EVERYTHING

BLUES

PHOTO: JUSTIN HARDIMAN

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

IS HOT AGAIN

APPRECIATING THE LATEST REINVENTIONS OF A TIMELESS GENRE.

“

June 23-29, 2022

his city’s filled with reasons to kill, but everyone wants to play the blues.” So lamented the Lost Sounds over 20 years ago on their Black-Wave album, and that sentiment, that palpable frustration, was easy to relate to at the time. For youth on the edge of alternative culture, the blues could feel soul-crushing, especially in Memphis, especially on Beale Street. Somehow, it felt like the sound of complacency. I was certainly too snobbish to play Beale Street back at the end of the last century, and I was not alone. One group, though, worked Beale Street to their advantage in those days. Luther and Cody Dickinson formed the North Mississippi Allstars with Chris Chew and played Beale Street clubs almost from the beginning, relentlessly refining their blues-based rock and funk there, night after night. Over the decades, with a few other like-minded souls, the two brothers have stayed the course, and their ceaseless experimentation has left in its wake 10 a revelation: The blues are extremely mutant-friendly.

Indeed, the blues may be more open to cross-pollination, hybridization, and evolution than any other genre, and that’s never been more apparent than today. After decades of bubbling under the surface, from the Delta to the Hill Country to the gritty, grinding streets of Memphis, the blues have soaked up something from the sands. And now, once again, the creature is stirring. A NEW ERA “The blues is dead!” quips Bruce Watson, co-founder of Fat Possum Records, the label that first made its mark with hitherto under-recognized artists like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others. Then he laughs out loud. “I’m kidding. That’s been our catchphrase for 30 years. Actually, the blues may kind of die down, but there always seems to be somebody who starts the flame again. If you look at The Black Keys’ record from last year [Delta Kream], they were reaching back into the old Fat Possum catalog for most of that. That’s pretty great. It introduces a whole different audience to the blues. These days, it definitely feels like something’s happening.”

That sentiment is shared by many with their fingers on the pulse of the music. “There is a new appreciation for what the blues is and what the blues is all about,” says Judith Black, president and CEO of the Blues Foundation. Rapper Al Kapone, who we’ll return to later, also knows a thing or two about the blues, and agrees with Black. “A new era of the blues has begun, and it’s needed,” he says. “It’s a great thing to witness. We’re right at the beginning stages of something going on. It’s really cool to see.” And Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, whose 662 won a Grammy for Best

Contemporary Blues Album earlier this year, says, “There’s definitely a new vibe. A crop of young people are coming out of the woodwork, more young people of color. So there’s a big resurgence of the blues at the moment.” NOSTALGIC AND FUTURISTIC — AT THE SAME TIME Just what specifically is changing is harder to define. One sign came with last year’s release of I Be Trying, by Cedric Burnside, grandson of the great R.L. Burnside. Originally a drummer, he came of age on the road with R.L. and close family friend Kenny Brown, during a time when R.L. enjoyed a revival of sorts, on Fat Possum and elsewhere. Now, being steeped in the North Mississippi Hill Country blues that his grandfather typified, Burnside has appropriately been named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts, a sort of guardian of the Hill Country tradition. The irony is that, despite such historical bona fides, Burnside has forged a style all his own. With a clean, percussive guitar style, likely derived from his years behind the drums, he

Al Kapone lays down riffs and snatches of melody that lean heavily on the blues but also evoke echoes of soul and gospel. As with classic Hill Country blues, there’s still a hypnotic quality, but with less distortion (an innovation in itself in R.L.’s day) and a greater sense of playfulness. With the quality and care put into this very intimate-sounding recording, it’s no wonder he took home the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album this year, and yet Burnside defies tradition as well. As producer Boo Mitchell says, “It’s nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. It captures all the spookiness of the old deep blues, and it still sounds current. Some of those tracks could be in a Wu-Tang sample.” Paradoxically, such innovation sits comfortably within the Hill Country tradition. At Kenny Brown’s North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, taking place this week, June 24th-25th, and now in its 16th year, tradition and innovation sit side by side. Many of the region’s great musical families are represented by performers like Robert Kimbrough Sr., Kent Burnside, Duwayne Burnside, and Garry Burnside,

not to mention Shardé Thomas and R.L. Boyce, who both started out in the great Othar Turner’s fife and drum corps, but the tradition of innovation will also have its hour, with longtime blues genre-benders like the North Mississippi Allstars and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Though Cedric Burnside will not perform there this year, his unique sound may be a direct result of the tradition’s innovative side. As David Evans, a former ethnomusicology instructor at the University of Memphis and highly regarded authority on local blues, notes, “People have identified Cedric, either rightly or wrongly, with this Hill Country sound or style. And he’s supposed to be upholding that, and that

TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER, OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW If Cedric Burnside, now 43, seems to have reinvented the blues based on years of playing with his elders, followed by a lifetime of painstaking craftsmanship in search of something different, others are doing the same simply by virtue of their youth. Clarksdale’s Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is the perfect example, and the twin Grammys won by Ingram and Burnside this year are, in a sense, two sides of the same shiny new blues coin. Twenty years younger than Burnside, Ingram has brought a new energy to the blues of the Mississippi Delta by virtue of having grown up with all the world’s music at his fingertips, even as he matured into a die-hard devotee of the blues. “When I was growing up, my mom played everything, from ’60s soul to Bon Jovi to Patti LaBelle,” he says. “I was always hearing different styles of music. And pretty much all of that inspired me to infuse that into the blues and make my own little genre, for lack

PHOTO: COURTESY REED WATSON

Cedric Burnside of a better term.” At the time, simply embracing the blues felt like a radical act. “When I went to school, other young kids were more into rap and everything like that. The blues was almost taboo. But now, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen more kids in my generation gravitating toward it.” Ingram himself led the charge, diving wholeheartedly into educational programs sponsored by the Delta Blues Museum in his hometown. “My instructors were actual bluesmen, Bill ‘Howl-n-Mad’ Perry and Richard ‘Daddy Rich’ Crisman. They were my teachers and my mentors of the blues, from the time when I played bass through when I got into guitar. And when they found out I had a little voice, they even pushed me to sing. There were even times when we would do readings. It was a full-on educational class, for sure. And it still goes on today.” It’s an outcome that historians and supporters of the blues, such as those behind the Delta Blues Museum, can continued on page 13

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

might be a little restrictive. He seems like a guy who likes to explore.” Or, as Burnside himself puts it, “Different, to me, has always been a great thing. I always wanted to be different.”

PHOTO: JENNY MAX

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only dream of — until their efforts actually culminate in a phenomenal artist like Kingfish Ingram. And much of that can be put down to Ingram’s unique personality, his uncanny feel for the traditions that came before. “I’m too young to remember,” he sings on one track, “but I’m old enough to know.” While the overall sound of 662 (name-checking Clarksdale’s area code) has an up-tempo drive and bounce that ranges from the hard rock power chords of “Not Gonna Lie” to the mellow soul stylings of “Another Life Goes By” or even alternative balladry like “Rock & Roll,” his voice grounds it all with a weathered worldliness. And somehow that voice comes through his guitar as well. As Boo Mitchell says, “He’s literally one of the most talented and prolific guitar players of our time. He plays with the feel of an 80-yearold man. How can you have that much soul? You’re only 20-somethin’! Kingfish is incredible. His voice, too.” Not all blues fans feel that way, however. The blues genre in particular has always been plagued with fans who love only that which does not evolve: the purists. “It’s been something I struggled with because trying to get accepted by the purists has always been something I wracked my head over,” reflects Ingram. “In some ways, I’m just getting over it. But I look at it like this: One of the ways I’ve gotten young people into the blues is by mixing other genres into it. But here’s where the tricky part comes in: You don’t want to mix too much, to where it becomes something else. But as far as keeping it pure, I think the more you hear the blues or things that are blues-inspired, it’ll always be pure. When Albert King did his funkiness, you could hear the blues in his funkiness. For me, it’s all pure. Whatever comes from the heart is pure.” THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES If Ingram felt like an outsider among the Black peers of his youth, who gravitated more toward rap, that distinction is coming to mean less and less as the new blues arise out of the landscape today. It’s something that Judith Black noticed soon after taking the helm at the Blues Foundation. “A new duo called Memphissippi Sounds performed at the Blues Music Awards, and right before the ceremony I saw them practice and had an opportunity to meet them. And they don’t necessarily look like your typical blues artist. They look like hip-hop artists. And their sound is kind of a combination of hip-hop and soul and blues. More blues than anything — they’re definitely blues. And I think artists like them are starting to attract a younger crowd, listeners who would not typically choose to listen to blues. So it’s emerging.”

PHOTO: PETER LEE

Memphissippi Sounds To Black, whose childhood was steeped in older blues thanks to her father, a collector and independent scholar, such emerging connections make perfect sense. “I think there’s a new appreciation for the history that comes with the blues. In this time of racial reckoning, the blues puts that history in perspective. It was the soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement, the soundtrack of our lives as we’ve moved from the late 1800s all the way up to now. I’ve looked at the lyrics of artists from, say, the early 1900s, and some of us talk about young hip-hop artists and their lyrics nowadays, but once you listen to those early lyrics, they make most rap lyrics look like nursery rhymes!” Black’s words unwittingly echo the thoughts of one of Memphis’ most iconic rappers, Al Kapone. Appearing at the Beale Street Music Festival this spring, Kapone sealed his legendary status once more as he led a crowd of thousands in the chorus of “Whoop That Trick,” the song he penned for Craig Brewer’s film, Hustle & Flow, now chanted regularly at every hometown Memphis Grizzlies game. But mixed in with Kapone’s classics was a new batch of tunes, the culmination of an epiphany that struck the rapper only recently. “Being a rapper from Memphis, I realized no one from the rap community has embraced something that’s so uniquely Memphis as the blues. When it hit me, I was like, ‘This can’t be!’ It just hit me, I’ve gotta really, fully embrace it and represent the blues. And I wanted to do that in the Memphis rap style. Because the Memphis rap sound is unique in itself. So I figured if I could marry the two, I’d be coming up with something that’s doubly unique.” Marrying the two genres has been the focus of Kapone’s most recent singles, and at the Beale Street Music Festival, it hit home in a powerful way. As doom-laden beats pounded on in classic Memphis fashion, a new layer of sound also appeared: the dark, heavy wail of

an electric guitar, pushed to its limits, ricocheting off the walls of the nearby Mid-South Coliseum and across the cityscape. It was an aesthetic shot across the bow. “I was like, ‘How can this not have been done, this far into the musical era we’re in? There’s no way!’ I felt it was my duty and my honor to marry those genres together in a way that only a Memphis OG rapper could. And I’m very happy to wave the flag.” For Kapone, independently echoing Black’s remarks, it provides a direct connection to history. “I listen to a lot of the older blues records, and when I listen to the words, I’m like, ‘Lyrically, this is just as raw as hip-hop!’ The lyrics are as raw as the street. They talk about gambling, somebody getting their gun, somebody messing with their whatever. [laughs] You can get a glimpse of street life way back then, listening to those songs. I feel their era connecting with our era, with the same kinds of stories.” Now the rapper has just released the culmination of this epiphany, an EP titled Blues Rap Music, which gathers a handful of singles he’s recently done that capture this approach. One track, “Dead and Gone,” even features a renowned Memphis guitarist who first rose to fame when Al Kapone was just getting started in the hip-hop game: Eric Gales. And his very involvement serves as an object lesson that the generic boundaries between blues and hip-hop are not hard and fast. “In the ’90s,” Kapone recalls, “a lot of people in the blues world had no idea that Eric rapped on a lot of Three 6 Mafia mix tapes. He went by the name of Lil E. And he had a cool personality and identity. So I knew him from then. The underground Memphis rap world, the mixtape world, had no idea he was a guitar player, and people in the blues guitar world had no idea he was a rapper!” Now it’s come full circle, as the two musical cultures that have put Memphis on the map converge. The blues, as Judith Black likes to say, is continually emerging. And lately, the blues has got a whole new bag. As Bruce Watson says, “The blues is dead!” Long live the blues.

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

continued from page 11

Live music at

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Memphis All-Stars

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We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Queer Prom

By Abigail Morici

PHOTO: COURTESY OUTMEMPHIS

Queer Prom closes out Pride.

After two years of not being able to host large social gatherings, OUTMemphis is ready to celebrate with what else but a prom. “We want to celebrate that we made it through the last two years,” says Molly Quinn, OUTMemphis’ executive director. “The pandemic isn’t over, but we are in a new era and a new time of safety. And we are celebrating that we survived and honoring all the loss and grief and trauma that we’ve all been through together.” Since the onset of Covid, OUTMemphis has prioritized its emergency services. “Our Cooper-Young location has been closed during the pandemic for walk-ins and social programming,” Quinn says. “We’ve spent all of our resources and time on our essential services for queer people, in particular our housing program for queer youth experiencing homelessness and our financial assistance program for adults and our food program.” At the beginning of this summer, though, OUTMemphis was finally able to open its doors once again for walk-in hours and social programs in its newly renovated building, complete with fresh paint, new furniture and appliances, and a back patio. “We encourage people to come by and check out our website for programs and walk-in hours.” With so much to celebrate and honor, especially as Pride Month comes to a close, OUTMemphis opted for a prom-themed party. “We wanted something that people would have fun with, of course,” Quinn says, “but LGBTQ+ folks have a lot of foundational memories that we didn’t get to have in a special way, in the way our straight peers do. So many people didn’t get to go to prom as themselves, whether that’s their gender identity or the person they took with them or simply the clothes they might wear.” As such, this inaugural Queer Prom promises to be a safe space to make new memories. “We want people to wear whatever Queer Prom means to them. … If you want to wear a ball gown or a track suit, if it feels celebratory and it feels queer, that’s what we want people to wear. We want people to wear anything that feels good to them.” And no prom would be complete without decorations. “There’s gonna be a lot of disco balls and a ridiculously amazing balloon arch, handmade by OUTMemphis staff,” Quinn says. Guests will also get to dance on an LED dance floor and pose in a 360-degree photobooth. “DJ Space Age will be spinning tunes. Our playlist will be prom hits through the decades. The event is 21 and older, and we’ve really been encouraging people of all ages to come. Memphis has a really special senior community who will be coming, too.” Plus, drinks from Wiseacre Brewery and refreshments will be available to purchase. Tickets for Queer Prom have been selling fast and are likely to sell out, but Quinn says, “We may have a handful of tickets at the door.” For more information or to purchase tickets, visit queerprom.org, where details for an after-party by Mid-South Pride will also be announced. QUEER PROM, MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN, SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 7:30-10:30 P.M., $35/GENERAL ADMISSION, $150/VIP, 21+.

June 23-29, 2022

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES June 23rd - 29th

june 25th THE PRVLG Presents: Save the Soil Music Fest

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Crafts & Drafts Crosstown Concourse, Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free The Flyer is hosting a free, fabulous, fun, family-friendly, and locals-first shopping event at the Crosstown Concourse Plaza outside and inside in the Crosstown Concourse Atrium, floors one and two. Featuring more than 100 curated local makers, crafters, and artists; a fine selection of regional and local beers at our Crafts & Drafts Beer Garden; special tastings from our beer partner Cash Saver of Memphis; and live music from DJ Zetta! This festival is going to be the biggest yet, featuring more artists than we ever have before. You’ll see some familiar faces and some new faces: Cardinal Creations, Fancy Soap Co., Hell X High Water, Mildly Happy, 901 Drift, and Artful Essence will all be there, in addition to many more!

Movies & Mixers: Dune Film & Lecture Museum of Science & History, Saturday, June 25, 5:30-10 p.m., $23 Regarded as one of the leading movie production artists and space illustrators of our time, Ron Miller will be giving a talk/presentation highlighting his collaboration with iconic movie director David Lynch on the original movie Dune. Following the talk, there will be an exclusive screening of the newly remastered theatrical cut of the film which has not been seen on the big screen since its original release in 1984. In addition to seeing the rare remastered version of the original Dune, there will be a display featuring never-before-seen artwork and actual film artifacts. Plus, ticket-holders will receive a complimentary Dune art print created specially by Ron Miller for this one-time talk and screening.

The 24-Hour Plays: Memphis TheatreWorks, Saturday, June 25, 7-9 p.m., $10 See some unique new work that likely never will be seen again, as six writers, six directors, and 24 actors produce six plays that are written, rehearsed, and performed in 24 hours. “From Artisans to Artists” Opening Reception and Guest Curator Talk Metal Museum, Sunday, June 26, 3-5 p.m. “From Artisans to Artists” is a riveting exploration of the often overlooked yet vital artistic history of Black metalsmiths, a history tracing the role of Black metal workers from Central and West Africa to modern-day Memphis. Curated by historian and University of Memphis professor Earnestine Jenkins, the exhibition will be on view through September 11th.

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CALENDAR of EVENTS:

June 23 - 29

ART AN D S P EC I A L E X H I B ITS

“Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis” Exhibition exploring the rise of mainstream interest in digital art. Friday, June 24-Sept. 11.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Charcoal Portraits by Anita Biriya”

Exhibition of charcoal portrait drawings by artist Anita Biriya from Herat, Afghanistan. Through July 18. BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

“From Artisans to Artists: African American Metal Workers in Memphis”

Exhibition that traces the role of Black metal workers from Central and West Africa to modern-day Memphis, bringing to the fore an often overlooked yet vital part of the city’s artistic history. Sunday, June 26-Sept. 11. METAL MUSEUM

“Introductions: Sam Red” Exhibition of recent paintings by Sam Red. Through June 30. JAY ETKIN GALLERY

“Love in the Club: Photographs by Michael Abramson”

Exhibition of images of Chicago’s South Side underground life. Through Sept. 4. STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

“Memphis Proud: The Resilience of a Southern LGBTQ+ Community”

Explore the history and culture of Memphis’ LGBTQ+ community. Through Sept. 26. MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Michael Ngo Exhibition”

Los Angeles-based fashion and pop culture designer Michael Ngo is known for creating one-of-a-kind pieces that celebrate freedom, sexuality, and strength. Through Sept. 30.

June 23-29, 2022

ART MUSEUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS (AMUM)

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

MoSH’s “Memphis Proud” exhibit explores the history and culture of Memphis’ LGBTQ+ community. On view through September 26th.

enjoy drinks and conversation. Registration is required. Tuesday, June 28, 5-7 p.m. BEALE STREET LANDING

F EST IVA L

Crafts & Drafts Summer Market

“Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement”

A free, fabulous, fun, familyfriendly, and locals-first shopping event. Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Exhibition of artifacts and images that shed light on important milestones of gay rights history. Through Sept. 26.

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

MidSouth Black Film Festival 2022

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People’s Campaign”

Exhibition that explores the little-known history of the multicultural movement to address poverty and social justice in the nation. Through July 31. NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

“Spoiled”

Group exhibition exploring pleasure — the ways we seek it, the ways we bar ourselves from experiencing it, and the ways we contextualize it. Viewer discretion is advised. Through July 16. TONE

“Sweet 16”

Each of the Dixon’s 16 gallery spaces will feature an independent, Dixon-organized exhibition. Through July 10. THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“The Art of Science”

Over 30 local artists will present a piece of art inspired by the work of area researchers and clinicians. Through Sept. 4. CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

“Thomas Campbell: Corollary”

Exhibition of work by fifthgeneration steelworker Thomas Campbell. Through July 17.

and multi-dimensional forms in sharp color. Through July 1. DAVID LUSK GALLERY

ART HAPPE N I NGS

Estate Art Auction Reception

Several pieces from the late Jimmy Beck were bequeathed to be jointly shared by Church Health, MIFA, Calvary Episcopal, and WKNO. They will be on display June 24th-July 8th for silent bidding. Friday, June 24, 5-7 p.m.

Meet the Author: Shelley Moore

Novel welcomes Shelley Moore to celebrate the release of Through a Blue-Eyed Lens. Saturday, June 25, 2 p.m. NOVEL

Meet the Author: Terrell Monger

Terrell Monger celebrates the release of You + Me: Building Chemistry in Relationships. Tuesday, June 28, 6 p.m. NOVEL

ANF ARCHITECTS

“From Artisans to Artists” Opening Reception and Guest Curator Talk Opening reception for exhibition that traces the role of Black metal workers from Central and West Africa to modern-day Memphis. Sunday, June 26, 2 p.m. METAL MUSEUM

“Ugly” Opening Night

Exhibition of work by Anderson Goin, Genevieve Farr, Heather Howle, Zack Orsborn, Georgia Peeler, and Hank Smith. Saturday, June 25, 6-9 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM

MEDICINE FACTORY

“Vital Signs”

“Vital Signs” Open House

Exhibition of work by Pinkney Herbert, known for his expressive abstract paintings and pastel works on paper comprised of dynamic gestures

B O O K E V E N TS

Open house for exhibition of work by Pinkney Herbert. Saturday, June 25, noon-3 p.m. DAVID LUSK GALLERY

C O M E DY

B. Simone

B. Simone is hilarious, edgy, and already sweeping the world one like at a time. $50. Friday, June 24, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m.; Saturday, June 25, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m. CHUCKLES COMEDY HOUSE

Chelcie Lynn: The Tammy Tour

Chelcie Lynn is a comedian, actress, and internet personality who was named one of Variety’s 2021 Top 10 Comics to Watch. $37.50-$57.50. Friday, June 24, 8 p.m. MINGLEWOOD HALL

Jeff Dunham: Seriously? After a long pandemic pause, Dunham and his characters are finally back on the road, ready to provide a much-needed dose of absurdity given the times we

live in. That is, assuming he can convince his characters that they can no longer work from home. $45. Thursday, June 23, 8 p.m. HORSESHOE CASINO & HOTEL

C O M M U N I TY

Hops & Furever Homes Meet adoptable pups with their foster parents. You can also learn more about MAS’ foster program and even get half off a pint if you fill out a foster application! Sunday, June 26, 6-8 p.m. GHOST RIVER BREWING

Memphis Public Libraries Community Pop-Up Shop

Shop with local vendors, eat, and have fun. Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

The first of its kind film festival in Memphis dedicated to sharing and celebrating Black excellence in film. Thursday, June 23-June 26. UPTOWN

North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic

The festival provides a chance to hear from the best of emerging artists as well as regular favorites like Kenny Brown, North Mississippi Allstars, Duwayne Burnside, Eric Deaton, and more. $25. June 24-June 25. BETTY DAVIS BAR-B-QUE PONDEROSA

Pop White’s Garden Fest and Ribbon Cutting Adopt a plant and plant the garden. Kids crafts from Dixon Gallery. Learn from experts from TSU. Live music from Dandelion Williams and snow cones from KO Kones. Friday, June 24, 2 p.m. POPLAR-WHITE STATION BRANCH LIBRARY

RALEIGH LIBRARY

Sizzling and Sassy Health Fair for Women

Providing preventative screenings for breast cancer, free HIV testing, free blood glucose monitoring and blood sugar monitoring, massages, back-to-school vaccinations, and more. Free. Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Young Professionals Council’s Summer Mixer Invite your friends and colleagues to hang out with fellow YPC members and

F I LM

DNA’s Free Spring Movie Series: Lion King Grab a bite from food trucks or grab dinner to-go from your Downtown local favorites. Thursday, June 23, 8 p.m. COURT SQUARE PARK

Horror Movie Night: Let the Right One In

A screening of the dark, disturbed multi-award-winning masterpiece, followed by screenings of classic horror episodes of Tales from the Crypt, The Twilight Zone, Creepshow, and

CALENDAR: JUNE 23 - 29 etery and see what they have created! Free. Sunday, June 26, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ELMWOOD CEMETERY

Queer Prom: A Night Out with OUTMemphis

An evening of drinks and dancing to benefit OUTMemphis’ life-saving services for LGBTQ+ youth and adults. $35. Saturday, June 25, 7:30-10:30 p.m. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Till Death Do Us Part” Murder Mystery Dinner The perfect setting for this perfect wedding, or is it? Appetizers at 6 p.m., followed by the ceremony, dinner, and, perhaps a little bit of murder and mystery. All proceeds go to Merge Memphis. $60. Saturday, June 25, 6 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN HISTORIC ARTS DISTRICT

Gone Wild G iveaway

S PO R TS

FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS | 7PM-11PM

MOSAIC CHURCH

South Main Trolley Night

Inland Empire

Officially Inland Empire is about “a woman in trouble.” $5. Thursday, June 23, 7:30 p.m. CROSSTOWN THEATER

Movies & Mixers: Dune Film & Lecture

H EA LTH A N D F I TN ES S

Dune production illustrator Ron Miller will give a talk/ presentation before an exclusive screening of the newly remastered theatrical cut of the film which has not been seen on the big screen since its original release in 1984. $23. Saturday, June 25, 5:30 p.m.

Annie Oakley & Buffalo Bill Wild West Sprint and Super Sprint Triathlons

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

Climb Out of the Darkness Community Walk

Sambizanga (Indie Memphis Screening)

From one of Africa’s most important directors, Sarah Maldoror. Free. Wednesday, June 29, 7-9 p.m. CROSSTOWN THEATER

Swan Song

Swan Song is the story of a formerly flamboyant hairdresser who takes a long walk across a small town to style a dead woman’s hair. Thursday, June 23, 6:30-9 p.m. MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

The Devil Wears Prada Screening

This came out 16 years ago. Free. Thursday, June 23, 10 p.m. BLACK LODGE

FO O D AN D D R I N K

Canoes + Cocktails

Experience an unrivaled sunset with a guided evening paddle on Hyde Lake, followed by cocktails and snacks. Friday, June 24, 7:15-9:45 p.m. SHELBY FARMS PARK

Thistle and Bee Virtual Honey Tasting Join for a virtual honey tasting event. Hear from T&B’s beekeeper and survivors about T&B’s apiaries, the honey process, and honey pairings. $50. Sunday, June 26, 3:30-4:30 p.m. ONLINE

All women’s sprint and super sprint triathlons and all men’s sprint and super sprint triathlons. Saturday, June 25, 6:30 a.m. SHELBY FARMS PARK

Event raising funds and awareness for the mental health of new families. Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. RIVERSIDE PARK

P E R F O R M I N G A R TS

Drag & a Musical

Grab a seat and enjoy this interactive show full of musical numbers from Chicago! There will be concessions and a participation bag with goodies to be used during the show. $20. Friday, June 24, 8-10:30 p.m. DRU’S PLACE

Spillit Presents: Unbelievable*

Spillit’s award-winning storytellers Sean Mosley and Gary Blevins share all new personal stories about the search for what is true. $10. Thursday, June 23, 7-10 p.m. BLACK LODGE

The 24-Hour Plays: Memphis

Six writers, six directors, 24 actors. Six new 10-minute plays created in 24 hours. Saturday, June 25, 7-9 p.m. THEATREWORKS

S P EC I A L EVE N TS

Garden Walk

Meet the volunteer cradle gardeners of Elmwood Cem-

901 FC vs. Detroit City Saturday, June 25, 7:30 p.m. AUTOZONE PARK

Memphis Redbirds vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

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A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline

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Monday, June 27-July 3. AUTOZONE PARK

A theatrical tribute to the legendary country and pop icon, Patsy Cline, as seen through the eyes and heart of a local radio disc jockey in Patsy’s hometown of Winchester, Virginia. Through July 17. PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

Jesus Christ Superstar

Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events during the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas. $29$125. Tuesday, June 28-July 3. ORPHEUM THEATRE

Ragtime

Three distinctly American tales are woven together — a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant, and a daring young Harlem musician. $35. Through June 26.

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Germantown’s Early Years: Faces from the Past

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Learn more about Germantown’s early years with a tour of costumed local actors portraying Germantown’s early settlers. $15. Saturday, June 25, 2-5 p.m. GERMANTOWN CEMETERY

True Crimes of Bygone Times

Who was accused of lacing cookies with arsenic? Take this walking tour to find out. Saturday, June 25, 10-11:30 a.m. ELMWOOD CEMETERY

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BLACK LODGE

Hawkins Bolden’s untitled work is just one piece in the Metal Museum’s latest exhibition, exploring the lost history of Black metalsmiths.

Galleries, shops, restaurants, and bars open their doors to the masses and feature live music, dance performances, and more. Friday, June 24, 6 p.m.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

more. 18+. Free. Wednesday, June 29, 7:30 p.m.

$300,000

T H E AT E R B y C o c o J u n e

‘Till We Reach That Day’ Theatre Memphis’ Ragtime rekindles hope for tomorrow.

June 23-29, 2022

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he final production of Theatre Memphis’ 100th season is Ragtime, a Tony-winning musical with themes relevant to contemporary audiences, though the show is set at the turn of the 20th century. All aspects of this production shine, from the meticulously cultivated details of the set and costumes to the ensemble and individual performances of the cast. Ragtime, based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow, is an emotional journey through topics of racism, classism, and sexism. Though the subject material is somber, the musical is rife with humor and hope. The multifaceted story is told through the eyes of a variety of characters with varying backgrounds living in the United States sometime just before the onset of World War I. It follows characters ranging from Tateh, a Jewish widower immigrating to America with his young daughter, to Booker T. Washington to Evelyn Nesbit, a vaudeville performer and 20th-century sex symbol. I was afforded the opportunity to speak with the assistant director of Ragtime, Claire D. Kolheim, over the phone. Kolheim is a former resident company member of Playhouse on the Square, and in 2011 she played the role of Sarah in Ragtime. As part of the directorial team, Kolheim pointed out to me that no detail was left to chance. I mentioned that I appreciated the effect of having the orchestra present on the balcony of the set. “Having the orchestra exposed was an intentional move on the production team’s part,” Kolheim says. This decision was cleverly worked out in order to create the poignant moment where a coffin is fully lowered into the orchestra pit. Despite the heavy themes of injustice explored in Ragtime, hope for the future generation permeates the show. Ragtime returns again and again to an idea that every parent will recognize: We must build a better tomorrow for our children. Emphatically sung by Coalhouse, played by Justin Allen Tate, “Make Them Hear You” highlights the importance of sharing true stories of injustice. When I ask Kolheim her thoughts on the motif of hope in the show, she replies with a poignant thought. “My friend, he always says that ‘We are our ancestors’ dreams realized.’ And, as Black people, you think about the injustices of slavery and the injustices of segregation and the lynchings and the mobbings and the hosing down, and you never think in that moment there’s going

to be a glimmer of hope for tomorrow, but when you realize how far we have come as a people, there is hope for tomorrow. We may never see it in our lifetime, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. … That’s something that’s inherent in the show.” Another central thread running throughout the musical is sexism. This is mostly realized through the character called simply “Mother.” As Kolheim describes her, “She’s in her own prison. She’s in a society where a woman is seen and not heard. … She’s stuck in a patriarchal society that undermines her intelligence.” Mother is a dynamic character, who at the beginning of the show is content with her place both in her community and in her own household. We see that contentment change throughout the course of the musical, and again, Kolheim highlights the importance of details in this play. “Throughout the show, her hair and her attire start loosening up.” So the audience is able to see Mother quite literally loosening the restraints that have been systematically placed on her.

PHOTO: CARLA MCDONALD

The cast of Ragtime shines. With performances ranging from witty and humorous to powerful and emotionally raw, the cast of Ragtime delivers a solid show that will leave audiences with something to think about long after the final bow is taken. During intermission, one bartender remarked to me, “That last one always gets me. I cry every time.” The “last one” she was referring to was the number, “Till We Reach That Day.” As I myself had teared up during the song, I knew what she meant. This show is just as relevant in 2022 as it would have been 100 years ago. Thankfully, the ending is one of uplifting promise. As Kolheim puts it, “Together, we are stronger than we are apart, and I think that that is what the playwrights were hoping that any production of Ragtime would help us see.” Ragtime runs through Sunday, June 26th, at the Lohrey Theatre (Theatre Memphis).

High Point Pizza serves up more than standard pizzeria fare.

ou might want to bring a white tablecloth when you visit High Point Pizza on Thursday nights. That’s when you can get the “Thursday Night Entree Feature,” which includes “everything from stuffed pork chops to filet to snapper,” says owner Spencer Hays, 52. This began about two years ago. “On Tuesdays we started doing homemade mozzarella sticks. On Wednesdays, we do hot wings. I was just trying to come up with something for Thursdays. Weekdays are usually a little slower. “I was thinking about doing handmade pasta dishes like spaghetti, fettuccine. That quickly turned into doing a pasta special. Then I realized I had such talent in my kitchen, it didn’t have to be just pasta.” Hays “took the reins off the talent” and said, “Whatever you want to do. Let’s just make it happen.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Scott Hellen, Luis Briones, Spencer Hays, Tyson Stack, and Kelvin Ferguson His crew, including chefs Luis Briones and Kelvin Ferguson, manager Scott Hellen, and front man Tyson Stack, rose to the occasion. “I’ve had the same core group of guys for over five years. And they have different backgrounds. Some of them worked in the finer restaurants in the city. And I just said, ‘Go for it.’ And they started coming up with the most beautiful things. “It gets redundant just making pizza and the same thing all the time.” One of 40 entrees is served each Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. Sides include “turnip greens or garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or shrimp risotto. The knowledge of my crew in the back is extensive. It’s their time to get creative, and they relish it,” Hays says. His idea worked. “Pretty much every day is busy now. So now, we’re sitting here enjoying what we’re doing and just trying to keep up. [The restaurant] turned 15 years old in May.”

A native Memphian, Hays was coowner of Movie & Pizza Co. in Harbor Town. He frequented the coffee shop that used to be in High Point Pizza’s space. One day he noticed a “For Lease” sign. Opening a restaurant in the High Point Terrace shopping center was a no-brainer. “It’s kind of a hidden gem in that neighborhood. The customers, the people that live there, are amazing. They’re huge supporters of what we do. They walk with their strollers, their dogs, their wagons.” Hays added tables outside. “I give kids little pieces of raw dough to play with. That gives them something to do.” Becoming a restaurateur wasn’t his first career choice. “I was going to be a psychologist. I lasted about two years. And then the money ran out and I had to start working.” His first restaurant job when he was 15 was “basically, taking the trash out of the Burger King. The most glamorous job you could ever have.” He went on to bartend and wait tables at Bennigan’s. He also worked in management at the old Pig-N-Whistle on Winchester and as a cook at Garibaldi’s Pizza. “That’s where I first put a pizza together.” As for his pizzas, Hays, who also works in the kitchen, says, “I just use the best ingredients possible. “It’s the quality of the product and cooking it. We have a brick oven we use.” The pizzas are “nice and crisp on the bottom. The toppings are great.” They make about a dozen different pizzas, but the simple cheese pizza and the pepperoni are the biggest sellers. They also do a barbecue pizza with house-made barbecue. The menu features other items, including the popular muffuletta on homemade bread and a Cuban sandwich, in addition to lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and mozzarella sticks. “We have a decent big menu, but I’m of the opinion that too many menu items lessens the quality overall. So I try to keep it pretty simple.” As for franchising High Point Pizza, Hays says, “I looked at maybe doing another location. Never say never. But right now, I’m content with what I have.” High Point Pizza is at 477 High Point Terrace; (901) 452-3339.

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FILM By Chris McCoy

The King is Dead. Long Live The King! Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is an untamed epic of America.

June 23-29, 2022

he most insightful film I’ve ever seen about Elvis Presley is “The Singing Canary,” a five-minute experimental short by Memphis director Adam Remsen. It contains neither images of Elvis nor his music, only footage of astronauts and rocket launches. Remsen’s voice-over casts Elvis not as a singer or entertainer or idol, but as an explorer of new psychic spaces. Yes, Elvis was supremely talented, superhumanly good looking, and unbelievably charismatic. But it was sheer luck that he came along at exactly the moment in history when a combination of rhythm and blues, amphetamines, and television could transform a penniless truck driver into the most famous person who had ever lived. “No one had ever been in his position before. He did the best he could,” said Remsen. “He was just living his life, making the best choices he could. As it happened, he was unprepared to make those choices, in one way or another.” Who could have been prepared? The only people who had been as famous as Elvis circa 1957 were pharaohs. A decade later, The Beatles would express relief that, when they were thrown into the maelstrom of modern fame, at least they had one another. Elvis was alone, going through stuff no one in the entire 300,000year history of Homo sapiens had ever

gone through before. “He was the singing canary we sent into the gold mine. And when the singing stopped, we learned it was dangerous in there.” The latest big screen attempt to tell The King’s story shares this view of Elvis as a martyr for the information age. Baz Luhrmann is one of a handful of directors with an instantly recognizable style. As technically exacting as he is bombastic, Luhrmann’s films are the closest thing we have to the lavish MGM musicals of Old Hollywood. Emotions are heightened, the cutting is frenetic, and realism is an afterthought. Music and montage are Luhrmann’s love language, and everything else is in service of maintaining the momentum. When he’s on his game, Luhrmann can sweep you up and transport you to another place like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. This film rises above the simple jukebox musical I feared we would get when I heard Luhrmann was taking on the story of The King. Credit for much of its success must go to Austin Butler, who has the unenviable task of trying to bring to life the most impersonated man in history. On the Louisiana Hayride and at the triumphant July 4, 1956, Russwood Park homecoming show, Butler is electrifying. He’s got the cheekbones, and he knows how to use them. The racial politics of the era are never far from the surface. In Luhrmann’s vision, Elvis’ smoking-hot sexuality was what made him dangerous. But what

scared The Establishment about this poor white kid singing Black music was not how he danced — it was that Elvis represented a crack in the South’s Jim Crow apartheid. He didn’t just laugh at the minstrel show; he identified with B.B. King, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Little Richard. Some of the white kids who followed him would go on to discover The Bar-Kays, Sam Cooke, and Aretha Franklin, and begin to think, “Hey, maybe these Black people are humans, just like me.” But the protean summer of ’56, which has for so long formed the fetish of rock-and-roll, doesn’t interest Luhrmann as much as the Vegas era. It begins with an elaborate staging of the ’68 Comeback Special. Instead of focusing on the in-the-round jam session, which remains one of the greatest live musical performances ever put before a camera, Luhrmann finds meaning in Elvis’ selection of “If I Can Dream” as his closing number. Butler delivers the moment with maximum gravitas. Luhrmann’s most polarizing decision is to tell the story from Col. Tom Parker’s perspective — and not just because of

Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis is electrifying. Tom Hanks’ accent. Having the villain as the narrator is a very Shakespearean choice, intended to make Parker into Iago, a malignant influence confiding to us about the lies he’s whispering in the hero’s ear. Parker was the consummate confidence man and a natural-born carny barker. In the early days, he and Elvis were an unstoppable team. When Elvis was languishing in Vegas, it would have been better if he were alone. Parker gets the blame for Elvis sitting out the Civil Rights fights of the late ’60s and for missing opportunities to tour the world. He gets credit for the groundbreaking Aloha from Hawaii concert, the definitive document of Elvis’ late period. But Luhrmann declines to use the first satellite broadcast to a global audience of one billion as a climax, like Queen at Live Aid in Bohemian Rhapsody. As for Hanks’ performance as the shady Dutch immigrant, let’s just say that the veteran actor knows when to put the ham on the sandwich.

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FILM By Chris McCoy The standouts in the sprawling supporting cast include Helen Thomson’s sad turn as the alcoholic Gladys and Olivia DeJonge’s uncanny Priscilla. The Power of the Dog’s Kodi Smit-McPhee gets a standout cameo as Jimmie Rodgers Snow, one of the first people to understand the depth of Elvis’ power. During the early film’s frequent digressions into the Beale Street music scene, Yola Quartey and Shonka Dukureh each get show-stopping moments as Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Big Mama Thornton. Ultimately, your reaction to Elvis is going to depend on whether or not you can vibrate on Luhrmann’s frequency. I was a fan of the director’s early work, like Romeo + Juliet, but found The Great Gatsby off-putting and snoozed through Australia. Elvis is a return to the explosive

Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge. He freely twists the songs, sometimes in ways that are insightful, and sometimes in ways that betray a lack of trust in the material, like using anachronistic hip-hop beats whenever we return to Beale. The film is massively overstuffed with striking images, but that kind of sounds like complaining because you have too many scoops of delicious ice cream. It’s understandable if you find the constant barrage of visual information disorienting or the constant dance on the edge of camp cloying. But when Elvis is on stage, and Luhrmann is on fire, you understand why The King will live forever.

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The Importance of Seeing Yourself Netflix’s Heartstopper should be mandatory viewing for high school teachers.

Man, high school can be hard. Unless you are in that environment, you might forget about it or look back on it with a distorted sense of nostalgia. As a high school teacher of 20 years — and now a mother of a high schooler — I know this firsthand. My school distributed yearbooks last week, and the senior quote of a student with whom I am very close was, “I was supposed to be having the time of my life,” by Sylvia Plath. That really sums it up for some kids. Unless you were super popular, you likely have a story of feeling lonely or misunderstood when you were in high school. I saw a trailer for a new Netflix show a couple of weeks ago that was so incredibly refreshing. Heartstopper, based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, takes you into a world of 10th and 11th graders at both an all-boys and all-girls school in England. Openly gay Charlie Spring is seated next to popular rugby player Nicholas Nelson in form, the English equivalent of homeroom. A new, unlikely friendship blossoms between them as the story begins. It accurately portrays the fears, uncertainties, and self-discoveries that high school students routinely experience. Ultimately, we experience the fear, excitement, confusion, sadness, and happiness that is high school. This is the most relevant show for a high school teacher that I have ever seen. Let me explain why. We can have all the diversity and inclusion training, and training on how to properly handle bullying that exists, but learning about it and seeing it put into action are two completely different things. In Heartstopper, the art teacher, Mr. Ajayi, expertly portrayed by British actor Fisayo Akinade, offers his classroom as a safe space for Charlie to come at lunchtime. They discuss how he was bullied so badly the previous year when Charlie was publicly outed. Mr. Ajayi, a gay man himself, discusses how terrible school was for him, saying at one point he just had to “suffer.” Writer and LGBTQ+ activist Alexander Leon said, “Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation and prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts we’ve created to protect us.” Navigating high school is hard enough. Pretending to be someone you are not out of fear of bullying, not being accepted, or even being kicked out of school in the cases of some religious or private schools, solely based on who you are, is a tremendous weight that many LGBTQ+ students carry. I have had several students talk to me about the impact Heartstopper has had on them. One former student of mine (they/them) discussed how it made them feel seen and validated to have a positive bisexual character in a show. They said that they never felt more understood. Positive representation of all marginalized groups in film and television is extremely important for this very reason. Self-identity is a tricky beast, even when sexuality is not involved. I watch kids try to figure out who they are on a daily basis. I remember having those feelings as a teen, wondering where I fit in. Knowing that someone out there understands and accepts you, and having a safe place to go, can make all the difference in the world, especially in the time of book bans and so-called “Don’t Say Gay” and “bathroom” bills restricting the way gay, queer, and trans identities can be expressed in school, the exact place where young people are learning who they are and how to show that true self to the world. Heartstopper is a stunningly beautiful representation of what it is like for kids in high school these days. I am thrilled that a show like this exists for queer kids to see themselves represented in such a beautiful and positive light. As a teacher, it has pushed me to go a step further in being there for those kids who may be viewed as outcasts or feel like they don’t belong. It has pushed me to educate others about what many of our students face each day. Take the time to watch the show. It is positive, uplifting, and unlike any series I have ever seen. You will laugh, cry, and remember how you felt when you first fell in love. Most importantly, you might reevaluate how you handle situations with students in your classroom. Melanie W. Morton is a high school Spanish teacher originally from Memphis.

I am thrilled that a show like this exists for queer kids to see themselves represented …

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Netflix’s Heartstopper is a coming-of-age romantic comedy.

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