Prelude to 2011 Beale Street Music Festival

The last time I was in Memphis, Tennessee, was for the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. As morbid as that may seem, you must understand that I was raised on Elvis. The first music I heard was Elvis. My first Barbie Doll was Elvis in his gold lamé suit. We had Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii on VHS that was watched so many times the picture had a permanent wobble from being worn down. My mother baked Elvis a cake every year for his birthday (this being a sacred family tradition reserved for the King and beloved family pets). Memphis to me has always been a musical pilgrimage. Having the opportunity to go back for the Beale Street Music Festival is not only stirring up nostalgic memories, but is making me feel like a big kid in a candy store!

I will be in Memphis for a total of five days, three of which will be consumed by the festival. Here is a list of things I want to do while in Memphis:

*Attend all three days of the Beale Street Music Festival
*Photograph five days of my shenanigans
*Re-visit Graceland and re-sign the wall
*Go on one of Mike's Memphis Tours
*Eat some of that famous Beale Street BBQ
*Club crawl Beale Street
*Visit Sun Studio
*Visit the Gibson Guitar Factory
*Experience one of Wet Willie's frozen concoctions

The 2011 Beale Street Music Festival Lineup:

Friday: Free Sol, Cake, B.O.B., Jason Mraz, Manchester Orchestra, Cage the Elephant, MGMT, Flaming Lips, Egypt Central, Everclear, Slightly Stoopid, Stone Temple Pilots, Will Tucker Band, Big Bill Morganfield, Tommy Castro, Jimmie Vaughan with Lou Ann Barton

Saturday: Amy LaVere, Paul Thorn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mumford & Sons, Lucinda Williams, John Mellencamp, Lotus, The Experimental Tropic Blues Band, The New Pornographers w/ Neko Case, Macy Gray, Kirk Whalum, Charlie Wilson, Travis Wammack, Jimbo Mathus & the Tri-State Coalition, Devon Allman's Honeytribe, Reba Russell Band, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Otis Clay, One Less Reason, Sick Puppies, Hinder, 8Ball & MJG, Cee Lo, Ke$ha

Sunday: Drowning Pool, The Experimental Tropic Blues Band, Saving Abel, Buckcherry, Godsmack, Amos Lee, Lucero, Gregg Allman, The Avett Brothers, Wilco, J.J. Grey & Mofro, Ziggy Marley, Al Kapone, Ludacris, Sublime with Rome, The Lee Boys, Hubert Sumlin, John Hammond, Preston Shannon, Bettye Lavette.

Check out these cool links:

Memphis in May
Beale Street Music Festival
Beale Street

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