If you’re looking for great live local music to benefit a worthy cause, look no farther than Rum Boogie Cafe and Blues Hall on Beale Street this afternoon and evening. Nearly 30 bands will come together this afternoon and evening to perform in a benefit for legendary saxophonist Dr. Herman Green. Dr. Green has had some health challenges lately and his many friends in the music community are here to help him out. His own band FreeWorld closes out Rum Boogie from 9:40 to 1:00, including a set featuring Dr. Green himself from 11:15 to 1:00.
Another ’90s band is coming to Memphis on a comeback tour. The Backstreet Boys, on their biggest tour in 18 years, will come to FedExForum on August 27, 2019. They will release a new album, DNA, in February.
Ready for some Christmas music? I was in Bardog Tavern for lunch yesterday, and while I was there, for the first time ever, they installed a Christmas CD in their jukebox. It is CD number 74 and it has 19 tracks for your holiday listening pleasure.
Progress is being made on the new Grind City Brewing Co. in Uptown near the Wolf River Harbor. They filed a permit for $11.3 million in construction this week. This is excellent news. Hopefully Grind City will become an attraction that will draw people to Uptown, much in the way that Ghost River has drawn people to Downtown’s far south end.
In other local beer news, Symphonic 2018 happens at Wiseacre Brewing Co. next Saturday, November 17. This is a celebration of fermentation as Wiseacre releases the 2018 version of its Symphonic beer. The celebration is free to the public and will happen from 1 to 10 PM, with a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra from 2 to 4 in the afternoon. Fermented foods from local food trucks will be available for purchase, and other specialty vendors will be on site as well.
PRIMAS Bakery and Boutique on South Main has a couple of events coming up this weekend. Today from 11 AM to 3 PM they will have a Sip and Shop featuring the art of Karyn Klinger. Every Saturday Sip and Shop features a different local creative entrepreneur.
On Sunday at 1:30, PRIMAS hosts the next in its tea party series, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Each ticket ($25, good for two people) includes a platter for two filled with Charlie Brown-themed treats, along with a selection of coffee, tea, and cider.
Keep an eye on the weather… some TV forecasts are calling for a dusting of snow or possibly a brief wintry mix Monday night around 10:30. Notably, though, the forecast I trust the most, MemphisWeather.net, is not yet calling for snow. Tuesday’s high is predicted to be 40 so anything that falls won’t stick around long.
This is not Downtown news, but nevertheless is great for the city of Memphis: The three-mile stretch of Summer between Highland and White Station is rebranding as the city’s first international district. On that stretch of street you will find business owners who hail from over 30 countries. You will also find The Gold Club. As the High Ground News article points out, take a stroll down Summer and you can find food from Colombia, Jerusalem, Japan, and many more cultures.
Local 24 News anchor Katina Rankin has written a book called Kendall’s Kitchen, a combination activity book and cookbook for children, teaching kids about eating healthy choices. Yesterday on Local Memphis Live, she and my friend Chef Steph Cook (RAWK’n Grub) talked about the book and did a cooking demo. Traditionally, people have used corn flakes to coat their chicken tenders, but that’s kind of boring; Steph demo’s how to make tutti-fruity Pebbles chicken tenders.
Over at We Are Memphis, New Wing Order chef Jesse McDonald shared his story of the inspiration to start a food truck based on the award-winning wing team. If you want to try New Wing Order’s wings, they’ll be at Wiseacre from 1 to 9 today.
Jerry Lee Lewis will play a concert at his club on Beale Street on New Year’s Eve. Tickets will be $150-300.
The Memphis Tigers host Tulsa at the Liberty Bowl at 11 today. A win would make the Tigers bowl-eligible. To put things into perspective, even Arkansas beat Tulsa. ESPN’s FPI gives the Tigers an 86.2% probability of winning today.
From Uproxx: How Dave Grohl’s pulled pork obsession led to him becoming a BBQ pitmaster. The Foo Fighters leader competed on a team at BBQ Fest ’18 here in Memphis.
This sounds good:
You could use a Hot Damn on this freezing 🥶 cold, #Memphis morning! #Repost @hi_geneva ☕️
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HOT DAMN! That’s the name of this Cocoa Puff-topped breakfast cocktail that combines coffee, rum cream & chili liqueur. Who else could use one of these this morning? 🙋🏻☕️ pic.twitter.com/oTLsL69A84— Sunrise Memphis (@sunrise_memphis) November 10, 2018
Speakers at the noon rally on the Civic Center Plaza to protect the Muller investigation include Rep. Steve Cohen, Tami Sawyer, and Steve Mulroy.
Flight restaurant at Main and Monroe has an opportunity for an executive chef/sous chef.
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.