Congratulations to former Memphis Grizzly Mike Conley on winning the NBA’s Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award. It is based on selfless play, leadership and being a role model to other players, and commitment and dedication to his team.
Longshot, the shuffleboard bar in the ARRIVE Hotel, is having a Kentucky Derby watch party Saturday afternoon. Prior to the race, pick a horse you think will win; if you’re right, you get drinks for a penny. They’ll have Prickly Pear Juleps all night long.
Luanne, DNA’s executive director, reported earlier this week that the new cigar bar at 109 G.E. Patterson plans on doing some co-promotions with next-door neighbor Max’s Sports Bar. Sounds like a sure winner to me.
Silly Goose is now serving coffee 8 AM-2 PM weekdays and 9 AM-1 PM weekends. That, too, sounds like a winner.
The security team keeping you safe at RiverBeat music festival this weekend has worked the Super Bowl in the past.
I’m currently reading The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer. I checked it out of Memphis Public Libraries’ e-collection and am reading it on my phone. Great book; good stuff on letting go of what’s stressing you in life, what’s holding you back. I think those who enjoy the works of Eckhart Tolle would appreciate this book.
Allergies are killing me. Back tomorrow.
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Friday night at RiverBeat music festival could be a soggy/muddy one. FOX 13 weather has Memphis on track to get 1.1 inches of rain by Saturday morning.
Download the MEMPHO Presents app to have the RiverBeat festival schedule on your phone, as well as band bios and a park map.
The DM has things to know before you head to SmokeSlam, the new BBQ festival to be held in Tom Lee Park Thursday-Saturday of the third weekend in May. SmokeSlam is also presented by Mempho.
Midtown Tavern, a new restaurant and bar on Overton Square, is hiring this week. It is the sibling restaurant of Downtown’s Local on Main, but is NOT affiliated with Local on the Square, the restaurant that was last in Midtown Tavern’s location.
Memphis Tigers basketball coach Penny Hardaway is confident the team can schedule John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks next season. That was an awesome rivalry in the 1990s and it would be great to have it back.
Memphis-distilled Blue Note Bourbon has been named the official bourbon of Major League Pickleball. Did you know that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S.?
In other Blue Note news, the bourbon achieved platinum status at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco.
Holy crap there was a huge brawl at Southaven Springfest!!! It had to be closed down early. When I was on a BBQ team, we always did Springfest’s BBQ competition to practice for Memphis in May. Just goes to show you, the suburbs are NOT safer.
At least people out in that neck of the woods still have Hernando Water Tower Fest in the fall to look forward to…
Come to Soul & Spirits on May the Fourth (Be With You) dressed as your favorite Star Wars character and get 10% off your tab. $5 Hound Dog beer all day.
The Grizzlies may have their eye on the Brooklyn Nets’ Nic Claxton to fill a need at center.
The Downtown Neighborhood Association will kick off its free spring movie series with Sister Act on the lawn of BRIDGES at 477 N. Fifth this Thursday at 7:45. A food truck will be on site and there will be plenty of free parking.
That’s it for now. Back tomorrow probably.
It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn Cash App: $Paulryburn1 Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com
After Burners Cigar Lounge has opened at 109 G.E. Patterson. That’s in between Arcade restaurant and Max’s Sports Bar, in the former Cheesecake Corner and Walking Pants Curiosities locations.
Jasper Float Spa in The Washburn will have its grand opening today at 2 PM. For four hours there will be exclusive offers, raffles, giveaways, spa tours, and product demos. The spa has been helping people with their wellness journeys since its soft launch in November 2023.
Tonight is South Main Trolley Night, with many of the shops of the South Main District staying open until 9 or later. Some will put out hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Some will offer discounts. It’s a great night to come out and socialize with your neighbors.
Cossitt Library will host a plant swap beginning at noon on Saturday.
Prior to Wine Race on Sunday, there will be a Parade of Clauses on Beale Street. 200 Santas and Mrs. Clauses will march down the street at noon. It’s part of the International Santa Celebration conference that is in town this weekend.
KEM will be live in concert at the Orpheum Saturday night. Rising R&B star Levelle will open. Tickets are $89.50-$99.50.
Next door at the Halloran Centre, soul violinist Amari Dillard will perform Saturday night at 7. Tickets are $64-$86.
RAIN, a tribute to the Beatles, will be at the Orpheum Sunday night. Tickets are $30-$70.
Ja Morant, who parted ways with his agent earlier this month, has hired a new agent whose name is well familiar to Memphians: Mike Miller. Up until the deal with Ja, Miller’s top client was Paolo Banchero, the number-one pick in the 2022 NBA draft.
The CA says it’s unlikely a Hard Rock Hotel, once planned for Downtown Memphis, will happen here.
Milton Howery III has been hired as the Downtown Memphis Commission’s communication vice-president. Howery had previously been the VP of marketing at Memphis Tourism. He’s also known for The Link Up Memphis, a series of networking events.
Soul & Spirits, the brewery far north on Main, is running a to-go special this week:
15% off 4- or 6-packs
25% off cases
Someone stole an MPD cruiser and crashed it near Mud Island last night.
Also in The Edge, Flyer staff gave JEM Fine Dining a try and proclaimed that JEM is a gem.
If you’re a nature fan, check out South Front Street where it bends west and becomes Georgia Avenue shortly after dark. There are lots of bunnies hopping around.
We’ll soon have a Buc-ee’s about 28 miles away in Fayette County. Buc-ee’s is a travel center, usually located near exits off major interstates like I-40. Huge country store, great snacks, camping and outdoors supplies, souvenirs.
A teen has been arrested after a video of a group attack and beatdown near the intersection of Gayoso and Hernando was posted online.
Over the past few years, there have been protests that shut down I-40. The Tennessee legislature recently passed a bill that would make that illegal.
I Love Memphis has a TikTok of the new Zio Matto gelato shop in Central Station.
A new art gallery called Ugly Art Company opens in The Edge Saturday. It’s at 635 Madison. It evolved out of an artists’ collective.
Twelve hours of DJ action comes to Slider Inn Downtown Saturday for its Sliderdaze party. The lineup:
11 AM: Jordan Rogers
1 PM: Atia
3 PM: ADXM
5 PM: ASH
7 PM: Andy Chance
9 PM: FERB
I bet Sunday would be a great day to win some bingo prizes at Momma’s (bingo starts at 3 PM). The event will likely be sparsely attended because most of Downtown will be at Wine Race on Beale Street.
There’s a new Spaceball Shot at Bardog. It consists of
Spacebird Donut Stout from Memphis’ very own Crosstown Brewing Co.
Screwball peanut butter whiskey
Bailey’s Irish Cream
That’s it for today. I’m at the Cossitt Library staying out of the rain that is moving in. I may walk out to Midtown tonight for a late-night beer or two… maybe Zinnie’s or the Deli or Slider Inn Midtown. Back tomorrow with more news.
It’s free to read this blog, but I gratefully accept tips! Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn
Cash App: $Paulryburn1
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com
Beale Street Wine Race is this Sunday beginning at 1 PM. This is a competitive event for the staff of area restaurants. It’s also one last opportunity for them to have some fun before the busy season (May through October) kicks in.
There are four parts to the event:
Opening parade – Participating restaurant employees proceed down Beale Street and into Handy Park in their homemade floats.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The floats, usually with the restaurant’s pageant contestant inside, have come perilously close to being dropped in past years. Many restaurant staffers start drinking hours before the parade.
Queen of the Vine – This is a beauty pageant where the participants design their own costumes and answer interview questions by a creepy host.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Nip slips, vagina slips. There’s never a shortage of slutty costumes, but the winner almost always combines sexy with classy.
Grape stomp – One member of each team stomps grapes in a metal tub. Whoever produces the greatest volume of grape juice within the time limit wins.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Participants have been known to rig up hoses inside their jeans and through holes in their shoes, adding the volume of their own bodily fluids to that of the grape juice. Ewww.
Wine relay – Teams of 4 run a dash over hurdles carrying a tray. A wine bottle and glass is added each time a team member tags off to a teammate. The time taken to run the course, along with the amount of wine not spilled, are both used in the judges’ computations to determine a winner.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Huey’s. I don’t know how much time they spend practicing, but they look like PROS every year.
IF YOU’RE NOT DRIVING: Walk across Beale to Wet Willie’s and get you an aptly-named Call-a-Cab frozen daiquiri.
Wine Race used to be the 2nd-most debaucherous event on the spring calendar. Now that BBQ Fest has jumped the shark, Wine Race is now THE most debaucherous.
I haven’t been around much this spring, but unless the weather is just horrible, I’ll be on Beale Sunday and and I look forward to seeing some familiar faces.
In other news…
The Brass Door will be closed today for some repairs. They’ll be back open Wednesday.
University of Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch is leaving, having accepted a job at Mizzou. Under Veatch, the university got to the Cotton Bowl and arranged a $25 million name, image, likeness deal with FedEx. To use the language of my fellow clients of the Union Mission, he a John Cena-lookin’ ass muthafucka.
Riverside Drive has closed to get ready for RiverBeat Fest, although Tom Lee Park will remain open through this Sunday.
