Month: May 2025

Erin McLendon and Laila Dirisco play South Main Sounds tonight at 7. From the event listing on Facebook:

“We first saw the talented Erin McLendon at a writers round at The Virgin Hotel in Nashville and it’s great to have her. Laila is one of our go-to artists at The Graduate music series in Oxford and thrilled to have her join us! Both will be playing the Memphis Farmers Market on Saturday so let’s keep the party going!”

Tonight is Trolley Night on South Main. Many of the galleries and shops will be open until nine or later, and some offer discounts or beer or wine.

Good blog I discovered yesterday: Walking in Memphis in High Heels

Slider Inn Downtown is doing a crawfish boil Saturday. Live music by Terry Greene at noon and Deep Roots at 7.

Momma’s is hosting a Streetdog adoption party Saturday at noon.

Gallery Albertine has its grand opening at 55 S. Main Saturday 6-9 PM.

New bar stools at Bardog!

Sad to hear that the Trumpster is moving aggressively to cancel Chinese college student visas. When I was in grad school in computer science, some of my favorite classmates were Chinese. It’s too bad their education has to be affected by his whims.

That’s all I’ve got for today.

I gratefully accept tips:
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There will be a celebration for the award-winning Central High jazz band this evening at the New Daisy on Beale Street at 6:00. It’s free to attend. The band recently won an Essentially Ellington contest in New York.

Today is National Biscuit Day. Kinfolk, Biscuits & Jams, and Sunrise are good places to celebrate.

The inaugural Downtown Memphis Brew Hop celebrating our neighborhood’s craft breweries will happen June 9-15. There will be live music, special craft beer releases, Father’s Day celebrations, trivia, food, trucks, brewery tours, and more. 9 locations will participate. The Memphis Brew Bus will provide transportation among the breweries June 13 from 5 to 9 PM and June 14 from noon to 6 PM.

Thumpdaddy headlines tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. $15 to get in, $40 VIP. Those in VIP get a buffet of chicken and beef sliders, potato skins, and grilled vegetables.

A $1.5 million donation has been given to rebuild Clayborn Temple.

Next month, ARDOT will close lanes on the I-40 bridge for routine inspections.

There’s a very aggressive mockingbird near Fourth and Jefferson. Most of them won’t go after humans. This one will.

Elon Musk is leaving the Trump administration.

Does anyone downtown have an extra USB-C or standard USB charging block that I could have? I have the cords for those already. I just need the block. Email me at paul.ryburn@gmail.com or hit me up on Facebook if you can help. Thanks.

Pray for me everyone. I have life challenges hitting me from so many directions right now. I’ll try to be back tomorrow with more news.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

Nine years ago today, Harambe the gorilla was shot and killed after a little boy entered his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. RIP Harambe.

On Saturday, June 14 from 5 to 8 PM there will be a 80’s Street Beats block party at the Renasant Convention Center. Free entry, live music, drink specials.

There is no timeline to repair potholes on the I-40 bridge.

There will be a public meeting on the grounds of Clayborn Temple this evening in support of rebuilding the church.

It’s International Hamburger Day. So many places to celebrate. Majestic Grille, Kooky Canuck, Dyer’s, Huey’s, Earnestine & Hazel’s to name a few.

HOPPED 2025 is this Saturday at the Memphis Made taproom. It’ll be a day of limited release hoppy beers, glassware, live music, secret merchandise, food trucks, and more. 

Bags no longer fly free on Southwest Airlines.

WikiWho? Guess the famous person from their Wikipedia page.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

I learned to play cribbage over the weekend. If anyone wants a game, let me know. Just don’t get me assigned to the 4077th if I beat you. (Give yourself a pat on the back if you got that cultural reference.)

A new hub is being planned Downtown for paralyzed veterans. It will offer office and event spaces, basketball and pickleball courts and pool tables. It will also have a pavilion and gazebo.

Former Memphis Tiger PJ Haggerty is headed to Kansas State.

From StyleBlueprint: Why the Belz Museum may be Memphis‘s best kept secret

TV cameras are set up outside Brinkley Plaza as 8 people were arrested in immigration court recently.

It looks like I’m going to keep that TextNow phone number I got a couple of months ago, but thought wouldn’t work out. If you want the number, email me at paul.ryburn@gmail.com. I do not have cellular service, so I will only be able to receive calls and texts when on Wi-Fi.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

Overheard at Bardog yesterday:

“Are you ready for another shot?”

“Is the pope from Chicago?”

Special thanks to my friend J.T. for screen-capping this image off the TV. It’s everything there is to say about Tennessee Vols fans in one convenient image.

Tennessee was playing Vanderbilt in the SEC baseball playoff. The Vols lost 10-0 in 7 innings.

A new spot to drink on Beale Street is now open. Hippie Pants is connected to Walking Pants and serves Dirty Hippie sodas made however you like.

Last week there was a push in city Council for more public bathrooms Downtown. I want to add my two cents worth, although it’s kind of disgusting. Do you know why the Jefferson Plaza building at 1:47 Jefferson has murals on the first floor? Last summer, when the building was boarded up with white boards on the first floor, there were brown splotches along those boards: People were using the side of the building as a bathroom. It looked like some of them had diarrhea apparently.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

The Downtown Neighborhood Association will hold its May meeting on Wednesday the 28th at 5:30 PM at the Ghost River taproom on Beale Street. Downtown Memphis Commission President Chandell Ryan will be the featured speaker. DNA President Jerred Price and Executive Director Luanne Yeley will share the latest neighborhood news. Free beer, wine, and food for members.

Priscilla Presley is 80 today.

The Trumpster is considering a tariff on iPhones.

Memphis in May’s Great American River Run went virtual this morning because of the heavy rain, thunder, and lightning.

Jaren Jackson Jr. did not get named to an All-NBA team. That means the Grizzlies can only offer him a four-year veteran extension, not a five-year supermax.

Comedian Alvin Newsome performs at the Flyway Brewing taproom tonight at 9.

Playground Memphis at 109 N. Main is hosting a game night tonight.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

There’s going to be a lemon drop festival Sunday from noon to 6 in Court Square. More than 20 stations will offer different takes on the popular cocktail, including strawberry, blueberry, apple, peach, and traditional lemon drops. Vendors and food will be on site as well.

The annual Sundresses & Linen party happens on Mud Island Sunday evening and there are related events all weekend.

Songwriter night returns to Momma’s the evening of Tuesday, May 27. Six hand-picked artists will perform. Five dollar Flyway drafts all day.

Riverside Drive is getting more parking but it will reduce the street to 2 lanes. The construction will keep Riverside closed until August.

Jaren Jackson Jr. has been named to the NBA All-Defensive second team. BUT… will that make it harder for JJJ to make an All-NBA team and earn a supermax contract extension?

Buskers will return to Main Street this summer in a project funded by the DMC.

This f*&%ing laptop has died on me 4 times this morning. It got wet as I walked to the Memphis Chess Club in Tuesday morning’s rain. Grateful it still functions well enough to let me post.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

The April 28 fire that destroyed Clayborn Temple has been ruled arson, and a person is wanted in connection with the case.

The temple will hold a remember & reimagine event Wednesday.

Miranda Lambert plays AutoZone Park Saturday. The concert is part of the ballpark’s Music on the Diamond series. Gates at 5:30, showtime at 7:00.

Bourbon and Boxing II happens Friday at the Renaissance Convention Center.

The Metal Museum seeks a director of collections and exhibitions.

NFL owners declined to ban the tush push.

Silent Disco returns to Downtown Slider Inn Saturday. ’80s classics, top 40, house, full bar, Jameson slushies, food truck.

I think this laptop a blog reader gave me in December may be on its last legs. If I stop posting one of these days, that’s likely why.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

The Union Mission has informed its clients that effective the second week of July, there will be no more free stays, with limited exceptions. From that point forward, the price will be $6 per night to stay there, charged from 9 AM to 7 PM, the entire time the cashier‘s window is open.

Admission policy has changed over the past year and a half:

• Prior to September 2024, it was free to get in between 9 AM and 2 PM, and six dollars per night from 2 PM to 7 PM.
• Since September 2024, it’s been free to get in between 9 AM and 11 AM and six dollars per night from 1 PM to to 7 PM (the cashier’s window is closed between 11 and 1).
• Starting in approximately November 2024, clients who have a guaranteed monthly income, such as Social Security or Social Security Disability, have had to pay six dollars a night regardless of the time they checked in.

Now everyone, with limited exceptions, is going to pay six dollars a night regardless of the time they check in.

The limited exceptions are referred to by staff as “tracks.” For example, if you are in the Mission’s drug and alcohol recovery program, you’re on a track and not charged daily admission. If you’re a veteran awaiting housing, that’s considered another track. There are a total of 6 tracks.

And now, on to the rest of the news…

Memphis Chess Club has added Exclamburgers to the menu. Get a single, double, or triple patty. They are messy and melty. They come with the chess club’s secret sauce and a side of golden tots.

The DM reports that councilman Jeff Warren wants to see more public bathrooms downtown. He complained in a meeting about people doing their business, including “number two,” in alleys.

Google is rolling out a new search feature. It will answer questions with AI chatbot-like queries.

RIP George Wendt. (Norm from Cheers)

Here’s more info on Gussied Up, the dive bar coming to The Edge.

DJ A.D. and The Vibe Tribe headline this Thursday’s Peabody rooftop party.

The Double D’s play Live at the Tracks at Central Station Thursday 6:30-9:30 PM.

Congrats to the Grizzlies’ Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells, who have been named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

That’s all I’ve got.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com

Last Saturday, a fight broke out at the Douglass High School graduation at the Renasant Convention Center. One participant dropped a loaded Glock on the ground.

The Memphis Flyer’s 2025 Best of Memphis nominations are now open.

Sesame Street is going to Netflix.

The CA reports that a dive bar called Gussied Up will open next to Hard Times Deli out in The Edge District.

Edible Memphis’ Hungry Tiger Food Tour comes to Good Fortune Co. 5-10 tonight. Karaoke room, Korean pop-up menu. The place is small, so early arrival is suggested.

Edible reported in their weekly newsletter that Front Street Deli has TWO FOOT LONG subs.

Bloom Bakery and Cafe is now open at Second and Union.

Read in The Ravine with Cafe Noir this Sunday at 2. Book vendors, poetry readings, food trucks, Memphis Made beer. The 2025 Memphis Poet Laureate will be named. Free to attend.

Memphis Magazine talks to the bartender behind Bar Limina in The Edge.

Curtis Givens III has committed to play for Coach Penny’s Memphis Tigers.

That’s all I have for today.

I gratefully accept tips:
Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
Cash App: $PaulRyburn1
Zelle: paul@paulryburn.com
Apple Pay: paul.ryburn@gmail.com