Events
| Sat | ||
|---|---|---|
Start: 20:00
End: 00:30
Jamille "Jam" Hunter / May 1st Friday Start: 16:05
End: 17:05
Julian Marley Budweiser Stage • 4:05 p.m. The son of reggae legend Bob Marley, Julian has followed brothers Ziggy, Stephen, and Damian into the family business, keeping their father's famous sound alive on concert stages worldwide. Start: 17:50
End: 18:50
The Bar-Kays Budweiser Stage • 5:50 p.m. Formed at Memphis' Porter Junior High School, the Bar-Kays grew up to be one of the hottest groups to record at Stax Records, eclipsing the MGs with an instrumental hit of their own, the '67 Volt classic "Soul Finger," and becoming Otis Redding's preferred backing group. Unfortunately, that same year, four members of the Bar-Kays were killed in the plane crash that also took Redding's life — yet surviving musicians James Alexander and Ben Cauley rallied to take the group to new heights. As famous for their flashy stage presence as for their "Shake Your Rump to the Funk" performances, the Bar-Kays are sure to pull out all the stops at this year's Beale Street Music Fest. Start: 19:35
End: 20:35
The Roots Budweiser Stage • 7:35 p.m. Hip-hop's house band recently became Jimmy Fallon's on the comedian's late-night talk show. But this Philadelphia-based band, led by drummer ?uestlove and rapper Black Thought, is primarily known as hip-hop's most reliable live band. It's one that keeps getting better on a string of increasingly strong and bold albums such as Tipping Point, Game Theory, and, 2008's possible career best, Rising Down. Start: 21:00
End: 01:00
Cafe Soul- 492 S Main St Start: 21:30
End: 22:30
George Clinton & P Funk Budweiser Stage • 9:30 p.m. It's not a party until the mothership lands: Expect perennial P-Funkster George Clinton to take the Beale Street Music Festival to a higher level this year. Now pushing 70, Clinton remains an elevating, energetic force on stage. Whether the funk pioneer and his ragtag band of rock-soul compatriots decide to work their way through hits like "Maggot Brain" or "Flashlight," you can bet that a packed crowd will be moving and grooving to their cosmic beat. Start: 21:50
End: 22:50
Al Green Sam's Town Stage • 9:50 p.m. Arguably Memphis music's greatest living artist, Al Green belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of soul vocalists along with Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke, his repertoire of flutters, sighs, grunts, repetitions, and other effects transcending mere words even when in the service of a great lyric. Green recorded a string of classic albums in the 1970s — Call Me, I'm Still in Love With You, The Belle Album — before abandoning pop music for the pulpit of his Memphis-based Full Gospel Tabernacle Church. In recent years, however, he's made a return to secular sounds with a strong series of comeback albums, the best of which is 2008's Lay It Down. | ||
