Experiences

An experience is any music event we produce outside of Memphis, whether it’s happening at an established festival (like AmericanaFest, SXSW or A3C) or it’s a pop-up surprise concert in a park or other public space.

Whenever we can, we aim to create a holistic Memphis experience with music as the centerpiece. We put the best of Memphis on display: this means we’re regularly featuring Memphis craft beer and spirits, Memphis food, and other Memphis cultural assets like Indie Memphis Film Festival (they invited filmmakers to attend our SXSW event in 2017 to receive discounted entry fees for submitting films to the fest) or Shangri-La Records (who hosted an all-vinyl, all-Memphis pop-up shop at our AmericanaFest event the same year).

We know that events like these can be a powerful tool in attracting energy and attention to our city. They can motivate someone to book a trip and they can inspire someone to consider Memphis in their next job search.

We also know they can be powerful for our artists. As a result of our 2018 AmericanaFest event, one of our showcasing artists was featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast as one of the top performances at the festival, which draws an international audience and features A-list talent. The first-ever MEM event, The Memphis Picnic at AmericanaFest in 2016, attracted hundreds of music fans and earned praise from Paste Magazine, No Depression and American Songwriter. Our 2017 SXSW Memphis Picnic attracted more than 1,200 attendees from more than 60 U.S. cities and 17 countries. Our songwriters’ exchange with the city of Liverpool – which paired two emerging artists from each city with two established mentors for 8 days of writing and collaborating on both sides of the ocean – invited audiences in Memphis and Liverpool to intimate concert experiences where the incredible connection between these two music cities was palpable and unforgettable.