Image by Bob Guthridge
Memphis gets muddy at Beale Street Music Festival
May 2-4, 2008, in Tom Lee Park
By Bob Guthridge
Published: May 6th, 2008 | 9:25am
Known to some as "Memphis in mud," the annual Beale Street Music Festival is always expected to have at least one rainy day. This year was no exception, with a Friday-night downpour along the shores of the Mississippi River. However, most fans, especially the younger ones, don't mind the mud — they actually look forward to it. Being an old guy, I really had not noticed how fashionable rubber rain boots had become, but on Friday women were wearing wild designs in every color imaginable.
Memphis in May is a month-long party, with the music festival kicking off the first weekend. Held in Tom Lee Park, musicians of all genres take over five stages to perform for about 110,000 people. With camera and gear in hand, I set out to capture the first two days of the fest.
May 2, 2008
On Friday night, the on-and-off rain didn't stop Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, or their fans. Wearing her trademark leather vest and pants, Jett walked onstage with a big smile and commenced to rock the crowd. Interacting with her fans, you could tell Joan was having fun — she just keeps getting better and better.
The skies opened up and the rain poured down five minutes before Jonny Lang was scheduled to hit the stage — delaying his set for an hour while fans loyally continued to chant his name. When Lang finally began to deliver his hot style of blues, everyone seemed to forget about being soaked to the skin, although his show was cut short to give way to the night's headliner, Sheryl Crow.
What can you say about Sheryl Crow? Two of Friday's other top acts — Ben Folds and the Roots — canceled, and Crow could have done so as well, but instead she stuck out the storm to ensure that her fans were not disappointed. With her hair in loose braids, she walked onstage, grabbed the microphone, and, like Lang's set minutes before, everyone suddenly forgot the rain. She lifted everyone’s spirits with crowd banter between songs and her music made everyone forget the bad situation, although she too was cut short from the showers.
May 3, 2008
The weather was much better the rest of the weekend: Saturday was muddy, with the temperature going down to the 50s, but the mud dried up into a warm, beautiful Sunday.
I was looking forward to Cat Power's show on Saturday, as it was my first time hearing her music. Chan Marshall not only has a beautiful voice, but also is a lot of fun on stage. She came out dressed in sweats, carrying a coffee cup and a camera; she took a sip, set them down, and then proceeded to sing and float around the stage. At the end, she picked up the camera and photographed the audience.
Next was blues icon Buddy Guy, who drew a pleasantly surprising crowd of teenagers and early 20-somethings. With such a young following, it means the blues are here to stay. Guy is a great performer — besides his incredible guitar playing, he at one point took a few sips from his coffee cup while he held one note.
Lou Reed, on the other hand, gave a totally different impression. The back of the stage was always either all blue or all green, with no light in the front. He usually sang with his head down, his face almost always in the shadow — a photographer’s nightmare — but the real excitement came from Santana.
Other than being a little cool (for Memphis), it was a beautiful night to listen to the smooth sounds of Carlos Santana on the banks of the Mississippi River. With three drummers occupying three sets of percussion instruments, the beat was overwhelming. Ranked as one of the top guitarists of all time, 60-year-old Santana fired up the audience with his presence alone. Known to be a very humble and religious man, he touches, talks, and sings to people through his guitar — he needs nothing more.
Heat, cold, rain, mud, or even snow would not have stopped the fans and talent of Memphis in May's Beale Street Music Festival. This year was one of the best lineups to date, and it just keeps getting better. It's not only a place to hear music, but also to see old friends and make new ones. As soon as people leave and pass through the gates when it's over, they already start thinking about next year.
Issue #35
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