I’ve been coming to Memphis in May’s Beale Street Music festival since I was eight years old. I’ve seen it evolve into a well run, modestly priced, very eclectic, widely popular and always memorable experience. Three stages, a blues tent and a blues shack are all that is needed to fill the mile long Tom Lee Park every year on the first weekend in May. The music varies widely and always has more than can be seen with just two eyes. This year was so exception to the rule. Boasting what easily can be described as the best lineup in years, BSMF has hit another home run.
Friday
Jenny Lewis
Many of you will remember her from Rilo Kiley, but know that Jenny has been hard at work and her new album and motif for that matter are incredible. Everyone I was with kept commenting that they were going to check her out when they got home. The soft and slower start built into dancing and bluesy undertones by the fourth song. From there, she kept the crowd dancing through the rest of her set.
Ryan Adams
My standout show of the night. I’ve waited most of my adult life to see Adams perform and was practically bursting at the seams by the time he took the stage. With double wide amps stacked three feet over his head, Adams came out on fire. Between songs, he told us “When we go to festivals, they say, “Just play the hits. We don’t have any, so we’ll just play whatever the hell we want.” At some point during the set, due to the man’s loud remarks, Adams began a back and forth conversation with a man in the audience and dubbed him, “BBQ.” One such was in the form of a question. “Are you worried that U2 will come down the river on a boat and play their new album?… And then some people from Apple will come down and try to remove them?” Highlights included Oh My Sweet Carolina, Magnolia Mountain, When the Stars Go Blue.
Lenny Kravitz
Not saving anything for the end, Kravitz dropped American Woman on the second song. I’ve never seen so many women 25 and up leap to their feet and proceed to (in their own way) seductively dance. Afterwards, Kravitz commented, “This is such an historic place. I am honored to be here.” He followed with Smokey Robinson’s, It Aint Over Til It’s Over, which further threw the women into what would become complete pandemonium. With a musician like Kravitz, it is easy to forget how many hits he has released, but Friday night, he brought them all back out. Highlights included, Are You Gonna Go My Way, Dirty White boots and It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over.
The Flaming Lips
Wayne Coyne is a genius. He is constantly searching for and implementing new and groundbreaking ideas into his shows. From giant earthworms dancing and glowing wires hanging everywhere, to a backdrop that will elicit the effects of LSD to the most sober of onlookers. Even if you don’t fall in love with the music, which is beautiful, you will be stunned and amazed by the live experience. Five stars every single time!
Finger Death Punch
I only mention this show because of the “interesting” things that came about during the performance. Six songs into the set, the band, because of monitor problems, walked off the stage, leaving frontman Ivan Moody alone. After some attempts at acapella and a noncommittal explanation, he too leaves. Check out the videos at .Alt-Press.
Saturday
Lindsey Sterling
This show was one I have waited to see for two years. Lindsey Sterling was discovered via Youtube and was first noticed for her cover of The Legend of Zelda theme music. Her sound is best described as classical violin with live mixed dub beats accompanied by a live drummer. I discovered that she is also proficient in ballet. Throughout the set she leapt and lunged and contorted herself beautifully while keeping time on her violin. Do not miss a chance to experience her music.
Band of Horses
The boys were cheery as always and jumped right into their 17 song set. From the get go, the crowd was with them, seeming to grow steadily. Lead singer Ben Bridwell told us, “I’ve got an ass load of kids, so this is a dream” while describing the acts on stage before and after their show. I met a couple who asked if I was with Band of Horses and upon calling me a liar when I said no, but relenting after showing my media credentials, asked if I would take them back stage, “because we’re not crazy fans.” The guy then proceeded to read me poetry from his phone. Highlights included said poetry, No Ones Going to Love You and The Funeral.
Bleachers
As always, they were amazing. They had better lights and a bigger set up from when we last saw them in October of 2014. More singles lead to a bigger crowd than Voodoo as well. Lead singer Jack Antonoff told us, “Memphis is great. We’ve never played here before with bleachers.” Antonoff spent a lot of show whipping crowd into frenzy, which finally broke into an all out dance party during their smash hit I Wanna Get Better. Set highlights included You’re Still a Mystery, I wanna Get Better and Rollercoaster.
Avett Brothers
There is a new lineup for The Avett Brothers which has grown over the last few years. They’ve added a keyboard player, drummer and a violinist. This dynamic really fills in the sound they’ve spent so long creating. They premiered a song in the encore which they’ve never played live called I won’t Give Up My Train (Merle Haggard), to which Seth Avett commented, “We don’t know this one at all.” Scott Avett Responded, “Which is exactly why we should play it.” The 27 song stacked set is just another example of why they have headliner status.
Sunday
Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck
What a wonderfully easy and low key way to spend a warm verging on hot Saturday afternoon. The couple was full of stories and gentle music that kept the crowd close, basking in the delightful performance. Fleck said, “We found out we were pregnant two years ago and decided to take whole Summer off and thought well write all this stuff. We wrote this one and I don’t think it has lyrics or a name.” Washburn responded, “It does. I think it’s called Banjo Banjo.” Washburn went on to tell one of the more interesting stories I’ve heard from stage. “Bela tends to drive a little fast sometimes. So one day in Nashville on our way home, we heard (squaking police sounds). The officer says, ‘I’m gonna need to see your I’d and registration. Bela hands it to him and the cop looks at Bela and looks at the I’d, then gives Bela a good long stair makes us sweat it out for 15 minutes. He comes back and says, “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you a very important question. Who is the best banjo player in the world?” Bela said, “Earl Scruggs sir.” He says, “You’re right. Take it a little slower next time.”A few weeks later, Earl, who lives down the street says, “I heard you had a run in with the law.” It was his nephew, Sgt. Scruggs.”
Hozier
I was overly surprised with this set. Only having heard a few songs, I wasn’t sure how a full show would play out, but it was nothing short of great. Take Me to Church may have put Hozier on the map, but there are so many better songs on their debut album. Our favorites of the day were Someone New and Jackie and Wilson.
St. Vincent
Annie Clark is a genius. There is no better word for her experimental nature and highly evolved musical stylings. Watching from the middle of the crowd, I was amazed and overjoyed by the response both in singing along and high intensity dancing that her show elicited. Every part is carefully choreographed and scrupulously examined and works perfectly. I am so excited to see her several more times over the year.
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is The one man show. 80% of the crowd attended his performance on Sunday night and there are a plethora of reasons why. Coming from nothing. Choosing street life or success. A raw talent that keeps him pushing forward and we’ll earned and deserved roots that keep him grounded. These are what the fans are drawn to instictively. Those, and hooks for days. Walking on stage confidently, he told us he would be with us for an hour and a bit and proceeded to drive the crowd into a screaming mess.
Wilco
Arriving on stage 3 min early is always good for one more Jeff tweedy rant and that, in itself, is exciting. Just Before New Madrid, Tweedy told us, “This next song is the most requested song on our website. Me and John (bass) recorded this 20 years ago in a band called Uncle Tupelo… We have a lot of connections to this city. You know the Beatles are from here….and the Rolling Stones.” As an intro to Secrets of the Sea, Tweedy told us, “This is a song Woody Guthrie wrote the words for. We don’t play it a lot.”
Later in the set, nodding to Ed Sheeran’s show behind the stage, Tweedy commented, “What is going on over there? That’s pretty intense. Are you sure you want to be here?”
For and encore, but without leaving the stage, Tweedy announced, “We’ve got a special guest. We’re going to bring out our good friend Jody Stephens from Big Star. They played Box Full of Letters, to which Tweedy commented, “That last song was recorded in Memphis. This next on was recorded in Memphis too.” This lead to Down the Street, a song now known for its play during the opening sequence of That 70’s Show.
