09/10/22
By Ezra Wheeler To put it mildly, it’s been a tumultuous few months for Lawrence Matthews, the multifaceted artist better known as Don Lifted. Since the release of his critically-acclaimed album 325i in October of last year, Matthews watched much of his planned tour schedule dissolve, amicably split with his record label Fat Possum, resigned…
08/05/22
By Ezra Wheeler Within days of the release of Beyoncé’s newest album Renaissance, critics were already hailing it as “a landmark expression,” “revolutionary,” and “a masterpiece.” In other words, Queen Bey had done it again, this time taking inspiration from the rich history of Black and queer dance music. Given the album’s focus, it should…
07/20/22
By Ezra Wheeler (Cover photo by Buck Billings) A few years ago, I heard someone claim that Memphis is “so far behind, it’s ahead.” While I chuckled at the clever wordplay, there was also an undeniable truth to the sentiment. We Memphians cling tight to our cultural traditions and are often late to the party…
06/28/22
Memphis is known as the origin place of so much American music. It’s easy to wax poetic about the topic in an overly general way– locals and visitors alike know Beale Street as the home of the blues, and many know Memphis as a place where labels like Stax Records, & Hi Records (Royal Recording…
06/26/22
It’s no surprise that Memphis is full of talented musicians in the Black community. What you may not know is many of them happen to be tied to each other in one way or another. Whether they are close friends, met a few times at a local concert, or happen to be family, this is…
04/06/22
By Jayne Ellen White Midtown Memphis’ music scene is prolific, much like one of its primary contributors, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Graham Winchester. Winchester can be seen performing as one half of the band Turnstyles, and co-founded Memphis’ Blast Habit Records in 2021. The label’s first release, So Gung Ho, is also one of Winchester’s…
03/24/22
By Jayne Ellen White The music industry has traditionally lacked female creative minds. In fact, women represent percentages in the single digits in most sectors of the music industry, and seeing more examples of women thriving in the space in Memphis is a testament to our growing music culture and identity. Meet Memphian McKenzii Webster,…
02/16/22
The sustainability of any music scene is often best gauged by considering its veterans, those battle-scarred souls boasting lengthy resumes of collaborations and contributions that illustrate their investment in the sounds issuing from their corner of the sonic landscape. If the contemporary Memphis scene calls to mind Goner and Shangri-La, Jay Reatard and Tav Falco,…
12/10/20
By Brianna Smith-Herman Female DJs in Memphis have an enriched history! They have always played a critical role in music and dance and, upon closer inspection, women have defied the odds all along. Beyond building careers as vocalists and dancers, they also were risk-taking label managers, scene-defining DJs, visionary artists, and producers. Women are blossoming…
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