Ninety years after the Works Progress Administration poured its concrete in 1936, the Overton Park Shell remains one of the only active Depression-era bandshells in the country. This fall, Memphis’ backyard music venue celebrates that milestone the only way it knows how: by throwing open the lawn for free.
From September 4 through October 11, the Shell hosts six consecutive weekends of sound, color, and community across the Orion Financial Free Concert Series and the Shell Yeah! Benefit Series presented by Mempho Presents.
A Lineup That Sounds Like Memphis
The fall slate runs the full range of the city’s musical DNA. Austin guitar phenom Jackie Venson, a Marvin Gaye tribute featuring Larry Springfield, the Memphis Country Blues Festival, Hattiloo Theatre’s 20th anniversary celebration, Gonerfest 23, a Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Opera Memphis marking 70 years, and Shakespeare at the Shell closing things out with Love’s Labor’s Lost. Nearly all of it is free.
The Birthday Weekend
September 10 through 13 is the main event. Stax legend Booker T opens the 90th-anniversary weekend with a special ticketed performance, followed by three free days: a birthday picnic with the Memphis Youth Symphony; Sounds of the Shell; The Gathering; and the Memphis Studio Superset, a mashup celebrating the studios that built this city’s sound.
The Shell has been the stomping ground for rising artists since before Elvis played it in 1954. Ninety years in, the tradition is not slowing down.
