Memphis is getting ready to sing the blues this July, as the annual Memphis Blues Festival features five different blues artists or groups at the Memphis Lions Pavilion.
“It is a good fit for the town. I am an old musician myself and I grew up playing the blues,” said festival organizer and Lions member Steve Weaver. “It was a natural fit to get involved, and the opportunity to do something good in the community, an event through the Lions Club.”
The Memphis Lions Club will host the Memphis Blues Festival 2022 on July 9. The Lion’s Pavilion is located near the Memphis Lions Club at 34758 Pratt Road in Memphis.
The event will kick off with music from the Sound Check Band at 5 p.m. Acts Gary Codgells and Leonardo will follow between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. The band Gopher Broke will perform from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The music will conclude with Motor City Josh from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Weaver said the Memphis Blues Festival has been an annual event in Memphis since about 2007, with the exception only of 2021.
“It started out as a way to bring some fun to the community,” Weaver said.
Finding local bands or performers for a festival with a well-established reputation isn’t difficult, but choosing among the performers is, Weaver said.
“We have done it for so many years, that the problem is just trying to get everybody a chance to mix it up,” Weaver said.
Using word of mouth and social media, Weaver said he generally finds more musicians willing to perform than he can accommodate.
“We try to be fair in the process and give everybody a chance. There are crowd favorites that we have a few years in a row,” Weaver said.
He said Gopher Broke was selected to perform as they are a local and crowd favorite at the festival.
“Motor City Josh is better known in the Detroit area; they are a good blues band and a good all around band to bring,” Weaver said.
The event is free for the public to attend, but parking on the grounds of the festival costs $5. Weaver said many local patrons simply walk in from town and attend. The Memphis Blues Festival will take place rain or shine.
“It is very family friendly, a unique environment, 1 square mile of Memphis, and we have the green space of the Lions property, which since the 1940s, it is a 15-acre area. We have a very large pavilion if it rains, with big spruce trees behind it, it is a very nice, rural setting in small town America, which makes it unique,” Weaver said.
Patrons of the festival can purchase dining from the Great Lakes Smokehouse BBQ food truck. They are permitted to bring chairs and beverages. Weaver said alcoholic beverages are permitted for those 21 and over only. Pets are also permitted with the caveat that owners are responsible for leashes and cleanup.
Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter for MediaNews Group.
