 |
| Photo by Lisa Mac |
A young couple laughed hysterically on the Levitt Shell lawn as their infant clapped to Brandon Russell’s drumming at the Oct.11 “This Is Memphis” festival.
Battalions of slightly older children ran to and from the front of the stage like animals. Cameramen, with eyes in the back of their heads, monitored the activity carefully and held tightly to their equipment. Surprisingly, nothing went wrong and in fact, according to the student performers, the different generations of Memphians made for a great crowd.
“These people aren’t like my friends and my grandma y’know,” Singer/Songwriter Mary Owens said. “These people are just people in Memphis that love music and wanted to come out and support. That’s what Memphis is to me.”
 |
| Photo by Eli Wilson |
Owens’ set followed songwriter Ben Callicott, who, as a guitar player practically stayed on stage all night. Former America’s Got Talent contestant Drew Erwin followed Mary and the incomparable Bluff City Soul Collective closed the event out. Owens shared how fun and fulfilling it was to share a night of singing at the Levitt Shell with her classmates.
“Memphis to me is like my second home,” Owens said. “I moved here four years ago to go to college and it’s been amazing. Nights like this where I get to just be with people in the city are really cool.”
Other performers who have lived in Memphis much longer enjoyed the night just as much as Mary.
“Memphis is my life,” Bluff City Soul Collective Percussionist/Vocalist Tikyra Khamiir Jackson said. “I was born here. I was raised here. I had the best time. It was so awesome to be up on stage and share with so many talented people.”
Crowds seemed to particularly enjoy “TK”’s improvisational Conga solos, as well as the Bluff City Soul Collective’s entire performance.
 |
| Photo by Eli Wilson |
“We don’t get music like this in Canada,” 26-year-old Nicole Perdue said. “I haven’t been here very long but I feel like it did kinda capture the soul of Memphis.”
Perdue’s friend, 23-year-old UofM Education Major Kayla Ratz wanted to make sure she showed her Canadian countrywoman what the bluff city was about.
“I just moved to Memphis for school this year and so we’re both from Canada,” Ratz said. “I wanted to show Nicole a taste of true Memphis.”
The native Canadian commented on the diversely-aged Memphian crowd.
“You’ve got kids up front dancing, you’ve got older couples holding hands, and you’ve got college-age students who are engaged in the community events,” Ratz said. “To get to see some great talent coming from the university demographic is awesome. I’m just new here but I think it’s great because it’s what we aspire to be right? It’s the best of Memphis.”
 |
| Photo by Lisa Mac |
On-stage Bluff City Soul Collective singer Kyndle McMahan made sure the takeaway of the night was that the audience should spread “the best of Memphis,” with the rest of the city.
“You know we watch the news and we see good but we also see a lot of bad,” McMahan said. “Memphis is really every single one of us here and it’s our responsibility to not live in fear of what is going on in our community. It’s our responsibility to take the good out and to spread love and to spread joy and to spread hope among all things.”
 |
| Photo by Eli Wilson |
The mini-motivational speech received a wealth of applause and set the Shell stage for an endearing tune written and sung by student Lauren Moscato simply titled “Memphis Tennessee.” After the set, performer Drew Erwin captured the essence of what “Memphis Tennessee” meant to him.
“This is our city and this is where I’m from,” Erwin said. “There were so many people here. The community and everything about the show was awesome. It exceeded all my expectations.”
 |
| Photo by Eli Wilson |
Non-student Levitt shell regulars also enjoyed “This Is Memphis”.
“We come here often and I thought that they did a good job sort of addressing the musical culture of Memphis as a whole,” 36-year-old Martin Guise said. “I thought it was representative of what we would expect to hear.”
 |
| Photo by Eli Wilson |
The Memphian teacher, previously employed by Shelby County Schools, shared that one of his favorite parts was witnessing Ben Callicott open the show.
“I just really liked his voice and his guitar playing was really great,” Guise said.
After the Levitt lights dimmed, attendees Betty Moody and Jimmy Tyson shared a similar opinion.
“Ben Callicott is his grandson so we enjoyed it tremendously,” Moody said.
Clearing his throught, Callicott's grandfather nodded in approval.
“I’m always proud of him,” he said.
 |
| Exceptional photo by Eli Wilson |
BANDS:
Bluff City Soul Collective
No comments:
Post a Comment