Mempho Music Fest delivers once again
Mempho Music Fest once again provided three days — October 9 through 11 — of incredible lineups and Widespread Panic with guests, bustouts, and a First-Time-Played!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
Day one: With potentially impactful weather from a Gulf Coast hurricane, the ninth installment of Mempho Fest kicked off Friday without any issues at the beautiful Memphis Botanical Gardens. Plenty of specialty foods, bars, VIP areas, charity auctions, meet and greets, and the Incendia Dome (silent disco with DJs and headphones), there was plenty for all to check out in between acts to refresh and rehydrate.
Friday’s line up included Broken Social Scene from Canada, Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9), Spoon, and Pretty Lights with a heavily synthesized techo fun show including a nice nod to Dolly Parton during their heavy-duty techno/rave show filled with pretty lights.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
Day two: Music on three stages offered a nice mix of genres, beginning with The Randall Bramblett Band, a good ole band of modern Southern roots from Athens, Georgia; and Maggie Rose, a Nashville native with a nice mix of Americana, pop, and a little county.
Randall Bramblett returned for a second set, this time with special guest Chuck Leavell (keyboardist for The Rolling Stones) with a legendary performance together, diving deep into their catalogs of blues, jazz, and good ole Southern rock for a special hour set for the lucky early attendees.
Dumpstaphunk with Ivan Neville, Ian Neville on guitar, Tony Hall on bass, Rebekah Todd on guest vocals, and the rest of the terrific band bringing their funk fusion rock, R&B, and soul had everyone dancing and getting their groove on.
Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs were next on the Garden stage. He was the lead guitarist and co-founder of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He co-wrote many of their hits. Mike and the Dirty Knobs had a packed stage and played mostly his songs from recently released album Mission of Mercy, but to the delight of all did play a Tom Petty song to end his set: “Running Down a Dream.”
Gary Clark Jr. and his rocking blues Grammy Award-winning band bought the crowd to near frenzy with his eclectic heavy guitars for a one hour and fifteen minute set.
Widespread Panic headlining both Saturday and Sunday had special guests lined up for Saturday’s performance, and Ivan Neville, Randall Bramblett, and Chuck Leavell were ready and able to join them.
They opened with “Ain’t Life Grand > Henry Parson’s Died,” including “Tall Boy” and “Space Wrangler” into a smoking “Honky Red.” Then Ivan Neville joined JoJo Hermann on keyboards for a set-ending “Red Hot Mama.”
For the second set, Randall Bramblett and Chuck Leavell sat in, Bramblett on tenor saxophone and Leavell on keyboards for a first-time-played “Come and Go Blues” (Gregg Allman and The Allman Brothers Band). This would lead into a “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys > Get In, Get Out” sandwich. Bramblett and Leavell split stage as the band rolled into “Machine > Barstools > Driving Song > Tie Your Shoes > Driving Song” and finally “Protein Drink > Sewing Machine.”
Encore: “Chilly Water”
BAM! What a show! Great day of incredible musicians and perfect weather. One more day to go.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
Day 3: Sunday… Never Miss a Mempho Sunday. Three days, 35 acts, ninth year, just keeps getting better each year, thank you to all the artists and crews, Mempho Presents, all the volunteers, the vendors, and the staff that organized another successful Memphis Music Festival. Performers for Sunday included MonoNeon, Sierra Hull, Fishbone, JJ Grey and Mofro, and nine-time Grammy-winner Ziggy Marley, Bob’s eldest son, with his band playing our all-time Bob Marley favorites mixed in with his original reggae tunes as well.
Widespread Panic opened the evening with an OG set. “Disco > Holden Oversoul > This Part of Town > Radio Child > Visiting Day > Surprise Valley” led to JoJo Hermann shutting down set one with “Bust it Big.”
Set 2 began with a bang! “Going Out West,” “Wooly Mammoth > Jack > Rock” and a full Drums. Killer “Smokestack Lightning > Halloween Face > Blue Indian” led to set closer “Climb to Safety.”
Encore: “Four Cornered Room > Last Dance”
That’s a wrap folks! Thank you, Mempho Music Festival, Mike Smith and the staff for delivering the best musical festival. Looking forward to next year! Cya Here!
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