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Orpheum Trolley, Memphis

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Memphis Nightlife

There is little differentiation between bars and club in Memphis, as practically every venue has live music at least a couple of nights a week. Beale Street is the hub of activity and is lined with clubs that stay open until the early hours. Clubs charge a small admission fee but on Friday nights during the summertime you can buy a wristband from the Blues City Café on the corner of 2nd and Beale Street that will get you entry to all the clubs along the street.

Weekly updates of events in the city can be found in the Memphis Playbook (www.commercialappeal.com), a free local paper. Meanwhile, the cultural scene in Memphis is dominated by popular music.

Bars in Memphis

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

More of a traditionally-decorated pub, with an impressive selection of draught beers, including imports and seasonal specials. It’s a cosy atmosphere inside, with wooden furniture, pool tables and the obligatory selection of Elvis memorabilia. In the summer, head for the patio for a cool spot to sip your micro-brewed beer.

130 Peabody Place
Tel: (901) 523 8536.
Website: www.beerknurd.com/stores/memphis

Silky O'Sullivan's

Right in the middle of the action, Silky’s occupies a 100-year old building, one of the oldest salons on the main drag. The Irish theme is played on quite heavily, but there’s a good selection of domestic and more unusual beers. There’s a party crowd in effect from quite early on, and live music both inside and on the terrace. You’ll notice that they even have their own live goats.

183 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 522 9596.
Website: www.silkyosullivans.com

Zinnie's

A well-established, no-nonsense bar in midtown Memphis. It is consistently lauded by locals, and tourists that manage to stumble across it, for its friendly bar staff and fantastic value bar menu. It’s a casual hangout that will more likely have you mixing with people from the neighbourhood rather than out-of-towners. Worth tracking down.

1688 Madison Avenue
Tel: (901) 726 5004.

Clubs in Memphis

Club 152

Set amid the glut of clubs on Beale Street, this is probably downtown's premier place for techno, house and alternative dance music. There’s live music spread across three floors, and the some of the hottest local bands that are popular with the younger set. Usually the last bar open, which can draw a mixed crowd, but go early and you’re likely to see some good local music.

152 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 544 7011.
Website: www.club152memphis.com

Hollywood Disco

Traditonal-style nightclub playing chart hits and alternative music and where the dancing stretches into the wee hours. They bill themselves as being removed from the Elvis and blues-obsessed joints on Beale Street, in spirit if not in actual distance. Open Fridays and Saturdays, look out for theme nights and a slightly more informed crowd than the usual tourist traps.

115 Vance Avenue
Tel: (901) 528 9313.
Website: www.hollywooddisco.com

Senses

One of the few upmarket nightclubs in a city that’s more at home with blues than house or techno, Senses has six bars and sprawling dance floors. A well-heeled party set sip cocktails and lounge on designer furniture. The kitchen runs into the early hours if you need to refuel at any point on your night out.

2866 Poplar Avenue
Tel: (901) 454 4081.
Website: www.sensesmemphis.com

Live Music in Memphis

B B King's Blues Club

Perhaps the best known but also most touristy place on Beale Street, this venue is at least actually owned by the legendary musician. He may not appear with any great frequency these days, but the name alone draws an adequate amount of blues talent to the main stage. The BB King All Stars make for a lively house band between touring acts.

143 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 524 5454.
Website: www.bbkingbluesclub.com

Ernestine and Hazel's

More popular with the locals, this one-time brothel is now a lively joint with late-night rhythm and blues and rock music. Billed as a ‘juke joint’, it’s really a modernised version of these infamous holes in the wall, though still retains an air of authenticity thanks to its history. Local and touring musicians will look in, and the place is rightly famous for its tasty Soul Burgers.

531 South Main Street
Tel: (901) 523 9754.
Website: www.earnestineandhazels.com

FedExForum

The FedExForum is a major venue for concerts and special events such as boxing.

191 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 205 1535.
www.fedexforum.com

Mud Island Amphitheatre

Mud Island Amphitheatre is a popular setting for outdoor concerts.

125 North Front Street
Tel: 1 800 507 6507 or (901) 576 7241.
www.mudisland.com

Wild Bill's

For the ultimate in cool blues, those in the know take a taxi to this smoky, no-frills juke joint that's so good the locals like to keep it to themselves. It’s here that you’re likely to see near-legendary names play in intimate surroundings, and you’ll be flush with the feeling that you’ve stolen a march on the tourist hordes of Beale Street. Cosy table arrangements mean you get to know your neighbours well.

1580 Vollintine Avenue
Tel: (901) 726 5473.

Culture in Memphis

Germantown Performing Arts Centre

This acoustically-advanced, 900-seat venue hosts a variety of professional world-class performers each year, from Ray Charles to Yo Yo Ma, and is home to the IRIS Chamber Orchestra. Modern dance, jazz and world music are all catered for.

1801 Exeter Road
Tel: (901) 751 7500.
Website: www.gpacweb.com

Memphis Cook Convention Centre

It completed its US$92 million expansion project in 2003 and opened the world-class Cannon Centre for the Performing Arts. The 2,100-seat facility is the home of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and hosts a multitude of other events including ballet, opera, pop and jazz concerts.

255 North Main Street
Tel: 1 800 726 0915 .
Website: www.memphisconvention.com

Orpheum Theatre

The main performing arts venue is a restored vaudeville palace, the Orpheum Theatre. It is also the venue for performances by Ballet Memphis, which boasts national and international award-winning dancers and stages contemporary ballets by choreographers such as Trey McIntyre, as well as classical works like The Nutcracker and Giselle.

203 Main Street
Tel: (901) 525 3000.
www.orpheum-memphis.com

Playhouse on the Square

Memphis has a lively theatre scene, and for professional productions, this venue stages a large number of Broadway musicals. It has a sister theatre, Circuit Playhouse, which offers still more plays and the occasional premiere.

51 South Cooper Street
Tel: (901) 726 4656.
Website: www.playhouseonthesquare.org

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