Rhythm of Care
Comeback Coffee
Friday, April 19, 7 p.m.
Readers, today at midnight Eastern time, so 11 p.m. our time, Taylor Swift will be releasing her brand-new album, and I know a portion of you won’t care and a portion of you will care. But I’m not here to contemplate who cares more about caring less or who cares less about caring more. What I care to tell you is that you should take care to pencil in Rhythm of Care as part of your Friday plans this weekend.
What’s Rhythm of Care you ask? It’s going to be a night of local music with QEMIST and Raneem Imam with Fergus Barnes on guitar. Proceeds from the concert will benefit Church Health, which provides essential health care services to those in need right here in Memphis. Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased here.
photography by brandon dill
Cooper-Young Porchfest
Cooper-Young Historic District
Saturday, April 20, noon-6 p.m.
Like Taylor Swift, I was walkin’ up the front porch steps after everything the other day had gone all wrong and been trampled on, and lost and thrown away, got to the hallway, well on my way to my lovin’ bed, I almost didn't notice all the freakin’ bands playing on all the front porches in Cooper-Young. (I live in La La Land, what can I say?) Yep, I’m talking about the Cooper-Young Porchfest, where around 100 bands will play on 40 porches in the Cooper-Young neighborhood. It’s free to attend! (Full map and schedule here.)
To kick things off, the Cooper-Young Community Association will host their annual Community Yard Sale (8 a.m.-noon). (Map here.) The after-party will begin at 6 p.m. on Young Avenue between Philadelphia and Bruce with performances by Dead Soldiers, Sweet Darlin, and Speaker Girl on the Shell on Wheels stage. Oh, and a crawfish boil!
photography courtesy vintage901
Vintage901 8th Annual Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival
Medicine Factory
Saturday, April 20, 6-9 p.m.
Have you, like Taylor Swift, been spilling wine in the bathtub? Are you dealing with a wine-stained dress you can’t wear anymore? Do you feel time slips away like a bottle of wine? Are you picking up on a wine motif here? I sure hope so because I’m trying to transition us into talking about Vintage901’s Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival, which will feature an array of wine vendors from numerous Old World and New World wine producers and a series of classes curated for guests to learn about wine and food pairings. Guests will also get to talk directly with wine and food professionals. Chef demonstrations and Memphis music will be part of this event.
Tickets are $105 and can be purchased here. Proceeds will go to the Vintage901 Wine + Food Scholarship to support students seeking careers in the culinary arts, oenology, and viticulture.
photography courtesy collage dance
Ballet, Ballet, Ballet
Elevate: Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 21, 2:30 p.m.
American Roots: Crosstown Theater, Friday, April 19, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 21, 2 p.m.
Le Spectacle: Buckman Performing and Fine Arts Center at St. Mary's Episcopal School, Sunday, April 21, 2 p.m.
Make like Taylor and shake it off this weekend. Never miss a beat; be lightning on your feet. And if you need some examples of what that looks like, look no further than Memphis’ many ballet performances happening all this weekend from Collage Dance Collective, Ballet Memphis, and Children’s Ballet Theater Youth Company with special guest Tennessee Ballet Theater.
Collage’s Elevate will feature the Memphis premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, which explores the drama of the human body and its ability to communicate extremes of thought and emotion. The spring season also includes a dynamic new commission by Miami-based choreographer Durante Verzola. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased here.
Ballet Memphis’ American Roots puts a spotlight on the diversity of American dreams as rising choreographic stars Alia Kache of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Ballet Memphis’ own Julie Niekrasz and Brandon Ramey each present new works performed to musical selections that celebrate the vast and exciting landscape of Americana music. Tickets are $35-$55 and can be purchased here.
For Le Spectacle, Children’s Ballet Theater Youth Company and special guest Tennessee Ballet Theater will perform a tribute to George Balanchine, plus new exciting contemporary works by Steven Prince Tate, Erin Walter and Alyssa Abbas. Youth and adults both will enjoy this performance. Tickets are $15/adults, $10/children (8-11 years old), and free for children under 8. Purchase them here.
photography courtesy porter-leath
31st Annual Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival
Riverside Drive between Jefferson and Union
Sunday, April 21, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
And there’s nothin’ like a mad woman, so sings Taylor Swift. What a shame she went mad. No one likes a mad woman. You made her like that. And you’ll poke that bear till her claws come out. And I know in this moment I should be thinking about the patriarchy or whatever, but all I can think about is how crazy I am for those clawed little crawfish. And, boy oh boy, the Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival is bringing loads of crawfish up from Louisiana, where I was born and raised (so you see why I go bananas for that stuff), for their annual shindig in support of Porter-Leath. It’s a day of crawfish bobbing, eating, and racing, plus zydeco music, vendors, and more. Crawfish meals — which include crawfish, shrimp, corn, and potatoes — are $40. Visit rajuncajunmemphis.org for more information. Admission is free.
