Five Things To Do In Memphis This Weekend

Goodbye June. We’ll miss you.

by

Wax & Wine

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Friday, June 28, 7 – 10 p.m.

There’s no whining allowed, but waxing about music, food, and wine, oh, that’s welcomed at the Stax Museum’s Wax & Wine. This is the freshest fundraiser in Memphis, featuring global wine pairings, Southern cuisine, and rare soul vinyl spun by Memphis’ best DJs, with some sets featuring rare soul records from the Stax Museum’s Bob Abrahamian Collection. Each ticket grants access to over 15 wines from southern wine regions around the globe. Selected wines will include natural, low impact, and Black-owned winemakers.

Tickets are $75 and can be purchased here. You must be 21+ to attend. 

Orion Free Concert Series: Stax Music Academy Showcase

Overton Park Shell

Saturday, June 29, 7:30 p.m.

We’re not done talking about Stax for this Five Things To Do, because the Stax Music Academy is performing at the Shell on Saturday as the finale to the summer portion of this year’s Orion Free Concert Series (don’t worry it’ll be back for the fall). New Orleans’ Cowboy Mouth will perform on Friday. 

As always, picnic baskets, coolers, beverages, blankets, and lawn chairs are welcome. Food trucks — Flipside Asia, Mexico in Memphis, and Sips and Sammies — will be on site for Saturday’s performance. For more information visit here. 

Glam Rock Picnic

Off the Walls Arts

Sunday, June 30, noon – 5 p.m.

David Bowie is in town! Not back from the dead, but alive in sculptural form. Ten-foot sculptural form. And you can help bring him alive even more by adding clay to his body that’s been created by Mike McCarthy, not Dr. Frankenstein. 

The statue honoring Ziggy Stardust/Halloween Jack/whatever Bowie persona you prefer has been a work of McCarthy’s love for Memphis music history, remembering a moment when Bowie paid a visit to the now-closed Memphis Academy of Art in 1973. You can read more about the project here. 

In addition to adding clay to Bowie’s body at what McCarthy is calling the Glam Rock Picnic, you can enjoy live music, art vendors, face painting, a food truck, and a David Bowie themed bar. The entry fee is $10, and kids get in free. 

“Memphis 2024”

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Through June 30

I’ve never looked forward to July. Maybe it’s because I know it’s just going to get hotter. Maybe it’s residual from my school days, knowing that it’s just one month closer to the start of the next school year (yuck!). But the end of June is just a little sad to me, and usually I can’t pinpoint a reason why. Except maybe this year. Because the last day of June marks the last day to see the Dixon’s “Memphis 2024,” an exhibit full of work by artists working in the Mid-South today. It’s spectacular to see, with more than 50 colorful paintings, sculptures, ceramics, examples of fiber art, photography, metalwork, and assemblage, all by those who call this city their home.

Artists include Jimpsie Ayres, Jamond Bullock, Kevin Burge, Ben Butler, Kelly Cook, Brantley Ellzey, EMYO, Nelson Gutierrez, Amy Hutcheson, Thad Lee, Pam McDonnell, Carl E. Moore, Kong Wee Pang, Cat Peña, Nikii Berry Richey, Lonnie Robinson, Laurel Sucsy, and Mikayla Washington. Admission to the Dixon is free.

Catch Me If You Can

Playhouse on the Square

Through July 14

It’s a bird, it’s a plane — no, wait, it may just be a plane but the pilot might not be a pilot. Not like in a “it’s Superman” way, but in a “it’s a con man” way. That’s just the life of Frank Abagnale Jr. as portrayed in the musical Catch Me If You Can that Playhouse on the Square is putting on. It’s based on a maybe true story about Abagnale who poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer, all while being pursued by the FBI. 

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.