Beale Street Music Fest lineup: 5 things to know
Pop combo Weezer, hip-hop star Dababy, alt rockers Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher are among the acts that will appear at the 2020 Beale Street Music Festival.
They will join a previously announced roster of performers including rapper Lil Wayne, roots-pop combo The Avett Brothers, Grammy-winning rootssoul songstress Brittany Howard and Fleetwood Mac veteran Lindsey Buckingham.
The music fest — which is part of the annual Memphis in May festivities — announced a handful of acts in December as part of an early lineup reveal. The balance of the 60-plus performers (save for a couple acts, expected to be finalized soon) were announced earlier this week. The 44th edition of the Beale Street Music Fest will take place May 1-3 at Tom Lee Park.
Here are five things to know about this year’s lineup and festival.
Headliners
Friday’s opening night will see rapper Dababy, English rockers The 1975 and ’90s alternative stars Smashing Pumpkins play last. Saturday’s closers include folk faves The Lumineers, a reunion of iconic Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia, and 311. The final day of the fest will conclude with sets by multiplatinum rapper Lil Wayne, Weezer and The Avett Brothers.
Veteran acts
If you’re looking for familiar names with lengthy resumes, music fest will not disappoint. Notables across a variety of genres will appear over the course of the three days at Tom Lee Park — whether it’s hard rockers (Deftones), classic rockers (Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham), soul icons (Mavis Staples), Brit pop legends (Gallagher), blues masters (Taj Mahal) or R&B showmen (Bobby Rush).
Rap impact
In recent years, the festival has upped its hip-hop component, culminating
2020 Lineup
Dababy Nelly Al Kapone The 1975
Portugal. The Man AJR Beabadoobee Smashing Pumpkins Deftones Keb’ Mo’ Janiva Magness Kenny Brown Earl the Pearl The Lumineers 311 Leon Bridges Brittany Howard Of Monsters and Men Billy Strings Kelly Hunt Manchester Orchestra Liam Gallagher Toad the Wet Sprocket The Glorious Sons
Sheer Mag Three 6 Mafia Sarkodie Project Pat Waka Flocka Flame Lil Wyte Bobby Rush Don Bryant and the Bo-keys Lisa Mills Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band Hurricane Ruth Richard Johnston Memphissippi Sounds Lil Wayne Moneybagg Yo Young Dolph Stonebwoy Lil Migo Weezer Louis the Child Rival Sons Dirty Honey Reignwolf The Avett Brothers Lindsey Buckingham Duke Deuce Toosii Crobot Mavis Staples Patti Griffin Amy Lavere Taj Mahal Trigger Hippy Sue Foley
Blind Mississippi Morris Kings & Associates
with last year’s lineup that featured a bevy of rap acts, both local and national. The 2020 edition ups the ante even further with pretty much a full stage dedicated to the genre each day. Veteran heavyweights, including the aforementioned Lil Wayne, plus Nelly and new generation star Dababy lead a contingent of national acts. Meanwhile, Memphis vets Three 6 Mafia, Al Kapone and Project Pat will join younger Bluff City stars like Young Dolph, Moneybagg Yo and Duke Deuce. In total, more than 15 hip-hop acts will be featured during the festival.
Deep cuts
As always, the acts a little further down the festival’s bill provide a good bit of intrigue. There should be plenty of folks interested in catching daytime sets by Grammy-winning folk-roots great Patti Griffin, bluegrass guitar phenom Billy Strings and Afro pop star Stonebwoy, representing this year’s Memphis in May honored country of Ghana.
Tickets
A limited run of discounted threeday passes, made available in December, have sold out already. Currently, a full festival pass can be purchased for $145. That price is expected to go up in April. For those looking to purchase single-day tickets, those are available for $55 each. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com.
May 1-3 at Tom Lee Park
Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com
Here are the artists set to perform. Dates and times will be announced later.