Crawfish boil honors late Rhodes student

Crawfish and music. These are two things Drew Rainer loved.

On April 2 his parents and friends will host the Drew Rainer Memorial Crawfish Boil in his honor. This crawfish boil with live music will honor the Rhodes College student, who was killed in a home invasion in October.

The crawfish boil will be from 3-7 p.m. Saturday at Railgarten, 2166 Central Ave.

Memphis bands Belvedere (a band Drew played in) and Freeworld (one of Drew’s favorites) will both perform.

The event is open to the public, and all proceeds will benefit St. Paul Catholic School and Libertas School of Memphis. Tickets are $30 each, which includes admission, crawfish and music. Railgarten will have its full bar and food menu available for purchase.

Drew was a Memphis native. The 22year-old Rhodes senior was killed in a home invasion Oct. 3, in his rental home just a few blocks from campus. He is credited for saving the lives of his girlfriend and roommates, having struggled with the gunman after he was shot.

At Rhodes, Drew was an English major with a minor in music, a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and Clarence Day Scholarship recipient. He was a graduate of Christian Brothers High School.

“When Drew died, we started a charity fund at the Community Foundation in his memory,” said Drew’s father, Andy Rainer. “We wanted to use his memory and those funds to do positive things in the community.”

The family chose to support two schools with this event, St. Paul Catholic School in Whitehaven and Libertas School in Frayser.

Rainer explained that a crawfish boil

with live music seemed like the right thing to do.

“As part of Drew’s Clarence Day Scholarship at Rhodes, he had to plan a fundraising event,” Rainer said. “He was already planning to host a crawfish boil and was excited about it.”

Jack Phillips, who owns Railgarten, said he is happy the event could be held at his venue. “Our heart goes out to the Rainer family, and we wanted to support Drew’s family and friends through this impossible time,” Phillips said. “We hope this event will give them the chance to celebrate his life and feel the love and support of the Memphis community.”

Rainer said he hopes this event will inspire people with Drew’s example of always being positive and selfless.

“We want this to be a positive way to remember Drew,” Rainer said. “He would have enjoyed this so much.”

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal.

She can be reached at jennifer.chandler @commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.

Drew Rainer Memorial Crawfish Boil

When: 3-7 p.m. April 2

Where: Railgarten, 2166 Central Ave.

Tickets: $30, can be purchased in advance and at the door

Online: eventbrite.com

BELVEDERE Drew Rainer (left) with his fellow Belvedere band members Skye Steorts and Levi Bennett.

COURTESY JIM RAINER PHOTO Drew Rainer, 22, was fatally shot during a home invasion on Oct. 3, 2021, near his school, Rhodes College.

COBBERT/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL ARIEL A view of the backyard stage at Railgarten at in Memphis on May 27, 2020.