Beale Street Music Festival 2019: 5 quick takes
The lineup for the 2019 Beale Street Music Festival has been announced. Music critic and longtime BSMF watcher Bob Mehr offers five takes on what it all means and what to expect.
Cardi B Blows Up: Newly minted Grammy winner Cardi B is the big get for BSMF in 2019. Few music fest bookings have been as hot, culturally pervasive or timely as the festival’s Sunday night closer. Memphis in May officials learned from last year’s final night headliner Post Malone — who happened to drop a record breaking album the week of the festival and drew an epic sized crowd to Tom Lee for his set. Expect the same kind of numbers and buzz for Cardi come May 5.
Hip-hop On the Bill: Whereas hiphop and rap acts were once a rarity at BSMF and occasionally cause for handwringing (remember the ridiculous media-fueled Three 6 Mafia BSMF booking “controversy” back in 2007?), the last few years have seen the genre booked more seriously — not surprising as the festival has dramatically shifted its focus to attract younger attendees. In addition to main stage headliners Cardi B and G-eazy, there’s plenty of hip-hop all down the bill, with Outkast’s Big Boi leading the pack, along with Atlanta MC 6lack, and Ohioan Trippie Redd. Two of Memphis’ hottest young stars, Moneybagg Yo and Blocboy JB, will also appear, as will comedy rapper Lil Dicky.
Fewer Boomers: Aside from the ageless R&B wonder and Gap Band founder Charlie Wilson, the fest is very light on boomer generation artists and classic rock acts. Some of that is bad luck: BSMF had originally signed on ex-fleetwood Mac man Lindsey Buckingham to appear. But last week Buckingham announced he’d undergone emergency heart surgery and damaged his vocal cords in the process. As a result, Buckingham has canceled all his upcoming dates, becoming a music fest scratch even before he was announced. Other than some still vital acts playing the blues tent (including septuagenarian and octogenarian soul singers Bettye Lavette and William Bell), the senior performers are ’90s and ’00s era artists like Dave Matthews, a relative baby at age 52.
Sleeper Pick: Playing a mainstream, across-the-broad festival like BSMF can present challenges for the artists going on in the middle of the day and the middle of the bill — as they try to win over wandering crowds who might be unfamiliar with their music. But for regular festivalgoers, these sets can also provide some of memorable moments of discovery. For me, this year’s pick in that category is Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real. Technically speaking, Nelson — the son of country icon Willie Nelson — and his band have already been BSMF headliners, part of the ensemble backing Neil Young in 2016. This time, however, Nelson and company will have ❚ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019 ❚
a chance to shine on their own as they play a Sunday afternoon set that you should mark down as a can’t-miss performance.
Local Acts: This year, rather than honor a foreign country as they typically do, festival organizers have chosen to celebrate the City of Memphis on the bicentennial of its founding. It’s fitting then that Bluff City artists will be well represented, whether its newer names like the muchbuzzed about roots chanteuse Liz Brasher, veteran songsmith John Kilzer, or a guitar virtuoso Eric Gales. The scope of Memphis music will be on display throughout the festival.