BREAKING

Inaugural Mempho Music Festival announced for Shelby Farms Park in October

Bob Mehr
Memphis Commercial Appeal

Americana star Jason Isbell, Grammy-winning rock band Cage the Elephant, rapper Anderson .Paak, indie-pop act Cold War Kids, funk/soul outfit Robert Randolph and the Family Band, and Stax Records legends Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper are among the artists set to perform at a new two-day Memphis concert festival this fall. The inaugural Mempho Music Festival will take place at Shelby Farms Park on Oct. 6 and 7. 

Jason Isbell sings for the crowd at the All for the Hall fundraiser to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame April 12, 2016, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The festival is being staged by Big River Presents in cooperation with Shelby Farms Park and is being billed as a merger of “music food and nature.” Branded as a green friendly fest, with a focus on local and regional cuisine, and a fully realized VIP experience, Mempho will feature roughly 20 national and local acts on two stages during the evening of Friday, Oct. 6, and all day on Oct. 7. 

The event is the brainchild of Big River head and Memphis native Diego Winegardner, the son of the late Roy Winegardner, longtime chairman and CEO of Holiday Inns Inc. The younger Winegardner is an East Coast-based entrepreneur and hedge fund manager (formerly of Guggenheim Fund Solutions). 

Winegardner visited the Bluff City last summer for the first time since his father died in 2009 and found a city radically changed. “There was a new level of economic activity and energy I was seeing and feeling,” said Winegardner.  “During that trip I went on a bike ride on the green line. I spent several hours in Shelby Farms Park and I was completely blown away by what I experienced and the redevelopment there. It was one of those moments where I saw an opportunity to develop a world-class music festival in the park.”  

Cage the Elephant plays the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn, June 10, 2017.

The Mempho Music Festival will take place just north of the heart of the park, in the area devoted to its disc golf course. Winegardner said the naturally stunning location is a key attraction. “It’s unique to have an urban park of that size and scope in any city. It’s a showcase piece for Memphis, and so the festival will highlight that. The park is kind of the rock star in the equation.”

Shelby Farms Park Conservancy’s executive director Jen Andrews said Winegardner and his team “showed a lot of vision and creativity in choosing the site. When they rolled out the map, I assumed they wanted to have the festival in the heart of the park. I realized how clever the site choice was — there’s a natural bowl there, which is a perfect place to put the stage. Plus, it allows us to preserve the heart of the park for other visitors not attending the festival.”  

Over the last few months, Mempho Music Festival organizers have taken great pains to address the concerns of police and park officials about the environmental and traffic impact of the event. “We produce quite a few events throughout the year, and when we developed our master plan we also developed a logistic plan to get people in and out safely,” said Andrews. “We continue to work closely with law enforcement — Homeland Security, Shelby County Sheriffs, MPD — to review and evaluate any event plans, including the ones for the festival. We want to give visitors coming to the fest the absolute best experience but also keep the park safe and sound for everybody.”  

In what has been a challenging market for first-year festivals (including the high-profile collapse of Frye Festival) Winegardner has surrounded himself with an experienced team of industry professionals. Booking for Mempho is being handled by Rand Levy, the Minnesota-based veteran who’s overseen events like the WE Festival and Soundset. Production logistics are being overseen by Memphian Mike Smith, longtime veteran of Southern jam band touring titans Widespread Panic. 

The Mempho advisory board includes several notable industry names, among them Royal Studios owner Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, former Ardent/Compass Point Studios engineer/producer Terry Manning, and Rolling Stones/Allman Brothers Band sideman Chuck Leavell. Financial support for the festival comes from what Winegardner describes as “several prominent and well-respected Memphis families and philanthropists.”    

He adds that the first-year attendance goal for Mempho is in the 10,000 to 15,000 range — the latter number being the fest’s max capacity. Tickets — which include full festival passes, single-day admissions, and two different VIP packages — will go on sale next week, with a pre-sale starting on July 13 followed by general sale July 14.  

The ideal fall weather and the park setting will be a major part of Mempho's appeal — along with a lineup that cuts across genre and generational lines.  “My baseline is that it’s gotta be great music and both something that I can enjoy as well as my 15-year-old son can enjoy. I don’t believe you have a program for one audience or the other, I think you can satisfy both,” said Winegardner, who said that additional acts will be confirmed over the next few weeks. 

In addition to a second, smaller stage featuring local acts, Winegardner notes that the festival will host a mainstage Memphis music tribute each year — the inaugural one will be led by Stax guitarist Steve Cropper and feature special guests. “Memphis has such a broad palette of music, from Sun to Stax to Hi, there’s plenty to draw from,” he said.

In addition to the music, the festival will, according to its press materials, "capitalize on the vibrant culinary scene in Memphis with choices ranging from the city’s famous barbecue to gourmet cuisine prepared by the area’s finest chefs and restaurateurs. There will options for every taste and budget, along with wine, beer and cocktails to complement the culinary experience."

Ultimately, Winegardner’s plan seems to be attracting older well-heeled East Memphians, mobile (both physically and economically) Midtowners, and destination festival goers, with an eye toward expanding Mempho gradually.  

“The goal is to develop organically, so that we build in as much community support as we can,” said Winegardner. “We want this to become a unique Memphis experience, for locals but also for anyone who’s visiting from outside of the city.”

Mempho Music Festival 

When, where: Oct. 6 and 7 at Shelby Farms Park 
Ticket sales: Pre-sale begins July 13; general sale starts July 14. 

Ticket prices: Pre-sale prices are $69 for two-day passes; $79 for general sale. Pre-sale prices for single-day tickets are $35 for Friday, $40 for Saturday; $40 and $50 for general sale. 

VIP Tickets: $150 for single day; $200 for two-day passes.    

More ticket info: To register for pre-sale or for more information go to memphofest.com. Tickets also are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and (800) 745-3000.

A partial lineup is below. Additional acts, stages and times are TBA.  

Friday Oct. 6 
Cage the Elephant 
Cold War Kids 
Bishop Biggs
Southern Avenue 
Dan Luke and the Raid 

Saturday Oct. 7 
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit 
Anderson .Paak
& The Free Nationals
Robert Randolph and the Family Band 
Booker T. Jones and the Stax Revue 
Memphis Music Tribute with Steve Cropper and Friends  
Hardworking Americans 
The Weeks 
Jojo’s Slim Wednesday