MEMPHO Music Festival: 9 Best Experiences of Our Weekend in Memphis

The MEMPHO Music Festival took over Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday and Sunday, giving music fans one of the South’s top festivals of the year.

MEMPHO is a relatively small fish in the crowd of Southern U.S. festivals, with Bonnaroo, Hangout and the Beale Street Music Festival taking up a lot of the conversation. However, organizers pulled together a heavy-hitting lineup of mainstream favorites paired with local flavors to bring a unique festival weekend to the Mid-South.

Performers ranging from alternative favorites Beck and Phoenix to top-40 hip-hop artists Post Malone and Juicy J took the stage during the two-day event, with an impressively sized and receptive crowd in attendance.

Scroll through to see the best acts, food and attractions we caught while at MEMPHO.

Janelle Monae

Janelle Monae’s early evening set on Saturday set the bar high for the weekend, and no one really was able to top it.

Monae barrelled through track after track from her latest opus, entitled Dirty Computer, and a few hits from her back catalog. She was dressed in stylish costumes and backed by a fleet of backup dancers, giving the most elaborate stage show of the weekend.

Even though she had tons of flash, she had the talents to justify it. Her vocals, dance moves and stage presence are top notch, especially during the closing number, a high-paced version of “Tightrope” complete with a James Brown-like vocal outro and jam.

Phoenix

Another Saturday night act set the bar for the weekend’s rock acts: Phoenix.

The French rockers are a festival staple making a much-needed return to the Memphis area. They have their live show polished and geared towards festival performance, and it shows.

The sounds were tight, loud and powerful, with frontman Thomas Mars diving into the crowd on several occasions to give fans some more intimate moments.

Location

However, the sounds are not all there is to any music festival. A lot of factors and experiences come into play to make the weekend one to remember.

MEMPHO succeeds on the most basic and arguably essential level: the location.

Aside from Memphis being a prime festival locale, the venue for the event was top-notch. Shelby Farms Park as a whole is well-maintained and pretty to look at as you drive and walk through. The festival grounds were appropriately sized and very easy to transverse from stage to stage without becoming exhausted. 

While the spot was a bit hilly, organizers used that to their advantage to create a bowl effect around the secondary stage, ensuring that everyone had a clear view of the performances.

Food

It would not be a Memphis music festival with some Southern dishes.

Numerous food trucks and vendors were around all weekend to serve the masses. Some of our favorites were the BBQ nachos from both Smurfey’s Smokehouse and Corky’s, the shrimp po’ boy from Fresh Gulf Shrimp and Mempops, the local popsicle that was a common sight in the hands of festival goers.

Orion Dome

Another key experience, and the most surprising delight of the festival, was the Orion Dome stage and art installation.

Basically, it was a large metal dome structure that ended up resembling a  jungle gym. Inside, DJ Logic and Rob Garza each spinned sets of dance music all night while attendees came and went.

While that sounds pretty basic, what made the Orion Dome memorable was the fire balls that exploded from the top of the structure throughout the weekend. The fire could be seen shooting into the sky from everywhere inside the grounds, delivering a jolt of excitement to whatever set you were watching at the time.

Mac DeMarco

Going back to the music, indie favorite Mac DeMarco was the biggest rock act on the bill Sunday night.

The slacker-ready set has DeMarco and his band played through some of the solid selections in his catalog, such as the spacey “On the Level,” the personal “My Old Man” and the fan-favorite somber jam “Chamber of Reflection.”

DeMarco personality and laid-back vibe were a constant highlight of the set, with the singer-songwriter interacting with the crowd and cutting up with his bandmates all evening. It was chill set that brought and intimate, basement-set like feel to the outdoor space.

Nas

One of most surprising highlights of the weekend was Nas.

Nas was one of the most noticeable acts on the bill for a couple of clashing reasons. He is, of course, an absolute legend that improves just about any festival lineup. However, he was the only more “grounded” hip-hop artist on the lineup when compared to Post Malone, Juicy J, Rich the Kid and others. 

His crowd was filled with people waiting for Post Malone, which could have caused a very unreceptive set. Instead, Nas broke through the divide with a flurry of his classic East Coast hits mixed with his recent Kanye West collaborations. Even if you had never heard a Nas bar before, odds are he provided you with a good time during his set.

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic are on the bucket list with many concert regulars, and their MEMPHO set justified it.

The funk legend served as the orchestrator of a massive band of musicians, singers, dancers and more. He provided occasional vocals and pumped up the crowd as the band rolled through classics like “Flash Light” and more recent cuts like “Meow Meow.”

It was a chaotic spectacle with flashy costumes and a lot of funk, which was the perfect fit for a festival.

Post Malone (and His Fans)

Post Malone was the high-point of many MEMPHO attendees’ weekends.

When he graced the stage on Sunday night, the “White Iverson” rapper hit the ground running with a three-pack of highlights: “Too Young,” “Better Now” and “No Option.” However, he didn’t even need three songs to win over the crowd. From the second he stepped on stage, he had the crowd of mostly teens and twenty-somethings eating out of his hand.

His fan base was a very visible presence all of Sunday, with many camping out at the main stage all day to be in a prime spot. Eventually he garnered the largest crowd of the weekend, and the rapper’s connection to his crowd paid off. Even those not totally in love with Malone’s material got swept into the crowd’s excitement, ending MEMPHO on a high note.