Major Music Festival Suspended After 46 Years

Memphis' largest annual music festival will not take place next year. The Beale Street Music Festival has been "paused and will not take place" in 2024, Memphis In May officials announced earlier this month. The popular music festival typically takes place across three days in May, but was previously canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The 2024 Beale Street Music Festival will be paused and will not take place," officials confirmed in a statement, explaining that "the programming changes for the 2024 festival events were due to the significant financial loss in 2023, challenges producing the festival in the new Tom Lee Park, and the uncertainty surrounding a lawsuit filed against the festival by the Memphis River Parks Partnership."

According to WREG, attendance at the 2023 Beale Street Music Festival fell to its lowest level in over thirty years at 37,805. While the Beale Street Music Festival has been paused for next year, there is still hope that it will return sometime in the future. According to officials, "The Beale Street Music Festival is being paused in 2024 to explore all options to present an event in the future that meets the standards and authenticity expected of the brand." James L. Holt, President & and CEO, added that "with a pending lawsuit and the event now unwelcomed in the new Tom Lee Park, future Beale Street Music Festivals will face fundamental challenges."

"We have proudly presented the Beale Street Music Festival as a world-class entertainment event for nearly half a century," Al Gossett, 2024 Board Chair, added. "Our board's decision is to not disappoint or underdeliver against the high standards and expectations of fans and supporters of this city's largest annual event and signature music festival."

Responding to the news, Mayor-Elect Paul Young, who also serves as the President of the Downtown Memphis Commission and sits on the Memphis River Parks board, said the announcement was disappointing. In a statement, per WREG, Young said, "It was disappointing. We know how much of an economic impact it is to have musical festival in downtown, so many businesses and hotels generate business during that weekend so it'll be a big loss. I don't want to speak for the full board but I do think the events in the park would be welcomed, particularly the music festival."

Although the Beale Street Music Festival, which was first held in 1977, will not be returning to Tom Lee Park next year, WREG reports that a new festival, which will take place the first weekend in May of 2024 and span three days, will take its place. Details of the event, which is separate from the traditional Memphis in May events, have not been shared at this time.