BLUES HALL OF FAME
blues.org/hall-of-fame // 901-527-2583
The Blues Hall of Fame has been around since 1980, when The Blues Foundation began inducting artists and recordings. These achievements changed the way the world listens to music. View original art, artifacts and engage with interactive exhibits.
• Suggested Tour Time: 1 ½ hours

When the blues migrated north from the Delta it found a permanent home

 in Memphis, and that home is alive and well today on Beale Street. Dance to the many bands and artists that perform in open-air Handy Park or spend a night sliding in and out of 15-20 nightclubs, like B.B. King’s Blues Club, Rum Boogie Café or King’s Palace. If good food in authentic settings appeals to you, be sure and visit Itta Bena, a warm, friendly place to eat, drink and have fun in an historic Beale Street environment.

• Suggested Tour Time: How much fun do you want to have?

MEMPHIS MUSIC HALL OF FAME

memphismusichalloffame.com/museum // 901-205-2532

The Hall of Fame celebrates visionaries who’ve made music in this city that resonates around the world. Some are household names like Justin Timberlake, Elvis Presley and Al Green, some aren’t. But spend an hour or so in their Hall of Fame, and you’ll see how they’re all connected to the soundtrack of your life.

• Suggested Tour Time: 1 ½ hours

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

www.staxmuseum.com // 901-946-2535

This 17,000-square-foot museum—on the original site of Stax Records— is home to more than 2,000 cultural artifacts, celebrating the music made famous by Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MGs, Isaac Hayes, the Bar-Kays, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire and more. In addition to Stax music and memorabilia, you’ll also find exhibits dedicated to the artists of Muscle Shoals, Motown, Atlantic and Memphis’ own Hi Records. 

• Suggested Tour Time: 1 ½ hours

A GRIZZLIES WEEKEND IN MEMPHIS 

Memphis is a basketball city with a soul-deep scrappiness we call grit and grind. That’s just part of the reason ESPN The Magazine named the Memphis Grizzlies the best overall professional sports franchise a short time back.

So when the Grizz bring their game to the FedExForum in Downtown Memphis, the city actually vibrates with the team’s drumline and fan clamor. It’s an energy that’s contagious.

FRIDAY: WARM UP ON SOUTH MAIN

Check into your hotel and head to the South Main Arts District. With an hour-plus, visit the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, fully interactive with A/V kiosks and a moving view to the room where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his last night.

 With less than an hour, hit the Blues Hall of Fame. The compact gallery is packed with listening stations and memorabilia of the greats, including B.B. King. Whatever you do, make time to shop Sachë. The cheeky t-shirts—many of them Grizzlies-themed—are original, made-in-Memphis designs. Short of scoring Marc Gasol’s autograph, these tees could be your ultimate souvenir.

Hungry? Thirsty? South of Beale could be the right call for a basketball weekend: Share gastropub-y plates with a Grizz shot, a Lemon Drop-turned-neon blue. Don’t leave South Main without playing a song on the Earnestine & Hazel’s jukebox.

SATURDAY: GAME DAY

Get your (coffee) grind on at Tamp & Tap, serving homemade buttermilk biscuits and breakfast sandwiches studded with candied bacon during a live Bluegrass Brunch

Then, make your game plan: FedExForum neighbors up to the only Gibson Guitar Factory in the world that allows visitors and the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate that tells the complete Memphis music story—from Elvis to rappers Three 6 Mafia. A free shuttle runs from the Rock ‘n’ Soul to Graceland.

Or, drive just north of Downtown Memphis to golf Mirimichi, transformed under its previous owner, Justin Timberlake, into one of the best courses you can play in Tennessee (so says Golfweek Magazine, three years running). Back Downtown, savor a drink and a view of the Mississippi River—from an open-air deck 32 stories up—at the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. 

You’ll know it’s time to head to the Forum when you see the wave of blue and gold. This is the Grizz Nation, and for the next four quarters, you’re a part of it. So sit back (not really—this is more of a jump-up-and-cheer crowd) and watch the Grizzlies do what they do best: grit and grind their way on the court right into the hearts of those watching. 

With any luck, you’ll have something to celebrate post-game. At least. you’ll have made some new friends. Beale Street’s just a step away, and if anything enhances the street’s magic, it’s being there in a sea of triumphant Grizz fans.

SUNDAY: COOL DOWN ON THE EDGE

Sunday mornings in basketball season, sports in Memphis shift to replaying last night’s game over brunch. Downtown, funky Automatic Slim’s welcomes you for mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Southern decadence like fried chicken with homemade waffles. Before leaving Downtown, take a timeout on its eastern edge—The Edge, as it’s known—for a tour of legendary Sun Studio followed by locally made craft beer at High Cotton Brewing Co. With any luck, High Cotton’s “Baller” Brown Ale will be on tap—a spirited send-off to the home team. 

HERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO IN MEMPHIS

Need lunch or dinner ideas? For barbecue, go old-school at Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous; new-school at Central BBQ. Reserve a table for dinner at Bleu inside the Westin Memphis Beale Street—the herb-crusted filet is a slam dunk, and FedExForum sits right across the street.

Schedule your weekend to get all shook up at Graceland. Stay like royalty at The Guest House at Graceland and delve into the life of Elvis at Elvis Presley’s Memphis the new state-of-the-art entertainment complex featuring the Elvis Presley Career Museum, the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum, the Graceland Soundstage and more.