Beale Street Caravan

From the Caravan vault: We’re excited to feature the world’s oldest teenager, Rufus Thomas. Rufus is synonymous with Memphis and Beale Street, having began his career at 10 years old tap as a tap dancer on Beale. His prodigiousness was passed to his offspring, Carla, Marvell, and Vanese, who, with their father and on their own, crafted influential music careers.This week’s show captures Carla performing at BB Kings’ Blues Club on B...

This week on Beale Street Caravan we’ve got one of the newest, most exciting groups on the Memphis scene, Black Cream. The band joined together two years ago. The four members Derek, T.O., Courtney and Chris are Memphis natives with years of experience backing others and playing solo. Black Cream combine melodious vocals over power trio instrumentation for a sound that is as edgy as it is soulful. They released their first single, ...

This week on Beale Street Caravan, we have an electrifying performance by the Reba Russell Band, recorded live at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts in Memphis, Tennessee. Fronted by the iconic Reba Russell, this show featured a special appearance by her niece, Brittany Russell, whose soaring vocals added yet another dynamic layer to the performance. Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will also be with us to deliver an installme...

Will Graves and Soul reunite after nearly a decade for a special birthday concert at the Green Room in Crosstown Arts, delivering their high-energy mixture of soul, R&B, funk. Lead singer and keyboardist William Graves II, whose standout talent earned him a Grammy showcase win from the Memphis chapter of NARAS, leads a lineup of Memphis’s finest musicians through electrifying performances. From soulful originals to surprise gue...

This week on Beale Street Caravan we feature Gospel stars, The McCrary Sisters. Their father, Sam McCrary, was a minister and founder of Gospel legends, The Fairfield Four. We’ll hear them in a performance captured at the Levitt Shell in Midtown Memphis and, later in the program, we sit down and catch up with The Sisters.

Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will be with us to deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an ...

This week we have the highly anticipated Brian Owens & The Deacons of Soul in a live performance captured at the Levitt Shell. Brian Owens comes to us from his hometown of St Louis, our Mississippi River cousin to the north. Much like our rivertown neighbor to the south, New Orleans, it’s a city long associated with the sounds of the African American created genres of blues, jazz, gospel, and soul. He recently released an album...

On this week's episode of Beale Street Caravan, we feature Memphis singer and American Idol alum Alexis Grace, live from Germantown Community Theater. Alexis is currently working on her first full-length album with Memphis music veteran, John Paul Keith, capturing her dynamic blend of pop, soul, country, and rock influences. In our interview, she shares insights into her familys’ musical legacy, her love for the Memphis music scene...

This week on Beale Street Caravan we feature the soulful sounds of The Wilkins Sisters live from the 2024 RiverBeat Music Festival. Sisters Tangela, Joyce, and Tawana are the daughters of the late gospel bluesman, Reverend John Wilkins, and are keeping their family's musical tradition alive and well. Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will also be with us to deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration o...

In early 1970, Booker T Jones was on sabbatical in California having grown disillusioned with confines of Stax Records and Memphis, when he heard the Beatles' latest effort, Abbey Road. So moved was he by the Beatles' genius and daring, that he sat down and drafted his own Memphis-style tribute to the group. The album, released later that same year, is titled McLemore Avenue, after the street where Stax's studio and headquarters we...