MEMPHIS—A Friday night storm helped keep up the nickname, "Memphis in Mud," as fans trekked to the banks of the Mississippi River for the annual Beale Street Music Festival.
Rain and mud has almost become traditional part for Beale Street, one of the largest music festivals in the nation. Experienced fans prepared multiple pairs of shoes for different weather.
The Beale Street Music Festival takes place the first weekend of May in Memphis, Tennessee. Linked with the famous Beale Street, cradle of the blues and rock and roll, the festival brings out some of the most legendary performers in rock and soul history, and it also draws a large sampling of today's biggest and hottest bands. The three-day event attracts over 150,000 visitors every year.
Bill and Debra Lowb of Kennett, Missouri have been to the festival many times. "We came for Sheryl Crow. She is my niece's friend. She is from our hometown, Kennett, Missouri," Mrs. Lowb said, smiling proudly.
Sheryl Crow has had hits for 15 years since her debut in 1993. She's especially famous her lines "All I want to do, is have some fun/I've got a feeling/I'm not the only one." Sheryl Crow was scheduled to take the stage at 10:45 p.m. on that stormy Friday night.
The next day, on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, the couple sat inside the Tennessee Blue Tent listening to Preston Shannon, a longtime Memphis blues and soul singer and guitarist, who is also the Beale Street bandleader.
"We don't know him yet," said Mrs. Lowb. She said they liked jazz and blues, so they wanted to hear Shannon play. Whether they knew him or not, the tent was an all-weather stage where they were happy to sit and listen.
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