Beale Street Caravan

This week on BSC we feature a performance by Bill Abel from the Mighty Mississippi Music Fest during Bridging the Blues. He's an accomplished potter and visual-artist, but most folks know him as an omni-present force on the Delta festival and jook joint circuit. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

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 of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame.

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 were located. This week on BSC, we have Memphis' very own Booker T and The MG's tribute band, The Maitre D's, performing McLemore Avenue from start to finish in a performance captured on the cutting room floor of Studio A at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

This week on Beale Street Caravan, we bring back Dirty Streets as they celebrate the release of their latest project, "Who's Gonna Love You", live from Growlers in Memphis, TN. Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will be with us to deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame, here in Memphis, TN, brought to you by the Blues Foundation.

Over the past few seasons, BSC has brought our listeners a lot of Memphis music from a funky Midtown dive known as Bar DKDC (Don't Know, Don't Care). On this week’s program we take a closer look at what makes a music spot special. We talk with the owner, restaurateur Karen Carrier, and we have killer performances from The Reigning Sound and Lucy Woodward!

BSC favorites Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks join us this week for a scorching set captured at The Orpheum Theater at the intersection of Beale and Main St. in Memphis. The band had just released its fifth album, Live At The Fox - Oakland.

This week on Beale Street Caravan, we feature singer-songwriter and musician, Lina Beach. After starting as an intern at Royal Studios with Grammy winner, Boo Mitchell, she has become a songwriter, recording artist, and session musician, performing with the legendary Hi Rhythm Section.. Join us as we capture her live set from Bar DKDC, in Midtown Memphis, TN.

This week on the program we feature the First Lady of Soul, Candi Staton in a live performance captured at AmericanaFest, and, later in the program, we get to sit down and catch up with her for an in depth interview. Candi received her first record deal as a teenager and spent the formative years of her life touring the gospel circuit in the 1950’s alongside such luminaries as The Soul Stirrers, Mahalia Jackson, and CL Franklin, father of the late Aretha Franklin. 33 Albums and 4 Grammy nominations later, Candi Staton is a proud inductee of the Christian Music Hall of Fame for her brilliant work in the gospel genre.

Grammy nominated blues artist, Cedric Burnside, is back with us this week. Cedric is the grandson of the late, great R.L. Burnside, and he plays the Hill Country blues like nobody else. This performance was captured at The Memphis Blues Society’s Bonafide Blues Festival during Bridging the Blues. Also on the program, BSC contributor, Preston Lauterbach, discusses the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

This week we feature emerging African-Canadian roots artist, Kaia Kater, in a live performance right here at our BSC office. BSC contributor Barbara Ching returns to continue her series on the connections between country music and the blues.

This week on Beale Street Caravan, we bring you Alice Hasen and the Blaze, recorded live at Art on Fire at Dixon Gallery & Gardens. Alice, a violinist based in Memphis, leads the fiddle-powered group, performing original compositions that blend rock, folk, and jazz. Art on Fire is an annual event supporting the Dixon’s art and horticulture programs, featuring live music, food, drinks, and a bonfire.

To blues lovers around the globe, The Juke Joint Duo — Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm — embodied the spirit of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues. This week we feature a rare reunion show that we hosted here in Memphis, as well as an in-depth interview with Cedric Burnside and the continuation of Dr. Barbara Ching’s series exploring the connection between country music and the blues. #ilistentomemphis

This week’s episode celebrates quite an amazing collaboration of musical talent and genius. We are talking about five time Grammy award winner Robert Cray, backed by the legendary Hi Rhythm Section and renowned drummer and producer Steve Jordan. BSC was there to capture an epic performance for the release of their latest album, Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm, plus an interview with Robert and Steve from a rehearsal at Royal Studios right here in Memphis.

This week on Beale Street Caravan, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors perform live at the concert to benefit the beloved Overton Park Shell, here in Memphis. The band is also celebrating the release of their latest album, Strangers No More. Drew Holcomb, a native Memphian and the band’s founder, sits down with Beale Street Caravan for an interview, while the audience gets to hear why Drew has been called "one of Americana’s most popular stars." Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will be with us deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame, here in Memphis, TN, brought to you by the Blues Foundation.

This week on Beale Street Caravan, we have a performance by Rodd Bland and The Members Only Band, live from the inaugural RiverBeat Festival in Memphis, TN. As a skilled drummer and son of blues legend Bobby “Blue” Bland, Rodd leads the band in a heartfelt revival of his father's iconic sound. Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will also be with us to deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame.

This week on Beale Street Caravan we feature the Memphis Ukulele Band as they help us kick of the Christmas holiday season. We’ll hear a performance captured at Lafayette's Music Hall, and later in the program we get to sit down and catch up with the band. Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will be with us to deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame, here in Memphis, TN, brought to you by the Blues Foundation.

This week on BSC we’ll be keeping with the holiday spirit as we have Susan Marshall and Friends back with us with a setlist full of holiday classics. Done Memphis style, of course.

This week we've got the delta blues - gypsy jazz - big band swing of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, featuring frontman Jimbo Mathus, to get us in the holiday spirit as they perform their 1998 album, Christmas Caravan, from start to finish.

It's a holiday episode of Beale Street Caravan, featuring The Maitre D's bringing Booker T. & The MGs album In The Christmas Spirit to life. This week's episode was recorded live from the cutting floor of Studio A at the STAX Museum of American Soul Music - the same spot it was originally recorded 50 years ago!

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 installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame.