A quick look at the 2017 Beale Street Music Fesitval lineup. Wochit
Snoop Dogg, Kings of Leon, Soundgarden and Sturgill Simpson are among the name acts set for the 2017 Beale Street Music Festival.
The 41st annual edition of the multiday concert event — which takes place at Tom Lee Park from May 5-7 — will feature some 60-plus acts. The event kicks off the monthlong Memphis in May festivities, which include the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, the 901 Fest and the Great American River Run.
Snoop Dogg — who made a much-buzzed-about appearance at the music fest in in 2014 — will be among the headliners on Friday, along with Southern jam band titans Widespread Panic and Memphis-connected alt-pop combo MGMT.
Tennessee arena rock stars Kings of Leon lead the top-billed acts performing on Saturday, along with rapper Wiz Khalifa and Seattle pop crew Death Cab for Cutie.
Newly minted country Grammy winner Simpson, reunited grunge veterans Soundgarden and neo-soul favorite Jill Scott will be among the notables closing the festival on Sunday.
The balance of the fest’s roster is a mix of genres and generations with familiar alt-rock hit-makers (Bush, Jimmy Eat World), venerated roots stars (Drive By Truckers, Dawes), punk-pop combos (Sum 41, Taking Back Sunday), acclaimed indie bands (Deer Tick, Silversun Pickups), plus a variety of veteran names from across genres (Midnight Oil, J. Geils Band’s Peter Wolf, Ani DiFranco).
The 2017 lineup represents a small bounce-back year for urban music and hip-hop with Snoop Dogg, Khalifa and Scott joined by rapper Ludacris. They’re part of a slight uptick in African-American artists in general over last year, with roots and reggae acts including Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals and Ziggy Marley performing along with R&B veterans Booker T. Jones and Charles Bradley.
Local artists slated for the festival include Amy LaVere, Dead Soldiers and Marcella & Her Lovers, plus a number of blues acts, including Preston Shannon and the Daddy Mack Blues Band. Representing this year’s Memphis in May honored country of Colombia is blues act Carlos Elliot Jr.
Stage and set times for the Beale Street Music Festival have not been finalized, but FedEx, Bud Light and Orion will be this year’s presenting sponsors.
Three-day passes are $115, and single-day tickets are $50. They’re available at ticketfly.com or by calling (877) 987-6487
2017 Beale Street Music Festival
May 5
Snoop Dogg
Widespread Panic
MGMT
Grouplove
Jimmy Eat World
Greensky Bluegrass
Sum 41
The Strumbellas
Taking Back Sunday
Declan McKenna
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Peter Wolf
Toronzo Cannon
Ghost Town Blues Band
Freeworld
Tas Cru
Bard Webb
Zeke Johnson
May 6
Kings of Leon
Wiz Khalifa
Death Cab for Cutie
Ludacris
X Ambassadors
Silversun Pickups
Griz
Drive By Truckers
Mutemath
Kongos
Highly Suspect
Dawes
John Paul White
Deer Tick
Big Head Blues Club
Lil Whyte
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Amy LaVere
Dead Soldiers
Correy Harris Band
Carlos Elliot Jr.
Blind Mississippi Morris
Daddy Mack Blues Band
Terry “Harmonica” Bean
Washboard Shorty & Reverend Robert Rev.
May 7
Soundgarden
Sturgill Simpson
Jill Scott
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Tori Kelly
Bush
Ziggy Marley
Midnight Oil
Mayer Hawthorne
Alter Bridge
Machine Gun Kelly
Ani DiFranco
Booker T. Jones
Bahari
Poppa Chubby
Preston Shannon
Marcella & Her Lovers
Super Chikan
Eden Brent
Leo “Bud” Welch
Brandon Bailey
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