Memphis' 10 Best Events And Festivals This September

Memphis is the home of Elvis Presley, the Delta blues, southern barbecue and a first stop in the Mid-South. Our top September events prove that Memphis has a lot to offer the cultural traveler.

Music and Film | Levitt Shell Concert Series

5 September

Levitt Shell’s Fall Concert Series has started, meaning multiple nights of free music and film in the beautiful Shell Park, known as the location of Elvis Presley’s first ever professional rock ‘n’ roll concert in 1954. Come for the award-winning music documentary, ‘Meanwhile in Memphis: The Sound of a Revolution’ on 5 September. Taken straight from the 2013 Indie Memphis Film Festival, the documentary features musicians from 1978 to present day such as Alex Chilton, Jim Dickinson, the North Mississippi Allstars and Jack O. If you prefer another act, come back another day, as the series presents a live concert or film nearly every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of September.

Levitt Shell Concert Series, 1930 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN USA, +1 (901) 272 2722

5 – 7 September

One of the largest nature festivals in the south, the Hummingbird Migration Celebration at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center is a chance to see the beautiful, fleeting birds up close. The festival offers live animal shows, a kids’ activity tent, expert speakers, wagon rides and nature walks. Plus, of course, hummingbird viewing and a chance to release a hummingbird back into the wild.
Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, 285 Plains Rd., Holly Springs, MS, USA, +1 (662) 252 1155

Image Courtesy of Memphis Botanic Garden

Dance | A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Botanic Gardens

6 September
Filled with fairies, magic and mischief, it’s fitting that a Midsummer Night’s Dream is presented outdoors, inviting visitors to see Ballet Memphis’ performance of the famous play at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. Open year-round, the Gardens feature 96 acres and 23 specialty gardens. Following their mission of ‘Everyone Matters’, this is Ballet Memphis’ 28th season creating, presenting and teaching ballet, bringing culture and art closer to the community.
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Rd., Memphis, TN, USA, +1 (901) 535 3000

Theatre | Mary Poppins at Playhouse on the Square

Until 7 September
This September Playhouse on the Square, Memphis’ only professional live theater for the past 45 years, presents the Broadway hit Mary Poppins. With a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2007, the show still features all the favorite songs from the classic Disney film and has added new ones for the theater.
Mary Poppins, Playhouse on the Square, 66 South Cooper, Memphis, TN, USA, +1 (901) 726 4656

Culture | Mid-South Fair

19 – 28 September

The Mid-South Fair is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to ‘educating and connecting the community to its agricultural heritage, promoting local industry, providing safe family-oriented entertainment, and rewarding agricultural and craft achievement through an annual exposition’ for the past 150 years. Around since 1856, the fair creates a cultural and entertaining atmosphere for the wider Memphis and Tennessee community with live concerts, a youth talent show and competitions – including a dodgeball contest.
Mid-South Fair, Landers Center, 4560 Venture Drive, Southaven, MS, USA +1 (901) 274 8800

Culture | Memphis Flea Market

20 – 21 September
Called ‘The Big One’, this is Memphis’ biggest flea market, with approximately 500 vendors. Held year-round every third Saturday and Sunday of the month, dig through a bit of Memphis culture as you find bargains in apparel, jewelry, antiques and collectibles.
Agricenter International, 7777 Walnut Grove Rd., Memphis, TN, USA, +1 (901) 276 3532

Music | Get the Led Out

21 September

Played as a tribute to Led Zeppelin, Get the Led Out (or GTLO as they call themselves) puts all the focus on the music, not impersonations. Come and check out the group’s painstaking recreation of Led Zeppelin’s studio recordings at the historic New Daisy Theatre, the ‘Home of the Blues and birthplace of Rock and Roll’.
Get the Led Out, New Daisy Theatre, 30 Beale Street, Memphis, TN, USA, +1 (901) 525 8981

Theatre | The Phantom of the Opera at Orpheum Theatre

24 September
With new set design, original costumes and lighting from award-winning lighting and costume designers, as well as a new choreography, The Phantom of the Opera comes to Memphis at the historic Orpheum Theatre. Built in 1928, the theater has overcome floods, fires and bankruptcy and still hosts theatrical performances, concerts and Broadway shows, such as this fall’s much-loved, globally acclaimed musical.

Phantom of the Opera, Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St., Memphis, TN, USA, +1 (901) 525-3000

Culture | Trolley Night on Main

26 September

There’s more ways than one to tour a city and if you’re in Memphis on the last Friday of the month, try jumping on a Trolley. Check out Trolley Night to get a whole new perspective of the city. Take the trolley on South Main Street between Vance and St. Paul with Memphians and visitors to tour the shops, restaurants and galleries that open late for the event. From the Orpheum Theatre to the Central Station, it’s hard to believe that just one square mile can have so much culture.

South Main Arts District, varying addresses, Memphis, TN, USA

Food | Memphis Farmers Market

Saturdays

Come and see the local farmers and artisans at the weekly, non-profit farmer’s market to get a taste of true Memphis. The outdoor market hosts more than 75 vendors selling locally sourced produce and food, as well as handmade regional crafts from the Mid-South. The event even made number seven in The Daily Meal’s list of 101 Best Farmers Markets in America. There are also live music and weekly themed events to accompany your shopping, such as this month’s ‘Apple of my Eye’ and ‘Beets Me!’ events.

Central Station Pavilion, S Front St., Memphis, TN, USA

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