Evening on Beale Street: neon lights up the blues clubs, music spills onto the sidewalk, and crowds drift between the bars and the street performers. A few blocks away, the Mississippi River runs dark past the bluffs, and downtown settles into a slower rhythm of restaurants and lounges.
Memphis nightlife is built around live music, and it is concentrated rather than spread out. Beale Street is the obvious centre, but there are also pockets near the University of Memphis, in Midtown, and along South Main. It suits people who want to hear bands in small rooms, drink in unpretentious bars, and be home before dawn rather than out until it.
Where to go out in Memphis
1. Beale Street
This is the street most visitors head for, and it is where the city's live music reputation is most visible. Clubs line the street, and the sources point to live music on Beale Street as the first thing to do in Memphis. It suits a night of moving between venues rather than settling in one place.
Beale Street is also where the Memphis Backbeat Mojo Tour picks up, at Alfred's on Beale and B.B. King. That tour must be booked in advance online or by phone, so if you want it as part of your evening, arrange it before you arrive.
2. FedExForum and the downtown sports and arena district
FedExForum sits at 191 Beale Street at Third Street and is home to the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the University of Memphis Tigers men's basketball team. A game here gives an evening a fixed start time and a built-in crowd, with Beale Street a short walk away afterwards.
Minor league baseball is also part of the downtown night: the Memphis Redbirds play at AutoZone Park at 200 Union Avenue, in the middle of downtown. The Grizzlies' G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, plays at the Landers Center on the Mississippi side of the border in Southaven.
3. The Highland Strip, near the University of Memphis
This is the student-oriented end of the city's nightlife, on and around Highland Street. Newby's is on the Highland Strip, and RP Tracks on Walker Avenue is described as a good place to start the evening there, with many types of beer at reasonable prices and some veggie-friendly menu options.
Buster's Wine, on Highland at Poplar near the university, sells wine, harder liquor and high-test beer, and is described as very popular and always packed on weekends. The Oasis Lounge, at 663 South Highland Street, is a coffee shop with no alcohol on premises, run as a private club because of smoking: expect a membership fee and to be carded, and note that it is an 18-and-up establishment. A DJ plays there on Saturday nights.
4. Midtown and Overton Square
Midtown is where you go for a brew pub or a quieter drink rather than a night of club-hopping. Boscos is in Overton Square at 2120 Madison Avenue, a brew pub with food that has appeared on "Best Of" lists. Joe's Liquor, at Poplar and Belvedere, is a packaged-goods stop in Midtown, worth a look at dusk for its vintage spinning neon sign as much as for the drinks.
Otherlands, at 641 Cooper Street, is described as a social hub for Memphis' art and music community, serving espresso by day and beers at night, when it hosts intimate folk and rock shows. That makes it a reasonable early-evening stop before a later venue.
5. South Main and the Art District
The Art District of downtown, along South Main, is a calmer alternative to Beale Street. Bluff City Coffee at 505 South Main specialises in Italian-style espresso drinks and has seating suited to meetings, free wireless internet, and print, copy, scan and fax facilities; it also displays a collection of Don Newman's vintage black-and-white photographs from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
Ghost River Brewing is at 827 South Main Street. Tours of the facility are free on any Saturday but require reservations, and start at 1PM, so this is a daytime or early-evening stop rather than a late one.
6. Adams Avenue and the mansion lounges
For a dressed-up, slower-paced night, the Mollie Fontaine Lounge at 679 Adams Avenue is a Victorian mansion turned lounge, with potent drinks and a varied menu, rooms each with their own theme and decor, full bars upstairs and downstairs, and a piano bar with a jazz singer on weekend nights. The sources give its hours as Wednesday to Saturday from 5PM.
This suits a night built around one or two long stops, conversation and cocktails rather than a crawl. It is the kind of place to end an evening rather than begin it.
7. Carriage rides and downtown sightseeing after dark
A carriage ride around downtown is a low-key way to see Beale Street, Court Square, Fourth Bluff Park, the Mississippi River, the Hernando de Soto bridge, several movie locations on Front Street, and the original Peabody Hotel. It suits an early part of the evening, before the bars fill up.
If you want something more active, Craft Axe Throwing at 344 Floyd Alley offers axe, hatchet and tomahawk throwing with craft beverages available, and staff who guide groups and beginners. Note its hours: closed Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 4PM to 9PM, Friday 3PM to 11PM, Saturday noon to 11PM, and Sunday 2PM to 8PM.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not describe a fixed local timetable for dinner and going out, so treat the following as the shape the listings imply rather than a rule. Brewery tours and carriage rides belong to the afternoon and early evening; coffee shops such as Bluff City Coffee and Otherlands serve during the day and, at Otherlands, into the night when shows are on. Bars and lounges carry the later hours, with the Mollie Fontaine Lounge running Wednesday to Saturday from 5PM, Newby's and the Highland Strip bars busiest at weekends, and the Oasis Lounge's DJ night on Saturdays. Arena and stadium events set their own start times and are the main reason a downtown evening begins early rather than late.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Memphis in May International Festival — a month-long festival in May, including the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, where hundreds of teams compete and visitors can taste the barbecue, and Sunset Symphony, a day of entertainment on the banks of the Mississippi with local musicians, an air show, a closing performance by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and fireworks after dark.
- Independence Day on the River — Fourth of July fireworks at Tom Lee Park on the Mississippi River, with food, music and other entertainment.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy alcohol to drink before going out?
Wine is sold in grocery stores and liquor stores, and beer is sold in grocery stores, liquor stores and gas stations. In Midtown, Joe's Liquor is at Poplar and Belvedere; on Highland at Poplar near the University of Memphis, Buster's Wine also carries harder liquor and high-test beer; and Great Wine and Spirits, out east, is described as having one of the more extensive wine stocks among Memphis liquor stores.
Is there anywhere to go out that does not serve alcohol?
Yes. The Oasis Lounge on South Highland Street is a coffee shop with no alcohol on premises, offering coffee and hookah, free Wi-Fi and a laid-back atmosphere, with a DJ on Saturday nights. It operates as a private club because of smoking, so expect a membership fee and to be carded, and note that it is an 18-and-up establishment.
What can I do in the evening that is not a bar or a club?
You can take a carriage ride around downtown, passing Beale Street, Court Square, Fourth Bluff Park, the river, the Hernando de Soto bridge, movie locations on Front Street and the original Peabody Hotel. Craft Axe Throwing on Floyd Alley offers axe, hatchet and tomahawk throwing with guidance for all skill levels, though it is closed Monday and Tuesday. In season, the Memphis Redbirds play at AutoZone Park and the Grizzlies and Tigers play at FedExForum.
Do I need to book anything in advance?
Two things in the sources require it. The Memphis Backbeat Mojo Tour, which picks up at Alfred's on Beale and B.B. King, must be purchased in advance online or by phone. Tours of Ghost River Brewing on South Main Street are free on Saturdays but require reservations, and start at 1PM.
Decide whether your evening is a Beale Street music night, a game at FedExForum or a slow round of Midtown bars, then check times and book anything that needs booking before you head out.