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The Arts Beat is a weekly deep-dive into Memphis arts, music, dance, theater, fashion, film and events. Keep scrolling for a roundup of the best arts and culture stories from the week. Have a story idea? Send it to eperry@dailymemphian.com.
Chris Duncan wants people to know where live music is happening in Memphis.
The Memphis-based music promoter created his Where’s the Music Memphis calendar in August 2023 after he noticed media outlets have event calendars but nothing strictly for music.
Released every Friday morning, Duncan’s calendar lists concerts for that Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Among similar accounts, like Look Memphis Music, Where’s the Music Memphis has amassed more than 4,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. A single post includes upwards of 40 Memphis concerts.
“On any given weekend, you’re going to have 30 to 50, 60 shows going on, especially when you’ve got the summertime and some of the outdoor venues are activated,” Duncan said.
WYXR executive director Robby Grant and community engagement and events lead Liv Cohen have read the concert listings on the Friday WYXR show “The Drop” for the past year.
Now, WYXR emails the calendar listing for the weekend at 9:30 a.m. on Fridays.
“It was Robby who wanted to try to get it into more people’s hands, create a newsletter of sorts for people who miss tuning into the morning show, don’t know it’s a thing, or aren’t on social media,” Cohen said.
Duncan adds listings to the calendar at no cost. He also offers paid services and sponsorships.
“You’ve got a lot of these great bands that come through town and sometimes people say, ‘Oh, well, Memphis, we don’t get that great of artists,’” Duncan said. “And when you actually look at them all together on one list, you’re like, ‘Wow … we do get a lot of cool stuff coming through town.’”
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Artists can message Duncan listings, but he makes a habit of checking the calendars of venues of all sizes across the city.
“It’s nice, too, because a lot of times calendars like this are kind of missing out on the more DIY kind of shows that you kind of have to know people to know about,” Cohen said. “So I think this is a really great in to dipping your toe in the deep Memphis music world.”
Duncan said he is excited about two venues set to open next year: Grind City Amp at Grind City Brewing Co. in Uptown/North Memphis in spring 2026 and Satellite Music Hall at Crosstown Concourse in fall 2026.
“We’re doing what we can to really spread the word of, ‘Hey, there’s a lot of great shows out there,’” Duncan said, about his calendar efforts. “Get out, support local artists, support touring artists, support local venues and support the city.”
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Editor’s Note: The Daily Memphian is a founding partner of WYXR and as part of that partnership, Eric Barnes, CEO of The Daily Memphian, is a board member of WYXR.
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