There are 31 article(s) tagged The Arts Beat:

• May 2026

  • Arts Beat: Ira Sachs film to premiere at Cannes; Earth, Wind & Fire doc to open Tribeca

    Plus, Mississippi-native KIRBY sings the new “Spider-Noir” TV series’ theme song.

    By Elle Perry 7 hours ago

  • Arts Beat: Meet R&B singer Girlfriend, from Sardis

    With roots in Mississippi, the Rhodes graduate has amassed more than a million monthly Spotify listeners and was the featured artist for March on BET’s spotlight program.

    By Elle Perry May 08, 2026

  • Arts Beat: Meet Memphis Art & Fashion Week’s featured designers

    Runway at the Museum includes six featured designers, most of whom are local.

    By Elle Perry May 02, 2026

• April 2026

  • Arts Beat: How TheatreWorks is making Quark Theatre work

    After 10 years at TheatreSouth, Quark Theatre is joining TheatreWorks as a resident company. Quark’s motto is “small plays about big ideas.”

    By Alys Drake April 24, 2026

  • Arts Beat: Why the national choreography center is stopping in Memphis

    The National Center for Choreography–Akron is “Making Moves” across the United States, but the ties that bring it to Memphis go beyond tour dates. 

    By Elle Perry April 17, 2026

• March 2026

  • Arts Beat: Downtown is coming alive with the sound of street performers

    Walking in Memphis is about to get a lot more entertaining as the DMC will hire buskers to perform along a Downtown street.

    By Elle Perry March 20, 2026

  • Arts Beat: Drawing strangers with crayons in a bar

    In a Cooper-Young bar, a musician and painter led a room full of people through speed portraits. 

    By Elle Perry March 13, 2026

• February 2026

  • Arts Beat: Brooks Museum honors Memphis College of Art’s ‘enduring legacy’

    “All the teachers were fine artists and loved to teach,” said Murray Riss, who established the photography department at Memphis College of Art.

    By Elle Perry February 27, 2026

  • The Arts Beat: Memphis podcast scene evolves with the times

    “Verbally Effective,” with Ena Esco, and “You Can See Me In The Dark,” hosted by Nathan Reisman and Melissa Sweazy, both launched in 2018. They have hundreds of published episodes and continue today.

    By Holly Whitfield February 20, 2026

  • The Arts Beat: No Valentine’s Day plans? No problem

    What to do when you reserved no plans for Valentine’s Day. Plus, Memphis musicians and music lovers curate a playlist to set the mood. 

    By Kelsey Bowen February 13, 2026

  • Arts Beat: If there’s music, there’s probably a Memphian involved

    Memphis had quite the showing at this year’s Grammy Awards.

    By Elle Perry February 06, 2026

  • Arts Beat: Memphis museums, filmmakers in national spotlight

    Music, museums, moviemakers. When it comes to Memphis, there is plenty to check out. And we aren’t the only ones who think so. 

    By Elle Perry February 04, 2026

  • The Arts Beat: Connect with the arts, even if you’re iced in

    Whether it’s snow, sleet, ice or all of the above, there are plenty of ways to bring the arts into your home this snowpocalypse. 

    By Kelsey Bowen February 04, 2026

  • Arts Beat: Satisfying our craving for crafting

    The Bluff City has a taste for zine-making parties, vision-board groups, flash-tattoo embroidery classes and beyond.

    By Kelsey Bowen February 04, 2026

• January 2026

  • The Arts Beat: New year, more art

    What’s coming in 2026? Museums, band reunions, new concert venues, landmark anniversaries, a handful of funny guys and portals to parallel universes. 

    By Kelsey Bowen January 04, 2026

  • Arts Beat: What Memphis arts and culture looked like in 2025

    From arts shows, concerts, to theater productions and beyond, the Memphis art scene blossomed in 2025. Here’s a recap of some of our top arts and culture moments. And some staff favorites.

    By Kelsey Bowen January 04, 2026

• December 2025

  • Arts Beat: Where is the Memphis music? New newsletter points the way.

    “On any given weekend, you’re going to have 30 to 50, 60 shows going on,” said Chris Duncan, who’s been curating a list of local weekend concerts since 2023.

    By Elle Perry December 05, 2025

• November 2025

  • Arts Beat: Cyrena Wages headlines new concert series at Hotel Pontotoc

    An ‘infamous’ nightclub and hotel will start a new live music series — just in time for the influx of visitors Downtown for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon. 

    By Elle Perry November 30, 2025

  • Arts Beat: How can Memphians write a script? Start with a seed

    A new LoneTree Live program will help a dozen budding playwrights develop a script in 10 weeks.

    By Elle Perry November 22, 2025

  • Arts Beat: Memphis Zine Fest celebrates mini-magazines and their makers

    Erica Qualy, the founder of Memphis Zine Fest, has one word for the make-it-yourself mini-magazines with endless possibilities: liberating.

    By Elle Perry November 14, 2025

• October 2025

  • Arts Beat: Nine dance organizations unite in new initiative

    “We have an embarrassment of riches of quality, excellent dance in Memphis,” Steven McMahon, of Ballet Memphis, said.

    By Elle Perry October 10, 2025

• September 2025

  • Arts Beat: U of M brings even more Shakespeare (and new dance works)

    While the U of M’s production is “part Shakespeare, part block party, 100% heart,” Germantown Community Theatre is doing Shakespeare with an all-female cast. 

    By Elle Perry September 26, 2025

  • Arts Beat: All of Memphis is a stage

    Memphis is going bard-core on Shakespeare-inspired productions. 

    By Elle Perry September 12, 2025

• August 2025

  • Arts Beat: Listen to new Memphis music for 901 Day

    Discover new Memphis music with the Arts Beat’s latest playlist, here just in time for 901 Day. 

    By Elle Perry August 31, 2025

  • Arts Beat: Learning the art of business at teen craft market

    The Memphis Youth Art Mart returns, and this year, 17-year-old co-organizer Baylus Schaffler says it’s tapping into a new form of art. 

    By Elle Perry August 15, 2025