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Whether you’re attending your first Beale Street Music Festival or your 40th, The Daily Memphian’s BSMF survival guide will provide you with the information you need to navigate this year’s festival at Liberty Park.
Today is the day! Dig out that mobile ticket — or, actually, you might want to print it out; see more on that below — and get ready to head to Liberty Park as Beale Street Music Festival kicks off.
 The crowd gathered at Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival in 2013. (Lance Murphey/Daily Memphian file)
TODAY’S TIPS
Where to park: Due to ongoing construction in Tom Lee Park, Beale Street Music Festival will take place in Midtown’s Liberty Park this year. While it’s disappointing to lose those sweet river views, there’s an upside to the new location: parking lots! Seven lots around the park will be open for parking, but be prepared to pay. The lots at Liberty Park are managed by the City of Memphis, and the city will be charging $20 to park. A few off-site (but nearby lots) will be charging $30. See a full list of lots with prices here.
Don’t want to pay to park? You can always try and find street parking in the nearby Cooper-Young neighborhood, or you can forgo your car altogether and bike or Uber to the fest. The festival’s All About Bikes Hub will offer a place to securely lock up your bike (but bring your own lock), and they’ll also provide assistance with flat tires.
Print your tickets: Beale Street Music Festival officials recommend festival-goers kick it old-school and print paper tickets. They say their scanners sometimes have a tough time scanning bar codes, so a printed ticket will make the entry line move more quickly. And, if you’re picking up tickets at will call, a photo ID is required.
What not to bring: This year, only clear bags, including fanny packs and purses, will be allowed inside the festival. Prohibited items include drones, selfie sticks, spiky jewelry, yard games, water guns, strollers, musical instruments, skateboards and bad attitudes (no seriously, that’s on the list). See a full list of prohibited items on the Music Fest FAQ page.
Lock it up: If you’re planning to attend the festival from open to close, you might need to bring more stuff with you than you’re willing to carry — sunscreen or maybe a blanket to lounge on as you vibe out to Death Cab. Lucky you, Memphis in May provides lockers for rent. They’re $20 a day or $50 for the weekend, and your rental comes with a free portable charger to keep your phone charged throughout the festival’s long days. Lockers may be rented online or on-site.
HEADLINER YOU HAVE TO SEE
 Three 6 Mafia headlines at 10:35 p.m. on the Bud Light Stage. They’re shown here performing on MTV’s Total Request Live at MTV Studios in July 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Three 6 Mafia, 10:35 p.m.: I remember the moment in 2006 like it was yesterday: Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul, Juicy J, Frayser Boy and Crunchy Black literally jumped with joy as they ran onto the stage to accept an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Their win for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from Memphis director Craig Brewer’s “Hustle & Flow” made them the first hip-hop group to win an Oscar, and their giddy acceptance speech was such a proud Memphis moment. I still Google the video when I need a good happy cry (no lie).
Jasmine McCraven: Three 6 to go head-to-head with Bone Thugs on Verzuz
Pioneers of crunk, Three 6 Mafia formed in the early 1990s, but they hit commercial success around 2005 when their album, “Most Known Unknown” (the one with “Stay Fly” and “Poppin’ My Collar”), hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200; it reached platinum status by summer 2006.
The group’s members slowly bailed in the early to mid-2010s, with Juicy J and DJ achieving success with solo projects. But in October 2019, the surviving members (Lord Infamous and Koopsta Knicca died in 2013 and 2015, respectively) revived Three 6 Mafia and kicked off a tour at the Landers Center in Southaven (I was there, and it ranks in my top-three best concerts of all time). That tour was cut short due to the pandemic, but they’re back Friday night with a headlining performance at Beale Street Music Festival. — Bianca Phillips
THE WEATHER
We couldn’t ask for a more perfect forecast for opening day of the Beale Street Music Festival. Temps will be in the low 80s as gates open this afternoon, and it’ll drop to about 74 degrees by the end of the night. The chance of rain is zero. Zip. Nada.
NOTABLE LOCALS
 Amy Lavere plays at 5:45 p.m. on the ZYN Stage. In this file photo, she’s performing on the FedEx Stage at the 2017 Beale Street Music Festival. (File photo by Laura Roberts/Invision/AP)
Amy LaVere, 5:45 p.m.: Amy LaVere is perhaps the surest of shots in the past decade or so of Memphis music: A notable bass player, a brainy interpretive singer with a distinctive voice, usually in the service of interpreting her own sharp songwriting.
LaVere brings all of those elements together with unerring taste and in a brew of roots music that incorporates country, soul, rock and pop, while sounding all her own and all Memphis. If she’s accompanied here by guitar ace Will Sexton, as she usually is, all the better. — Chris Herrington
 Memphis hip-hop artist Al Kapone performs at 6:15 p.m. on Friday night on the Bud Light Stage. Shown here, Al Kapone stands near the site of the former Plush Club at 380 Beale. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Al Kapone, 6:15 p.m.: After the Memphis Grizzlies came back from a crushing game-one loss to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in game two of the playoff series last week, star point guard Ja Morant’s two-year-old daughter, Kaari, showed off her dancing skills to “Whoop That Trick.”
Memphis rapper Al Kapone wrote and produced the track for 2005’s “Hustle & Flow,” and 17 years later, the song is still fresh enough to serve as the unofficial Memphis Grizzlies anthem. Young and old, Black and white, everyone gets on their feet to chant and wave their Growl Towels when that song comes on during a game. It’s the great equalizer. The phrase was even on the lips of Timberwolves’ writer Jon Krawczynski after the above-mentioned Grizz win: “My first ‘Whoop that Trick’ moment at the Grindhouse. I have to say, pretty awesome.” Hopefully, Kapone will be performing it live at Music Fest tonight (fingers crossed that performance coincides with a Grizz win against the Timberwolves in game six). — Phillips
AND DON’T MISS THIS
 Kurt Vile plays at 6:35 p.m. on Friday on the ZYN Stage. Vile is shown here performing at Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party at Stubb’s during the South by Southwest Music Festival in March 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Kurt Vile, 6:35 p.m.: Stylistically — not qualitatively, because that would be impossible — Philadelphia rocker Kurt Vile is somewhere between Neil Young and Nirvana. The former lead guitarist for the band War on Drugs has forged a successful solo path with his own spacey songwriting and flowing guitar. His good taste and roots-to-alt range has also been reflected in collaborators such as the late singer-songwriter legend John Prine, Aussie indie-rock savant Courtney Barnett and alt-rock godfathers Dinosaur Jr. Backed by his guitar-bass-drum sidekicks the Violators, Vile and crew are unlikely to uncork many histrionics, even on a festival stage, but there’s a good chance his guitar catches the rhythm of the river (even if it’s a few miles away this year) tonight. — Herrington
TODAY’S FULL LINE-UP
5:45 p.m.: Amy LaVere (ZYN Stage)
6 p.m.: Black Pistol Fire (Terminix Stage)
6 p.m.: Earl “The Pearl” Banks (Coca Cola Blues Tent)
6:15 p.m.: Al Kapone (Bud Light Stage)
6:35 p.m.: Kurt Vile (ZYN Stage)
7:30 p.m.: Glorious Sons (Terminix Stage)
7:30 p.m.: Janiva Magness (Coca Cola Blues Tent)
7:45 p.m.: Waka Floka Flame (Bud Light Stage)
8:15 p.m.: Van Morrison (ZYN Stage)
9 p.m.: Dirty Honey (Terminix Stage)
9:05 p.m.: Kenny Brown (Coca Cola Blues Tent)
9:15 p.m.: DaBaby (Bud Light Stage)
10:15 p.m.: Sarah McLachlan (ZYN Stage)
10:30 p.m.: Sammy Hagar & The Circle (Terminix Stage)
10:35 p.m.: Three 6 Mafia (Bud Light Stage)
10:45 p.m.: JJ Grey & Mofro (Coca Cola Blues Tent)
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