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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.
From arts shows, concerts, to theater productions and beyond, the Memphis art scene blossomed in 2025. Familiar faces flourished and new ones are here to make a change.
As we make our way into 2026, here’s a recap of some of our top arts and culture moments. And some of our staff favorites.
The Riverbeat Music Festival brought artists like Missy Elliott, Benson Boone and Ludacris to Tom Lee Park. Two performers, DJ Steve Aoki and country singer Tyler Hubbard, took advantage of their trip to the Bluff City to film a music video for their song “Cake Face,” which indeed ended with cake on a few faces.
 Ludacris performs during the Riverbeat Music Festival on Friday, May 2, 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Two barbecue festivals in one weekend may have seemed like a lot of beef, but for the contestants, it was all about the pork. SmokeSlam and the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest brought thousands of people and a whole lot of flavor to Tom Lee Park and Liberty Park, respectively.
Speaking of music festivals, homegrown rapper GloRilla, who was nominated for 2025 Grammy Awards, debuted Glo Bash, her own fest at FedExForum. With fellow rappers BossMan Dlow and Sexyy Red, Glo lit up the stage just a few months after she performed at Coachella.
 Central High School Jazz Band director Ollie Liddell and band members speak to the media at the Memphis International Airport on Monday, May 12, 2025. The band placed first at the Essentially Ellington International High School Jazz Band Competition. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
The Central High jazz band won first place in the Essentially Ellington contest in New York. The band was one of 30 bands across the world that even made it into the contest. Geoff Calkins cataloged their journey, all the way to the teary end.
 Brooks Museum of Art hosts a runway at the museum in Midtown on Friday, May 9, 2025. (The Daily Memphian file)
Memphians said goodbye to the Malco Summer Drive-In, which closed in May, but not before a crowd came for one last show. Meanwhile, Indie Memphis paused programming in April and hasn’t been back. However, movie screenings at Crosstown Theater, Elmwood Cemetery, and with the new Slowdown Cinema Club were there for mourning cinephiles. And for the budding movie-lovers, the Pink Palace hosted the first iteration of the Like You Children’s Film Festival.
Fashion was a force this year. The Memphis Grizzlies’ 191 Collabs program teamed up with local artists and designers to produce custom merchandise. The outcome was a line of hoodies, hats and other gear that any Grizz fan would be proud to wear. The city celebrated two fashion weeks in 2025. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art had a runway show that featured more than 50 designers from across the U.S. Local designer Prep Curry debuted Memphis Urban Fashion Week, which highlighted the city’s culture.
Between all of that, the iconic blue dog paintings on Union Centre were replaced, Germantown Performing Arts Center got a new director, an art school and gallery opened and there was a lot of walking — a lot.
We started 2025 playing mahjong and bridge, and we are ending by catching a film (perhaps Craig Brewer’s “Song Sung Blue” or a festive Memphis-based Christmas rom-com).
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Top arts and culture stories (of the past week)
Daily Memphian staffers' favorite arts and culture moments of 2025
A highlight for me this year was seeing the original “Nosferatu.” The screening was a day before Halloween, but what made this extra spooky screening of the 1922 horror classic special was the live score by General Labor. The local band paired the haunting atmosphere with an experimental synth sound. Chef’s kiss. I caught a Like Really Creative collage workshop a few times to turn my brain off and work with my hands. And I loved the troll takeover at Memphis Botanic Garden. — Kelsey Bowen
 General Labor performs the live score to “Nosferatu” at Crosstown Theater. (Kelsey Bowen/The Daily Memphian)
My cultural highlight of 2025 was going to free shows at the Overton Park Shell. I attended both a concert and a Tennessee Shakespeare Co. performance of “Much Ado About Nothing.” It made for wonderful Saturday evenings to get out and get some fresh air while taking in the arts. It’s also great that you don’t have to spend any money sometimes to have a good time. In addition to listening to the music or watching the show, nothing beats seeing the sun set behind that famous stage. — Nick Lingerfelt
My favorite event this year was attending the Orpheum High School Music Theatre Awards in May. There were 48 schools represented across a four-state region. The awards program follows a weeklong stint at the Orpheum Theatre, where the participants get to learn from each other as well as professionals in the field. Additionally, the lead actor and actress winners go on to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards, where they will perform on a Broadway stage and receive coaching from industry professionals. Each award recipient also received a scholarship. The best part of the program is seeing the support the participants receive from their peers. The noise and applause are deafening. — Alys Drake
A highlight for me in 2025 was the wide-ranging pop-up offerings from Memphis creatives. From a Like Really Creative junk journal jam to a Morning After Club daytime house party to an End of All Art book sale, these experience-curators are paradoxically here for both a good time and for a long time. Long time meaning multiple offerings. You could do everything from buy an Alice Cotrane exhibition book in an Edge District art gallery to party on a Downtown hotel rooftop while having espresso martinis at 11 a.m. — Elle Perry
My favorite arts experience of the year was a viewing of “Something Rotten!” at Theatre Memphis, a farcical Renaissance rom-com musical full of references to Broadway and Shakespeare. We laughed for a few hours watching a talented cast having just as much fun as the audience. The sets were surprisingly lavish, the dancing appropriately exuberant and the puns divine. Other highlights: Trolls at the Memphis Botanic Garden, a couple of lively drag brunches at Fawn and a ladies-only night at Paula & Raiford’s Disco hosted by DJ AD. — Holly Whitfield
Thanks for coming to The Daily Memphian for all of your arts news. Stay tuned for next week’s Arts Beat for what we are looking forward to in 2026.
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