Music lovers from all over the country gathered to catch this year’s Beale Street Music Festival and most of them stayed the whole weekend. 

The beat goes on no matter the weather at Beale Street Music Fest

Reggae artist Shaggy, singer Grace Potter and Moneybagg Yo were among Sunday’s performers. But many people were hyped to see Third World and alternative rock band Weezer. 

Folks were especially excited to see rapper Lil Wayne. 

Tupelo native, Pamela Tate, traveled an hour and 45 minutes just to see him, but that did not happen. 

Though the New Orleans rapper was slated to go on at 9 p.m. Sunday, Memphis in May released a statement around 8 that read:

“Due to circumstances beyond the control of the artist or the festival, Lil Wayne was not able to travel to Memphis this evening and will not perform tonight. Unfortunately, there were mechanical problems with the jet and he was not able to make it to Memphis.”

But some other out-of-towners did get to see their favorite acts. 

Cheryl Warren-Mohr, 60, arrived in Memphis Friday morning traveling from Washington, D.C. She works for a Brentwood-based engineering company and heard some Tennessee natives chatting about the festival a few months ago. 

“I looked it up and I was like, OK, I’m in,” Warren-Mohr said. I love music and I go everywhere to listen to it. It was wonderful, it's like being in New Orleans.”

Warren-Mohr also met folks on her flight who were heading to the festival from Chicago and North Carolina. 

She said the last time she was in Memphis, the Grizzlies were still playing at The Pyramid, and she was excited to hear that the team played Sunday.

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Warren-Mohr was pleased to see Irish singer Van Morrison and Third World. She added that she tried the “hip-hop thing” and it wasn’t too bad once she got past the profanity.

But the weather, she said, was the best part. 

Although concert goers were interested in different acts, most folks agreed the weather was perfect except for Saturday night’s brief rainstorm. 

It’s a wrap: Beale Street Music Festival

Abigail Dalton, a vendor for Mempops, worked at the festival for the third year and said it was the first time the weather was as dry as it was, compared to past years at Tom Lee Park. 

But things took a turn Saturday night.

“For most of the festival, the weather has been way better, but last night it got a little chaotic and we had to evacuate for like an hour,” she said.

Around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, music fans expected to watch rapper Megan Thee Stallion perform on the ZYN Stage. But as the storm started, attendees said they were told by an onstage BSMF spokesperson, staff members and police to evacuate the area immediately.

Dalton said the scene became chaotic for a few minutes as she watched hundreds of people scatter to the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, which is where people were told to go. 

Some people said they were told to leave the festival all together, which caused a bit of confusion in the crowd. 

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However Toni Kellighan, a second-time BSMF attendee, was able to catch Megan’s performance after waiting for two hours.

Kellighan said she could hear music playing from the stage and walked back to see if the show was still on.

Moments later, the Houston rapper posted on Twitter that she still had plans to perform after hearing that fans had traveled far just to see the show. 

Though Kellighan did see Megan perform, she feels sorry for people that left uninformed of the show’s continuation. 

“I do think they should’ve been more proactive in keeping people updated about whether or not they were going to put the show back on after everyone left. (There was) a lot of miscommunication between what the director said and what employees were telling us, “ Kellighan said. “The employees were telling everyone that the show was over and that they were done for the night, so that discouraged a lot of people and they just ended up going home.” 

Liesa Baldwin, YouTube Influencer and a first-time festival attendee, did go home. 

Baldwin had been at the festival since 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, catching acts like NLE Choppa and Project Pat.

“I secured my spot at the front specifically for Megan’s performance,” Baldwin said. 

She said she was disappointed with how attendees were “forced” to leave, due to the storm. Baldwin added that she also wasn’t a fan of the long delays between performances. 

Lots of folks grabbed booze from vendors like Wicked Weed Brewing to kill time, relaxing on blankets in the grass in picnic style. 

Kellighan said her only complaint for the weekend was the storm chaos, but gave praise to the smooth entrance access and no wait for the restroom, considering the huge festival crowds.