A Memphis concert series is seeking sponsors to continue its run after 10 years of shows.

Andria Brown’s Folk All Y’all began in 2014 as house concerts, transitioned to public concerts in 2017 and began hosting concerts in the Crosstown Arts Green Room in 2019.

“Crosstown Arts has been an incredible partner,” Brown said. “I reached out as soon as I saw that they had a listening room space. It adds quality to the shows that I could not do on my own.”

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Brown has more than 20 years of experience working in the music industry as a marketer for regional artists. During three of those years, she ran a small booking agency. Her primary paid line of work has been marketing and communications for other organizations. 

“Folk All Y’all came from my own observation of the live music experience in Memphis,” Brown said. “I am not a musician, but (I am) a fan of live music. I had a friend who could not find a place to play, so I offered to host it myself.”

The Americana-focused series is volunteer run with all ticket proceeds going to the artists.

Sound engineers are the only paid staff.

“I do not take payment from the series, but I put in my personal funds to make up any budget shortfalls we might have,” Brown said.

Singer-songwriter David Wilcox, who is originally from Ohio, was featured in the first concert. Since then, Charley Crockett, Rissi Palmer, Gaby Moreno, Erin Rae and Tré Burt have performed in the series.

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Artists are typically from out of town.

“Our focus is on touring artists,” Brown said. “Artists from out of town have trouble finding somewhere to play; local artists can typically find somewhere to play.”

Next up in the series is a show on Saturday, Nov. 2, featuring musician and songwriter Teneia Sanders, who is from Jackson, Mississippi.

Sanders began singing in church at age 5. Her work has since been featured in films on HBO and Netflix. She first performed in the Folk All Y’all series in 2018.

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“I think what Andria does at Folk All Y’all is so good for community building,” Sanders said. “To see the growth is amazing. She has become this anchor in Memphis for singer songwriters.”

Sanders describes herself as a folk-soul artist. She is currently working on a gospel-soul album.

“I like to make art out of anything,” Sanders said. “Genres do not matter to me, and I think of myself as a heart centered artist because my heart is in it.”

She said the audience in November can expect to leave inspired.

“As a touring artist, having a place that you know you have a great listening room and audience that are there specifically for you and the music, it is really important,” Sanders said. 

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After that, the next concert in the series is Make the Yuletide Gay, an LGBTQ+ event on Saturday, Dec. 14. Participating artists are Crys Matthews, Spencer Joye and Flamy Grant.

“The artists are selected in a combination of ways. Sometimes it’s as simple as me hearing a song through algorithm, booking agency connections, and some artists even reach on their own. If we have room we will include them,” Brown said.

Plans for concerts in 2025 are on hold until more funding is secured.

According to Brown, about 75% of Folk All Y’all’s operational costs are covered by Patreon donors. Those donors can receive exclusive content from shows, early show announcements, concert tickets, live streams, signed albums and behind-the-scenes moments with artists.

“It’s really been amazing, what it’s grown into,” Brown said. “It is definitely a labor of love. There are times when I get overwhelmed with the difficulties of this type of work, while giving the musicians the night that they deserve is incredibly rewarding.”

Find more information about supporting Folk All Y’all at folkallyall.com/support.