This week, Mystic Krewe kicks off Mardi Gras season, and snow day cancellations at Sheet Cake, the Brooks Museum, Playhouse on the Square and Theatre Memphis get a re-do.

A winner of the lottery for free tickets to the Orpheum concert said the hometown singer’s “focus was on us, the people of Memphis.”

Cyrena Wages is nothing if not honest. Honest about her music, her career and herself. It shows on her debut album, Vanity Project, and in the conversation Eric Barnes had with her on this week’s Sidebar.

She wrote the 450-page novel late at night in her East Memphis home around her day job in admissions at the Southern College of Optometry.

After nearly a week of winter weather, the Orpheum confirmed Jan. 18 that Timberlake’s Friday concert would continue as planned. Also Thursday, the artist posted a five-second clip from a rehearsal at the Orpheum.

This week, Black Lodge hosts a 20th anniversary screening of “Kill Bill,” and thousands of Black dance professionals gather in Memphis. 

The Brooks Museum recently terminated its relationship with its previous cafe operator, Loaf, after an unsanctioned fundraising event for a Palestinian relief fund.

A message to ticket holders stated the date is being moved “due to an ankle injury.”

Dubbed the Ensuring Likeness, Voice and Image Security — or ELVIS — Act, the bill represents one of the first attempts by a government to regulate artificial intelligence.

JamRack will open at 150 N. Avalon St., formerly Wimpy’s Burger and Fries, and specialize in authentic Jamaican cuisine.

Tim Barker talks about Edge Alley and the incredible stresses and successes that led him to close the restaurant — even as that decision has completely ruined Eric Barnes’ life.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “A Raisin in the Sun” are two of the theater productions that will come alive this month.

Justin Timberlake will perform at a free, one-night-only concert in Memphis next week, the Orpheum announced.

A memoir that Lisa Marie Presley had been working on at the time of her death will be published this fall.

This week, Arrow Creative celebrates all things Memphis, Keri Lee hosts a sound bath in the Sound Room and DJ Alpha Whiskey DJs her own birthday party.

A Goldwax Records standout and a co-founder of Memphis’ Center for Southern Folklore are among the newest Blues Hall of Fame members.

At the birthday celebration, Joel Weinshanker presented an acetate record of Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright Mama,” which was the late singer’s first commercial recording. 

Carpenter Art Garden and a team of local collaborators are constructing the park on the corner of Princeton Avenue and Tillman Street.

With the collective’s knowledge and funding, the Brooks will annually present one major exhibition by Black artists and buy at least one work by a Black artist for its permanent collection.

During a StoryCorps session, two people record a 40-minute conversation on who they are, what they’ve learned in life and how they would like to be remembered.

This week, artist Vera Reed celebrates her 90th birthday, the Metal Museum offers a “taste” of the metal arts and there’s a one-mile race to kickstart your resolutions.

Her documentaries and other productions have focused on everything from a man’s efforts to get a pardon from the State of Tennessee to a teenager who falsely confessed to murder. 

Graceland will host its four days of events beginning Friday, Jan. 5, and finishing on The King’s Monday, Jan. 8, birthday, with a fan meetup, stories, tours, music and, of course, cake. 

The donation includes 75 works created by Black local, national and international artists. Mediums represented include painting, photography, video and sculpture.

In 2023, Memphis lost artists, activists, coaches, athletes, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, restaurateurs, public servants and the area’s “unofficial LGBTQ historian.” 

Today, we remember them once again.