The Early Word: Local band kids win big, and Trader Joe’s is not coming yet
Mornin’, Memphis! It’s Monday, May 12, and it’s an exciting day in the ’burbs if you like numbers. The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be discussing the city budget, and the Collierville BMA is talking tax rates. For those of us who don’t like math, these sound more like “bored” meetings, am I right?
Anywho, for a look at some very not-boring stuff coming up (spoiler alert: barbecue wars are back), check out This Week in Memphis.
The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins has been following the story of the Central High School jazz band, which back in January was invited to compete in the prestigious Essentially Ellington band contest. But the band program needed money to make the trip to New York, so band director Ollie Liddell started a GoFundMe. Memphians gave so much more than needed. And this past weekend, the band was finally in New York to compete. And guess what? They won the whole darn thing! “When they release the movie, I’ll be the guy sitting on the ground, in tears,” said one student. You might be crying, too, when you read Calkins’ story.
The former Bed Bath & Beyond on White Station Road will not be a Trader Joe’s, despite the rumors. Instead, locally owned liquor store The Station will open there this summer, and owner Ethan Edwards hopes you’re not too disappointed. Sure, a place inside The Loop to stock up on Cookie Butter and Candy Cane Joe Joe’s would be amazing. (Are you listening, TJ’s?) But Edwards says The Station, with its planned wine- and beer-tasting bars and other unique features, won’t be your average liquor store. “We may not be a Trader Joe’s, but we’re 100% Memphis. And we’re proud of that,” he said. (Now, if only he could stock that Charles Shaw wine.)
Plus, Riverbeat beat last year’s numbers, Union Avenue’s blue dogs are mostly gone and we try to determine who invented barbecue nachos.
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Bianca Phillips
Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian who’s worked in local journalism and PR for more than 20 years. In her days as a reporter, she covered everything from local government and crime to LGBTQ issues and the arts. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South,” a cookbook of vegan Southern recipes.
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