Every city has an area code. Memphis has a holiday.
901 Day lands every September 1, and it's the one day a year the whole city agrees to be loudly, unapologetically obsessed with itself.
Here's the twist for 2026: with Sept. 1 falling on a Tuesday, the City of Memphis moved the big official party to the weekend, creating a full "901 Weekend" running Friday, Aug. 28 through Tuesday, Sept. 1, with 300+ paid local artists and creatives across downtown.
Below: every event, free museum day, $9.01 deal, and merch drop we could find, day by day.
Last updated August 2026. This guide is a project of 901 Today, Memphis's free daily newsletter
🗓️ The 2026 Game Plan, In 20 Seconds
The city's official schedule has three beats:
a kickoff on South Main during Trolley Night (Friday, Aug. 28)
an all-day "901 on Beale" street takeover (Sunday, Aug. 30)
and then a deliberately decentralized 901 Day itself (Tuesday, Sept. 1) — no official city event, just restaurants, breweries, museums, and neighborhoods doing their own thing (read: $9.01 deals everywhere).
Saturday has no city programming, but Memphis filled that gap all by itself.
Jump to a day:
🚋 Friday, Aug. 28 — Kickoff on South Main
🎨 Creative Mixer at the Halloran Centre
📍 225 S. Main St. · 🕐 5–7 p.m.
The weekend opens with a mixer for Memphis's creative community at the Halloran Centre — artists, makers, and the people who hire them, all in one room before the music starts.
🎤 Kickoff Concert at the National Civil Rights Museum
📍 450 Mulberry St. · 🕐 7–10 p.m.
📸 [Add photo here — suggested source: NCRM courtyard, civilrightsmuseum.org media]
The 901 Weekend Kickoff Concert takes over the museum courtyard with a very Memphis bill: DJ Brilli, Lana J, Jad Tariq, Preauxx, and Iris Collective — hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and a chamber collective sharing one stage at the Lorraine. The city hasn't posted ticket details; its prior 901 Day events have all been free.
🚋 Trolley Night, But Make It 901
📍 South Main Arts District · 🕐 Kicks off 6 p.m. · Free
The monthly last-Friday Trolley Night on South Main doubles as the 901 Weekend block party this month, with the Overton Park Shell's Shell on Wheels mobile stage and creative pop-ups roaming the strip all evening. Galleries, shops, and patios stay open late — come hungry.
🎶 Also Friday Night
🎤 Jacquees with K Camp at Graceland Soundstage, 8 p.m. (ticketed)
🔊 42 Dugg + Babyface Ray bring the 4 The Trenches Tour to Minglewood Hall (ticketed)
🌳 Happy Friday at GPAC's Grove in Germantown — Josh Threlkeld live, 5–8 p.m., free (details)
🍷 Deborah Swiney plays jazz at Delta Blues Winery in Lakeland, 7–10 p.m., free
🏈 It's also Week 2 of Friday night lights — find every metro kickoff in our 2026 Memphis High School Football Guide
🍺 Saturday, Aug. 29 — No Official Programming? No Problem.
🎂 Wiseacre Turns 13 (Officially a Beer-nager)
📍 Wiseacre OG taproom, 2783 Broad Ave. · 🕐 Starts 1 p.m. · Free admission
Wiseacre Brewing throws a free 13th birthday party at the original Broad Avenue taproom, running 1 p.m. to midnight with Melinda, Ibex Clone, Optic Sink, and a Goner Records DJ on the Overton Park Shell's Shell on Wheels mobile stage. Thirteen years of Tiny Bomb deserves a toast.
🤸 Recess Reloaded (Field Day, But With a Bar Tab)
📍 Mud Island, at the Memphis sign · 🕐 11 a.m.–6 p.m. · 💰 Ticketed · 21+
An adult field day self-branded for 901 weekend: mechanical bull, gladiator jousting, slip-and-slide relays, bubble ball, DJs, and food trucks with the skyline as a backdrop. Lawn chairs welcome; tickets here — bring a valid ID.
🛼 Memphis Roller Derby Hits 20
📍 Pipkin Building, 940 Early Maxwell Blvd. · 🕐 Doors 3 p.m., first whistle 4 p.m.
Memphis Roller Derby celebrates its 20th anniversary with a double header — two decades of hip checks is a very 901 way to spend a Saturday.
🎩 Vince Gill at the Orpheum
📍 203 S. Main St. · 🕐 Sat. 7:30 p.m. (sold out) + added Sun. show
The country legend's 50 Years From Home tour sold out Saturday so fast the Orpheum added a Sunday, Aug. 30 show at 7 p.m. — the biggest touring act in town this weekend.
🛍️ Memphis Vintage Market at Crosstown
📍 Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave. · 🕐 11 a.m.–6 p.m. · Free
Racks on racks of vintage from local sellers inside Crosstown Concourse — a solid place to hunt down throwback Memphis gear before Tuesday.
🎶 Also Saturday
🤼 901 Wrestling's Saturday Morning Live — 11 a.m., 4798 Summer Ave., tickets from $5 (details)
🏃 The 19th annual Forrest Spence 5K at Shelby Farms Park, 8 a.m. (register)
🍔 Momma's 3rd anniversary party at the beloved dive at 855 Kentucky St. — three years young and celebrating like it
🏈 Memphis Tigers football opens the season at UNLV — 9 p.m. CT on FOX. Couch tailgate accordingly.
🥬 The Memphis Farmers Market runs its regular Saturday market downtown at Central Station, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
🎺 Sunday, Aug. 30 — 901 on Beale (The Main Event)
The centerpiece of the whole weekend: the city hands Beale Street over to Memphis artists for a full-day, five-zone takeover. 2026 hours haven't posted yet (last year's edition ran 11 a.m.–7 p.m., free); here's what's confirmed on each stage per the city's announcement:
🎸 Ida B. Wells Music + More Stage. Play Your Park, Black Cream, Doll McCoy, the John Williams A440 Band, and Marcella Simien — capped by a tribute to Stax legend David Porter featuring the Stax Music Academy, KIRBY, and EJ Jones, plus an honorary celebration of producer Tay Keith. Expect Grizzlies appearances too.
🙌 The Spark at Handy Park. Gospel, youth arts, Ballet Memphis, Da M-Town Band, Angel Street Ministries, and Grizzlies activations.
🎬 Fresh Vibes at the New Daisy. Film screenings, music-in-film conversations, teen programming, and Memphis Jookin showcases.
👗 Rufus Row. DJs, fashion showcases from designer Prep Curry — and a Wing Wars competition hosted by Carmen Hamilton. Come for the culture, stay for the flats.
🎨 Cre8-N-Motion Zone. The family zone: face painting, UrbanArt Commission interactive art, chalk murals, "Ballet on Beale," and community sing-alongs.
🐔 Also Sunday
🐓 Chicken Sh*t Bingo with Hillbilly Mojo at Hernando's Hide-A-Way in Whitehaven — no cover, and yes, an actual chicken calls the numbers
🌴 Memphis Reggae Nights with Black Cream at B-Side, 7:30 p.m. — their third gig in three days, which might be the most 901 stat of the weekend
🎩 Vince Gill's added Orpheum show, 7 p.m. (tickets)
🎷 FreeWorld holds down its standing Sunday-night residency at Blues City Cafe on Beale (~8 p.m.) — no better warm-down after the festival
🖤 Monday, Aug. 31 — The Calm Before the 901
🏛️ See the National Civil Rights Museum Free (It's Closed Tuesday)
📍 450 Mulberry St. · 🕐 3 p.m.–close · Free for TN residents
Heads up, planners: the National Civil Rights Museum is closed on Tuesdays — so its regular free window for Tennessee residents (Mondays from 3 p.m., with state ID) is your 901-week move. Bonus: the renovated Legacy Experience boarding house reopened this spring for the museum's 35th anniversary.
🥇 Medal Mondays at Wiseacre
📍 HQ (398 S. B.B. King Blvd.) + OG (2783 Broad Ave.) · 🕐 4–10 p.m. · 💰 $4 pints
Wiseacre pours $4 pints of its medal-winning beers (Tiny Bomb, Sky Dog, Oktoberfest) every Monday at both taprooms — a very affordable pregame for Tuesday.
💙 Tuesday, Sept. 1 — 901 Day Proper
⚾ Redbirds 901 Day at AutoZone Park
📍 200 Union Ave. · 🕐 First pitch 6:45 p.m. · 💰 $9.01 tickets available
📸 [Add photo here — suggested source: @memphisredbirds — prior 901 Day photos]
The Memphis Redbirds come home on 901 Day itself to open a series against the Durham Bulls — and their season-long "901 Tickets" program gets you into Section 116 for exactly $9.01 (online only, six per game). The team's 901 Day promo announcement hadn't dropped as of this writing; past editions have brought free 901 tees, specialty jerseys, and postgame fireworks.
🦁 The Zoo Is Free — If You Move by Wednesday
📍 2000 Prentiss Place · 🕐 9 a.m.–close · Free for TN residents (parking $10)
901 Day falls on a Tuesday, which means Tennessee Tuesday at the Memphis Zoo: free admission for Tennessee residents with photo ID. The catch: you need an advance reservation, and tickets for Sept. 1 release Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 9 a.m. — set an alarm (limit six per reservation).
🎵 The Free Museum Sweep
Tuesday is quietly the best free-museum day in Memphis, and on 901 Day that feels like destiny:
🎸 Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum — free for Shelby County residents every Tuesday (photo ID, up to four people). 191 Beale St. (details)
🎷 Stax Museum of American Soul Music — free for Shelby County residents on Tuesday afternoons, and the "Blues Power! Albert King" exhibit runs through Oct. 1. 926 E. McLemore Ave. 🚨 [CONFIRM exact free-Tuesday hours with Stax — 901-261-6338]
🚒 Fire Museum of Memphis — has offered free Tuesday admission (9 a.m.–3 p.m.) for Shelby County residents; it's not posted on the museum's own site right now, so call ahead. 118 Adams Ave. (details)
🌸 Dixon Gallery & Gardens — free every day, for good, and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Open Tuesdays 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at 4339 Park Ave. (details)
❤️ Give $9.01 to St. Jude
Sept. 1 is also the first day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and St. Jude's 901 Day campaign keeps it simple: donate $9.01 — the most Memphis dollar amount there is — and post it with #901Day. The hospital is the 901's most famous export; this is the easiest box to check all day.
🍻 The 901 Day Nightcap
🎧 Listen Up: Kris Angelis at the Memphis Listening Lab in Crosstown, 6 p.m., on some of the best speakers in the city (details)
🎶 The Mystic plays a free first-Tuesday set at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, 6 p.m.
🎤 Open Mic Comedy Night at the Hi Tone, 8 p.m., free — end 901 Day laughing at ourselves, lovingly (details)
🍺 $5 Pint Night at Wiseacre HQ (4–9 p.m.) and Taco Tuesday at Ghost River's South Main taproom — and keep an eye on Ghost River's socials: last 901 Day they threw an all-day "Cheers to the 901" party headlined by Al Kapone
💸 The $9.01 Deal Tracker (Updating All Week)
Here's the thing about 901 Day deals: most drop on Instagram in the final days before Sept. 1. The city is explicitly steering celebrations to local businesses this year, so expect a big crop. We'll update this list as 2026 deals are announced — and until then, here's last year's roll call, a.k.a. the accounts worth watching this week:
🍕 Aldo's Pizza Pies — last year: $9.01 slice-and-beer combo and $9.01 12" one-topping pies
🥃 Slider Inn — last year: $9.01 Jameson slushies
🍔 Huey's — last year: $5 "901 Gold Nugget" margaritas all day, every location
🍺 Bardog Tavern — last year: $9.01 Sky Dog pint + well shot
☕ French Truck Coffee (Crosstown) — last year: $9.01 New Orleans iced coffee + cookie
🌮 BABALU — last year: $9.01 Grind City Ritas and hot honey chicken sandwiches
🦆 Flyway Brewing — last year: $9.01 duck tenders and wings at The Ravine
🍗 Abner's Famous Chicken — last year: $9.01 tenders combo with code 901ABNERS
🍕 Slim & Husky's and Rock'n Dough — last year: $9.01 pizzas
🍳 Barksdale Restaurant — last year: $9.01 two-egg breakfast plate
🥃 Old Dominick Distillery — worth watching: the downtown distillery literally makes a 90.1-proof small batch bourbon, which is commitment to the bit
🍦 Mempops — last year: three pops for $9.01
🌷 Memphis Botanic Garden — last year: $9.01 admission on 901 Day
🚲 Explore Bike Share — last year: 25% off 3-day passes over 901 weekend
The two lists that aggregate every deal each year — Choose901's discounts page and the I Love Memphis Blog guide — usually refresh in the last week of August. Bookmark accordingly.
👕 Rep the 901: Merch Watch
👕 Choose901's 901 Day tee is the tradition — 2025's was a vintage-film-poster design sold at a Crosstown pop-up. The online shop is being relaunched and proceeds fund Memphis programs; watch @choose901 for the 2026 drop.
🔵 Memphus Clothing's "901DAY" tee — in stock from $55 as of this writing (grab one)
🐻 Grizzlies 191 Collabs — the team's local-designer merch line at the Grizzlies Den is where a 901 Day drop would land (details)
🛍️ Also stocking Memphis-made 901 gear year-round: Memphis Nostalgia Supply and the Memphis Vintage Market (Saturday, see above)
📅 Keep the 901 Energy Going (The Weekend After)
A few Memphis staples slid just past the holiday this year — consider this your soft landing:
Overton Park Shell's 90th-anniversary fall season opens Sept. 4–5 with a free Metal Night (KARROT) and the Memphis PowerPop Festival
Metal Museum celebrates its grand opening at its new Overton Park home Sept. 5; Healthier 901 Fest takes over Shelby Farms Sept. 5 (free festival, 4K run)
Delta Fair runs Sept. 4–13 at Agricenter
Mimosa Festival pours downtown Sept. 6.
And the Gumption Revival Lantern Parade? It moved to Tom Lee Day, Oct. 3 — different holiday, same Memphis pride.
👋 Did we miss a spot? A deal? A party? Reply to any 901 Today email and we'll add it in the next update.
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901 Today is a free daily newsletter covering everything happening in the 901 — events, openings, food, sports, and the occasional runaway animal. Out every weekday morning, read in five minutes, written with a lot of hometown pride. You can check out past issues here.
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