Good morning, Memphis! ☀️
A national magazine says we're the easiest big city in America to drive around. So, there are no excuses this weekend.
Not for the yoga festival
Not for the luau in Bartlett
Not for the ramen party on the river
And definitely not for the Metal Museum, which reopens in it’s new home tomorrow after 47 years on the bluff.
Speaking of excuses, 76% of you are going to need one for yesterday's trivia. The answer, plus Monday's wet-or-dry BBQ results, are waiting below
Let's get into it.
Wellness
🧘 The Memphis Yoga Festival Stretches Out at Rhodes Sunday
Memphis Rox Yoga Fest
The 7th annual Memphis Yoga Festival takes over Rhodes College this Sunday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
🤸 15+ classes, one ticket. Power Flow, Yin, Kundalini with a live cellist, a handstand class, acro yoga (no partner needed) and a Yoga Nidra meditation with a sound bath. Plus vendors, food trucks and live music.
💵 Buy before Sunday. Tickets are $45 in advance and $55 at the door, plus fees. Rain date is Sept. 20.
Get tickets here.
Music
🍻 Patio Sessions Bring Live Music to Grind City Brewing
@grindcitybrew on Instagram
Grind City Brewing is running Patio Sessions every Friday in September, and week two is tomorrow at 7 p.m. This week’s theme: Sip-N-Slurp.
🍜 Sip, then slurp. $5 pours of The Amplifier, plus all-you-can-eat ramen from The Mushroom Queen Co. Getting in is free. The ramen ticket is extra, and you grab it through this link.
🎶 Tunes with a view. Lady Shaun brings the music, right on the patio by the river. Food and music both kick off at 7. Bring a lawn chair and an appetite.
Get the details and your ramen ticket here.
Food & Drink
🍽️ Taste of Thornwood Sets One Big Table in Germantown
Taste of Thornwood
Taste of Thornwood is set for Sunday, Oct. 4, 5 to 8 p.m, and tickets are on sale now.
🍷 Pick your kitchen. Four restaurants, four dinners at once: JoJo's Espresso, Uncle Goyo's, Moondance Grill and The Overland. Each is a three-course meal with drink pairings at one long shared table.
💸 Date-night money. Tickets are about $135 for JoJo's or Uncle Goyo's and about $173 for Moondance or The Overland. 21+ with ID.
Get tickets here.
Music
🌺 Bartlett LIVE Goes Full Luau Saturday With Rock the Boat
City of Bartlett
Bartlett LIVE brings a Luau Night to W.J. Freeman Park this Saturday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m.
🛥️ Yacht rock, dry land. Rock the Boat plays the best of '70s and '80s yacht rock and disco. Wear your loudest Hawaiian shirt.
🪑 Bring a chair. It's free and all ages. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket, and come hungry: food trucks open at 6pm.
Get the details here.
Events
🎤 Memphis Shows Off Its Talent Saturday at the Halloran
Memphis Talent Showcase
The Memphis Talent Showcase takes the stage at the Halloran Centre at the Orpheum (225 S. Main St.) this Saturday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m.
🎭 Got talent? Memphis does. Singers, dancers, comedians, spoken-word artists and a few "surprise acts," all from right here in the 901. Doors open at 5 p.m.
🎟️ Cheap seats on Main Street. Tickets run $25 to $55 through Ticketmaster or the Orpheum box office.
Get tickets here.
Daily Picks
🗞️ Other News Around the 901
🍽️ Three days left to eat good. Taste of Memphis: Black Dining Week wraps up Saturday, Sept. 12, with 19 Black-owned restaurants across the city. No coupons, no rules. Just go eat. See all 19 restaurants here.
🥢 Tso good. In case you missed it last week, Little Petals is open at 551 S. Highland St., the newest spot from the Petals of a Peony family. Sichuan classics and General Tso's under one roof, with a $12.99 lunch buffet and to-go at $7.99 a pound.
🔨 Hammer time. The Metal Museum reopens to the public tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 11, in its new home at Rust Hall in Overton Park. It's a $35 million, 75,000-square-foot upgrade with glass-walled studios and a rooftop terrace. Admission is free for Tennessee residents every Thursday.
🎓 Top of the class. Christian Brothers University is one of only eight Tennessee schools on TIME's first-ever "America's Best Colleges" list: No. 196 in the country and No. 2 in the state, behind only Vanderbilt. Rhodes made the list too.
🌉 Bridge out. The Collierville-Arlington Road bridge over the Wolf River closed this week for a $16.8 million replacement. It reopens October 2027, and the Riverwalk Trail and boat ramp there are closed too. Follow the signed detour.
🌉 Bridge in. The pedestrian bridge to Mud Island is back open, so you can walk from downtown to the river park again. It's open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Skyline views included, no fee required.
🏈 Classic weekend is here. The 37th Southern Heritage Classic is this Saturday, Sept. 12: UAPB vs. Alcorn State at 6 p.m. at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, plus the free parade on Park Avenue at 9 a.m., the Battle of the Bands and a whole weekend of events.
🩰 Forty and flying. Ballet Memphis just put single tickets on sale for its 40th anniversary season. It opens Oct. 16–18 at Playhouse on the Square with Memphis Sounds (Roy Orbison songs, live local musicians on stage), and Peter Pan flies back to the Orpheum in April for the first time in nearly 10 years, with a rig that lifts five dancers at once. See the season schedule here.
🚗 Road trip royalty. Travel + Leisure named Memphis the No. 1 road trip destination in the U.S. The secret? We had the least traffic congestion of any major city in the study. Sorry, Nashville.
🎶 Panic! at the Garden. Mempho Music Festival returns Oct. 9–11 to Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden featuring Widespread Panic (two nights). Tickets are on sale now.
🏊 Y not? The Millington Family YMCA is getting a $10 million renovation. The Y opened in 2001, and the plan updates most of the building and adds new space.
📝 Tell us about you. Fill out our 5-minute reader survey and you're entered to win a $50 gift card to the Memphis-area restaurant of your choice. Take the survey here.
📣 Want to reach Memphis? 901 Today lands in 11,000+ inboxes across the Memphis metro every weekday morning. Partner with 901 Today here.
Monday’s Poll Results
🍖 You Voted: Wet or Dry?
We asked Monday, and you weighed in on the great barbecue debate.
🤷 Both, I'm not picky: 42%
🍯 Wet and saucy: 38%
🔥 Dry rub, always: 21%
So the winner is "yes."
Wednesday’s Trivia Answer
🐐 Not a Single Goat Fainted
This week we asked how many goats fainted at the first-ever fainting goat contest at Millington Goat Days in 1990. The answer: zero. not one. The goats stayed on their feet the whole time.
Only 24% of you got it right. The most popular guess, at 41%, was "just one very dramatic goat." We admire your faith in the goats. See them for yourself at Goat Days in Millington this Saturday.
Reader Survey
📝 Tell Us About You, Win Dinner on Us
We're building 901 Today for you, so we want to know who you are and what you want more of. Fill out our quick reader survey and you're entered to win a $50 gift card to the Memphis-area restaurant of your choice. It takes less than five minutes. One entry per person. We'll pick the winner at the end of September.
That's it for today!
Thanks for spending part of your morning with us.
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Have a great Thursday, Memphis. We'll see you tomorrow.
— 901 Today
