Good morning, Memphis! ☀️
It's the middle of the week, which scientifically means it's the perfect time for concert tickets, bar comebacks, and news you can use at your next cookout. We've got all three today, plus a few extras that snuck in.
One of Mexico's biggest pop exports is playing downtown this week
A Highland Strip staple is back from the dead for the third time (we're counting)
South Main throws its monthly party to kick off 901 Weekend
A rivalry decades in the making is officially back on the calendar
Let's get into it.
Music
🎤 Grammy-Winning Jesse & Joy Makes a Rare Memphis Stop Thursday
Jesse & Joy
Grammy-winning Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy bring their El Despecho Tour to the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts this week, in what's being billed as a rare Memphis stop for the sibling act.
💔 Breakup, but make it a bop. "El Despecho" leans hard into heartbreak and spite, and the set draws from a catalog of emotional, radio-ready ballads: think "Dueles," "3AM," and "Ecos de Amor."
🎟️ One night only. The show is Thursday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts (255 N. Main St.), with resale tickets currently starting around $73.
Get tickets here.
Food & Drink
🍻 Newby's Is Back (For the Third Time) on the Highland Strip
Newby’s
After 50 years, a couple of near-death experiences, and a late-2025 closure, Newby's has reopened on the Highland Strip under new owner Sam Stalnaker.
Nine lives, apparently. This is the bar's third comeback since first opening in 1975. It reopened Thursday, Aug. 20, with a refreshed menu and a new restaurant-by-day, sports-bar-by-night concept.
Homecourt advantage. Stalnaker wants Newby's to be the unofficial University of Memphis sports bar, complete with trivia nights and new brunch items like the Tubby Smith breakfast burger.
See what's new here.
Events
🚋 901 Weekend Kicks Off With Trolley Night This Friday
Image: Downtown Memphis Commission
Memphis's monthly Trolley Night on South Main gets an upgrade this Friday, doubling as the official kickoff to 901 Weekend.
Two parties, one night. The regular last-Friday-of-the-month event (galleries, shops, and restaurants open late) shares the strip with the city's official 901 Weekend kickoff, including the Overton Park Shell's Shell on Wheels mobile stage and creative pop-ups.
Free and flexible. It's free and kicks off at 6 p.m., running to about 9 p.m. come for the trolleys, stay for whichever gallery catches your eye.
Get the full 901 Weekend rundown here.
Sports
🏈 Tickets Are Live for the 37th Southern Heritage Classic
Southern Heritage Classic
Mark the calendar: the Southern Heritage Classic returns to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, with Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alcorn State running it back.
Rematch szn. UAPB won last year's meeting 24-20, and the two SWAC programs face off again at 6 p.m., with tickets starting under $30.
More than a game. The weekend also brings the Orange Mound Parade, a tailgate that draws 10,000-plus fans, dueling halftime marching bands, and a fashion show that's been a tradition since 1991.
Get tickets here.
Daily Picks
🗞️ Other News Around the 901
🎸 Shine down, y'all. 99.7 The Wolf's Stars & Guitars returns to Minglewood Hall on Sept. 2 with Shinedown's Brent Smith and Zach Myers, The Band Perry, and more playing acoustic for one night only, with proceeds benefiting Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. Doors at 6, show at 7.
🍺 Grain gang. Flyway Memphis teaches Brew School tonight, walking you through the brewing process start to finish for $25. Your ticket includes a Beer 101 course, a flight, a brewery tour, and a pint glass to take home. 6-7:15 p.m. at 598 Monroe Ave.
📸 Brunch with a purpose. The Branding Brunch: Summer Edition hits the James Lee House on Aug. 30, pairing headshot-ready photography from Incredibly Wee Photography with brunch, makeup, and a DJ. This is built for anyone due for a personal-brand refresh.
✏️ Draw your own future. Memphis writer Troy L. Wiggins and illustrator Therro the Kid team up for an Afrofuturist comics workshop at the Memphis Brooks Museum on Aug. 29. No drawing experience required, and passes start at $45.
🏈 Six for six. Six Memphis-area teams cracked this week's Tennessee Sports Writers Association Top 10 rankings: Houston (No. 10, 6A) jumped in after knocking off Germantown, joined by Southwind (No. 7, 6A), Munford (No. 3, 5A), Covington (No. 4, 3A), MASE (No. 7, 2A), and Briarcrest (No. 4, Division II-AAA).
🛝 Recess is in session. Recess Reloaded, the 21+ "adult field day" with water slides and a mechanical bull, returns to Mud Island on Aug. 29. Tickets are required, rain date is Sunday.
🚒 Dispatch, saving lives. Germantown says a public safety dispatcher, Hope Brown, was honored with a lifesaving award at a recent Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting for her actions during a medical emergency.
🌉 ICYMI: the Skybridge is back. The pedestrian Skybridge connecting downtown to Mud Island River Park has reopened after a stretch of closure. The free half-mile walk with river and skyline views is finally open again.
🎄 Get your holiday hustle on. Vendor applications are open for the Collierville Burch Library's Holiday Market, a Nov. 14 arts-and-crafts fair benefiting the library's expansion fund. Apply by Aug. 31.
Good News
🐾 Adoptable Pet of the Week: Dashelley
Memphis Animal Services
Meet Dashelley, aka River King Mine Train — a Memphis Animal Services kitten who runs her litter like a small, fuzzy dictatorship.
Born to lead. Fearless, first into every play fight, and undefeated according to her foster.
All gas, no brakes. Playful, confident, litterbox trained, and very determined — she wants the toy, the treat, and the win.
Meet Dashelley (#MASA5184) and MAS's other adoptable cats this Friday at Wine and Whiskers, a fundraiser hosted by SPCA Memphis and Memphis Animal Services. Grab tickets here.
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That's it for today!
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Have a great Wednesday, Memphis. We'll see you tomorrow.
— 901 Today
