MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Every Tuesday, as part of our Greater Memphis on a Mission series, we highlight organizations making Memphis better. This week, we caught up with a group that believes in preserving, showcasing, and promoting Memphis music.
Beale Street Caravan is a one-hour weekly public radio broadcast that features live performances from Memphis, artist interviews, and so much more. Thomas Crivens is the executive director.
“Memphis as a culture is crucial to music as an art form, and we continue to celebrate that not only with the contemporary artists who are still carrying the torch of Memphis music, but by also re-broadcasting the legacy artists who made this what it is,” Crivens said. “We find out where they are. We arrange for the recording of the show to happen; we take those files and produce Beale Street Caravan.
One of those recordings was for the “son of Memphis.”
“I’m more blues, heart, soul, a little rock,” said Chris Pitts, musician.
Beale Street Caravan recorded Pitts and the Memphis Prime at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS.
“It helps independent artists like me around town to get their music out there on a big platform,” Pitts said.
Big platform indeed. 300 public radio stations carry every episode, and you can listen to it in podcast form as well. The global reach has always been intentional.
“We’re shining a spotlight on Memphis. We’re giving artists here who sometimes may not have the resources to reach a global platform, and they’re able to do that through Beale Street Caravan at no charge,” Crivens said.
Also intentional is the storytelling sprinkled between the live performances during each episode.
“You’re learning about maybe some of the politics and what was happening in society during a certain time period while this music was being created,” Crivens said.
That is why Brown Missionary Baptist Church and the Mid-South Genesis CDC donated $1,000 to Beale Street Caravan. Because when you lift up the voices of our city, past, present and future you keep stories alive for generations to come.
More information on the Beale Street Caravan can be found here.