Rhodes College’s Memphis Center and Mike Curb Institute for Music will present the Beale Street Symposium, a three-day exploration of the history of Beale Street and its relationship to Memphis, March 19-21. The event will feature a Communities in Conversation lecture by Curb Visiting Scholar in the Arts Preston Lauterbach, as well as the exclusive release of his new book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis. Other activities include student presentations, panel discussions, a concert featuring Calvin Newborn, and a guided historic walking tour of Beale Street.
- March 19: Communities in Conversation Lecture featuring Preston Lauterbach, “Beale Street Dynasty: Bob Church, Boss Crump, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis”
He also will be signing copies of his Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis
6 p.m.
McCallum Ballroom, Bryan Campus Life Center
free and open to the public
- March 20: Beale Street Symposium’s Lunchtime Lecture and Panel Discussions
12:30 p.m.: Lunchtime lecture with Charles Hughes, “From Beale Street to the World: Memphis Musicians and the Soul Revolution.” Copies of his new book, Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American Southwill be available for purchase.
1:30 p.m.: Panel discussion featuring Rhodes student researchers
3 p.m.: Panel Discussion featuring Calvin Newborn, Joyce Cobb, Preston Lauterbach, and Charles Hughes
Hyde Hall, Catherine Burrow Refectory
free and open to the public
- March 20: Calvin Newborn Live in Concert with the Rhodes Jazz Band
Calvin Newborn is a surviving member of the Newborn family, the first family of Beale, and will be making his historic return to Memphis and Beale Street.
7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Historical Daisy Theater, 329 Beale Street
Tickets are $10/$5 for students with ID and will be available at the door.
- March 21: “If Beale Street Could Talk: The Secret History of America’s Most Iconic Street Comes to Life on a Walking Tour with Legendary Characters”
This includes historic-guided walking tours of Beale led by Preston Lauterbach and admission to the Ernest Withers Gallery and the Rock n’ Soul Museum
$20 per person, limited to 50 slots