Lumineers, Lil Wayne, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins Top Beale Street Lineup

Also on the bill are The 1975, DaBaby, Avett Brothers, Three 6 Mafia, 311, Leon Bridges, Deftones, Portugal. The Man, Brittany Howard and many others, with three-day passes starting at $145 and on sale now through Eventbrite.

Beale Street Music Festival is put on by local nonprofit Memphis In May, and the Tennessee event has since grown into one of the year’s major events attracting up to 100,000 fans.

With a month-long cultural salute to Ghana this year, the lineup features two Ghanaian artists – multiple award-winning rapper Sarkodie, who has been recognized twice as Africa’s Artist of the Year and named to MTV’s and BET’s lists of top African rap artists, and Stonebwoy, named 2019’s Best Male Artist at the African Entertainment Awards. 

“While the 2020 Beale Street Music Festival not only brings back to Tom Lee Park popular acts such as Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Avett Brothers, 311 and Deftones, we’re bringing new acts who are making their festival debut in 2020, such as The Lumineers, Lil Wayne, The 1975, DaBaby, and Leon Bridges” James L. Holt, President and CEO of Memphis in May, said in a statement. “Of course, Beale Street Music Festival always prominently features Memphis artists and this year is no exception, with Three 6 Mafia, Moneybagg Yo, Young Dolph, Mavis Staples, Project Pat, Al Kapone, Lil Wyte, Amy LaVere and many more.” 

Memphis in May CEO Jim Holt got his start at Mid-South Concerts in the early ’70s, run by Bob Kelley, and has been at Memphis In May since 1998. The lineup is booked by Alabama-based talent buyer and amphitheatre operator Red Mountain Entertainment, which was recently acquired by Live Nation.

He says fans at Beale Street are seeking authenticity. 

“What they appreciate and enjoy is they’re having a very authentic experience,” Holt told Pollstar previously. “They’re coming to the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll. You’re at the foot of historic Beale Street where blues was born and really began. It’s real, it’s kind of a purist environment – we don’t have Ferris wheels or fireworks and major art exhibits and things like that. There’s a tremendous number of musical attractions in our city, including the nightclub district and world-class barbecue restaurants. When you’re in the park you’re focused on the music and then you have the whole city as a playground.”

This year, the Beale Street Music Festival celebrates its blues heritage all weekend long in the Coca-Cola Blues Tent with headline performances by Keb Mo (winner of the 2020 Grammy for Best Americana Album), Bobby Rush, and Taj Mahal, along with Janiva Magness, Don Bryant & the Bo-Keys, Trigger Hippy, Kenny Brown, Lisa Mills, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Sue Foley, Blind Mississippi Morris, Earl the Pearl Banks, Hurricane Ruth, Kelly Hunt, Richard Johnston, Earl “the Pearl” Banks, Memphissippi Sound, and Australia’s Blues Music Award winners, Kings and Associates.

Notably, the day the lineup was announced, The 1975’s Matt Healy tweeting on Wednesday that he pledges going forward to play festivals that are gender-neutral.

“Take this as me signing this contract,” Healy replied to a tweet, “I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets. But from now I will and believe this is how male artists can be true allies.”