Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Please join us for this book event celebrating Matthew Ruddick’s new biography of The Funkiest Man Alive, RUFUS THOMAS! We will have a DJ playing Rufus’ best-known songs, deep cuts, and other Memphis dance hits. The author will give a short reading and then be available for signing books. Soul & Spirits Brewery will be […]

Join us for a special happy hour conversation and Q&A with legendary hip-hop, R&B, and jazz producer Easy Mo Bee. The Brooklyn native has worked with artists as diverse as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, and is best known for his landmark production work with The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac. In 2003, he won […]

Alan Copeland was as much of an artist as a musician. Often seen with a camera around his neck at concerts throughout Memphis, Copeland’s photographs, largely taken between 1965 and 1990, show a love for music and the men and women who made it. The Stax Museum now holds the entire Alan Copeland Collection that […]

Join us for this special event with Chuck Berry biographer RJ Smith. In Chuck Berry, biographer RJ Smith crafts a comprehensive portrait of one of the great American entertainers, guitarists, and lyricists of the 20th century, bringing Chuck Berry to life in vivid detail. Based on interviews, archival research, legal documents, and a deep understanding of […]

Admission-free Family Day falls on the second Saturday of each month. We offer live music, arts & crafts, games & activities, snacks, and much more for young people of all ages. While we are open to all Shelby County residents free on Tuesdays from 1-5 pm, this is our way of offering youth-friendly programming at […]

Les Paul Thru the Lens explores the life of pioneering musician and innovator Les Paul. Through a series of 24 photographs, visitors will see a chronicle of Paul’s life, career, and achievements: his early performances as Red Hot Red, his marriage to and work with Mary Ford, his explorations in the recording studio and with the […]

Lecture and discussion with author Emily Lordi and Edwin Mims, Professor of English, Vanderbilt University Free Admission In The Meaning of Soul, Emily J. Lordi proposes a new understanding of this famously elusive concept. In the 1960s, Lordi argues, soul came to signify a cultural belief in black resilience, which was enacted through musical practices—inventive cover […]

FREE outdoor showing of the classic 1973 concert film featuring Rufus and Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, the Bar-Kays, and many more Stax artists. Bring lawn chairs to enjoy the show; food trucks will be on hand. DJ Bizzle Bluebland will play Memphis classics and deep cuts before the film starts. Limited parking […]

Panel discussion and listening session with original band members Princess Hearn, Jerome Derrickson, C. Niambi Steele, and Zach Schoenfeld In 1973, Enterprise Records, a subsidiary released a landmark LP that would, over time, help change the face of Black music. The 24-Carat Black, a group of more than a dozen young musicians from Cincinnati, and their […]

Lecture and discussion with Dr. Earnestine Jenkins, Professor of Art History-Visual Culture Studies, University of Memphis  Saturday night on the South Side of Chicago was sacred to the many Black working class Southern transplants that called the city home. Electric blues, ice cold drinks, and the hope for finding love and companionship drew men and women […]

With author Arthur Flowers. Featuring musicians Ekpe Abioto, Danian Jerry, Cequita Monique, Anna B. Scott, and Sheree Renee Thomas. Rickydoc’s Traveling Medicine Show features novelist Arthur Flowers, a practitioner of literary hoodoo, Syracuse University professor emeritus, leader of various nonprofits, and a performance artist in the Griotic school of African American literature. Flowers is the […]

Churches, schools, homes and landmarks where Black Tennesseans fought for fundamental freedoms during the civil rights era are now the centerpiece of The Official U.S. Civil Rights Trail Book, which will be introduced to the Memphis community during a public program at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on Tuesday, August 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. […]