The Legendary Neon-Lit Street Famous for the Blues, Drinks & Memphis Barbecue

Beale Street, Memphis

Raw blues music, Memphis-style BBQ, and cold drinks under neon lights. That’s what Beale Street promises, and that’s what it delivers, night after night.

The street where blues legends cut their teeth still knows how to throw a party.

Here’s everything worth doing on the most musical street in the South.

Listen to Raw Blues

Everyone shows up thinking they’ll find some ancient bluesman hunched over a guitar in every doorway. You have to know where to look for them.

For the real stuff, skip the big names and duck into Mr. Handy’s Blues Hall or the Beale Street Tap Room where you’ll find players who carry this music in their blood, not on a resume.

The Blues Hall next to Rum Boogie feels like somebody’s living room with Christmas lights on the ceiling.

No slick production – just players who know this music bone-deep.

Rum Boogie Cafe Is the Street’s Beating Heart

Rum Boogie has stood as the “cornerstone of Historic Beale Street” since 1985 when the street was coming back to life.

It feels worn-in and real, with guitars hanging from the ceiling given by everyone from nobodies to legends.

The house band, The Boogie Blues Band, plays “smokin’ hot blues” every night, and the kitchen makes award-winning gumbo and proper Memphis BBQ.

They don’t try to get fancy – they just do the basics right, respecting both food and music.

When tourist spots blast pop remixes, Rum Boogie sticks to what made Memphis matter.

Silky O’Sullivan’s Is Beale Street’s Freak Show

Silky’s says “it’s St. Patrick’s Day all year round” at their corner of Beale. This place could only exist in a fever dream or Memphis.

Their famous drink, the Diver, comes in a yellow bucket big enough to drown in. The patio has live music most nights, and yes, they have actual goats living at the bar.

Silky’s sits in the oldest building on Beale, which feels right for its carnival vibe. Don’t ask why, just order a Diver, share it with friends, and enjoy the weirdness.

Embrace the Messy Cover Charge System

After 7 PM, barriers go up at Beale Street entrances, with “security” charging $5 to enter. Some bars then charge their own cover on top of that.

Some have a drink minimum. Some charge extra for live music. It’s terribly confusing. On Friday and Saturday nights at 9 PM, security checks everyone’s ID to make sure they’re 21 or older.

Bring cash, be patient, and know the price will change for no clear reason.

The Street Itself Is the Best Place to Be

Half the fun of Beale is just walking the strip with its two dozen bars, street performers, and people-watching. The stones under your feet have seen a century of American music history.

Free concerts happen often in Handy Park around the W.C. Handy statue. The Beale Street Flippers, local guys who do backflips down the street, are better than half the bands playing in bars.

The Walk Me Down (a blue drink with seven different liquors) is the official street cocktail. Get one from any walk-up window and join the slow parade.

A. Schwab’s Is the Last Real Business

Most of Beale got cleaned up in the 1980s, but A. Schwab’s dry goods store remains from the old days. Opened in 1876, it’s the only original business left and feels like stepping back in time.

The shop sells unique souvenirs you won’t find anywhere else in Memphis. Local candy and weird items fill the shelves of this family business that survived while everything around it changed.

The upper floor has a small museum about Beale Street history, with photos showing the street when it was the Main Street of Black America.

The New Daisy Has Come Back to Life

The New Daisy opened as a movie theatre in 1937 and became a music venue in the 1980s. After closing and reopening several times, it’s back hosting shows in 2025.

This place has more edge than the tourist-friendly clubs on the main drag. While Beale mostly does blues and roots music, the New Daisy brings rock, metal, hip-hop, and electronic stuff to Memphis.

The building shows its age in all the right ways, sticky floors included.

For music that isn’t aimed at the Graceland tour buses, the New Daisy delivers sounds that keep Memphis connected to what’s happening now, not just what happened 70 years ago.

The Food Is Better Than It Needs To Be

Tourist areas usually serve mediocre food, knowing visitors will eat anywhere convenient. Beale refuses to sink that low.

Rum Boogie’s Championship Gumbo is the real deal, and their Memphis BBQ honors local traditions without taking shortcuts.

Blues City Cafe serves killer fried catfish and ribs so tender they fall apart if you look at them wrong. Even The Pig on Beale, a tiny place easy to miss, makes legit Memphis barbecue without trying to be fancy.

It’s working-class Southern cooking done right.

The Blues Hall of Fame Museum Is Worth Your Time

A block off Beale sits the Blues Hall of Fame Museum, a place that explains the music flowing through the streets.

Displays show instruments, costumes, and personal items from blues legends. Listening stations let you hear how blues grew from work songs to electric Chicago sounds. It’s a nice balance to the rowdy joy of Beale.

Pay Your Respects at W.C. Handy’s House

W.C. Handy, known as the “Father of the Blues,” helped make blues famous from Beale Street. Today, you can visit the W.C. Handy Home and Museum at the end of Beale Street.

This small house where Handy once lived shows off the composer who first published and spread blues music.

The trumpet he used to write “Memphis Blues” and “St. Louis Blues” sits inside, along with his handwritten music and personal items.

Try Timing Your Visit for Jeep Night

Jeep Night on Beale happens Tuesday, June 17, 2025, from 6-10pm. There’s also “Hot Rods on Beale” on May 27 and “Bike Night” on May 28.

The street turns into a car show for every gearhead in the Mid-South on these nights. It’s pure America. Chrome shining under neon, engines roaring, and people who’ve spent thousands fixing up vehicles they don’t need but deeply love.

It’s tribal, it’s over-the-top, and it shows how Memphis mixes music and machines.