MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — The Beale Street Music Festival will not take place in 2024, Memphis In May officials announced Thursday.
Memphis In May said in a news release that the music festival will “be paused and will not take place.” However, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Great American River Run will go on as planned.
The barbecue contest will be held at Liberty Park from May 15 – May 18. The Great American River Run will be held in downtown Memphis on May 25.
Officials cited the event changes were due to “the significant financial loss in 2023, challenges producing the festival in Tom Lee Park, and uncertainty surrounding a lawsuit filed against the festival by the Memphis River Parks Partnership.”
Memphis In May, the city’s largest annual festival, reported a record financial loss of $3.48 million this year, surpassing the previous record loss of $2.23 million set in 2022.
Attendance at this year’s Beale Street Music Festival fell to its lowest level in over thirty years at 37,805, while attendance at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest dropped to 39,625.
Festival officials said Thursday that the Beale Street Music Festival is also being paused “to explore all options to present an event in the future that meets the standards and authenticity expected of the brand.”
“Obviously, Memphis in May has built a very authentic brand beginning with the name and location of the music festival,” said President and CEO James L. Holt. “With a pending lawsuit and the event now unwelcomed in the new Tom Lee Park, future Beale Street Music Festivals will face fundamental challenges.”