A Musical Tour of Memphis: Where to Stay and What to Do
Stax photo from Getty Images
Standing on the rooftop of the Hyatt Centric Beale Street hotel watching the nightly light show illuminate the bridge that spans the gently flowing river separating Tennessee from Arkansas, it is hard to imagine what this country would be like without the Mississippi River. From delivering a new type of American whiskey made in Bourbon County, Kentucky, onto the streets of New Orleans to providing a muse for literary greats like Mark Twain, the river’s currents transported stories, legends and a new way of life through the arteries of a young country still discovering who it was.
Its greatest contribution, however, was the music. Call and response rhythms that started in fields under the hot Mississippi Delta sun were carried along with suitcases onto the river headed north in hopes of a better life. They docked blocks from a street named after a forgotten war hero where those rhythms mixed with melancholic tones and new guitar strumming techniques to create a sound in which all other forms of American music would grow from.
Memphis’s Beale Street was ground zero for this new sound. The music pouring out of the clubs that lined the street in the early part of the 20th century became the bases for blues, rock ‘n’ roll, soul and jazz changing not only music but creating a ripple effect that touched almost every aspect of American culture. It is hard to overstate the importance of this river, and yet looking down on it with a bourbon in hand from a hotel perfectly situated halfway between the river and Beale Street, the water looks as if its only purpose was reflecting the bright colors from the bridge above.
Where to Stay
The Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis is the only hotel on Beale Street, making it the perfect home base to explore the nearby blues joints, barbecue restaurants, civil rights museum and beyond on foot. The 227-room hotel on the corner of Beale Street and Front Street pays homage to the musical city with music-inspired décor such as treble clef light fixtures and carpet patterns designed to mimic sound waves. Exposed brick and beams are remnants from the old William C. Ellis and Sons Ironworks and Machine Shop Building built in 1879. Hyatt kept as much as it could of the historic building that was once a family-owned manufacturing business.
You do not have to be standing at the noteworthy Beck & Call rooftop bar for sweeping views of the river and city’s iconic, M-shaped Hernando de Soto Bridge (although the Biscoff Old Fashioned makes it more than worth the elevator ride up) because guest rooms come with floor-to-ceiling windows providing panoramic views of downtown or the Mississippi River. Guests can watch the bridge’s nightly LED light show every night at sundown from Beck & Call or the comfort of their own bed. The hotel even has a resort-style pool with private poolside cabanas and a sun deck to relax after a long night out on Beale Street.
What To Do
Beale Street
Memphis’s Beale Street is one of America’s most iconic roads. While Wall Street is known as America’s financial home and Pennsylvania Avenue is America’s political thoroughfare, Beale Street is the heartbeat of America’s music.
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