Plus-1 Jam: Goes Rather Well with BBQ

Want to add a little sauce to your Memphis in May International Barbecue Cooking Contest dish? Try some Plus-1 Jam. No, not the spread-on-your-toast kind of jam, the musical kind on MLGW’s Plus-1 stage on Beale.

MLGW’s salute to Memphis Music in May continues this weekend on Beale Street to help raise funds for MIFA and Plus-1, coinciding with MIM’s BBQ Fest. Division musicians are featured in many of the bands performing this month. MLGW’s tent-covered stage is next to the Elvis statue on the north side of MLGW’s Administration Bldg. on Beale Street between Second and Main, and the music being served is quite tasty.

Tropix performs rock ‘n’ reggae on the Plus-1 stage Thursday evening, May 16 from 6-8 p.m. The tropical band has been together 22 years, performing around the Mid-South at festivals, clubs and special events. MLGW musician Dan Hope, whose music video “Change My Luck” was aired on USA Network’s Nightlight, plays guitar and sings, accompanied by Gracia Alequin on congas, percussion and vocals; Gordon Taylor on bass, Ralo Brown on drums and John Gilreath on keyboards and vocals. Tropix recently performed at the Africa in April multicultural festival.

 

Fatback-N-Bacon, playing Friday night, May 17 from 7-9 p.m., is a blues and rock band that features MLGW musicians Steve Shepard on vocals and guitar, Mike Lewis on guitar and Gerald Sanders on bass and percussion, who are also members of Muddy River. Fatback also features Dale Krajeski on drums and Will Grisham on keyboards. They play mostly blues, with some blues rock thrown in for good measure.

Solo artist Darby Lee performs a variety of music from 10 p.m. ‘til midnight on Friday, May 17.

Kyle Russell performs a variety of music on Saturday, May 18 from 4-6 p.m. He is an MLGW musician from our Water Distribution department.

Memphis Power, true to its name, features some MLGW musicians, too. They play rhythm and blues and soul music on Saturday night, May 18 from 7-9 p.m. The band features MLGW musicians Markus Holt on keyboards and vocals, Gerald Sanders on guitar, Calvin Bonds on bass, Gerald Boyd on drums and Quinita Hodges on vocals. MLGW retiree Kim Bonds plays keyboards and sings, and Neal Gaddy plays guitar. They have performed for MLGW’s annual employee gathering for the past two years.

Common Ancestors, performing Saturday, May 18 from 10 p.m. ‘til midnight, is a long-standing Memphis band that plays blues, rhythm & blues, and rock.

There will be no performances on Sunday, May 19. Plus-1 Jam will continue for its final weekend, Friday through Sunday, May 24-26. Details in next week’s blog.

(Pictured are Tropix, playing Thursday, May 16, 6-8 p.m.)

Visitors to the MLGW music stage will be asked to make donations to help Plus-1, which is a program administered by MIFA to help families in crisis with one-time utility assistance. There will be donation buckets to benefit Plus-1.

Come out and enjoy a little MLGW music during Memphis in May, and support the performers who are contributing their time for a good cause. Performances this weekend (May 16-18) are Thursday night from 6-8 p.m., Friday night from 7 p.m. ‘til midnight and Saturday 4 p.m. ‘til midnight. A link for the music lineup for the rest of May can be found on MLGW’s website home page at www.mlgw.com under “Latest News.”