By Cate Cunningham
Blues. Soul. Rock ‘N’ Roll. It is no secret that the city of Memphis has a rich musical and creative history. Before I moved here, essentially all I could tell you about the city was that it had some connection to Elvis Presley, B.B. King, and the mystical idea of “the blues.” As a wannabe musician myself, I looked forward to being in a city that was so famous for its music– but commercially, what I found was perhaps closer to a broken record than a blossoming city of creatives. On the surface, it can be hard to escape the street-corner covers of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” This city has grit and character, full of genuine hearts, yet something about Beale Street seems to construct a facade. The longer I have been here, the more I question whether this facade is beneficial to the genuine hearts I have come to know. So, I asked one.
Bailey Bigger, a folk artist from Marion, Arkansas, was raised in a household that valued Memphis music. Just a couple miles across the Mississippi, Bailey mentions Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin as beloved childhood soundtracks and even has a pretty incredible anecdote about a dance competition on stage with B. B. King. Although she looked outward for folk inspirations, citing Joni Mitchell and John Denver, it is clear that the Memphis music scene influenced Bailey’s person, and consequently, her music.
Bailey talks about Memphis as an “underdog” city. Relatively cheap to live, less-than-developed, genuine (and maybe even weird). This, according to her, is the appeal: authenticity. She watched cities like Nashville become commercialized and sold as an attraction, conglomerating individuals into one big idea of “country music.” We talked a bit about our fears for Memphis– is Beale Street becoming a little too “Disneyland”? Why is Memphis marketing itself as a glimpse into the past instead of a step into the future? It is certainly a balance: being proud of our rich history while upholding current, genuine individuals and groups. These individuals, from Bailey’s perspective, have made her journey as a musician so much more intimate. Although this came as a bit of a surprise to me, Bailey affirms that Memphis has a very small, close-knit community that loves singers/songwriters. With a city the size of ours, I was not expecting to hear that the music community felt “small,” yet, Bailey mentioned numerous bands, individuals, and venues of all genres that she has not only worked with but befriended. Small venues like South Main Sounds, Otherlands Coffee, and Railgarten have given her the opportunity to meet other musicians and perform in multi-genre concerts, which in turn established a wide fan base. Bailey is also on the Artist Advisory Counsel for Music Export Memphis, a group that affirms Memphis’s “rich musical heritage” and works to provide opportunities for upcoming artists, not only for the artists themselves, but to benefit and build up the city as a whole.
So, I would like to think that Memphis is stepping in the “right” direction. We have nonprofits like Music Export Memphis, schools like Soulsville Charter School, and museums like Stax. I truly believe that there is a feasible way to maintain our authenticity and grow as a city. And so, it seems, does Bailey, who ended our conversation by telling me that if her music career takes off, she hopes to settle in Memphis again. “When you’re on the road all the time,” she tells me, “the number one thing you want to do after is be home.” And for us, Memphis is home.
You can catch Bailey Bigger perform at 6:00pm on November 4th at Spring Creek Ranch and at 4:00pm, November 7th, at Railgarten.
Cover Photo by Harris Beauchamp