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Memphis is music! From the home of blues on Beale Street, to the “Memphis sound” in jazz, it has a long and storied history and it’s own unique soundtrack. If you’re taking guitar lessons in Memphis, you have opportunities to participate in an amazing musical legacy and hear some of the best, most innovative musicians on the planet perform seven nights a week!

Year round, Memphis offers residents and visitors the chance to experience live music of every genre on the many stages around the city. From restaurants and clubs, to concerts and festivals, the music scene in Memphis is varied, vibrant and growing.

As an aspiring guitarist, experiencing live music is a great way to further your studies, network with other like-minded musicians, and stay inspired to keep putting in the hard work! Let’s look at a few of the best live venues to visit after your guitar lessons in Memphis!

Live Music Venues

Any discussion of music in Memphis starts on Beale Street. Running through the heart of Memphis, Beale Street is a melting pot of jazz, delta blues, rock, R&B and gospel. Take a walk down Beale Street and you’ll hear music everywhere! Clubs and restaurants like Rum Boogie Café and BB King’s featuring live blues and jazz seven nights a week, and The Hard Rock Cafe featuring the best in local, regional, and national rock are just steps away from each other!

While musicians like Albert King, Muddy Waters and BB King gave rise to Memphis as the birthplace of the blues, there’s more to the Memphis live music scene than that! New Daisy is on the north end of Beale Street features the newest alternative acts like The Raconteurs and Theory of a Deadman. If you’re a budding jazz guitarist Memphis has got you covered too! Onix on South Main Street features the best live jazz in Memphis every Saturday night. The Memphis Sounds Lounge and The Cove both feature live jazz frequently throughout the week with some of the hottest jazz guitarists in Memphis stopping by.

Jam Sessions

One of the fastest ways to improve as a guitarist is by jamming. If you’re taking guitar lessons in Memphis, you have a bunch of great options to break out your axe and jam! The Memphis Blues Society hosts a series of weekly jam sessions all over town! Sunday’s the session happens at the Rum Boogie Café from 7 to 11p.m.. On Tuesdays, the party moves to The Phoenix, an alternative performance space and gallery located at 1015 S Cooper, where you can play the blues from 8 to 11p.m. For the jazz guitarist, the twice monthly jams at Club Chill (2nd and 4th Sunday) and the Sunday jazz jam at Earnestine and Hazel’s are must stop destinations to get your chops cooking!

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Memphis has to offer the music lover! With annual music festivals catering to the blues, jazz, Americana, rock, bluegrass, hip hop and Christian music, there are always world class guitarists coming to town to check out and meet!

After your guitar lessons in Memphis one final "must see" experience is the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum at 191 Beale Street. Here you’ll find the story of the original Memphis musicians from the 1920s and 30s who, through music, overcame racial and socio-economic barriers. Then they came together to create a scene that changed the world!

Get out and explore music in Memphis. The city will keep you inspired and make you a better guitarist!