MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The first Beale Street Music Festival by the Liberty Bowl is taking shape.
That means a unique opportunity for those living nearby - but also some parking challenges.
"It's almost here. Friday will be around the corner," Randy Blevins with Memphis In May said Tuesday.
From securing the performance spaces, assembling the sound boards, to even even installing cars on a Ferris Wheel, crews are powering through with their preparations ahead of the first Beale Street Music Festival in Midtown Memphis.
"Today and tomorrow we will be doing the finishing touches, finishing building out the stages, and after that will be all the smaller elements of the festival," Blevins added.
Organizers expect 70,000 fans throughout the weekend.
To offset some of the parking demand around the festival site, about 6,000 fans signed up for a daily shuttle to and from Downtown Memphis.
If you sign up by Thursday at https://memphisinmay.org/events/parking/, there's also a park and ride shuttle from the University of Memphis.
"I would imagine you would need to plan ahead if you can carpool. Also take advantage of bike parking. We have a bike facility, so if you are in Midtown, you can ride your bike over," Blevins said.
Parking for this year's Beale Street Music Festival will be different than most Memphis Tigers football games. Spots along Tiger lane will be barricaded, meaning there are fewer spots overall.
That means parking on surrounding residential streets in Cooper-Young will be in high demand, although organizers expect it to be on par with major neighborhood events pre-pandemic.
"Prepare for the influx of people, plan ahead, over this weekend. Beale street Music Festival is three days. It comes and goes," Blevins said.
"Everyone is anticipating parking not really being available on the street," Taylor Birmingham said, who lives two blocks from Tiger Lane in Cooper-Young.
While she expects parking pains around her, Birmingham said most in her neighborhood are thankful to walk over the one year the Beale Street Music Festival will be so close by.
"I'm sure some people will check out and go somewhere else if they don't want to deal with the hoopla, but for the most part, most of my neighbors are young and are excited about it," Birmingham added.
Wednesday, Memphis Police and City of Memphis leaders will provide additional details on festival parking options, entry points and security.
You can also be prepared by visiting: memphisinmay.org/events/beale-street-music-festival/.