MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After two straight disappointing years for Memphis in May, event organizers announced Thursday they are suspending 2024's Beale Street Music Festival.
The 2024 Beale Street Music Festival will be paused and will not take place, Memphis in May said in a statement. The World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest will be held at Liberty Park May 15-18, 2024, and the Great American River Run, will be held Downtown Memphis, on May 25, 2024.
Memphis in May reported a $3.48 million loss for the 2023 event earlier this month, which includes the Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest, which it said was its highest loss ever, eclipsing its previous record loss - 2022 - by more than $1 million.
Festival operators said the more than $1.4 million renovation bill from Memphis River Parks Partnership, which operates Tom Lee Park, was a major factor. Also contributing to the loss was record-low attendance figures, which Memphis in May says is in part due to the park's features forcing it to limit Beale Street Music Fest attendance to 22,000 people.
Memphis River Parks Partnership is taking Memphis in May to court over the renovation bill, but the festival said non-payment isn't an issue for them.
The programming changes for the 2024 festival events were due to the significant financial loss in 2023, challenges producing the festival in the new Tom Lee Park, and the uncertainty surrounding a lawsuit filed against the festival by the Memphis River Parks Partnership.
"Obviously, Memphis in May has built a very authentic brand beginning with the name and location of the music festival," said James L. Holt, President and CEO. "With a pending lawsuit and the event now unwelcomed in the new Tom Lee Park, future Beale Street Music Festivals will face fundamental challenges."
The Beale Street Music Festival is being paused in 2024 to explore all options to present an event in the future that meets the standards and authenticity expected of the brand, Memphis in May said.