{"id":12094,"date":"2022-04-22T10:55:30","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T15:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/?p=12094"},"modified":"2024-12-06T11:48:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T17:48:17","slug":"venue-profile-overton-park-shell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/play\/venue-profile-overton-park-shell\/","title":{"rendered":"Venue Profile: Overton Park Shell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Jayne Ellen White<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing about <a href=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/\">Memphis<\/a>, we will show up for free outdoor live music rain or shine\u2013\u2013 but when the weather is right, the Overton Park Shell\u2019s concert series experience becomes almost utopian. Families, couples, joggers, tourists, students, and <a href=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/live\/\">live music<\/a> lovers from all over the Midsouth region and beyond flock to the venue with blankets, chairs, and even full picnics to groove to the sounds of \u00a0live music of every genre, for everyone. In the old forest that is Overton Park, you get that great outdoors vibe in the middle of the city. The neighborhoods nearby can hear the echoes of voices of backup singers, horn sections, bug spray cans, and laughter. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Previously known as The Levitt Shell, you may have heard Memphians call the venue simply, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Shell, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but no matter the name, the recently rebranded<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overton Park Shell holds a deep piece of our community&#8217;s cultural identity. Originally built inside of Overton Park by the Works and Progress Administration in 1936 as part of the New Deal, the Overton Park Shell has been host to historic concerts and festivals including Elvis Presley\u2019s first paid concert in July of 1954, as well as the annual Memphis Country Blues Festivals during the Civil Rights era. While other similar bandshell\u2019s like it were built by the World Progress Administration, Memphis\u2019 Overton Park Shell is one of the last existing of its kind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12098 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/3ef972d908cf7c0c3634bd7ecbf1e3ae-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/3ef972d908cf7c0c3634bd7ecbf1e3ae-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/3ef972d908cf7c0c3634bd7ecbf1e3ae.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through its 85 years of history, the Shell was almost demolished to make way for a parking lot and a theater, amongst other things. In 2007, the venue underwent renovation and was, in so much, saved by the Levitt Foundation\u2019s investment. The Overton Park Shell\u2019s Executive Director, Natalie Wilson, noted the Levitt Foundation as key to the current success of the organization. \u201cAs a result of [Levitt Foundation\u2019s] steadfast support,\u201d Wilson said, \u201cThe Shell has flourished to become a city-wide destination for multicultural programming as well as a committed community partner showcasing other non-profits.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most recently, the venue led the community as an example for health conscious, distanced, live\u00a0 music operating during the pandemic, and has once again announced a full lineup of Orion Free Concert Series for summer and fall 2022. The lineup boasts some of Memphis\u2019 favorite local artists like Don Lifted, Sensational Barnes Brothers, and The Reigning Sound in addition to national touring acts like The New Respects and The Nude Party. In accordance with the venue\u2019s mission <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to build community through music and education, finding common ground in a diverse audience<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the organization recently partnered with the Deaf Connect of the Mid-South to provide Certified Deaf Interpreters to many of its performances during the upcoming series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12097 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-2-240x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-2-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-2-480x600.png 480w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-2.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The venue\u2019s paid <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shell Yeah! Benefit Concert Series<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> directly supports the venue\u2019s free programing, and features nationally recognized headliners, and VIP ticket options. This year\u2019s lineup includes bands like St. Paul And The Broken Bones, and Durand Jones and the Indicators. Whether you are looking to impress, or indulge\u2013 this paid series provides the stage to support the organizations\u2019 free concert programming. The dance floor WILL be open!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12095 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-230x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-230x300.png 230w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-786x1024.png 786w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-768x1001.png 768w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-1178x1536.png 1178w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-1571x2048.png 1571w, https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/unnamed-1-460x600.png 460w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You may also be interested in: <a href=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/explore\/things-to-do-in-the-suburbs-of-memphis\">Things to do in the suburbs of Memphis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jayne Ellen White One thing about Memphis, we will show up for free outdoor live music rain or shine\u2013\u2013 but when the weather is right, the Overton Park Shell\u2019s concert series experience becomes almost utopian. Families, couples, joggers, tourists, students, and live music lovers from all over the Midsouth region and beyond flock to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":12099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,3],"tags":[5103,117,5491],"class_list":["post-12094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-play","tag-live","tag-memphis-music","tag-memphis-music-venues"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Overton Park Shell: Iconic Memphis Venue for Live Music<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the history and charm of Overton Park Shell, also known as Levitt Shell Memphis, a must-visit 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