Busking to return to Main Street in Downtown Memphis this summer
Downtown Memphis will be getting some new sidewalk entertainment soon.
On May 22, the Center City Development Corp., an affiliate board of the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC), approved a $30,000 special request grant for the entertainment program, Main Street Sounds 2.0.
"We want to amplify music and performance culture and make summer 2025 more memorable," said Sara Barrera, DMC economic development manager.
The initiative will reactivate 11 Downtown Memphis' Main Street corridor sections with live entertainment and musical acts. Barrera said the performances will aim to bring "busking" back to Downtown. (The term refers to street performers.)
The street acts will be located along Main Street between Peabody Place and Jefferson Avenue. Barrera said the program is modeled after the Main Street Sounds program from 2017, which brought busking to Downtown Memphis for 10 weeks.