Live Music In Memphis This Month: 10+ Shows to See in November

Thursday, November 6

Pine Hill Haints at Hernando’s
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $12.68+

My “I discovered this because of researching for the blog” band of the month. Pine Hill Haints is a folk-punk outfit from Birmingham, Alabama, that blends traditional Appalachian sounds with gothic country and DIY punk energy. So, yeah, imagine that. Give them a listen and go to the show.

Shell on Wheels: MOSH Laser Live ft. Unapologetic. at AutoZone Park Sharpe Planetarium
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $25.75+

Shell on Wheels keeps finding new ways to bring Memphis music into unexpected spaces, and this one is really freaking cool. MOSH Laser Live teams up Shell with the Sharpe Planetarium for a full dome laser experience set to a live set from Unapologetic., and if that doesn’t sound like a November night well spent, I’m not sure what does.

Friday, November 7

Fetty Wap: Nostalgia Tour at Satellite Music Hall
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $75.50+

“Trap Queen” is one of the defining singles of the 2010s and you know you want to hear it live. Fetty Wap’s Nostalgia Tour is exactly what the name promises: a full-on trip back to 2015, when his melodic trap sound was absolutely everywhere. Satellite is a great room for this, and again, if you haven’t been to this new venue, you gotta go. YEAAAAAA BABY.

Sunday, November 9

Bowling for Soup at Satellite Music Hall
Doors: 6:30 PM | Show: 7:30 PM | $50.25+

Bowling for Soup has a ton of bangers, from “1985” to “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” that were on every radio station in America. These Texas pop-punk veterans know how to run a show, and their fanbase shows up hard. If you’ve got any love for early 2000s pop-punk (and honestly, who doesn’t) this is an easy yes on a Sunday night.

Wednesday, November 12

Medium Build at Satellite Music Hall
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $43+

Medium Build is one of those indie acts that’s been quietly building something real for a minute now. I really don’t know how to talk about Medium Build without you just listening to Medium Build. Take a listen to Medium Build and you’ll 100% want to go to the show. Give Medium Build a shot.

Friday, November 14

Squeeze the Squid w/ Sunweight & Kirkos at Growlers Small Room
Doors: 8:00 PM | Show: 9:00 PM | $10

This is the Friday night Memphis underground was built for. Squeeze the Squid brings their psych-inflected weirdness. This is the kind of bill that benefits from walking in knowing nothing: just show up, trust the room, and let it happen.

Cyrena Wages Album Release at Hernando’s
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $28+

An album release show is always a special night, and Cyrena Wages is an artist worth celebrating. A Memphis-rooted singer-songwriter with a voice that cuts through a room and a knack for writing songs with real weight, Wages has been earning her place in the local songwriter conversation for a while now. Hernando’s is the perfect room for this. Come out and be part of the night a new record gets its first proper moment in front of a crowd.

Lyle Lovett at Graceland Soundstage
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $70+

Lyle Lovett is one of American music’s genuinely singular figures. Lovett is a Texas singer-songwriter who’s spent four decades defying every category people try to put him in, blending country, jazz, blues, folk, and big band into something that only sounds like Lyle Lovett. His live shows with the Large Band are performances in the full sense of the word.

Saturday, November 15

Stray Cats at the Orpheum
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $41.35+

The Stray Cats are rockabilly royalty, plain and simple. Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker, and Slim Jim Phantom have been rolling out the “Rock This Town” and “Stray Cat Strut” catalog for over four decades now. I for some reason, had their greatest hits album and know every single song on it to this day. So catchy.

Monday, November 17

Kurt Vile & the Violators w/ Twisted Teens & Optic Sink at Minglewood Hall
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $39.95+

Kurt Vile is one of indie rock’s true originals, who (especially given his recent album) is a Philadelphia lifer who’s spent years making a kind of slacker indie rock music that is ironic given how prolific he is. His records have a hazy, almost meditative quality, but his live shows are simultaneously chaotic and meditative depending on your mood. I love Vile, have seen him many times, but I really think Twisted Teens as an opener is the real draw here. They released two amazing records this year and is really on an indie rock blast off trajectory.

Thursday–Saturday, November 20–22

Memphis Hates You Fest at Hi-Tone
Doors: 7:00 PM nightly | Show: 8:00 PM | $15–$25/night

Memphis Hates You Fest is exactly the kind of three-night underground music event that this city does better than almost anywhere. Hi-Tone plays host to what amounts to a micro-festival spread across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with multiple bands each night.

Monday, November 24

Jodeci 35th Anniversary Tour at the Orpheum
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $71.65+

Thirty-five years in and Jodeci still carries serious weight. The North Carolina R&B group consisting of K-Ci, JoJo, DeVante Swing, and Dalvin DeGrate essentially defined early ’90s new jack swing alongside Keith Sweat and Mary J. Blige, and their catalog holds up completely. “Forever My Lady,” “Come & Talk to Me,” “Feenin’” are all songs that still slap to this day.

Friday, November 28

Mary Hatley at Hernando’s
Doors: 7:00 PM | Show: 8:00 PM | $12.68+

We’ve featured Mary Hatley in this blog before and we’ll keep featuring her as long as she keeps playing, because she’s one of Memphis’s most distinctive singer-songwriters working right now. Go see her immediately when the doors open.