Center for Southern Folklore

    The Center for Southern Folklore is located on Main Street in Downtown Memphis, where the Mississippi River touches the high bluffs along the riverfront.
 
    We're a private non-profit organization dedicated to documenting and celebrating the people, music and traditions of the region. When you come to the Center, you're entering the home for what we love and treasure about the South.

    You can shop and peruse The Folklore Store to find unique gifts and works of art that speak to and about the South.  You can even have a cuppa coffee and Miss Ella's peach cobbler then come back at night to have a beer and hear a band.

    You can explore The Heritage Hall & Galleries and sit in our "media lounge" to view some of our documentaries about the South.  Come back later and you just might catch a band or host your own unforgettable event in our unique spaces.

    Every year during the Labor Day weekend we present our signature event: The Memphis Music & Heritage Festival.  It's a family friendly, free festival that includes five stages of music, dance, storytelling, food and more - it's the hootenanny that showcases the culture and traditions of the Delta region that we are pledged to "preserve and protect".

    Throughout the year we bring many of these performers (and a few more!) to you at our stages in The Folklore Store and in Folklore Hall for shows including blues, jazz, soul, gospel, rockabilly, country, folk, bluegrass, poetry, dance and the occasional surprise - check our calendar often!  Or, better yet like out Facebook Page to stay up to date.

    You can also catch many of these performers and crafts people during one of our "Cultural Excursions" - field trips and tours - for a more in depth and intimate experience of this corner of the world.  Create your own cultural event by hosting a meeting or party in our unique setting.  For further information contact us.

    It's easy to include us as part of your visit to Memphis.  When you're at the Center for Southern Folklore you're within walking distance of the Mississippi River, Mud Island, Beale Street, The National Civil Rights Museum, The Orpheum Theatre, The FedEx Forum, Gibson Guitar Factory, Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum and The Peabody Hotel - to name just a few special places nearby.