The weather is warming, and trees are blooming, meaning one thing: it is festival season.

Music festivals are always the highlight of the warm months, bringing communities together to dance and celebrate. In 2024, RiverBeat Festival, held in Memphis’ Tom Lee Park, sprang onto the scene after the announcement hiatus of the popular Beale Street Music Fest. With the second iteration of the festival taking place May 2-4, Regalrumination.com sat down with founder, Kevin McEniry, to discuss how it came to be, the focus on sustainability, balancing major acts with local talent, and the community component of the festival.

Regalrumination.com: I really appreciate you taking your time to speak with me and talk about the wonderful RiverBeat Festival. I was absolutely blown away by the first year, and I just had to jump at the chance when I saw the flyer go up for this year, I was like, I have to talk about this because I really love the energy that it brought to the city. It was completely revitalized, and it just felt amazing.

So, I wanted to know if you could tell us a little bit about how it came to be.

Kevin McEniry: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think you know my background somewhat. We initially started with the Mempho Music Festival, which we hold [at] the Botanic Garden. And as location is key to that festival, the same is true of RiverBeat at Tom Lee Park, which is just an incredible place to have a festival. The Botanic Garden also offers just a wonderful spot to create an experience. And so, for us, that’s always key. Location isn’t everything, but it’s surely important in choosing where you do these events.

And so, we were very intentional with the choice of venue at the Botanic Garden. We have great respect for Memphis in May, Beale Street Music Festival, and frankly, enjoyed attending it over the years. And we just thought there was something that could be curated on a different level, beyond just, you know, music and moving concessions.

People these days are looking for experiences so we wanted to create something that would be a memory for them. We were also very strategic about choosing October. We weren’t necessarily afraid of competing with Beale Street [Music Festival], but we wanted Mempho to be additive to the city calendar. We didn’t want to create any competition between the two organizations, Memphis in May, and Mempho Presents. At that time, we’d already been in the event business. We’d done stuff, at multiple Memphis music festivals going back to, I believe 2018. And we’d done a lot of smaller events at venues like Minglewood Hall to the Levitt Shell.

When we learned that there was potentially going to be a sabbatical for Beale Street Music Festival, and no one was sure it would come back again, the opportunity presented itself to bring RiverBeat to the banks of the great Mississippi at Tom Lee Park. We just thought that the park is just such a fabulous asset to the city and we are glad we did it because RiverBeat is now the largest music festival in the mid-South.

I’m a lifelong Memphian. I spent a little time in the eastern part of the state when I was in college. But outside of that, I’ve been in Memphis. And Memphis has been really good to me.

Part of our mission is really to give back to the city. And when you look at what drives tourism in Memphis, which drives the economics, frankly, music’s up there at the top of it. And so, for us, it was an opportunity to do something we love, which is curate an event where we pay attention to all details. We never become too smart to learn from things we saw in the past. But it just seemed like a great opportunity to step in.

The park wanted a partner, we were looking for a space to produce the event. And so frankly, it really came together quickly and in a three-month period, we managed to curate an experience that was incredible. We understand it’s the long game, but we had a great first year and we’re just looking to build on that success and keep getting stronger in our second year.

NW: You were talking about creating an experience. Can you tell us a little bit about what’s a part of the festival that sets it apart and makes it such an experience for everybody? What steps have you taken to really take that to the next level?

McEniry: Yeah, I mean the attention to detail on every level. You know, when you’re talking about memories and creating experiences, you need to get everything right. And so the additional things we bring in like the Ferris wheel, family activities, fireworks, local vendors etc., that’s an amazing addition. And we think we’ve got an offering for everybody. We want to make sure that the ticket buyers on all levels have an experience. Experience that is worth the money they pay for that experience. And so, when you look at the General Admission experience, it’s fabulous and great value. We’ve also got a VIP experience, which is fabulous and we’ve sold suites to the event, with great vantage points, concierge service and so on. And so, I think in our curation is very particular.

We want to attract fans from the regional area, because obviously that drives the tourism. We see people coming from all the “drivable” states and far afield for the music. We also wanted to make sure we also focus on local acts as well. You’re originally from Memphis. So, you know this is the home of rock ‘n’ roll. I mean, this is where it started. It could be argued that it’s the home of soul as well, and certainly could be argued that it’s the home of R&B.

I mean, you’ve seen the lineup for RiverBeat 2025 with Missy Elliott, The Killers and Anderson .Paak headlining. It has something that appeals to everybody and we try and run a little bit of a thread through each day where, if you were particularly interested in Missy Elliott, there may be someone in that same genre on that day that would draw you in, but then the day’s not necessarily comprised of just a single genre.

And I just think the other thing is when you’re playing long game, what we’re doing is we’re creating a brand. We’ve been successful with the Mempho Music Festival, in fact we’re working on the lineup for it now. It’ll be a great lineup. That brand is being built. This brand’s being built right now. Our attention is on making sure that the experience on all levels is excellent. And the park, just the layout of the park, all the foliage and just being right there on the river, I can’t think of another festival out there with that kind of ambience. There’s a lot of them that are unique and that are equally as good as ours, but there’s just not one really that’s in that type of environment.

We do recognize that we are competing with hundreds of other festivals, so out production has to be world class and modern, with the best sound, lighting and effects. If we don’t get that part right it doesn’t matter how nice the Ferris wheel is, how nice the fireworks are, how nice the lighting is, or how good the food is. First of all, we’re going to make sure that from your ability to see and hear the music and enjoy an event with great lights, that’s going to be done period. We’re just going to try and add the icing to the cake where we can. And the involvement of Boo Mitchell has been great. He’s curated a lot of the talent at RiverBeat. He’s a fellow Memphian, a legend, and, within the industry, typically when Boo calls, you answer the phone.

We’ve been able to put together really exciting stuff in the past. And this year, we’ll have the Royal Studios Blues Jam Featuring Bobby Rush, Dwayne Burnside, Gary Burnside, Kent Burnside, Kenny Kimbrough, Memphis Rap OGs, La Chat, Crunchy Black, Al Kapone, Skinny Pimp, DJ Zirk, Gangsta Pat, DJ Spanish Fly, and special guest host 8 Ball. And it was interesting when we had Jelly Roll last year, as big as Jelly Roll is, it was unbelievable to learn how many artists have been influenced by 15, 20-year-old rap that was created in Memphis. So, the history here is fabulous.

NW: When I was growing up, I remember Jelly Roll being on Lil Wyte albums and really being a part of that Memphis rap scene. So, for him to grow and evolve to where he is now, it does create that thread of community.

You were also talking about Tom Lee Park and how it’s such a wonderful staging place for the festival in itself. Can you talk a little bit about how the revitalization of Tom Lee Park and everything that the city has done for it helped spur this, helped y’all jump on this opportunity, because I think that’s also a very crucial location. And since they did that, the redevelopment has really taken off.

McEniry: Well, you know, it creates a great environment for our festival. And, the revitalization of that area has been really great for the city, it really just spotlighted that asset on the river, not only during the summer months, all year round. When they came in and spent major money revitalizing this asset, the best thing is not only that we’re able to enjoy it as a producer of great events, but that people on a daily basis are walking in and out of that park, getting some kind of experience, getting some kind of memory, getting a meaning out of life. And the revitalization has really allowed that park to be amplified over the year rather than just at certain points of the year.

So, for us, once we were committed to the site, our job was to figure out how we could best utilize the site. And we were worried there may be limitations. But frankly, at the level of capacity, we didn’t find there were real limitations. It’s a beautiful place. You’ve been there.

NW: Oh, absolutely. It’s lovely. With those revisions [to the park], can you talk a little bit about your focus on sustainability. How you’re taking care of this reenergized location with your festival?

McEniry: It’s a zero-waste type scenario. And so that was our real start, was really to try and leave zero imprint, if we could, from a waste standpoint. The next part was about using equipment that is as eco-friendly as possible, and certainly, there’s more to do on this.

The other thing is we wanted [was] to ‘do no harm’. I would say the park presents a unique opportunity to really damage it if you’re not careful. And so, if we want to have that asset around long-term and we want to be good stewards of the park, then we need to make sure that one, we build a festival that is as eco-friendly as possible, but two, that we build a model that’s sustainable over time that will eventually, you know, help this city get to this point they want economically.

When we set up Mempho Festival, we had a five-year contract. And we were looking at the Botanic Garden, similar to Tom Lee Park. They’ve got beautiful grass right in front there. And so, we were determined not to damage that grass. And so, when we investigated opportunities, there’s a product out there called Terraplas that was originally developed, as I understand it, to put on concerts at [Wembley Stadium] on top of the grass. This product is engineered at a point where it spreads the weight of whoever’s on top of it more evenly across the product.

And so, what we find is if we put that product down over areas where you do not want to damage the grass, it’ll be down for about a week through the event, but then when you pull it up, the grass may be a little yellow, but within a couple of days, it’ll green up again. The other benefit of the Terraplas, as nice as it is to stand on grass, it makes the experience of being on uneven surfaces more comfortable. You were there. I mean, if you stand on that product, it’s totally different from standing on hard floors or concrete. And it provides an elevated experience for the fan, especially if it rains, you not standing in a mud bath.

Well, and I’d be remiss to say you probably watched the Super Bowl, I imagine. Well, that part of that halftime act was done on top of my plastic Terraplas. So actually when we’re not using it, we move it around to different events when we’re not using it. So that product’s been under the Rolling Stones’ feet. That product’s been under ‘s feet. I could name others. When I say that product, I’m not talking about the actual Terraplas, I’m talking about our Terraplas has been under the feet of all those bands.

NW: That’s astounding. Speaking of those big names can you talk about the balance between those acts that you’re bringing in and the focus on the local Memphis acts? You have the WYXR Showcase with the Memphis Rap OGs and some local blues bands. How do you balance that roster and ensure there’s something for everybody?

McEniry: You know, the funny thing is that we involve typically a company, well, someone that produces events like we do would have a small committee that would go out and source the acts.

And, you know, when we look at our different events, RiverBeat, we’re trying to track a slightly younger demographic. At Mempho Fest and other events, we track a little older, but across our brands we are reaching the widest possible audience of music lovers, young to old. Our team is wildly diverse with really young people all the way up to 58 and beyond. We have representation that is reflected in our artist choices and the fan trends for a multi-genre type of experience. We know we’ve got to have quality acts, at the top for sure, supported by local talent and quality acts below who match up.

And then beyond that, we want to be good stewards. One, we’re not going to support local Memphis artists just to support them. If they don’t create an experience that’s great for the fans, then we’re not going to bring them on. So, it is a, I mean, it’s a real process. You know, we’re very intentional. We can’t always get it right. But we’re always trying to look at “do we have enough representation of each genre?”

We’re very intentional. And we’re proud, frankly, that this year we’ve been able to do a better job of bringing some female artists out as well as the local talent. The thing that’s exciting for us is that we know the local bands, we know who’s good, and it’s just a matter of making sure that we give them the opportunity. It’s important for our community to see them, but it’s important for these artists to have that opportunity to grow.

NW: Awesome. You were talking about how the festival team includes some people in their 50s, but you also have another mission focusing on the youth market. Can you tell us a little bit about how you’re focusing on using this to help connect children to the arts and where that mission stems from, and maybe a few examples on how you’ve fostered those connections?

McEniry: Yeah, we have a cause component to all our festivals and events. Last year, we partnered with an organization called Positive Legacy and held an auction of music memorabilia that was donated to us, to our festival, and raised funds for worthy causes like Le Bonheur, Stax Music Academy, and Soulsville Foundation. We will do that again this year. We’re also partnering with the Church Health Center and bringing kids in from Stax Music Academy to shadow some of our people, work behind the scenes and offer them the experience you won’t get in the classroom. We also last year, and we’ll do it this year again, we gave away 1,000 tickets to the school system to enable kids to experience RiverBeat. What we are trying to do is to bring folks out that may not have an opportunity to experience this and that they may become interested in the arts and it may change the focus of their life or the path of their life.

But, you know, what was really revealing for me last year, where I really felt like I achieved something, was watching the Stax Music Academy kids backstage with Roots. I literally watched it, the guys from Roots went in and the first thing that they did was kind of blocking and tackling and talking to the kids. One asked a kid: “What do you do?” You know, the guy said, “I play bass.” And he said, “No, you play in a band.” That’s a moment and a lesson that kid will never forget.

But it was an opportunity to actually see the band, The Roots work with these kids. And not only could you see it was something that the kids were learning, but you could also see that The Roots were proud of what they were doing. So that’s something we’ll definitely replicate at RiverBeat again this year.

NW: I love that so much because Memphis has such a great music history and having a band as storied and talented as The Roots is an amazing opportunity for anybody growing that love for music.

McEniry: Well, at this point, we’re working on the fans. We’ve worked hard to earn our legitimacy through Mempho Fest, Riverbeat, Shell Daze and other events. Before we were a startup, now we have bands calling us. But we’re not going to drag anybody to the dance. If someone doesn’t want to come to the dance, we’re not going to try and talk them into it. And frankly, what’s so, what I’m so proud of this year, this is our second year at RiverBeat, but the agencies and the artists now have an interest in partnering with us. They know that it’s going to be a first-class event. And I mean, you can look from the bottom to the top, the lineup is just quality all the way through. And partially that’s our curation of the lineup. But the other part of it is, you know, we’ve got the “pretty girls” wanting to come to the dance with us now.

Here’s my card. Can you see my card? It says founder, executive producer, maker of memories. And, you know, the guys that asked me what I wanted on my card, I told them this and they called me back and said: “Really, what do you really want on there? I know you don’t want to put maker of memories on there.” And I said that that’s foundational to what we do. And I want it to be on my card because I don’t want this to become stale. I want us to adapt. I want us to make changes that benefit the fans. And if we’re not making memories, we’re not doing our job.

If someone says, yeah, it was some good music. It was a cool festival. We don’t want them to say that. We want them to say, “Man, if you didn’t go to RiverBeat, you missed something big.” And so, from the top down, every event we do, anything, nothing should become everyday work for us. Every event needs to be curated with the things we know that will work well, but we also need to make sure that, hey, we’re differentiating ourselves in some way where a fan’s going to walk away and they’re going to have a great memory.

They’re not just going to remember hearing Jelly Roll sing this song or Missy Elliott sing that song. It’s the full experience from the music to the Ferris wheel, to the blanket on the banks of the Mississippi, to the fireworks, or the bridge lit up at night, or the projections. They are going to walk away with, wow, that was something, that was unique and special.

Right now, I’m in Longboat Key, Florida, and I got a house in Wyoming. And so, you know, I could spend six months in good weather here, six months in good weather in Wyoming. And a lot of people that had the success I had, I sold a company and retired at 52 years old, would do that. But, you know, my love for Memphis is so strong. The city has been good to me. I built a very successful business headquartered in the city, and I feel not only obligation, but pride in supporting Memphis any way I can.

We’re fortunate and [have] relationships on all levels. I’m very close with the mayor, Paul Young, and, you know, we’re involved in anything artist-wise that could potentially help the city. There’s a report that’s just recently come out, by Sound Diplomacy, that really does an overall analysis on the arts and music environment. We worked with the mayor and the city and we funded a portion of that report, but it’s basically a road map for how, if you increase the arts and culture within your city and the benefits, both long term and short term, at all levels. And I’m proud to be a Memphian. I’m proud to help any way I can. And we’re just looking for partners that will help us help Memphis.

NW: I love to see all the positive work that y’all have poured into the city. It really has been very noticeable with all of the festivals. There’s always something productive to do in almost every season, so you’ve really created a lane there that is extremely necessary and wonderful, especially the way that it’s been developing lately.

You were talking about adaptations earlier. Is there anything that you had last year that you’re eager to improve on this year?

McEniry: I mean, sponsorship is key to us, obviously. But what we’re trying to do on the sponsorship level is the same thing we’re trying to do within the festivals, have a win, win, win. We’ve got happy festival participants, we’ve got happy artists, we’ve got happy partners that work with us. So, we’re trying to build out a sponsorship network that sees it not as a cost to invest in our festival, but sees it as an investment in our festival and the city’s future. So, over the years, we’ve had much better success growing that sponsorship base. And what it tells us is that the sponsors that we are bringing in see real value in what we’re doing and believe over time that that value will be an investment that will be repaid back to them.

NW: Is there anything you’re particularly excited about for this upcoming, for your second, annual RiverBeat Festival?

McEniry: Well, I hate to be selfish, but I’m looking forward to attending. I mean, it was great last year, but this year is going to be amazing with the line-up we have. You know, we’re praying for good weather, and we’ve improved the layout for this year, still five stages and a lot going on, but we’ve opened up the Butler Street entrance, which will make the park very accessible and be good for businesses in that area who will benefit from all the passing foot traffic.

What I think I’m most excited about is our goal. We thought we put on a great festival last year. And what we want to be able to say this year is, “Boy, 2024 was great, but it was nothing like 2025.” We just want to keep raising the bar and making the experience better.