The New Daisy Theatre is a music venue located on

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, t ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. It plays host to both local and national acts, as well the site of rental events. The theater opened in 1936 and has featured artists such as John Lee Hooker, Gatemouth Brown,

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

, Al Green,

Sam and Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (born 1935) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", "The S ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

, the

Cramps A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity; while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the aff ...

, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kid Memphis,

Son Lewis Son Lewis (born Andrew Lewis, December 11, 1951, Paterson, New Jersey) is an American blues singer and guitarist. He was nicknamed "Son" or "Sonny" by his family, to differentiate him from his father, Andrew Lewis Sr. Family He is the son of ...

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, Rufus Thomas, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, the Cult and Oasis,

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, J. Cole,

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thom ...

, and

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, among others. Bob Dylan used the venue to record a video of a song from his Grammy-winning CD '' Time Out of Mind''.

History

In 1942, Paul and Sam Zerilla and their business partner, Joe Maceri, the owners of the original Daisy Theatre, opened the New Daisy Theatre at 330 Beale Street. The Zerillas and Maceri wanted to create a bigger performance space for popular acts. In the first few decades after its opening, the New Daisy Theatre was primarily a

movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

, but sometimes hosted live acts. It had fallen into disrepair by the 1970s, and while several buildings around it were demolished, both the Old Daisy and New Daisy remained intact. In the early 1980s, boxing promoter Mike Glenn began leasing the New Daisy and hosting matches. While boxing helped the theatre financially at the beginning, eventually Glenn began to host concerts, largely of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

, which drew in more money than the boxing, although the latter continued. Glenn sold the New Daisy in Nov of 2014 hosting John Hiatt as the last national act under his storied tenure which hosted many legendary artists and nationally televised boxing matches. In 2014 Steve Adelman and J.W. Gibson purchased the F.G.H. Corporation and the New Daisy Theatre, and in 2015 they invested $500,000 to renovate it. The renovation added a new floor, VIP areas, new bars, as well as new sound and lighting systems. Acts booked for the first two month included Seether,

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members ( Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alab ...

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, Public Image Ltd., Everclear, and Steve Earle. In 2019, Adelman was charged with writing a fraudulent check to former owner Mike Glenn. The charges were then dropped by police due to false claims. Adelman claimed that he intended to file a civil suit against Glenn “to address the wrongful conduct and hold parties accountable for their actions.” Spearheaded by Jon Shivers, with the Downtown Memphis Commission, The New Daisy Theatre will be reopening in 2023 and will play host to local & national touring acts as well as corporate & private events.

Notable Performers

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

- 1989 * Alanis Morissette - 1995 *TOOL - 1996 (December 14) *

- 1997 *

- 1999 *

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

- 2002 * Justin Timberlake - 2003 *

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...

- 2005 *

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukul ...

- 2009 * Childish Gambino - 2011 *

- 2011 *

- 2016 * J. Cole - 2017 *

- 2018

References

External links

Cinematreasures.com

Beale Street In Memphis, January 1, 1944
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Daisy Theatre Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee Culture of Memphis, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Memphis, Tennessee Music venues in Tennessee Cinemas and movie theaters in Tennessee Theatres completed in 1936 Historic district contributing properties in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Memphis, Tennessee Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee 1936 establishments in Tennessee