For the Musically Uneducated: Essential Information

If you live in/near Memphis, TN, and don't care about music, I have just one question: Why?
Why are you here? Why are you wasting your life? Why don't you know what matters? Why don't you know you are living in the best place on earth? Why? Okay, that's six questions.
Mini-rant completed, here's a little hope/help for you.
Two words: DiAnne Price. That's all you need to know. She's all you need to hear to change your bereft existence and your apparently meaningless meandering through your alleged life. DiAnne plays at the downtown Huey's periodically on Sunday nights, she plays at the Vault on the Highland Strip on Wednesdays, and a Crosstown club called Sessions on Thursdays. More often than not, she is accompanied by some combination of Tim Goodwin on bass, Tom Lonardo on drums and Jim Spake on saxes. DiAnne's forte is barrelhouse blues piano with the appropriately smoky, incredible voice that goes with it. She knows every song every written, and no two shows are alike. DiAnne won the Memphis Magazine poll for Best Female Vocalist so many times in a row in the late 80's and 90's that they retired the category. Understand?
Her Boyfriends, as the gentlemen are known, are (not even arguably, really) the finest players on their instruments in this music rich city. Spake's discography is only surpassed by Jim Dickinson's (genuflection accomplished). Goodwin and Lonardo are everywhere with everyone of note, pun intended.
Full Disclosure: DiAnne has been my friend for 16 years, but don't assume any bias here. She is the best, she loves her audience, and by the end of an evening's performance, you will feel that you've known her forever, too.
Mack Orr is another treasure. The stage name is Daddy Mack. By day, hard-working mechanic. By night, a powerful singer and guitar player who decided as a middle-aged man that he needed to let the music out of his soul, and so began to study the guitar. The result is delightful. Mack fronts a band that includes local legends William Faulkner on drums and the brothers James (bass) and Harold Bonner (guitar). These guys have been participants in the fluid world of The Fieldstones over the years, and comprise the house band, as the Universal Blues Players, at the Blue Worm on Lamar on Friday and Saturday late nights. Mack plays all over, and is a warm, gracious man who puts on a great show. Look for him!
Venue: The Center for Southern Folklore, far and away. Judy Peyser maintains a little oasis a couple of blocks off of Beale that is much more authentic Memphis than just about anything you can find today on Beale. A daquiri bar, for crying out loud? Skip it. Go to the Center. No smoking in there, a great bowl of chili and hotwater cornbread, cold beer and real music. Daddy Mack plays there many Fridays. Judy puts on the best music festival in the city every Labor Day weekend (please-go back to including Mondays!). Everybody who's good performs, in every tradition, from the fun old pop of Smoochy and Hooch to the powerful harp of Big George Brock, from the inimitable Billy Gibson and David Bowen to the cool jazz of Renardo Ward's band The Promise, from the gospel of the Orange Mound Messengers to the country train songs of Roy Harper, to my pal DiAnne Price, there is absolutely something for everyone. The Beale Street Music Festival has the name; the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival has the musicians!
For radio, no question, it's WEVL, FM 89.9. My favorite is Cap'n Pete's Blues Cruise, 9 to midnite on Fridays. Delta to Chicago, oldest to newest, with just the right host. This is an education and joy every single week.
I still am waiting for Tater Red to get back on the radio. For years, the Beale Street Blues Show on Rock 103 was my Sunday night wind-down. But then Satanic media destroyers Clear Channel bought the station and wrecked everything good about it, Tater first. He moved over to 107.5, the Pig, an eclectic format, doomed for failure. We Memphians, as a group, don't like our own music. I can only surmise that we're too dumb to see (hear) what we consider a birthright. The Pig put Tater on mornings. Tater isn't a morning, sunshine, stupid cute banter guy. He's a late night, real blues, smokey room kind of guy. No body better at that. Come back, Leo! We need you!
Now, a bit of a left turn: on the internet, check out KALW out of San Francisco late on Monday nights. At 11 pm our time, they play Beale Street Caravan. They follow the Caravan with Mark Naftalin's Blues Power Hour. Then comes Fog City Blues, a really good show hosted by the improbably named Devon Strolovich. Go on Ebay, buy a pMarq stream recorder, set it for 180 minutes at 11 pm at cd quality. Thank me later! (any good audio converter will let you make the .wav file into an mp3, ready to be carried on your personal choice in players--just don't get anything in the abominable ipod line! Creative Vision:M, Creative Zen Micro or Zen MicroPhoto are all excellent, as are the iRiver iFP 799 or 899-I have them all, and recommend them all unreservedly-just stay away from the spawn of Satan ipod! Much like Andre Agassi, all style and marketing, no substance whatsoever!)
Now, take this information to heart, and go grow a soul!