"My mom wanted me to have a 9-5 job and always used to tell me that I’d get into the music industry over her dead body, but I think it was inevitable. I’d been inspired by Billy Block while I lived in Nashville, and when I returned to Memphis, I began thinking about opening a venue for musicians to perform their original songs. We had our first songwriters’ night here at South Main Sounds in January of 2015. There were eight musicians that evening and about a hundred people coming in and out. The place has the feel of a juke joint and draws musicians from all over. We’ve had performers from fifteen states and the United Kingdom. It’s really rewarding to see young talent getting their start here; it always makes me smile to be a part of that. They bring friends and family, and everyone just enjoys the evening. Even when they’re not on the program, musicians will come in to hear what’s been played. South Main Sounds has grown over the past year and a half, and now we have shows the second and fourth Friday nights of every month. There's a lot of original work being done in Memphis, and we provide a venue for it. We tell people, There's no cover and no covers. Starting on July 30th, we'll have a weekly show on WREG-TV featuring performers from our songwriters' nights, with possible national distribution of the show in the future. Amazing music is still coming out of Memphis, and the world needs to know about it."
Mark's inspiration, Billy Block:
South Main Sounds Live will air on WREG-TV (Channel 3) early Sunday morning, July 31, at 12:30 am and will showcase several videos from various Songwriters Nights at South Main Sounds.
Mark outside 550 S. Main, with South Main Sally in the window:
Mark Parsell, South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main
Website: Meet Me in Memphis
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Website: South Main Sounds
FB: South Main Sounds
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Website: Meet Me in Memphis
FB: Meet Me in Memphis
Website: South Main Sounds
FB: South Main Sounds
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