During the epic journey that was the great American adventure, (more on that in another post) while in Memphis we found ourselves staying in the fabulous Cooper-Young district…
… and fell completely in love with the area. An eclectic mix of bars, bookshops, art spaces, a cat rescue center and the fabulous Java Cabana coffee house.
Sure, there are coffee houses everywhere, I guess, but few are like the Java Cabana.
We dropped in early in the day and had the chance to speak to the proprietor, Mary, and tested out the claim that they served the best coffee in town. For the record it IS pretty good.
Mary encouraged us to come back later in the evening for the weekly open mic night, with a view me getting up and reading part of “Erasure”.
My wife and I agreed to return and I am really glad that we did.
Unfortunately we were too late for me to get my name on the list and thereby inflict my voice on the gathered folk. Although without the pressure to perform I had nothing to do but sit, listen,and drink some world class tea, and munch on a bagel or two.
I can’t say enough about the energy of this place. I saw guitarists follow poets follow singers follow a particularly good ukulele number.
So much talent, all just there to share what they can do.
So what I am saying is this:
No matter what day of the week you might find yourself in Memphis, go and support this space. The people are friendly, the coffee/tea/food is great, and in doing so you’ll be assisting a genuine creative space to simply keep on doing what they they do, which is:
Thursday nights are always open mic, so if you have something to say, or something to play, get down there early (I recommend rolling in around 8pm)
They have live music on other nights, but head to their website for blog information, more importantly go add Java Cabana on facebook – seems to be the most updated contact with regard to gigs etc.
In typical fashion, the facebook presence is not a page, but a friend.
Which makes sense.
Why?
Once you’ve been to the Java Cabana, you’ll see why.
Add them now if you have a mind – .Java Cabana on facebook.
And the website? http://www.javacabanacoffeehouse.com/
Java Cabana Coffee House
2170 Young Avenue
Memphis TN 38104
A.T.H Webber 