Memphis in May is the city's major annual festival season — a month of events in May that includes some of the best-attended music and food events in the South. The Beale Street Music Festival, held on a weekend in early May at Tom Lee Park on the riverfront, draws major headlining acts across multiple stages, with a lineup that typically mixes blues, soul, country, rock, and hip-hop. It is one of the more musically diverse festivals in the region and draws crowds from across the country.
The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, held on a weekend in mid-May at Tom Lee Park, is the most serious competitive barbecue event in the world — over 200 teams competing for the championship title in whole hog, shoulder, and ribs categories. The public can watch, wander between the elaborately decorated team booths, and, in some cases, buy barbecue directly from the competitors. The smells that hang over downtown Memphis that weekend are remarkable. Memphis in May also includes the Sunset Symphony, an outdoor Memphis Symphony Orchestra concert, and various cultural events throughout the month.