Mempho Music Festival

What Mempho Music Festival does

Mempho Music Festival is an annual three-day live music event operated by Forward Momentum, LLC (DBA Mempho Presents) in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2017, the festival has run every year since — moving from Shelby Farms Park (2017-2019) to its current home at Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden in 2021, with the 2026 edition scheduled for October 9-11. The product is a multi-stage live music experience covering genres including rock, blues, funk, hip-hop, and Americana, with differentiated attractions such as the Incendia Dome (an interactive geodesic installation with silent disco and propane flame effects) and a tiered ticket architecture (GA, GA+, VIP, Platinum) plus premium parking upgrades.

The business runs on a cashless, RFID-enabled wristband ticketing and payment system delivered through Front Gate Tickets, with identity-verified discount programs for students (gofevo.com) and teachers/military/first responders (ID.me). The customer base is consumer-only and distributed across multiple ticket tiers and discounted segments, with no enterprise or B2B customers. The company operates with 11-50 employees, sells tickets through Front Gate Tickets and on-site box office, distributes merchandise through the Mempho Presents online store and on-site tents, and generates additional revenue from F&B vendor commissions, RFID-linked cashless payment transaction fees, and corporate sponsorships anchored by Radians, Inc. as the venue naming-rights partner.

Monetization is concentrated in a single annual event window, with off-season revenue limited to online merchandise and ongoing sponsorship relationships. The festival is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or ownership structure, and the available data does not indicate any AI/ML capabilities, M&A activity, or expansion beyond the Memphis metropolitan area.

Name

Mempho Music Festival

Legal name

Forward Momentum, LLC

Website

https://memphofest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mempho Music Festival is an annual three-day live music event produced by Forward Momentum, LLC (Mempho Presents) in Memphis, Tennessee. It sells tiered GA, GA+, VIP, and Platinum tickets, plus merchandise, parking, and sponsorships, to general festival-goers through Front Gate Tickets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festival

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Outdoor Amphitheater & Open-Air Venue Operations (MPAGALAG), VIP, Hospitality & Premium Experiences (Packages, Clubs, Suites) (MPAIAFAK)

Keywords

• Live music festival
• Music event promotion
• Festival ticketing
• Live concert events
• Outdoor entertainment

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling tickets at multiple tiers: General Admission, GA+, VIP, and Platinum. Both single-day and 3-day passes are offered. The festival employs dynamic pricing through early bird discounts and tiered ticket categories.
2. Food & Beverage Vendor Commissions: Regional and local food and beverage vendors operate within the festival grounds, with the festival likely earning commissions or rent from vendor placements. Vendors include Bru Brothers Coffee, Gus's Fried Chicken, Freewheelin' Pizza, and others.
3. Merchandise Sales: Official Mempho Fest and artist merchandise sold at merch tents throughout the festival and via the Mempho Presents online store.
4. Premium Parking: Premium parking upgrades sold for $40 per day or $115 for all three days, providing closer parking to the venue entrance.
5. Wristband Cashless Payments: Attendees can link wristbands to credit cards for on-site purchases, generating transaction revenue and potentially offering commission-based payment processing.
6. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors support the festival, including Radians as the venue naming rights partner and other sponsors featured in the sponsor section.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mempho Music Festival is an annual three-day live music festival produced at Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring live performances across multiple stages from national and regional artists. Revenue is generated through tiered ticket sales (General Admission, GA+, VIP, Platinum), premium parking upgrades, festival merchandise, food and beverage vendor arrangements, and corporate sponsorships. The event operates on a fully cashless basis using RFID-enabled wristbands provided through Front Gate Tickets.

Product overview

Mempho Music Festival is an annual three-day music festival produced by Mempho Presents, held at Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival offers multiple ticket tiers: General Admission (GA), GA+ (with exclusive hangout lounge), VIP (with dedicated viewing areas and premium amenities), and Platinum (luxury suite access with complimentary food and cocktails). Additional offerings include Premium Parking upgrades, official festival merchandise, and the immersive Incendia Dome experience featuring a Silent Disco. The festival operates a cashless system using RFID wristbands linked to Front Gate Tickets for entry and payment processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mempho Music Festival Annual three-day music festival held at Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden, featuring live performances from multiple artists across multiple stages, with ticket tiers ranging from General Admission to Platinum.
• Premium Parking Upgrade Upgraded parking option in the closest lot to Radians Amphitheater, available as a single-day ($40) or 3-day ($115) add-on at checkout.
• Mempho Fest Official Merchandise Official Mempho Fest and artist merchandise sold at merch tents throughout the festival and through the Mempho Presents online store.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Radians, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal company Radians partnered with Memphis Botanic Garden to become the naming rights sponsor of Radians Amphitheater. This partnership supports the concert venue hosting world-class musicians and artistic performances. The amphitheater has been home to Mempho Music Festival since 2021.
• Front Gate TicketscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial ticketing partner for Mempho Music Festival. Handles all ticket sales including GA, GA+, VIP, and Platinum passes. Provides wristband RFID technology for event entry and cashless payments. Also manages customer support for ticketing issues.
• Memphis Botanic GardencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for Mempho Music Festival since 2021. The 96-acre urban oasis in Memphis provides the setting for Radians Amphitheater, which has hosted world-class musicians for over 20 years through various concert series.
• gofevo.comminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTicketing platform partner for distributing student discount tickets with 10% off GA passes for verified college and university students.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Outside Lands Music Festival: San Francisco park-based multi-stage festival that pioneered tiered VIP/hospitality within a parkland venue — directly analogous venue/amenity model to Radians Amphitheater.
• Forecastle Festival: Multi-stage music festival in Louisville, KY, with curated rock/electronic lineups; comparable in scale and tiered-ticket structure to Mempho Music Festival.
• Pilgrimage Music Festival: Annual boutique music festival in Franklin, TN, with a similar jam/Americana/roots lineup profile and comparable tiered-ticket model; the closest 'boutique Southeast festival' analog to Mempho's positioning.
• Beale Street Music Festival: Annual Memphis-based music festival (held during Memphis in May) run by Memphis in May as part of the Memphis Music Fest tradition; the most direct local competitor to Mempho Music Festival for artists, sponsors, and regional attendees.
• Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival: Tennessee-based multi-stage music festival (Manchester, TN) featuring jam/rock/Americana headliners; competes with Mempho for the same touring acts and Southeast music-festival attendee dollars.
• Governors Ball Music Festival: New York City multi-stage festival with comparable tiered ticketing (GA, GA+, VIP, Platinum) and similar genre-blended lineup approach.

Broad incumbents

• AEG Presents: Major nationwide live event promoter operating festivals including Coachella and Stagecoach; sets the competitive bar for artist fees, sponsor packages, and venue standards that an independent festival like Mempho must match.
• Live Nation Entertainment: Global live entertainment conglomerate and parent of Front Gate Tickets (Mempho's ticketing partner); the dominant incumbent festival promoter whose economics and touring pipelines shape what independent festivals like Mempho must clear.
• C3 Presents: Festival promoter behind Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza, and others; a relevant incumbent operator with a directly overlapping multi-tier ticketing and curated-lineup approach.

Regional players

• Austin City Limits Music Festival: Two-weekend multi-stage festival in Austin, TX produced by C3 Presents; reference peer for tiered GA/GA+/VIP/Premium ticketing, sponsor integration, and CRM-driven festival operations that Mempho aspires to.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks12 records

Key highlights14 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/memphofest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/memphofest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mempho Music Festival