Memphis hot takes at Lafayette’s, jazz fusion in Crosstown, and a free jam at Hernando’s

Hey Memphis 👋 It’s Wednesday, and the heat advisory carried over for another day: a high near 99 and a heat index up to 107. So tonight’s lineup lives indoors: a comedy room, a jazz room and a room full of Memphis hot takes, with the first doors opening around 6.

Change My Mind: Memphis Hot Takes — Lafayette’s Music Room, 2119 Madison Ave., 6–8 PM, $12.51. AAF Memphis puts the city’s spiciest opinions on trial, argued out loud in front of a crowd. You laugh, you disagree, and the room votes for the take that wins it over. Details

Everything Yes — The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., 7:30 PM (doors at 7), $20 in advance plus fees, $30 at the door. A North Carolina jazz-fusion band led by drummer Zack Grooves, whose YouTube channel has more than 440,000 subscribers. Two saxophones, keys and bass, pulling from jazz, funk, gospel and prog rock. Details

Laugh Box: Henry Coleman & Antonio Fields — Hattiloo Theatre’s Culture Box, 37 Cooper St., 7 PM (doors at 6:30), $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Coleman has done HBO’s Def Jam Comedy and tours with Kym Whitley and Corey Holcomb; Memphis’ own Fields works in observation and storytelling. It’s a small room, and Hattiloo says these nights often sell out. Details

Open Jam Night — Hernando’s Hide-A-Way, 3210 Old Hernando Rd., 7 PM until late, no cover. Bring your instrument. JD Westmoreland hosts the jam every Wednesday, and the only price of admission is showing up. Details

Return & Restored Revival, night two — Brown Missionary Baptist Church, South Campus, 7200 Swinnea Rd., Southaven, 7 PM, free. The second of two revival nights, with guest artist Jekalyn Carr and guest speaker Pastor Reginald Sharpe. Details

Munch and Learn: Restoring a Historic Black Cemetery — Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park Ave., noon–1 PM, free. Samuel Oldham of Mt Carmel Ally talks about Mount Carmel Cemetery at Elvis Presley and Elliston, a historic African American cemetery that was once abandoned — and where Tom Lee is buried. Bring lunch from the café; you can pre-order at (901) 312-1277. Details

👶 With the kids

Kaleidoscope Club — Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Farnsworth Education Building, 4339 Park Ave., 4–5 PM, $8 and free for members, ages 5 to 9. A weekly art-or-horticulture project, and it’s a drop-off program, so the hour is yours too. Registration is required and space is limited, but sign-ups stay open until the day of class. Details

Cursive Writing Workshop — East Shelby Library, 7200 East Shelby Dr., 3:30–4:45 PM, free, ages 5 to 12. An after-school hour of cursive, the connected, flowing handwriting that the library says helps kids build a strong signature. Details

The Memphis Sports Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2026 tonight at the Renasant Convention Center, led by John Calipari, the winningest coach in University of Memphis basketball history. Stubby Clapp, Stephen Gostkowski and Larry Kenon are among the nine going in. Tickets closed Monday, so this one’s a watch-for-the-photos night. (via Memphis Tourism)

Yesterday’s heads-up is today’s reality: no in-person car tag renewals at the Shelby County Clerk’s Office today while staff work through the backlog. The office stays open for other business, like marriage and business licenses. (via Action News 5)

NextUp901, a new free program from the city and The Collective Blueprint, pays young Memphians 18 to 30 who are out of school and out of work while they train for careers in healthcare, tech and the skilled trades. It adds coaching and help with childcare and transportation, and applications for its CNA track are open now. (via Action News 5)

Artists, this one’s for you: UrbanArt Commission and the City of Memphis want a Memphis-area artist to design a gateway marker and a set of wayfinding street signs for the New Chicago neighborhood, with a $50,000 project budget. The virtual info session is today. (via UrbanArt Commission)

A Sweet Potato Collaboration — Gnarled Oak Farm, 4460 Treadway Rd., Hernando, Saturday, 6:30–8:30 PM, $135.23. A farm-to-table dinner on a regenerative livestock farm, built around the sweet potato and its long road from West Africa to the Southern table, with Delta Dirt Distillery telling its story over the meal. The grazing board alone has sweet potato chips, sweet potato jam and curried sweet potato fries. Details

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at Crosstown — Crosstown Concourse’s Central Atrium, tomorrow, 11 AM–7 PM, free parking. A full day of it: a flamenco guitar and flute duo, Cazateatro’s The Legends of Latin America, a mariachi band from 2 to 4 and Tropical Fusion from 5 to 7, with piñata breaks and crafts in between. Details

WLOK Black Film Festival — starts tomorrow. Thursday is Sarah’s Oil at the Pink Palace, with a red carpet and food samples at 6 and the film at 7, $10. Then Michael at Crosstown Theater Friday, Sinners at Studio on the Square Saturday and Sound of Hope at Playhouse on the Square Sunday afternoon, $5 each. Details

Sonidero Gótico at Cameo — 1835 Union Ave., Thursday, October 1, 8–11 PM, free, 21+. DJs La Femme Radical, Mala Leche and Kid Mestizo kick off spooky season, and you’re told to come in your best vampire cumbiero look. Details

Another heat index north of 100 today, so we’re asking: where do you actually go to cool off in this city? A matinee, a museum, a bar with serious AC, a library with a good chair? Reply and tell us — the best answers might end up in a future issue.

The tip line never closes. No gatekeeping — send it to hey@heymemphis.co.

That’s it for today — see you tomorrow at 6.

— Josh