Hello, 2025! The new year brings all kinds of new attractions, restaurants and experiences to the Bluff City. Read on to discover what else is new in Memphis in 2025, from developments at the National Civil Rights Museum to new exhibits at Elvis Presley’s Graceland.
Hello, 2025! The new year brings all kinds of new attractions, restaurants and experiences to the Bluff City. Read on to discover what else is new in Memphis in 2025, from developments at the National Civil Rights Museum to new exhibits at Elvis Presley’s Graceland.
1. Celebrate Elvis Presley’s 90th Birthday at Graceland
Elvis Presley’s Graceland is celebrating the King of Rock and Roll’s 90th birthday in 2025. No worries if you can’t make it to town for the birthday celebration in January. The year-long 90 for 90 exhibit features 90 curated artifacts from over 1.5 million within the Graceland Archives. See handpicked items that give further details about Elvis’ life and career, including his sketchbook, an August 1954 Blackwood Brothers Quartet performance card, a realtor card for the first home Elvis purchased and more.
Get an inside look at Elvis’s iconic 1973 performance in Hawaii through artifacts, audio clips, photography and videos as part of the Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii Experience opening on April 4, 2025. Take photos on the set of an Elvis movie with the Elvis in Hollywood Photo Ops exhibit offering new scenes in August 2025. Also opening in August, The Colonel exhibit details the life of Colonel Tom Parker, his relationship with Elvis and Parker’s role in his career.
For an exclusive experience, book the Presley for a Day Tour. This seven-hour experience includes a guided tour of Elvis Presley’s Memphis, an outdoor tour of the mansion grounds, a horseback ride through the front pasture, a private dinner at the recently restored Moriah’s House, a peak into the Graceland Archives and an after-hours mansion tour
2. New Exhibits at Memphis’ Biggest Museums
Head to the Graceland Exhibition Center to see Pompeii: The Exhibition. Running through April 13, 2025, the exhibit details the historic Roman city that was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Learn more about the catastrophe and the city’s history and culture through 150 artifacts and interactive media.
The National Civil Rights Museum is hosting a new exhibit on Bayard Rustin, advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and racial equality and human rights activist. Guests can learn more about Rustin’s life and role in the American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of artifacts. The exhibit opens March 29, 2025, and will run through the end of the year. 2025 also marks the 60th anniversary of the Selma March and Voting Rights Act. Stay tuned for special programming highlighting these major Civil Rights Movement anniversaries.
The trolls are coming to Memphis Botanic Garden this February! Guests are invited to explore the gardens to see recycle artist Thomas Dambo’s larger-than-life sculptures. The exhibit mixing sustainability, art and nature, TROLLS: Save the Humans, runs Feb. 3 – May 21, 2025.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is a must for art enthusiasts. Beyond the Surface: The Art of Handmade Paper (through April 6, 2025) showcases fascinating creations of hand papermaking. Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium (through April 28, 2025) is a captivating kinetic art display demonstrating ocean currents. Click here to see the Brooks Museum’s current and upcoming exhibits.
See Jennifer Watson: Small Spaces (Jan. 26 – April 13, 2025), Chris Antemann: An Occasional Craving (Feb. 9 – April 6, 2025), Floyd Newsum: House of Grace (Feb. 9 – April 6, 2025) and Who is that Artist? Jorden Miernik-Walker (Feb. 9 – April 6, 2025) at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens.
Visit the Pink Palace Museum and Mansion. Coming in January, the museum’s newest exhibit, Earth Matters: Rethink the Future (Jan. 24 – May 18, 2025), examines our impact on the planet and how we can shape a more sustainable future.
3. B.B. King’s 100th Birthday Bash
Memphis Blues legend B.B. King would have turned 100 in 2025, so you know that Beale Street, B.B. King’s Blues Club and the Blues Foundation’s Blue Hall of Fame will be celebrating. Stay tuned for more info on B.B.’s birthday bash!
In the meantime, plan your ultimate B.B. King fan trip with our Three-Day Itinerary for B.B. King and Blues Fans which includes all the notable spots and experiences in Memphis that you cannot miss.
4. An Expansion at the National Civil Rights Museum
The National Civil Rights Museum is expanding!
Founders Park is getting a remodel. The new area, which will be dubbed BlueCross Healthy Place at Founders Park, will feature event venues and communal gathering and reflection areas. This multi-layer outdoor experience will open in the summer of 2025.
Then, the Legacy Building, which was formerly the boarding house from which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassin shot and killed the civil rights leader, is undergoing a complete renovation. The new-look building will feature exhibits based on Dr. King’s book “Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community.” The first floor will include displays on the Poor People’s Campaign and Freedom Award. Visitors will explore the Civil Rights Movement after Dr. King’s assassination on the second floor. The third-floor exhibits will take a look at activism today. The Legacy Building will reopen in spring 2026.
5. Stay in Style
With a lively past as a hotel, bathhouse, bordello, nightclub and recording studio, Hotel Pontotoc is beginning a new era. The restored property plays up its historic charm but adds modern amenities to provide guests with a relaxing yet memorable experience. Stop into the hotel’s basement bar, The Dame, for craft cocktails and live music or a romantic evening sipping wine on the garden patio.
In October 2024, Marriott’s Aloft Hotel opened in Downtown Memphis. This ultra-modern property uses tech-savvy amenities, including robotic bellhops and mobile room keys, to provide guests with a seamless stay.
Of course, we're still excited about the boutique hotels that debuted in recent memory, including Hyatt Centric Beale Street, Caption by Hyatt Beale Street Memphis, Central Station Memphis, The Memphian, Canopy by Hilton, Moxy, The Rambler, Hotel Indigo and Arrive Hotel, which was named one of The 60 Most Incredible Hotels in the World by Fodor's Finest 2024. Find deals on Memphis hotels here.
6. Eat & Drink Local
There’s a lot to look forward to in Memphis’ culinary scene in 2025.
A new Vietnamese spot is coming to Crosstown Concourse: Bao Toan Kitchen & Bar pairs Vietnamese dishes with unique cocktails in spaces surrounded by vibrant hand-painted murals. For authentic Japanese fare, try the ramen, donburi and hibachi plates at Nagoya House Restaurant in Cooper-Young.
No one cooks up Southern delights quite like Felicia Willett-Schuchardt at Felicia Suzanne’s. Sample favorite dishes like the BLFGT salad at her new location on South Main, opening in 2025. The Edge District will soon welcome Hard Times Deli to the neighborhood. Stop in for massive sandwich creations before or after touring Edge Motor Museum and Sun Studio.
Coming spring 2025, Bar Limina plans to bring in mixologists from around the country for bar takeovers, providing ever-changing sips and experiences. Owners of popular Sichuan spot Petals of Peony are opening a new restaurant, Little Petals Chinese, focusing on casual American Chinese recipes in downtown Memphis. The food group will also open a new Asian bakery downtown in 2025. Find more info on new and upcoming restaurants here.
Bonus: Memphis barbecue is a must, so we've launched a BBQ Trail to help you taste your way through Memphis' legendary 'cue scene. Get the pass.
Consider yourself a craft beer connoisseur? Check out Memphis' growing craft beer scene. Grab a beer from one (or all!) of Memphis’ newest craft breweries. In the historic Cooper-Young neighborhood, you can sample experimental small-batch ales and lagers at Cooper House Project. Just a few blocks north, Urban Consequence is pouring craft beers like the peanut butter chocolate milk stout, blood orange blonde and Irish red ale with rye. If you prefer soda, try the house lemonade or cream soda. Memphis Made recently moved, opening a new downtown taproom at The Ravine in The Edge District. Stop by the new digs to try Memphis Made staples, like Cat Nap, Fireside and GonerBrau. Another long-time local-favorite, Ghost River, just expanded its original taproom on South Main. Now, you’ll be able to sip Ghost River brews, like Ghost River Gold, Grindhouse and Zippin Pippin, in the new taproom restaurant, music venue and bar.
Be sure to join Memphis Hops Stops for a chance to win prizes while you sip our local craft beers.
7. New In Memphis Sports
2025 is shaping up to be a big one for Memphis sports. Ja Morant and the Grizzlies are making their playoff push. The FedEx Cup gets underway with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at Memphis’ TPC Southwind in August; Penny Hardaway hopes to lead the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team back to the NCAA Tournament; and the Memphis Redbirds will be back in action this spring at AutoZone Park, including the Battle of the Birds exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 24, 2025. On the tales of the Redbirds season home opener, the Memphis Showboats, Memphis' UFL team, returns for their third season on March 30, 2025 against the Michigan Panthers.
For more Memphis sports action, check out our Memphis sports guide.
8. Upcoming Shows and Performing Arts
If you love performing arts, then gear up for a big year in Memphis! The city’s theaters and stages are set to bring you all kinds of plays, musicals and performances in 2025. Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis will run Hamilton (February/March), Some Like It Hot (April), Kimberly Akimbo (June) and The Wiz (July) as part of its 2024-2025 Broadway season. Playhouse on the Square and its affiliate theaters The Circuit Playhouse and TheaterWorks @ The Square are in the midst of an exciting season, including Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin (January), Parade (January & February), Skeleton Crew (January & February), Seussical (March & April), A Bronx Tale (June & July) and more. Take in the Memphis Symphony Orchestra or another upcoming concert at the Cannon Center for Performing Arts. Hattiloo Theatre, the city’s only freestanding Black repertory theatre, is in its 18th season. Catch original shows and gripping adaptions, including Black Odyssey (January & February) by Marcus Gardley, Thoughts of a Colored Man (March & April) by Keenan Scott II and The Boy Who Kissed the Sky (May & June) by Idris Goodwin.
See how else you can experience the performing arts in Memphis.
9. Celebrate the Legacy of Courage: Tom Lee Park's 100th Anniversary Events in 2025
In 2025, Memphis celebrates the 100th anniversary of Tom Lee’s heroic rescue of 32 people from the Mississippi River, despite being unable to swim, on May 8, 1925. A Black man living in Memphis, Lee used his small skiff to save passengers from the capsized M.E. Norman steamboat, embodying extraordinary courage, generosity, and humanity. The recently renovated Tom Lee Park, named in his honor, is a stunning 31-acre riverfront space praised as one of Fast Company’s top urban design World Changing Ideas, will host a year-long series of events honoring his legacy of courage, generosity, and humanity. Visitors can explore the park’s winding walking tours with interactive markers, enjoy poetry performances and a short film, and participate in community sing-alongs, all while experiencing this beautifully reimagined public space. Visit Tom Lee Park's website for more details.
See all the ways you can experience Memphis' new riverfront at Tom Lee Park.
