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12/22/2016

9th Annual Hard Rock Guitar Drop ®

10-foot D’Angelico Guitar to be “Dropped” Over Beale Street as Part of New Year’s Eve Celebration

Memphis, Tenn., December 17, 2016 – The New Year’s Eve countdown is on! Guests are invited to join Hard Rock Cafe Memphis on Beale Street this New Year’s Eve as Memphis history is made once again with the 9th Annual Hard Rock Guitar Drop®!  The event marks an exciting new partnership between D’Angelico Guitars and Hard Rock Cafe Memphis to ring in the New Year in style. A 10-foot D’Angelico guitar will “drop” from 100 feet over Beale Street at midnight to kick off 2017 with Hard Rock’s signature rock ‘n’ roll flair.

In honor of 60 years of Willie Mitchell’s Royal Studios impacting music around the world, the 9th Annual Hard Rock Guitar Drop® event will present a special revue featuring artists from the hit documentary film Take Me to The River.  Among these legendary artists, the lineup will consist of William Bell, STAX Records artist and Memphis Music Hall of Fame Inductee, Tamika “Big Baby” Goodman, Al Kapone, Sharisse Norman with Tori Whodat, Ashton Riker with special guest Frayser Boy, LiL RiAH & Key Money, DJ Debonair, DJ Howard Q, Wolf–Face, Common Rarity, American Idol Final Season Top 24 Contestant Chris Johnson, G-Force Memphis Jookin Dancers, and Aaron James, the winning artist of Salvation Army’s Battle of the Bells. The nights’ festivities will also be emceed by Chelsea Chandler, Good Day Memphis weather and traffic anchor.

General admission tickets are available for $25 for advanced purchase at Fresh Tix. Individual and couple VIP packages are also available starting at $150, which includes passed appetizers, patio access, a front-row view of the Guitar Drop and a champagne toast at midnight. The full cafe menu will also be available to all general admission and VIP guests inside the cafe.  Viewing the 9th Annual Hard Rock Guitar Drop® and performances outside on the main stage are free and open to the public. Additionally, Memphis NYE Hard Rock Guitar Drop 2017 merchandise packages are also available for purchase on the ticketing page, including Hard Rock Cafe Memphis’ exclusive “I Love Memphis” pin set (3 pins), a custom printed Classic Hard Rock Cafe Tee with the Memphis NYE Guitar Drop 2017 logo on the back and classic Hard Rock Cafe Memphis glassware.

It all started at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2008, as a 10-foot guitar was dropped from more than 100 feet to a mass of 50,000 cheering fans for the first time. This nationally televised event welcomed in the New Year and marked the beginning of a new Beale Street tradition. Memphis Tennessee: the Home of the Blues, the Birthplace of Rock n’ Roll; and now – Ground Zero for the Guitar Drop! This year’s event is sponsored by The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, D’Angelico Guitars, Elvis Presley Enterprises, The Downtown Memphis Commission, Four Roses Bourbon, Sunbelt, CSA Engineering, WEGR (Rock 103) & KWNW (KISS 101.9), The Memphis Grizzlies, Royal Studios & Hard Rock Cafe Memphis. The Official Guitar Drop After Party will be held at Purple Haze Night Club.

 

For more information, visit www.hardrock.com/Memphis.

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