Stax Music Academy at The Front Porch: How Memphis Soul Found a New Stage in East Memphis
• By The Front Porch Memphis

Stax Music Academy is a nonprofit music institute in Memphis that trains the next generation of soul musicians on the historic grounds where Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and Booker T. & the MGs once recorded — and on March 12, 2026, those students brought that legacy to a brand-new stage at The Front Porch Memphis. The performance was part of our free Second Thursday community events series, and it proved something worth saying out loud: Memphis soul isn’t a museum exhibit. It’s alive, it’s 16 years old, and it just played a set in East Memphis that made a room full of strangers feel like neighbors.

Key Takeaways:

  • Stax Music Academy has graduated over 4,000 students since 2000, with a 100% college acceptance rate for seniors since 2008
  • Memphis’s music ecosystem generates $721.6 million annually and supports over 5,000 jobs
  • A 2006 survey found schools with music programs reported a 90.2% graduation rate, compared to 72.9% at schools without
  • The Front Porch’s Second Thursday series brings free, accessible cultural programming to East Memphis every month
  • Community arts programming builds social capital — 86% of Americans say arts and culture are important to their community’s quality of life

Table of Contents

What Is Stax Music Academy?

Stax Music Academy (SMA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit music institute founded in 2000 on the grounds of the former Stax Records at 926 East McLemore Avenue in Memphis. It is the only music institute in the world dedicated to preserving the legacy of Stax Records and the Memphis Sound.

The academy operates year-round, running an after-school program from August through May and a Summer Music Experience each June. Approximately 200 students in grades 6 through 12 participate annually across both programs, receiving instruction in vocal and instrumental performance, songwriting, music theory, music business, audio engineering, videography, and choreography.

The numbers tell a story that matters: SMA has graduated more than 4,000 students since its founding. Since 2008, every single high school senior has been accepted to a college or university. Over 70% of graduates annually receive multiple music-related scholarship offers. The academy provides heavily discounted tuition and need-based scholarships to ensure that a family’s financial situation never determines whether a young person gets to make music.

SMA also provides mental health professionals for counseling and mentorship, job placement assistance through local business partnerships, and over 20 paid employment opportunities annually. This isn’t just a music school. It’s a comprehensive youth development program that happens to produce exceptional musicians.

From Soulsville to Walnut Grove Road

Here’s the thing about Stax Records: it changed American music from a converted movie theater in South Memphis. In just 15 years, the label placed more than 167 hits in the Top 100 pop charts and 243 hits in the Top 100 R&B charts. Artists like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, and Booker T. & the MGs created a sound — raw, gospel-rooted, deeply human — that the world had never heard before.

That sound came from a specific place. And for decades, that place stayed in South Memphis — in Soulsville, where the museum stands, where the academy teaches, where the legacy lives.

On March 12, 2026, that legacy traveled to The Front Porch Event Center at 4688 Walnut Grove Road in East Memphis. SMA students performed as part of The Front Porch Music Series, presented by Commercial Bank & Trust. The audience mixed and mingled starting at 5:00 PM with beverages from Second Helpings Cafe, and at 5:30, the students took the stage.

What made it matter wasn’t just the music — though the music was excellent. It was the geography. East Memphis doesn’t typically host this kind of programming. The Front Porch exists specifically to change that: to create a community gathering space where people from across Memphis can experience rest, renewal, and connection through shared experiences.

When you bring Soulsville to Walnut Grove Road, you’re not just booking a performance. You’re building a bridge between two parts of a city that don’t always meet.

Why Free Community Music Programming Matters

America’s nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $151.7 billion industry that supports 2.6 million jobs and generates $29.1 billion in government revenue, according to the Americans for the Arts Economic Prosperity 6 study. That figure includes $73.3 billion in spending by arts organizations and $78.4 billion in event-related spending by their audiences.

But the economic data, impressive as it is, misses the point slightly. The real value of free community music programming is what happens in the room.

When The Front Porch hosts a free Second Thursday event, registration is the only barrier to entry. No tickets, no cover charge, no VIP section. A retired teacher from Germantown sits next to a college student from the University of Memphis. A family from Cordova discovers an art form they’d never encountered live. A teenager from the neighborhood sees a peer her age performing on a real stage and thinks, maybe I could do that.

According to Americans for the Arts, 86% of Americans say arts and culture are important to their community’s quality of life, and 89% of attendees agreed that the arts activity or venue they attended was a source of neighborhood pride. Free programming removes the economic gatekeeping that keeps those benefits concentrated in communities that can already afford them.

The Front Porch’s model — free events, open registration, professional-caliber performances — distributes that access deliberately. Every second Thursday, the doors open to everyone.

The Numbers Behind Memphis Music

Memphis’s relationship with music isn’t sentimental. It’s structural.

The city’s music ecosystem generates over $721.6 million per year, supports more than 5,000 jobs (1.77% of local employment), and encompasses roughly 1,100 music-related assets — from recording studios and museums to nonprofits and live venues. The output multiplier effect equals 1.75, meaning every $1,000 of output generated by the music ecosystem creates an additional $750 across other local industries.

Memphis is mentioned in more songs than nearly any other American city. It helped birth blues, soul, rock and roll, and gospel as we know them. The Society of American Travel Writers named it among the top cities in North America for live music.

But here’s the tension: despite that $721.6 million impact, a 2024 Sound Diplomacy report found that 59% of Memphis musicians were considering leaving the city due to lack of support. Even more reported that earning a living from music felt out of reach. In response, Mayor Paul Young created the Memphis Office of Creative and Cultural Economy to address the gap between the city’s musical heritage and the lived experience of its musicians.

Programs like Stax Music Academy — and venues like The Front Porch that give those programs a stage — are part of that answer. They invest in the pipeline. They put musicians in front of audiences. They make the ecosystem work at the community level, one performance at a time.

What Music Education Does for Young People

The research points in a consistent direction. A 2006 Harris survey found that schools with music programs reported an estimated 90.2% graduation rate and 93.9% attendance, compared to 72.9% graduation and 84.9% attendance at schools without — a 17-percentage-point gap. It’s an association rather than proof that music alone closes it, but it’s a striking one.

A 2007 University of Kansas study by Christopher Johnson found that students in high-quality music programs scored measurably higher on standardized English and math exams than peers in weaker programs, regardless of socioeconomic status — a reminder that the quality of a program, not just its existence, is what moves the needle.

Stax Music Academy takes these outcomes and concentrates them. Their 100% college acceptance rate since 2008 isn’t an accident — it’s the result of wrapping rigorous music education inside a comprehensive support system that includes academic mentoring, mental health services, and career guidance. When a young person walks into SMA, they don’t just learn to play an instrument. They learn what it feels like to be invested in.

When those same students walk onto a stage at The Front Porch, the audience gets to see what that investment produces. And for every young person in that audience who’s watching, the message is clear: this is possible for you, too.

The Second Thursday Music Series

The Front Porch Music Series is one of three rotating series in our free monthly community events programming, presented by Commercial Bank & Trust. Each series brings a different dimension of Memphis culture to the stage at 4688 Walnut Grove Road.

2026 Music Series Lineup:

  • March 12 — Stax Music Academy
  • June 11 — Memphis Jazz Workshop (Outdoor Event Center)
  • September 10 — DeltaCapella

Alongside the Music Series, The Front Porch Speaker Series (presented by Grinder, Taber & Grinder) and The Front Porch Entertainment Series (presented by Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners, with support from Babcock Gifts) round out the calendar. Every second Thursday of the month, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, The Front Porch opens its doors to the community at no cost.

All events are free, but registration is required to reserve your seat. Beverages from Second Helpings Cafe are included in every gathering.

How You Can Support This Work

Free programming doesn’t fund itself. The Front Porch Memphis is a nonprofit community gathering space, and every event — including the Stax Music Academy performance — is made possible by sponsors, donors, and volunteers.

There are several ways to get involved:

  • Attend an event. Show up on the second Thursday of the month. Bring a neighbor. The best thing you can do for a free community program is fill the room.
  • Become a sponsor. Corporate sponsorships fund the series programming that makes these events possible. Commercial Bank & Trust’s support of the Music Series is a direct example of what local business investment looks like in practice.
  • Make a donation. Every gift to The Front Porch supports building upkeep, grounds care, free community events, technology and AV, programming, and volunteer support. Donate here.
  • Volunteer. Hospitality Hosts and Event Support volunteers help each gathering run smoothly.
  • Spread the word. Share our events with your network. The more people who know The Front Porch exists, the stronger the community it serves.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stax Music Academy? Stax Music Academy is a nonprofit music institute founded in 2000 on the historic grounds of the former Stax Records in Memphis. It provides year-round music education, mentorship, and youth development programming for students in grades 6 through 12, with a 100% college acceptance rate for seniors since 2008.

Where is The Front Porch Memphis? The Front Porch Memphis is located at 4688 Walnut Grove Road in East Memphis, Tennessee, near the intersection of Walnut Grove and Perkins. It is a 7,777-square-foot glass community gathering space featuring an event center, cafe, meeting room, and outdoor areas.

How much do Second Thursday events cost? All Second Thursday events at The Front Porch are completely free. Registration is required to reserve your seat, as seating is limited.

When are Second Thursday events held? Events are held on the second Thursday of each month from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, with a mix-and-mingle period starting at 5:00 PM and programming beginning at 5:30 PM. There is no event in December.

What is the Second Thursday Music Series? The Music Series is one of three rotating event series at The Front Porch, presented by Commercial Bank & Trust. The 2026 lineup features Stax Music Academy (March), Memphis Jazz Workshop (June), and DeltaCapella (September).

Who can attend events at The Front Porch? Everyone. Events are open to the public regardless of age, background, or neighborhood. The Front Porch was built to be a place where all of Memphis can gather.

How does Stax Music Academy impact its students? SMA has graduated over 4,000 students, maintained a 100% college acceptance rate since 2008, and sees over 70% of graduates receive multiple music scholarship offers annually. The academy also provides mental health support, career guidance, and paid employment opportunities.

What other events does The Front Porch host? Beyond the free Second Thursday series, The Front Porch offers its Event Space, Meeting Room, and Outdoor Grove for private bookings including corporate events, celebrations, meetings, and community gatherings.

How can I support The Front Porch Memphis? You can attend events, volunteer as a Hospitality Host or Event Support volunteer, become a corporate sponsor, or make a tax-deductible donation at thefrontporchmemphis.org/donate.

What is the Memphis Sound? The Memphis Sound refers to the distinctive style of soul music that originated at Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s — a blend of gospel, blues, country, and R&B that produced artists like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and the Staple Singers. Stax Music Academy exists to preserve and extend that musical legacy through the next generation.

Key Takeaways

  • Stax Music Academy has spent over two decades training young Memphis musicians in the legacy of Stax Records, graduating more than 4,000 students with a 100% college acceptance rate since 2008.
  • Memphis’s music ecosystem is a $721.6 million industry supporting 5,000+ jobs — and community venues like The Front Porch keep that ecosystem alive at the neighborhood level.
  • Free community arts programming eliminates economic barriers to cultural participation. 86% of Americans say arts and culture matter to their community’s quality of life.
  • Music education is strongly associated with academic outcomes: a 2006 survey found 90.2% graduation rates at schools with music programs versus 72.9% at those without.
  • The Front Porch’s Second Thursday events bring this work to East Memphis every month — free, open, and designed to connect a city through shared experience.

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