It's summer time in Memphis and the popular downtown entertainment district is welcoming back the Peabody Rooftop Parties for their 31st season.
Guests may find themselves singing "Call Me Maybe" as the city parties with Carly Rae Jepsen, the Canadian pop star behind last year's infectious summer hit.
Jepsen is the opening act for the summer 2013 season that starts this Thursday and runs every Thursday through Aug. 15 from 6 -11 p.m. on the roof of the historic Union Avenue hotel. She'll open the season with a meet-and-greet and an acoustic set performing "Call Me Maybe" and "Good Time."
Illinois-based hip-hop party band The 17th Floor will also hit the stage.
Jepsen isn't the only star with a hit visiting the city this summer. Nashville rock band Hot Chelle Rae will be in town on April 18 singing their event-appropriate hit "Tonight Tonight," which features the chorus "We're going at it tonight, tonight // There's a party on the rooftop-top of the world."
Other acts on this year's schedule include Party Planet on May 16, Seeing Red on June 6, and The Millionaires on June 20.
Radio personalities CJ and Liz from Q107.5/96.1 FM host the parties with house DJ Mark Anderson.
Admission is $10 ($15 on special event nights) and includes one drink. Guests must be 21 or older to enter.
This year the hotel has added an extended fall season with parties every other week. Dates are set for Sept. 12 and 26 and Oct. 17 and 31. Hotel public relations director Kelly Earnest says the addition was made to match guests' demands for additional parties in the milder fall-time weather. Special yet-to-be announced performances are happening at the July 4 and Halloween holiday parties.
"I do know that the rooftop is a fantastic place to be on the fourth Downtown with the fireworks from the Mississippi River and AutoZone Park," Earnest said. "We're right in middle of that. Plus Downtown itself is just buzzing that day."
Many students around campus expressed that they weren't familiar with the Rooftop Party series, but would be willing to check it out. One student has gone in the past, but wasn't thrilled with the outdoor summer event.
"It just felt like a hot, drunken Southern mess, " said Elizabeth Booker, second degree biology major. "The people I was with were drunk. I'd go again with a different group though."
Attendance for the nighttime skyline parties has been estimated at 1,200 each week. But as with every season opener, Earnest is expecting about 1,700 guests throughout the night on Thursday.
The original Rooftop Party tradition began in 1939 as the Sunset Serenades featuring jazz music. The modern day set began in 1982 and includes rock music with regional acts and some emerging national talent. Over the years, the parties have maintained their esteem.
"It's just become that a lot of people think of the lobby as a place to see and be seen and then there's the rooftop," Earnest said. "The parties have been the unofficial beginning of spring and the unofficial beginning of the weekend. It's the place to be in the summer."
For a complete entertainment line-up, see: peabodymemphis.com/rooftop-parties.
