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Bob Mehr

Title: Memphis and national music writer and critic
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About Bob Mehr

Information

Biography

Bob Mehr has been a reporter and critic covering music for The Commercial Appeal since 2006. Born in 1975, the Los Angeles native began his career in Phoenix, working as a music editor at the flagship paper of the New Times’ alternative weekly chain, before going on to serve the same role at Village Voice Media’s Seattle Weekly. After several years as an award-winning columnist and critic at the Chicago Reader, Mehr arrived in the Mid-South where he’s reported on local institutions like Stax and Elvis, and produced a series of in-depth features on more obscure and unknown chapters in local music history. Mehr’s byline has also appeared in numerous national and international music magazines including SPIN, MOJO in the U.K. and German Rolling Stone, and his essays are regularly featured as part of CD reissues for labels like Rhino Records.

Position History

Memphis and national music writer and critic
10/02/2008 - current

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Recent Work

Stories

Band from Seattle, singer from Arkansas win Memphis blues battle Published 02/05/2012 at 3:02 p.m.
Seattle group The WIRED Band! and Arkansas-based singer-songwriter Ray Bonneville were the big winners in the Blues Challenge. The five-day blues competition and event culminated Saturday night with finals at Downtown's Orpheum, capping a week of shows in and around ...
Memphis Horns sidemen move to front with Grammy Lifetime Achievement award Published 02/05/2012 at midnight 1 Comment
Only one other group of "backing musicians," Motown's Funk Brothers, has ever been recognized with the honor.
World's music in Memphis: 28th Blues Challenge fulfills international billing Published 02/02/2012 at midnight
Thundering skies did not dampen the spirits of 2,000 performers and patrons who crowded Downtown for the International Blues Challenge.
Blues legends honored today with plaques on Beale Street Published 02/02/2012 at midnight
Southern music icons and blues legends Fred McDowell and Otha Turner will be honored on Beale Street today.
Blues and Challenge competition taking hold globally Published 01/26/2012 at 5:53 p.m.
"For music fans, finding something new is always the holy grail," says Blues Foundation president Jay Sieleman. Over the next week, blues aficionados will have plenty of chances for discovery as Beale Street and its neighboring Downtown environs will be ...
Loudon Wainwright III explores mortality Published 01/19/2012 at 5:30 p.m.
Even six decades into his career, the peculiar thrill of writing a song has not diminished for Loudon Wainwright III. “It’s still the most mysterious and exciting aspect of the job,” Wainwright says. “The moment when you actually get one. ...
Simplicity is Billy Joe Shaver's signature Published 01/19/2012 at 3:50 p.m.
Memphis turned out to be a kind of crossroads for Billy Joe Shaver.
Songwriter Knight is doing it for himself Published 01/12/2012 at 6:11 p.m.
Chris Knight is the sort of fella who lets his songs do the talking. A native of Slaughters, Ky., Knight has long been one of roots music's unheralded stars. A solo artist and songwriter -- he's had his tunes recorded ...
Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at FedExForum postponed to April 12 Published 01/11/2012 at 2:59 p.m.
Alt-rock superstars the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been forced to reschedule their upcoming tour due to an injury suffered by front man Anthony Kiedis.
Sibling trio making waves across Atlantic Published 01/05/2012 at 12:53 p.m.
The UK group The Staves -- singing siblings Emily, Camilla and Jessica Staveley-Taylor -- did a lot with very little. With just a self-released EP to their names, the Staves managed to become one of most buzzed-about bands in Britain: ...