Ditty TV

01/17/2026

No record store has an origin story quite like that of Shangri-La, a midtown fixture since 1988. The store’s first customers didn’t walk through the doors looking for used LPs — they climbed into sensory deprivation tanks with calming lights and sounds to receive a “brain tune-up,” in the words of founder Sherman Willmot.

“After a little while though, a single crate of records began what would become an avalanche of music and music connected items,” says store manager John Miller.

Little by little, the tunes took over. Today, Shangri-La Records is a one-stop shop for Memphis music, in addition to tens of thousands of LPs, 45s, CDs, DVDs and books from all over. It’s hosted hundreds of in-store and parking lot performances over the years by everyone from Ike Turner and Tony Joe White to Pavement and Guided By Voices. It even spun off into Shangri-La Projects, a label, publisher, and film studio centered on music and culture rooted in this place.

“Memphis music stands out because it is always original,” Miller says, “and made by artists who create their own style without regard for trends, fame, or fortune.”

You can read all about Shangri-La and other legendary Memphis spots in our newsletter, The Seeker. Check out our inaugural issue here: https://musicroadtrip.com/theseeker/001

01/16/2026

Happy Friday!
Here's some BRAND NEW MUSIC for your long weekend from:

🎙️ Lone Bellow
🎙️Railroad Earth + Daniel Donato
🎙️Dolly Parton ft. Lainey Wilson + Miley Cyrus +
Queen Latifah + Reba McEntire
🎙️Boy Golden
🎙️Aubrie Sellers
🎙️Lee Ann Womack
🎙️India Ramey
🎙️Band of Heathens
🎙️Jeremy ivey
🎙️Tenille Townes
🎙️Michael Marcagi
🎙️Spencer Thomas
🎙️Joy Oladokun
🎙️Any Young Mechanic
🎙️Steve Poltz
🎙️José González
🎙️Langhorne Slim
🎙️Yonder Mountain String Band
🎙️Lily Meola + Nikki Lane
🎙️Easy Honey
🎙️James Hunter Six
🎙️Courtney Marie Andrews
🎙️Ben Sollee
🎙️Hayes Carll + Ashley McBryde
🎙️Tony Trischka + Billy Strings
🎙️Warren Haynes
🎙️Dalton Davis
🎙️Cordovas
🎙️Edgehill
🎙️The Steel Wheels
🎙️Luke Winslow-King
🎙️Lance Whalen
🎙️John Hollier & The Rêverie
🎙️Matt Mattison & Trash Magic
🎙️Ratboys
🎙️LAPÊCHE
🎙️The Brook & the Bluff
🎙️Drew Holcolmb & the Neighbors + Jonah Kagen
🎙️Krooked Kings
🎙️New Constellations
🎙️Evan Honer + flipturn
🎙️Drayton Farley
🎙️Foy Vance
🎙️Memphis Kee
🎙️Courtney Santana
🎙️Calder Allen
🎙️Ali Angel
🎙️Dee White
🎙️Girl Tones
🎙️Carter Faith + William Beckmann
🎙️Adam Ezra Group
🎙️Westside Cowboy
🎙️Josiah Queen
🎙️Surfing for Daisy
🎙️Theo Kandel
🎙️Phantom Pink
🎙️Rusty Williams + Hayley Williams
🎙️The N**e Party

STREAM + FOLLOW HERE!
🎧 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2yOIkpfAA9UDLhwRDCD1F5?si=b53cc477b918402f

Playlist · dittytv · 58 items · 11.2K saves

01/16/2026

One of the oldest operating recording studios in the world, Royal Studios was founded in 1957 as the home base for Hi Records. But its legend truly began one year later, when bandleader and producer Willie Mitchell walked through its doors. Mitchell insisted on engineering his own recordings, and his techniques brought a new level of warmth, presence and power to the Memphis sound.

By 1970, he was made Vice President of Hi, and had carte blanche to redesign the studio and perfect its sound. At the same time, he’d taken a promising young singer named Al Green under his wing. One of the first songs they recorded in the revamped studio was “Let’s Stay Together,” which topped the pop charts and minted Green – now and forever – as one of the city’s brightest stars.

Royal has remained in operation to this day, and is now overseen by Mitchell’s grandson, Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell. Over the decades, they’ve welcomed a vast range of artists – from Keith Richards and Tom Jones to Wu-Tang Clan and John Mayer – all hoping a bit of the studio’s storied magic will rub off on them. More than 40 years after his grandfather produced “Let’s Stay Together,” Mitchell recorded Bruno Mars’ vocals for “Uptown Funk” with much of the same equipment.

Since it’s still a working studio, Royal isn’t open to the public without an appointment, but the photo op at its painted entryway—honoring Mitchell and other alums—is worth the trip for fans.

You can read all about Royal Studios and other legendary Memphis spots in our newsletter, The Seeker. Check out our inaugural issue here: https://musicroadtrip.com/theseeker/001

01/15/2026

Take it from Hal Lansky: If you wear a Lansky Bros. suit to a job interview, you’re not going to be hired. Don’t wear it to apply for a loan, either.

However, “If you want to be the belle of the ball, or the coolest guy in the room? We’re your store.”

A young, unknown Elvis Presley recognized that right away. As legend has it, his face was practically pressed up against the store’s display window when Hal’s father, store founder Bernard Lansky, invited him in.

"Mr. Lansky,” Presley supposedly said, “I don't have any money, but one of these days I'm going to come in and buy you out". Mr. Lansky replied with what would become a famous family quip: "Don't buy me out. Just buy from me.”

It was a deal. Presley wore countless Lansky outfits over the years — his pink and black outfit for senior prom; the plaid jacket he wore on his Ed Sullivan Show debut; and the white suit he was buried in at Graceland. Other famous customers included Isaac Hayes, Johnny Cash, Bobby Blue Bland and The Jacksons, all amplifying the Lansky legend.

This year, Lansky Bros. celebrates its 80th anniversary, now under the stewardship of Hal and his daughter, Julie Lansky. The store — located inside Memphis’ famed Peabody Hotel since the ‘80s — offers a mix of timeless fashions and modern spins on Elvis’ iconic looks.

You can read all about Lansky Bros and other legendary Memphis spots in our newsletter, The Seeker. Check out our inaugural issue here: https://musicroadtrip.com/theseeker/001

01/15/2026

Happy birthday to the Original Ditty Girl ! Don’t miss her at on Friday, April 17th at ! Brought to you by our awesome fam at !

01/14/2026

If you know your Memphis music, you’ve heard about Full Gospel Tabernacle. It's the church Al Green founded in town 50 years ago – where the soul great still delivers occasional sermons. But perhaps you’re wondering if it’s OK for a curious out-of-towner to attend a Sunday service during their visit. According to the man himself, it’s more than OK – it’s part of his mission.

“You might have come on your vacation,” he told The Commercial Appeal in 2016. “We get a lot of that. Well, we say while you’re here, why don’t we do a little bit of ‘Amazing Grace.’ It may help you along your way. I don’t take it as anything else but an opportunity. If God gives me this audience, I’ll preach the Word to them.”

50 years on, Green is still doing just that. Just last month, he was back behind the pulpit to lead worship and mark the church’s 49th anniversary (they’ll celebrate the big 5-0 this December).

Even if you don’t see Green during your visit, Full Gospel Tabernacle is a testament to his unflagging faith, a window into the gospel roots that have shaped so much of Memphis’ music – and it may help you along your way.

You can read all about Green's church and other legendary Memphis spots in our newsletter, The Seeker. Check out our inaugural issue here: https://musicroadtrip.com/theseeker/001

01/13/2026

THIS JUST IN: We have a newsletter!

As we get ready to launch Music Roadtrip, our free Travel App for Music Fans, we’re rolling out The Seeker — a weekly dispatch celebrating America’s great music towns.

We’re talking real places: legendary venues, record stores and studios kept alive by diehards, and unassuming spots where major music history went down.

First up: Memphis. A city close to our hearts. Inside the first edition, we dig into Al Green’s church, Elvis’ favorite clothing store, the studio behind both “Let’s Stay Together” and “Uptown Funk,” and plenty more.

Read more and subscribe to The Seeker here: https://musicroadtrip.com/theseeker/001

01/11/2026

“If a man among you
Got no sin upon his hand
Let him cast a stone at me
For playing in the band”

We mourn the loss of Bobby Weir.

As a founding member of the Grateful Dead, Bob Weir occupies a unique place in American music.

Very few rock bands can boast such a lasting influence & unique cultural identity as the Dead, & for the three decades of their existence, Weir was in many ways their backbone.

One of rock & roll's most unusual rhythm guitarists, he played a subtle but distinctive counterpoint to Jerry Garcia's fluid leads, wrote & sang several of their best-known songs, & helped inspire an entire subculture of music that continues to thrive well into the 21st century.

The musician met & befriended Garcia in 1963 at 16 years old. The two formed a music group &, after cycling through a few names, settled on the Grateful Dead in 1965. They were a fixture on the Haight-Ashbury scene in the 1960s & 70s.

A member of the Dead for its first three decades, & a keeper of the flame of the band's legacy for three more, Weir helped to write a new chapter of American popular music that influenced countless other musicians & brought together an enormous and loyal audience.

The Grateful Dead's touring, bootlegging & merchandising set an example that helped initiate the jam-band scene. Its concerts created a community that brought together generations of followers.

Weir wrote many of their most famous songs, with his friend, John Perry Barlow, including "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band," "One More Saturday Night" & many others.

After Garcia’s death in 1995, he reconstituted the band in several forms before inviting guitarist John Mayer to join, & they toured successfully as Dead & Company until last year, including a series of concerts at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

In addition to his work with the Grateful Dead, he also released three solo albums.

Weir received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards in Nashville and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

01/09/2026

2025 is so LAST YEAR!
We’re ringing in 2026 with these brand new tracks from:

🎊 Iron & Wine
🎊 Abbey Cone
🎊 Marlon Funaki
🎊 Mon Rovîa
🎊 Brit Taylor
🎊 Tyler Halverson + Wade Forster
🎊 Pecos & the Rooftops
🎊 John Craigie
🎊 Bryan Sutton + Billy Strings
🎊 Zach Bryan
🎊 Emily Scott Robinson
🎊 Vince Gill
🎊 Father John Misty
🎊 Kashus Culpepper
🎊 JOSEPH
🎊 Mumford & Sons
🎊 The Deslondes + Riley Downing
🎊 Katie Tupper
🎊 Joe Pernice + The Pernice Brothers
🎊 Melissa Carper + Theo Lawrence
🎊 Clay Street Unit
🎊 Cyrena Wages
🎊 Beggar Weeds
🎊 The Animeros
🎊 The Waymores
🎊 Meels
🎊 Pert Near Sandstone
🎊 Solya
🎊 Stephen Sanchez
🎊 Seafret
🎊 Tyce Delk + Trinity Lake
🎊 Anna Tivel
🎊 Common People
🎊 Where's West
🎊 Pretty Something
🎊 Sammy Brue
🎊 Yarn
🎊 Chicago Farmer
🎊 August Ponthier
🎊 Ole Kirkeng
🎊 NORA
🎊 Large
🎊 Dexter and the Moonrocks
🎊 Emmalee Rainbow
🎊 Joe Kaplow
🎊 Keni Titus
🎊 Telander
🎊 Pearl Charles
🎉 Sandord:
🎉 Ellur
🎉 Late Night Thoughts
🎉 The Black Crowes

STREAM + FOLLOW HERE
🎧 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2yOIkpfAA9UDLhwRDCD1F5?si=ba70688442484dff

Playlist · dittytv · 52 items · 11.2K saves

01/08/2026

"I missed everything about Memphis. You name it, I missed it."

Happy Birthday to THE KING from our HQ in the HOME OF THE KING!

01/08/2026

Platinum-certified Texan rock quintet Pecos & the Rooftops will release their anxiously awaited sophomore full-length LP, “From Me To You” on 1/9 via Warner Records!

“From Me To You” completes the song cycle with tracks from 2025’s “From Me” project along with additional tracks that comprise the 2nd part of the project.

Frontman Pecos Hurley intentionally split the project in 2 distinct halves, forging “From Me (Part One)” out of punchier material & saving the more introspective fare for “From Me To You (Part Two)”, completing the entire body of work with the addition of the new tracks that comprise this 9-song storyline.

Filled with fan-favorites “From Me To You” strikes a deep emotional chord.
From beginning to end, the band traces a raw real journey over the course of the record’s runtime.

Emerging from Lubbock, TX, Pecos & The Rooftops have carved a niche for themselves in the rich songwriting tradition of their home state.

Formed in 2019 by a tight-knit core of college friends, the band outfits their soulful, hard-rockin’ Americana with muscular guitar grit, yet remains tuneful & melodic.

Anchored by the heart-baring songwriting &booming voice of former Marine Pecos Hurley, the band is rounded out by Jessie Santos (lead guitar), Steven Buehler (bass), Garrett Peltier (drums) & Jared French (guitars & keys).

Pecos & The Rooftops chose their name as a nod to the part of the house where they’d hang out, drink beers, & jam, just before self-releasing their debut single, 2019’s slow-burning “This Damn Song”.

Since then, they’ve hit the road & haven’t looked back, touring relentlessly on the club & festival circuit.

They released their debut EP “Red Eye” in 2020, expanding on their already solid sound with extra emphasis on guitar structures & complex yet melodic arrangements, showcasing their love of all forms of distinctly American music.

In support of the album, the band will launch the "From Me To You Tour 2026". The jaunt kicks off on January 23 at Cook’s Garage in Lubbock, TX, canvases the South and the Midwest, and circles back to a close on March 20 at Union 28 in Midlothian, TX.

For tickets + tour details
🎫 https://www.pecos-rooftops.com/

Pecos & The Rooftops have earned their devoted, ever-expanding fan base the old fashioned way, with dedication & temerity.

“At the end of the day, I just want to help people with our music, honestly,” Hurley says.

And maybe even burn up a pasture!

Pre-save “From Me To You”
🎧 https://pecosandtherooftops.lnk.to/FromMeToYou

12/24/2025

From our family to yours, we wish you the happiest holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Music Roadtrip is coming in January 2026!

Sign up for updates + announcements here
🚐 https://musicroadtrip.com/

We'll see you next year!