On August 8, 2007, Grace Peters got a thrilling piece of news. “When I found out Taylor Swift was going to come to the restaurant to do a photo shoot for a magazine article, I could barely contain my excitement!”
Grace is the daughter of Tommy Peters, who opened the B.B. King Blues Club in Memphis in 1991. His new venture, a speakeasy on the third floor of the building called Itta Bena, had been chosen as the location for the photo shoot for the then up-and-coming 17-year-old Taylor Swift.
Today the venue for that interview and impromptu performance is a almost-hidden delight along Beale Street, with dimly lit interiors and blue-tinted windows, accessed by a flight of stairs at the rear of the building. It serves elevated Southern cuisine with a backdrop of smooth jazz, making it ideal for intimate conversation.
For true Swifties, it’s also the unlikely place where the teenager rocketing to superstardom shared an intimate performance before she would draw millions of fans into top venues around the world.
Taylor Swift’s Early Career: Her Star was Just Beginning to Rise
Swift’s debut single, “Tim McGraw,” had been released the year before, in June 2006. Just a few months before her visit to Itta Bena, she had performed the song at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards. Three months later, she received the Best New Artist award from the Country Music Association (CMA).
The photo shoot was for Justine, a teen lifestyle magazine based in Memphis, which was doing a cover article for an upcoming issue. (The magazine ceased publishing several years ago.)
Here are a few of the spreads from the 10-page magazine article that appeared in Justine’s January 2008 issue. All the photos were taken at Itta Bena restaurant on August 8, 2007.
The Photo Shoot at Itta Bena
“My Mom was friends with the editor,” Grace recalled, “which is how the restaurant became the venue for the photo shoot and interview. It was scheduled during the day, before other guests would arrive for dinner. School hadn’t started back up, so I was able to go.”
The photo shoot involved lots of changes into several different dresses, supplied by a variety of merchants.
“Taylor loved all of our darlin’ dress picks,” noted one of the Justine editors for the photo shoot. “She even bought a few to take with her on the road.” She wore her own Lucchese boots in most of the photos. Each item of clothing or jewelry was identified in the article, listing company and prices.
After the photo shoot wrapped, “Swift sang ‘Our Song,’ another release from her debut album, at my request,” Grace continued. “It was my favorite, and I found it was Taylor’s too.”
“My mom, dad, and a few Justine magazine staff members were also there, but she sang it right to me, one-on-one. She wasn’t there that day to sing, which made it even more special.”
Afterward, someone from Justine interviewed Swift in the kitchen, as she sat next to Grace.
A few hours later, as diners arrived for the evening meal, Taylor Swift was on her way to Orlando, Florida, to play a concert the following evening, August 9, at Amway Arena, along with Brad Paisley, Jack Ingram and Kellie Pickler.
Followed by an Impromptu Song…
Here is a short video of Taylor singing “Our Song” at Itta Bena after the photo shoot on August 8, 2007 (Courtesy of Grace Peters)
Taylor was the “Olive Branch” in Grace’s Relationship with her Dad
“Taylor was the ‘olive branch’ in our relationship,” Grace confided. “My Dad was a huge music man. He was thrilled about me being excited that this singer I loved could come to his restaurant. Soon after, he bought me a guitar and I started guitar lessons.”
The following February, he took Grace and her sister to Orlando for Taylor’s Fearless concert. “We got to talk beforehand at the ‘meet and greet’ — and she remembered me!”
A Swiftie From the Beginning
Now 31, Grace says she has been a Swiftie from the beginning. “Besides loving her music, I love the way Taylor has always been so gracious, and how she made me feel like I was the only person in the room. She looked me in the eyes, hugged me, and made me feel like we’d been lifelong friends.”
Since the Orlando concert in 2008, Grace has attended four more concerts, in Dallas and Los Angeles. Most recently, on August 5, 2023, Grace celebrated her birthday while seeing Swift perform in Los Angeles as part of the Eras Tour.
Seventeen years after that not-quite 18-year-old Taylor and a barely 15-year-old Grace Peters shared some special moments, Taylor Swift has become a worldwide phenomenon. But Grace Peters will always remember and cherish memories from that day in 2007 — the day Taylor Swift walked into Itta Bena with her guitar.
Special thanks to Grace Peters for sharing her story with me, and to Jana Kerr Pettey, Editor of Justine magazine for sharing the magazine article.
Read more here: Itta Bena: A Modern-Day “Speakeasy” on Beale Street in Memphis
Visit Debbra Dunning Brouillette’s website at Tropical Travel Girl.
