Music Cities of the US South
If you love music, a trip to the southern US cities of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans can make a great trip. You’ll learn about the history of popular music, from country and blues to rock and roll, and have lots of opportunities to listen to live music. There’s also lots of other history to explore, from the American Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, and lots of unique southern food to try, from BBQ and biscuits to gumbo and beignets. A trip to the music cities of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans can be easily done in 10-14 days, depending on how quickly you want to travel, and here are some of the highlights to see along the way.
Nashville
Nashville, the capitol of Tennessee, is the home of country music. Don’t miss a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum which tells the fascinating story of the development of country music in all its varied forms. As well as the interesting exhibits, there’s a great audio guide here.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Also in downtown Nashville, is the Ryman Auditorium, which was the home of the Grand Ole Opry until 1974. You can take a self-guided tour around this historic old venue, filled with wooden benches, coloured glass windows and decades of music history. You can also take a backstage tour, but best of all is seeing a live show here. When I visited, I was lucky enough to get tickets for Opry Country Classics, and it was fascinating to see a radio show being produced (complete with sponsor announcements) simultaneously with the live show.
Ryman Auditorium
While you’re in Nashville, don’t miss out on a walk down Broadway, a street that is at the centre of Nashville’s live music with honky-tonks on both sides of the street. Pop into some of them for great live music or grab some delicious BBQ from at Jack’s BBQ. It’s also worth browsing in the Ernest Tubb record shop and Hatch Show Print, which is a great shop selling eye-catching prints.
With some pre-planning, you can grab hard-to-get reservations for the famous Bluebird Café one evening. (You might have seen it in the TV series, Nashville.) The Bluebird has a welcoming atmosphere, tasty food and attracts brilliant musicians. When I was there, I really enjoyed listening four great singer-songwriters perform their own material. make reservations here: https://bluebirdcafe.com/reservations
If you have time for some non-music sights while in Nashville, there are a couple of interesting historic mansions nearby, including the Hermitage, which was the home of President Andrew Jackson.
Memphis
If you come to Memphis, you just have to visit Graceland. There’s plenty to see in Elvis’ home. The mansion itself is smaller than you would imagine and surprisingly homely, although very kitschy and 1970s. You will be able to explore the downstairs with an informative audio guide, and there are various outbuildings displaying hundreds of trophies and gold records, alongside various exhibits, and all the time, Elvis’ ground-breaking music will be playing. Most moving, is the chance to see his grave. Across the road from the mansion, there is an automobile museum, with many of Elvis’ cars. Elvis’s two planes are also on view and, of course, there are loads of shops.
Sun Studios is another Memphis must-see. It’s where Sam Phillips first recorded Elvis, and so many other greats. You can take a tour and appreciate the music history here. There are exhibits upstairs and a chance to stand in the actual studio downstairs. A morning visit might be preferable as when I visited in the late afternoon (after a day spent at Graceland) the tour was packed.
Tip – There is a free shuttle provided by Sun Studios from downtown to Graceland and onto Sun Studios. It’s a really convenient way to visit these sights and it picks up from outside the Rock ‘n’ Soul museum: https://www.sunstudio.com/visit
The Smithsonian Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum is also a must-see for me in Memphis. It’s a brilliant museum for anyone interested in the history of popular music. There is a fantastic audio guide which includes snippets of lots of different types of influential music to highlight its progression from country and blues to rock and roll and soul. It will put everything you have learnt about music on this trip into context.
You’ll want to spend an evening wandering along the famous Beale Street in Memphis. There’s lots of places to eat and listen to live music. I enjoyed the original BB King’s Blues Club (- the ‘chicken fried chicken’ and ‘mac ‘n’ cheese’ here were great).
If you’re at all interested in history, you should also visit the National Civil Rights Museum while in Memphis, which includes exhibits on the assassination of Martin Luther King at the Lorraine Hotel where the museum is based. There are also other exhibits on the broader civil rights movement.
Mississippi
To get between Memphis and New Orleans, you will have a bit of a road trip along the ‘Blues Highway’ but don’t expect it to be scenic. (If you want a scenic American road trip, look no further than this two week Southwest road trip). The drive between Memphis and New Orleans is a long, boring drive, but it is worth it for some of the interesting places on the route through Mississippi, such as Clarksdale, Vicksburg and Natchez.
Heading south from Memphis, Highway 61, called the Blues Highway, will soon lead you to Clarksdale, where you can visit the Delta Blues Museum which tells the fascinating story of the music born of this region. A short wander around Clarksdale will also bring you to the eclectic outside of Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club.
As you leave town on Highway 61, you’ll drive by the famous ‘Blues Crossroads’ where, so the story goes, Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to learn to play the Blues. There’s not much to see nowadays as the crossroads is now a busy intersection.
You’ll want to break up the trip through Mississippi with an overnight stay. Either Vicksburg or Natchez would be good options. If you choose Vicksburg (as I did – and I highly recommend the wonderful Anchuca Mansion), you’ll have the opportunity to explore some history at the fascinating Old Courthouse Museum in the centre of Vicksburg and just outside town at the Vicksburg National Military Park, where the history of the American civil war is brought to life as you drive through the battlefields.
Whether or not you stay overnight in Natchez, don’t miss the chance to visit one of the region’s historic antebellum mansions. Just outside town, Longwood is a great choice. The ambitious octagonal mansion was half-finished and suspended in time when the civil war began. A tour guide will provide lots of information about the family who owned the house and their original plans for a grand home.
New Orleans
The final music city on this trip is New Orleans, where jazz rules. For a truly southern experience, what about taking a dinner-jazz cruise on the Steamship Natchez? There will be an extensive buffet in the dining room, with chicken, pork, beef, fried fish, creamed spinach, corn, potatoes, pasta, and a bourbon bread pudding for dessert. While you eat, a jazz band will play. There’s a chance to explore the boat, including taking a look at paddle at the rear and visiting the engine room, but nothing beats grabbing a cup of coffee and a seat near the band to listen to jazz music as you sail down the Mississippi River on a beautiful paddle-steamer.
There’s lots of music venues throughout New Orleans, but one of the most famous is Preservation Hall. Either join the long queue or splash out and pre-purchase ‘VIP’ tickets, but don’t miss the great experience of listening to music here. When I visited, it was Leroy Jones and the Preservation Hall Jazz Masters playing that night. There was some excitement when the drummer was arrested by the police half way through the set, but the band just kept playing! The musicians were all fantastic and the 45 minute set flew by. This is definitely a must-do when in New Orleans.
There’s also lots of great music venues along Frenchman Street. See who’s playing where and enjoy an evening of live music, and great food and drinks. My recommendation is the Three Muses, where I sat at the bar, enjoyed delicious feta fries and falafel sliders and listened to the live music.
Alongside the music, the food in New Orleans is unique and amazing: gumbo, jambalaya, beignets, muffalatta, not to mention the Hurricanes! For a very tasty overview, try the ‘New Orleans Medley’ (jambalaya, gumbo, andouille sausage and red beans ’n rice) at Acme Oyster House and for the quintessential NOLA experience, it has to be cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde.
For some history in New Orleans, a visit to the Cabildo in Jackson Square is worthwhile. It’s a brilliant history museum telling the fascinating story of Louisiana from its earliest settlements to post civil war reconstruction. Next door is the Presbytere, which combines a moving exhibit on Hurricane Katrina on the first floor, with a Mardi Gras exhibit upstairs. There are amazing costumes here and lots of history of the different ‘krewes’ and traditions.
One of the unique aspects of New Orleans is the above-ground cemeteries. There’s a few in town and it’s best to take a guided tour. I joined a tour of the Garden District which included Lafayette Cemetery and learned lots of interesting information about the history of the cemetery, New Orleans burials and living and dying in the city. The above ground tombs make the cemetery seem like its own city with streets and houses of the dead.
For something a bit different in New Orleans, consider taking a Swamp Tour. I went on a bayou boat with Cajun Encounters and it was wonderful. We cruised along a wide river and smaller waterways with trees growing out of the water, and saw alligators, herons and snakes. The scenery was lovely and it’s so nice to slow down and relax for a couple of hours.
Most of all, in New Orleans, though, just enjoy listening to the music everywhere in this city – drifting in through the windows of the Cabildo from a street band playing in the square below; from a band playing outside Cafe Du Monde or Market Cafe; echoing down the street from a parade… It all adds to a unique atmosphere in New Orleans.
