ALABAMA | GEORGIA | LOUISIANA | MISSISSIPPI | TENNESSEE

Alabama
The Shoals
The roots of American music are deeply embedded in Alabama. Visit The Shoals, the four musical quad cities in northwest Alabama of Florence, Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, located in Tuscumbia, showcases the state's musical heritage. The annual W. C. Handy Music Festival is enjoyed by tens of thousands at various venues in the Muscle Shoals area the last week of July. The many Shoals area music studios figure prominently in the history of rock ‘n roll and R&B through the 1960s and 1970s. FAME, located in Muscle Shoals, and the original Muscle Shoals Sound, located in Sheffield, are studios that proved to be fertile ground for inter-national superstars like Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones.

Birmingham
Jazz still echoes from nightclubs in downtown Birmingham at places such as Ona’s Music Room where founder Ona Watson, the youngest person to be inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, can often be heard. The Jazz Hall of Fame is also located in downtown Birmingham and offers tours. Adjacent sits the Carver Theatre where jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton once played and local jazz artists and comedy can often be heard.

Montgomery
The legendary Hank Williams is an American music icon and was country music's first superstar, selling ten million records from 1947 to 1953. Montgomery is the center of the Hank Williams Trail in Alabama. Hank became a well-known performer while living in Montgomery. It is also Montgomery where his final resting spot is located a mile from the Hank Williams Museum which houses Hank artefacts including his powder-blue Cadillac he was riding in when he died.

Georgia
Athens
The tag “from Athens, Georgia” means something on the gig circuit. This small, friendly college town, setting for the University of Georgia, produced a bumper crop of bands in the 80’s and the thriving local scene (15 area recording studios) has given rise to legends such as the B-52s and R.E.M. who are still based here.

Macon
From Macon came three musical legends - Little Richard, Otis Redding and James Brown – and there’s still much evidence locally of the town’s most successful rock export, the Allman Brothers. Delve into the roots of these and other famous Georgia musicians such as Ray Charles at Macon’s Georgia Music Hall of Fame, which features memorabilia, costumes, instruments and videos.

Atlanta
Atlanta has always been a major live music centre and musicians as varied as Curtis Mayfield, Jimi Hendrix, the Indigo Girls and Elton John have called it home. And Atlanta’s busy hip-hop and dance scene has produced Arrested Development, TLC and multimillion-selling Toni Braxton. The city’s most famous venue is the Fox Theatre, an extravagant ‘20s Art Deco theatre, just north of downtown, which because of its acoustics has been used for live recordings by the likes of Lynryrd Skynyrd and Bruce Springsteen.

Louisiana
New Orleans
Born of the Afro-Caribbean experience in an American melting pot port town, jazz is New Orleans’ musical gift to the world. Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, Palm Court, Fritzel’s, Bourbon Street clubs and fine hotel lobby bars all keep the traditions alive. Funky brass bands, rhythm & blues, Cajun, zydeco & gospel abound in all neighbourhoods. There are festivals and celebrations year round from the world-famous Mardi Gras to the astonishing New Orleans Jazz Festival and many, many more in between.

Shreveport
This is the city where Elvis Presley became famous at the Louisiana Hayride Show. The re-opened Municipal Auditorium has a museum shrine to the early rockers and country stars. The home of Huddy “Leadbelly” Ledbetter and now one of the top casino venues in the US, Shreveport-Bossier plays host weekly to nationally famous entertainers. In Ferriday, home of Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley, visit the Delta Music Museum for local insight on these great entertainers.

Lafayette & Lake Charles
Preserved by the French-speaking Acadians who came to Louisiana after being expelled from Nova Scotia, Cajun music fills the live music clubs of larger cities and smaller towns. Zydeco, the high-powered Cajun cousin born of the mixture of Cajun and African rhythms, has also taken the world by storm. Cajun dance halls and restaurants in Lafayette and Lake Charles are a great place to taste local cuisine and dance to the beat. The Liberty Theater in Eunice has a weekly Saturday night show that draws fans from afar.

Mississippi
Tupelo
The most significant landmark of Tupelo’s modern history is Elvis Presley’s two-room house. Elvis fans can tour the home, museum, memorial chapel, fountain of life, story wall and enjoy the self-guided tour that leads to some of the most significance locations of Elvis’ life in Tupelo. Make time for the Tupelo Hardware Store, a timeless gem where Gladys Presley bought Elvis his first guitar. Elvis wanted a gun but they compromised on the guitar. And music has never been the same since!

Clarksdale
Located in the heart of the Delta, Clarksdale has a rich blues heritage. Names like W.C. Handy, Charley Patton and Robert Johnson dot the musical landscape here. Their legacies continue to inspire and entertain millions of people worldwide. Clarksdale's historic Blues Alley is home to the Delta Blues Museum, dedicated to both the preservation and interpretation of the blues. Clarksdale has a thriving live music scene with clubs open every weekend and festivals scattered throughout the year.

Greenwood
The Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum and Gallery, in historic downtown, houses an important collection of blues memorabilia. The museum's focus is on Robert Johnson, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil for the ability to play the guitar like no other. He was just 27 years old when a jealous husband supposedly poisoned him at a juke joint just outside of Greenwood.

No one knows for sure where Johnson was laid to rest, so three monuments mark his possible burial sites. These sites and many others can be found on the Mississippi Blues Trail (www.mississippibluestrail.com), which honours the people, history and legacy of the blues throughout Mississippi.

Tennessee
Nashville
See the legendary Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and RCA Studio B where the “Nashville Sound” was created by Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, the Everly Brothers, Elvis and many others. Be sure to hear some live music at a classic honky tonk like Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in the District, Nashville’s downtown entertainment area. Kick up your heels to the country sounds at the Wildhorse Saloon or take a cabaret dinner cruise aboard the General Jackson Showboat on the Cumberland River.

Jackson
Drive from Nashville to Memphis along the Music Highway (Interstate 40) and stop in Jackson, home to Carl Perkins of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ fame. In his honour Jackson hosts the annual Rockabilly Festival in August that draws fans from all over the world. And talking rockabilly, Jackson now houses the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Mural and Rockabilly Park – all in historic downtown and offering a fascinating insight into Jackson’s remarkable musical legacy. While in Jackson, be sure to sample the Southern delicacies served at the The Old Country Store at the Casey Jones Village.

Memphis
Renowned as the birthplace of rock’n’roll and home of the blues, Memphis more than matches its myth. Pilgrims flock from all over the world to find a vibrant city that while cherishing its past remains very much alive. Visit Graceland, Elvis’ beloved mansion, see his two private jets and the fantastic Automobile Museum. Don’t miss the tour at famous Sun Studio and be sure to see the Stax Museum of American Soul Music as well as the Smithsonian’s Rock’n’Soul Museum and the Gibson Guitar Factory. Then dance the night away at any of the clubs on historic Beale Street.

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