Feel the excitement build as your plane descends into Music City!

After making your way to your hotel, don your cowboy boots and head out for your first night on Broadway. You’ll find it’s way too easy to stay out late as you hop from honky tonk to honky tonk, but hey, you can always have a lie in tomorrow!

Country music fans will be in heaven, with new bands and singer-song writers to discover, as well as ample opportunity to sing along to classic covers. It ain’t all country through… rock, blues, Americana, bluegrass, newgrass all have a place in Nashville. 

Holston House Nashville or similar

Having had a taste of Broadway you’ll know doubt want more! The music starts early, but whilst in town do take the chance to visit some of Nashville’s other great attractions. The Country Music Museum & Hall of Fame takes your on a journey through the history of America’s favourite music genre, whilst the Johnny Cash Museum offers an intimate insight into the life and career of one of country’s biggest stars.

Make sure to also catch a show at the Grand OIe Opry. From its purpose built concert hall on the east of the Cumberland River, the show is recorded live for radio, with performances from emerging talent and household names.

Holston House Nashville or similar

Collect you hire car this morning, for the 2.5 hour drive from Nashville to Muscle Shoals, through the rolling farmland of Southern Tennessee. David Crockett State Park, near Lawrenceburg, makes a picturesque stop to stretch your legs, or enjoy a coffee overlooking Lake Lindsey.

It was the opening of FAME Recording Studios in the 1960’s that put Muscle Shoals on the musical map. Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Phil Collins, ZZ Top and Destiny’s Child are just a few of the ever-growing list of artists to have since laid down tracks there. We suggest booking a backstage tour before you arrive, for either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Likewise, we recommend booking in advance to visit the nearby Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, established in 1969 by four session musicians, known as the Swampers, whose funky tones can be heard on hits by the Rollin’ Stones, Rod Stewart and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Nashville > Muscle Shoals | 135 miles

Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa or similar

Visit your third state in as many days as you cross the border from Alabama into Mississippi en route to Tupelo.

It was in this typical US town, on the 8th January 1935, that a superstar was born, and named Elvis by his parents Gladys and Vernon Presley.

You can visit their two-room family home, and the Pentecostal Church they attended, at the Elvis Presley Birthplace, where there’s also a small museum and the iconic ‘Elvis at 13’ and ‘Homecoming’ statues set amongst peaceful gardens.

For the evening, you’ll find a selection of restaurants serving southern soul food along Main Street in central Tupelo.

Muscle Shoals > Tupelo | 95 miles

Hotel Tupelo or similar

Between Tupelo and Clarksdale, make sure to stop by the charming northern Mississippi town of Oxford. Around The Square you’ll find a number of independent cafés, bookshops and art galleries, as well as the oldest department store in the Southern States.

In Clarksdale it’s back to the music. Grab a photo at the Blues Crossroads (where legend has it Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for supernatural musical ability!), peruse the intriguing Delta Blues Museum, then head to Ground Zero Blues Club to groove the night away.

Tupelo > Clarksdale | 115 miles

Your chosen Clarksdale hotel

If you need to walk off a heavy head this morning, there are a number of quirky murals around Clarksdale.

It’s then onto Memphis, the final stop on your American music tour. Make sure to check out Sun Studios, the ‘Birthplace of Rock ‘n ‘Roll’ where Elvis and Johnny Cash recorded their first tracks. Just south of Downtown, the National Civil Museum at the Lorraine Hotel, the site of Martin Luther King’s assassination, is equally worth a visit.

Beale Street is Memphis’ answer to Nashville’s Broadway. Blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll are all on the menu, accompanied by Memphis-style BBQ and smoked meats – it would be rude not to!

If you would like to stay at the Guest House at Graceland whilst in Memphis, just let your Travel Consultant know.

Clarksdale > Memphis | 75 miles

Hotel Napoleon or similar

No holiday to Memphis would be complete without paying homage to ‘The King’ at Graceland, his home 20 years. Here, you’ll learn how a poor small-town boy reached super stardom, changing pop culture forever. Plus you’ll get to see his fabulous collection of gold records, jewel-studded jumpsuits and vintage cars and motorcycles.

In the evening, if you can manage to walk down Beale Street without getting drawn in to one of the blues clubs, a dinner cruise on the mighty Mississippi offers a perfect end to your time in the Deep South.

Hotel Napoleon or similar

Your self drive holiday through the heart of American music ends today. Make your way to the Memphis International Airport to drop off your hire car and board your flight home.