The Best Music Cities in the USA
The Top 10 Best Music Cities in the USA
America’s music scene is vast, vibrant, and varied. Along with the ever-evolving music industry, several amazing cities have become meccas for music lovers from around the world. We have put together a list of remarkable cities where music has become an indelible part of their identity as destinations that people flock to. Whether you enjoy the soft sound of jazz, the twang of a steel guitar, the soulful sound of brass horns, or the thumping drums of hip-hop, there is something for everyone who really loves music.
1) New Orleans | All that Jazz
Some older timers in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) say that jazz grew organically out of drumming and voodoo rituals. Others say it was born in 1895, the year “Buddy” Bolden whose charisma and musical talent became legendary. Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Pete Fountain, and Jeremy Davenport to name a few are just some of NOLA’s musical legends. Traditional New Orleans jazz includes a cornet, trumpet, and trombone and they are still the foundation of most bands. Not much in the Big Easy happens without music - it is in the heart and soul of this city, especially in the famous French Quarter. Needless to say, a trip to New Orleans isn’t complete without hearing some jazz while sipping a Sazerac, made with rye, absinthe, and bitters. Jazz is the byproduct of the unique cultural environment of New Orleans, where one of America’s most unique musical styles continues to evolve.
2) Nashville | Music City USA
From the onset, Nashville’s foundation was built on music beginning with the fiddle playing of one of its most famous sons, Davey Crockett! Today, Nashville is known as “Music City” and for good reason, there is music everywhere from its honky-tonks located on Broadway to the famous Grand Ole Opry and the treasured Ryman Auditorium. You will feel welcome in this city where music is written, performed, and recorded 365 days a year! There are more than 180 music venues offering something for everyone. So many music legends have recorded in Nashville - Elvis, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Little Richard, and Etta James to name a few. In addition to riveting live performances, Nashville has several museums like the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the National Museum of African American Music, and the Johnny Cash Museum. These museums are dedicated to the music and musicians that make this city reverberate. Today, Nashville is a hub for many different types of musical genres making it easy to see why this is the place music calls home!
3) Memphis | Home of the King and Rock n’ Roll
You can’t talk about American music without talking about Memphis, the place where rock n’ roll was born. Not to mention that the king of rock n’ roll, Elvis made his home here. Memphis isn’t just about rock n’ roll and Elvis though, it is also about soul, gospel, rhythm, and blues, as the major genres that have deep roots in the cultural heritage of this city. To put a fine point on the musical heritage of Memphis four museums pay tribute to the city’s musical contribution to the world - Blues Hall of Fame, Rock and Soul Museum, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and Sun Records Studio Museum. A visit to Memphis isn’t complete without touring Graceland, the home of Elvis, and wandering down Beale Street which invokes the memory of musicians that have played here in the past and those future stars performing today.
4) Mississippi Delta Blues Trail
If you want to take a deep dive into the blues, the root source of so much of our modern music, cruise the Blues Trail where you will discover Mississippi Delta culture and its musical heritage. More famous blues musicians have come from the Delta than any other region or state combined! There are countless landmarks and 19 museums to visit along the way including the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, the Delta Blues Museum, the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum, and the Gateway to the Blues Museum, to name a few. A highlight of the trail is a stop in Clarksdale, where Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters, and Ike Turner got their start. It is also home to the Crossroads where legend has it that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for supernatural musical ability. Juke joints and roadhouses offer down-home blues 356 days a year and scrumptious southern cooking. Best of all this road trip immerses you in the places, people, and energy that inspired this music that is still impacting music around the world.
5) New York City | Musical Diversity
New York is known worldwide for its musical diversity. The city is the birthplace of hip-hop, be-hop, garage house, New York Punk, and Broadway musicals, which have been created by a unique blend of cultures that is New York. Many music legends may live in the LA area, but most got their start in New York City! Michael Jackson, Madonna, Debbie Harry, Ella Fitzgerald, Run DMC, Dylan, Billy Joel, and countless others all began their careers in “the city.” There is the historic Carnegie Hall, Broadway, Radio City, the Lincoln Center, the Hip Hop clubs of the Bronx, the iconic Apollo Theater, and countless clubs and cafes where music spills out onto the sidewalks making New York not hard to love. To learn more about Hip Hop head to the new Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx that traces the local and global history of this genre. If jazz is more your speed, check out the National Jazz Museum in Harlem; and if you like Broadway, don’t miss the Museum of Broadway where you will see hundreds of rare costumes, props, and artifacts.
6) Detroit | Motown
In Detroit, Motown was born. Think Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. With the success of these musicians, Detriot became known as “Hitsville.” From blues to soul to techno, the Motor City rocks. Something in the air of Detroit fosters good music, and the city today continues to be a source of musical inspiration. As a matter of fact, Connecticut’s Michael Bolton, who called the city a “melting pot of music” recently recorded Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville. An essential part of any visit to Detroit is a trip to the Motown Museum- Hitsville, USA, the famous headquarters of Motown Records which is full of photos, costumes, and memorabilia of its hit-making artists.
7) Chicago | Strikes a Chord
Today Chicago is considered a global music leader with a music scene that is as strong as ever, across genres including hip-hop, indie rock, electronic dance music, and experimental jazz. It is also the birthplace of house and gospel music, urban blues, and modern jazz. The city has long been considered a major hotspot for the blues; it even hosts the Chicago Blues Festival, the largest of its kind in the world. To experience this music mecca explore the riffs and beats that fill the bars in Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods that will speak to your soul. In this city, you can come face-to-face with both emerging artists and established legends.
8) Los Angeles | Rock On
There is perhaps no music scene in the country that has hosted more famous rock acts than Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. This area gave many of rock’s future stars their first taste of the spotlight. This is where iconic bands of the ’60s and ’70s, 80s, and beyond hit their stride - The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Birds, Guns and Roses, Buffalo Springfield, Ratt, Motley Crue, Van Halen, and Stone Temple Pilots among many others. If you are on the Strip head to the iconic Whisky a Go Go or the Roxy Theater that has witnessed the rise of countless musical legends. The Hollywood Bowl and the Troubadour are cherished institutions for both artists and music lovers. In downtown LA head to a concert venue, a speakeasy, or a bar to listen to an impressive array of live performances where you just might be hearing the next big thing! Don’t miss the Music Museum that is inside the Grammy Museum where you will learn about the technology and creativity that inspires American music.
9) Austin | Two Stepping
Austin has proclaimed itself to be the Live Music Capital of the World and has even trademarked it to prove their point! There are more than 250 venues that offer live music where musicians play seemingly everywhere! Whether your musical taste is geared toward country-western or rock n’ roll, you are sure to find a place worth visiting. Not to be missed is the Broken Spoke, an old-fashioned honky-tonk where you can do some Texas two-stepping, Antone’s Nightclub that has been Austin’s home of the blues since 1975 ( Buddy Guy and Clapton have performed here), the Moody Theater, home of the longest-running TV music series, Donn’s Depot, located in an old Missouri-Pacific train caboose, and Scoot Inn, the oldest bar in Central Texas. To learn more about Austin’s music scene head to the Texas Music Museum which collects and preserves the diverse traditions and sounds of Texas music.
10) Las Vegas | Dazzling Shows 365 Days a Year
The city that never sleeps is home to some of the world’s most amazing music venues like the T-Mobile Arena, the House of Blues, and the Brooklyn Bowl. Don’t forget the casino theaters that feature such performers as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, The Eagles, Lionel Richie, and Adele among other luminaries. To get up close and personal with your favorite performers head to the House of Blues, if classical music is more your thing, go to the Petrossian Bar for piano music and cocktails, for country music there is Gilley’s Saloon, and for a touch of south seas exotica head to Frankie’s Tiki Room. If you want to leave the Las Vegas strip, go for a stroll along Freemont Street which offers live free music 365 days a year.
There is nothing like tapping your toes when listening to your favorite music. When you visit a city that is in love with music, it is just so much more fun! Let Tours of Distinction take you on a guided group tour of these great music cities… and don’t forget to pack your dancing shoes!