Arrival in Nashville, a city legendary for its music and its history. As your drive through the city on your luxury SUV, the city lets you get a glimpse of this cultural hub in the US. The chords and scales that emerged from these halls have shaped modern music and the world.
You begin the day with a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Your private guide is quite the connoisseur and lets you in on a secret: it’s all about the groove. You then head to the history RCA Studio B, where legends ranging from Elvis to Willie Nelson have recorded their world-changing music. As the evening falls on the strip, you head backstage to the Grand Ole Opry. This is a live radio show that’s been on the air since 1925. From your privileged vantage, you get to chat with the créme de lacréme of country music. By the time you take your seat for the rest of the show, you are quite acquainted with the venue, and as a slide-guitar solo breaks through, you are possessed by the inevitable catchyness of country tunes.
After a sweet night out, you are in for a sweeter morning. After an ole country breakfast in one of Nashville’s most iconic cafés, you head to the Goo Goo Shop downtown. The Goo Goo Cluster is a distinctly southern dessert, and, in a sort of way, you also get a backstage pass where you learn how to make this traditional southern treat. Then the best part: degustation. In the evening, you join forces with a local, up-and-coming singer/songwriter for a tour of the strip. After a deep exploration of the venues and the flavourful sounds that make up this historic site, you make your way to a Honky-tonk the locals keep to themselves. Comforting food and a live country show. Now that is southern hospitality!
After a copious sampling of The King’s favourite dishes, you go on a VIP tour of the palatial mansion where Elvis himself walked and lived. You get unique insights into the live and work of one of Rock-n-roll’s greatest legends. It’s time to go to Memphis. You are in a cheerful mood, but it’s time to delve into the soulful blues.
Memphis was the centre of the Civil-Rights Movement in the 60’s. A city by the Mississippi, it moves to the mellow, easy flow of the Big River. You tour historic sites that all seem somehow intertwined with music. You local music expert guides you through venues, in a journey that culminates at the birthplace of rock-n-roll, Sun Studio.
It’s time to head to Mississippi and follow the Blues Trail. From the depths of injustice, a simple pentatonic scale shifted to an artform that conquered the world. This meteoric ascension is not free from folklore. In the wide plains of Mississippi you get a strange feeling. It is an empty space… one that can only be filled with music. You visit Clarksdale, Helena, and finally Indianola, birthplace of one of the most enlightened bluesmen of all times: B.B. King.
You have arrived in New Orleans. A city so colourful and vibrant that seems to be always celebrating, a place that is livened with a neverending party. After you get acquainted with the French Quarter and the local cuisine, you prepare yourself for a full evening of jazz and devilish improvisations that force you to accept: jazz has to be experienced live. Your entourage is composed of a local musicologist, so you know you have just experienced the best in town.
It’s time to say good-bye to the South. Not really… the culture that has sprung from these lands is everywhere. Now that you have witnessed it first-hand, it tastes all the sweeter.
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