This Scenic Road Trip Connects Dollywood, Graceland, And New Orleans' Jazz Scene With Iconic Music Stops

Bleating from the rickety radios of cars cruising wide open highways, blaring from the back doors of smoky bars, and echoing down the alleys frequented by streetside performers, the sounds of the South are inextricable from the classic American road trip. The raring rhythms of rock and roll, staccato beats of Louisiana jazz, soulful cries of Mississippi blues, and laments of history's great country singers are ubiquitous across the country.

Sing along to lyrics spun by great Southern songstresses and blast genre-defining composers over the speakers as you explore the locations where the landscape of the music industry forever. They're all wrapped into one dedicated road trip route, a long-distance drive dedicated to the country's emblematic tunes. It's known as the Sounds of the South route, a trail that meanders from Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains to the storied streets of New Orleans. Follow along to cruise through the country music capital of the world, the birthplace of the blues, and iconic sites like Graceland and Dollywood.

Though it only spans 659 miles total, you're going to want to take your time. It could take you a little time to recover from a raucous night in the Dolly Parton bar in Nashville, a picture-perfect pink paradise. You might still find your legs wobbling in the wake of a Bourbon Street shindig, since Louisiana's most famed street is a vibrant adult playground of unique entertainment. And you'll find yourself slowing down between the dripping boughs of the Bayou and the rolling Tennessee hills.

Connecting Nashville and New Orleans, both ends of the trail are easy to access from all over the U.S. through their large domestic airports. Renting a car is also straightforward in either. Opt for a one-way rental and drop off your wheels at the end of your journey. 

Frequented by the first frontier fiddlers to ship in off the boats from the British Isles, the music legends that haunt its honkytonks, and the warbling superstars that put the city on center stage, Nashville has long been the epicenter of the country music scene. It's only fitting that you would start out in one of the world's best music destinations on this unbelievably scenic Southern road trip.

Tread in the stead of Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton on the neon-soaked streets of Music City, planning a country-centric tour to kick off your road trip South. Stop in at any hour, any day of the week, and you'll be greeted with live music emanating from the Broadway bars or the cozy venues on Music Row. Join the crowds congregating stage side or visit some of the city sites dedicated to Nashville's musical heritage.

Hear the story of the U.S.'s longest-running radio show, Grand Ole Opry, at the Ryman Auditorium, or celebrate 400 years of heritage and a 50-genre span of innovation at the National Museum of African American Music. Carve out a couple of hours to tour the gigantic Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and stop in at historic hitmaker RCA Studio B, or check out the memorabilia in the Johnny Cash Museum. You can also take a three hour detour from the road trip's main tract to dedicate a day to Dolly Parton at Dollywood, her eponymous theme park.

When dawn broke over the modern music scene, its first sun rays slipped over the flat stone slabs of Beale Street. Memphis is inextricable from the story of rock n' roll, the epoch of popular blues, the rich histories of soul, of gospel, of rhythm and blues. The most quintessentially American sounds were born in the Southern city's clubs, bars, and world-renowned record studios. Sailing south from the pandemonium of Nashville's Broadway, you'll hear Memphis before you see it.

Settle into the city and set straight out to explore the stories of the U.S.'s signature sounds, almost all born of the Black American traditions that shaped the region. Track the techniques developed from traditional spirituals, passed down generation-to-generation from enslaved songstresses, at STAX, the Museum of American Soul Music. See how those soulful stylings morphed into crying single string solos at the Blues Hall of Fame, played out nightly at the iconic B.B. King's Blues Club. Track the origins of rock n' roll at Sun Studio, where the first rock record was laid down by Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats and artists like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison recorded their early albums. And finish up your hip swinging tour on Beale Street, shooting pool on 100-year-old tables at Peoples On Beale or attending a live show at Rum Boogie Café.

Add on an obligatory stop at the U.S.'s second most visited residence, only edged out by the White House. Graceland, the lavish mansion home of the legendary Elvis Presley, offers daily tours and even overnight stays for those looking to feel closer to the King.

While their wailing guitars and steady rhythms found their footing in Memphis, the originators of the blues were singing stories from further south. Leaving the neon gleaming in the rear-view mirror, you'll travel further down the road trip route and find yourself in the muggy heartland of the Mississippi blues.

77 miles south of the symphonic city, you'll find yourself at a crossroads. The intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 49, where according to music legend, Robert Johnson stood and struck a deal with the devil: his immortal soul, exchanged for the secrets of blues guitar. Woven into the mythology of the music of the South, this crossroads still stands in the city of Clarksdale, the haunt of melodious pioneers like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Ike Turner. Linger to visit the Delta Blues Museum, tour the Stovall Plantation where Muddy Waters was raised, or attend an old school blues show at one of the country's last living juke joints.

With a pitstop to leave an alcoholic homage to Robert Johnson at his grave outside Little Zion Church in Greenwood, you'll follow the route onwards to Jackson. Emerging out through the low hanging mists of the Mississippi Delta, you'll pull up on Farish Street. The historic district, dubbed the Black Mecca of Mississippi, once rang with the songs of Sonny Boy Williamson II and Johnson himself. Rest up from the drive in the low light of Johnny T's Bistro and Blues, listening to live performers as you tuck into some Southern delicacies.

Snaking southwards along the Mississippi River, you'll slip past the archaisms of antebellum on your way into Louisiana. Listen as the language shifts, as French anachronisms work their way into the familiar vernacular of the Southern states, to hear your transition into the world of the Cajun South. Bypassing Bayou villages overhung with moss-laden cypress trees, the roadside vistas will shift into urban scapes as you travel onwards to Lafayette. Cajun culture is wrought into every stone of this underrated Louisiana town with New Orleans vibes, the air spiced by the heady scents of the crawfish pots and the streets ringing with sounds of Cajun and zydeco music.

Marrying French, African, Spanish, and Native American traditions with the familiar tunes of the South, the music of Acadiana is distinctly different to blues, country, or jazz. You'll hear button accordions and fiddles sounding out two-step beats in Cajun dance halls, and you can join in the festivities at a fais do-do held on Sundays at Lafayette's Vermilionville. Similarly, you should listen out for the washboard rhythms of the zydeco artists, regularly preforming across the city.

Join the crowds jiving to Creole refrains at the Blue Moon Saloon, or tune in to the jam sessions that take place every other Friday night in La Maison de Begnaud. Getting up to mingle with the dancing crowds is strongly encouraged. In brighter hours, head back to the Vermilionville Living History & Folklife Park, a traditional village which replicates the 18th century conditions along the Bayou Vermilion that birthed both genres.

Glinting off the high Louisiana sun, brass instruments gleam on every corner of New Orleans. Wielded by the world's greatest jazz musicians, pop-up bands, and part-time buskers, the sound of singing horns in ubiquitous. As soon as you finish your final 135 mile stretch of swamp fringed Louisiana highway, you'll be called into your last destination by the dulcet sounds of sweet jazz singers and the blaring big brass bands.

Lean into the laidback life of the Big Easy. Linger under leafy balconies, where dripping vines grow wild over the trellises of fine metal filigree. Dawdle over a dark liquor cocktail in a low-lit jazz bar. Stroll slowly through the streets of the French Quarter, sleepless since the early 18th century. After a whirlwind tour of every musical site in the South, you'll want to avoid cramming your itinerary in this final city — soak up the song-filled street life instead. 

That being said, there are a few experiences jazz lovers shouldn't skip in the birthplace of the classic American genre. Listen to "Dixieland" jazz resounding over the sun-soaked surface of the mighty Mississippi, the soundtrack to the old school steamboats that have sailed past the city for centuries. Join jubilant street dancers striking up spontaneous second lines in the oldest Black neighborhood in the entire U.S.. Most importantly, plan your jazz bar tour. Sidestep the hubbub of Bourbon Street and sketch out a crawl down Frenchmen Street instead. In the space of just a couple of blocks, you can dip into local favorite venues like Snug Harbor and Spotted Cat Music Club. Alternatively, plan ahead and snare a spot in the supremely intimate Preservation Hall.