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The Deep South Music Heritage Group Tour

When you turn on the radio or open your favorite music app on your smartphone, you’re listening to artists whose music was inspired by blues, country, rock ‘n roll, soul and jazz - all genres of music which have deep roots in the South. Music has always played an important role in Southern history, and many of the greatest musicians in the U.S. have started their careers in the South, including Elvis Presley, Robert Johnson and Louis Armstrong.

Sweet Magnolia Tour’s Deep South Music Heritage Tour celebrates the music of the South and the artists that made Southern music famous. Every fall, the Deep South Music Heritage Tour takes guests on a 10-day tour of Southern music history, making stops in Nashville, Memphis, Mississippi and Louisiana. Guests experience firsthand the sites and sounds of Southern music, from the Honky Tonks in Nashville, to the Blues bars in Memphis, to the jazz clubs in New Orleans and more.

Here’s a look at the stops on the Deep South Music Heritage Tour, including what made each area famous in Southern music history.

Nashville Tour

The first stop on the Deep South Music Heritage Tour is none other than Music City USA. What makes this city famous, and the reason it’s on the tour, is country music. Nashville is the center of the country music industry and is home to many country music artists, including Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, and Tim McGraw. Every day in Nashville, country music songs are written, recorded and performed.

Nashville first got put on the map largely due to the Grand Ole Opry. This weekly radio show started in the early 1900’s and was broadcast all over the nation. Over the years, this radio show became more and more popular, which brought artists looking to start a career in country music to Nashville. Some of the highlights of the Nashville tour include a performance at the Grand Ole Opry, a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and and walkthrough of the famed RCA Studio B.

Memphis City Tour

When most people think of Memphis, a few things come to mind: barbeque, blues and Elvis. Two out of those three are the reasons Memphis made it on the Deep South Music Heritage Tour. Can you guess which two? Here’s a hint: it’s not the barbeque!

What first made Memphis famous was the blues. Blues musicians started gathering on Beale Street in Memphis in the late 1800’s to collaborate, write and perform blues music. Still to this day, Memphis is known for great blues music, and on any given night on Beale Street, you can listen to some of the best blues musicians in the world. Although every blues man has made their way through Memphis at some point in their career, the blues artist that stands out in Memphis (and even has a blues bar named after him!) is blues legend B. B. King aka “the Beale Street Blues Boy.”

The blues has always been and will always be a part of Memphis, but in the 1950’s, a new type of music began to take over the city: rock ‘n roll. Rock ‘n roll we know today started when Sam Phillips and Elvis Presley teamed up at the famed Sun Studio. It didn’t take long for their new style of music to catch on, and well, the rest is music history. Some of the highlights of the city tour in Memphis include a tour of Sun Studio and admission to Elvis Presley’s Graceland.

Delta Mississippi Tour

Mississippi is home of the Delta blues - one of the earliest styles of blues music, getting it’s name from it’s origin in the Mississippi Delta. Delta blues artists have inspired and continue to inspire musicians from all genres of music. Bands from the Rolling Stones to the Red Hot Chili Peppers have covered songs written by Delta blues musicians. Probably the most famous Delta blues artist is the legendary Robert Johnson. Eric Clapton said of Robert Johnson, “[he is] the most important blues singer that ever lived.”

The Delta blues has helped shape modern music, including an essential influence in rock ‘n roll. Some of the highlights of the tour in Mississippi include the Delta Blues Museum Clarksdale, B.B. King Museum Indianola, and the antebellum Monmouth Plantation Home.

Louisiana Bayou Tour

The last stop on the Deep South Music Heritage Tour takes guests to bayou. This area of the U.S. is known for it’s swamps and crawfish, but what brings the tour to Louisiana is Jazz, Cajun and Zydeco music. Cajun and Zydeco is from the French Creole and Louisiana French speakers and is a unique combination of many styles of music. Cajun and Zydeco music has inspired many genres of American music, and continue to inspire musicians to this day.

New Orleans Tour

A visit to Louisiana wouldn’t be complete without a stop in New Orleans, or as the locals like to call it, N’aw-lins. This port city in Louisiana is abounding with history and culture, and is home to the Dixieland Jazz (also known as New Orleans jazz). This type of music originated in the early 20th century and spread quickly across the U.S. to cities like New York and Chicago. Some of the early pioneers of Dixieland Jazz include trumpet player and bandleader Louis Armstrong.

Jazz still plays an integral part of New Orleans culture, and on any given night in the French Quarter, you can hear the music that made the city famous. The city of New Orleans pays tribute to its Jazz roots with the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, bringing some of the world’s best Jazz musicians to the festival every year.

Some of the highlights of the tour in Louisiana include Angelle’s Whiskey River Landing for Cajun music & dancing, a Cajun Man’s (Black Guidry) Swamp Tour, a New Orleans Sightseeing Tour and a New Orleans Farewell dinner & entertainment.

For more information about Sweet Magnolia Tour’s Deep South Music Heritage Tour, click here or give us a call at 800-235-5295. If you’re interested in learning more about the blues, also be sure to check out our Nuttin’ But The Blues Vacation Holiday which includes three days of nothing but the blues!

Tags: Southern Tours