Music, as the legendary Dick Clark used to say, is the soundtrack of our lives.
I had the wonderful opportunity to visit multiple locations within a large swath of American's heartland that's now being artfully billed as the Americana Music Triangle. From New Orleans to Nashville, all along the Natchez Trace and up the Mississippi River to Memphis, diverse cultures collided, creating new fusions of cuisine and sound. Much of the world’s most beloved, transformational music of the last century grew out of this region.
The people who came up with this musical destination concept helped make it easy for people to figure out key stops on their music heritage journey, creating a "Gold Record Road.” This driving trail links iconic places, guiding music buffs to well-packaged options where they can learn more about music history and experience some of the best live performances anywhere. Most destinations are within an eight-hour drive of each other. But, day-trippers or people looking to make a weekend out of it, can shrink their options to a smaller footprint within the Americana Music Triangle. Locales I visited include Memphis and Franklin, Tennessee, Tupelo, Mississippi, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. These are fewer than 4 hours by car from each other.
If you're a music fan, put some traveling in 'the Triangle" on your bucket list. To see each blog, loaded with photos and links, click on each of the four photos below.
