Best Music Cities in The US: A Musical Road Trip

What are the best music cities in the US? 

A musical road trip across the United States from New York City’s jazz venues to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to the New Orleans jazz scene shows us just what a culturally and musically rich country the United States is.

We took a road trip to explore the United States’s best music cities with extensive musical heritage; New York City, Cleveland, Memphis, Austin and New Orleans. 

Here is what we found.

START OF THE MUSICAL ROAD TRIP: NEW YORK CITY

New York City is famous for so many things that one could almost forget that it is a legendary music city.

All types of music exist and thrive in New York City; from the Broadway musical to the the street musician. But it is in its jazz venues where “The City” really shines.

Birdland

Birdland is right smack in the middle of New York City’s Times Square, on 44th Street in the Theater District.

Since 1949 Birdland has been showcasing the best jazz on Earth with the likes of Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane…well, you get the picture.

The venue is beautifully appointed with every seat having a great view of the stage. There is bar seating as well as table seating with excellent menu choices and cocktails.

But it’s all about the music. Tickets are reasonable for what you get with most around $25.00 with a $20.00 food or drink minimum.

An evening at Birdland is one of the best things to do in New York City.

Birdland has firmly established itself as an important part of New York City culture and musical history.

The Blue Note

Blue Note is another legendary, must-visit venue for the jazz aficionado. The venue has been around forever on West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village.

The music ranges from pure jazz to gospel to Latin and soul all within a lovely environment. Service is efficient and friendly. Cocktails are potent and there is also meal service.

Tickets are in the $40.00 range for performers like Wynton Marsalis and other greats.

All the shows are wonderful but the afternoon gospel shows are incredibly inspiring.

The Apollo Theater

Surely no New York City music venue is complete without a mention of Harlem. There are dozens of music venues in Harlem but two immediately come to mind.

The first is the Apollo Theater where many famous and legendary performers graced the stage including, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, and Gladys Knight to mention just a few.

Every Wednesday is Amateur Night at the Apollo. Talented performers and others not so gifted perform on stage and are judged by the audience. Many winners go on to be renowned names in music.

At the end of the night, the audience is invited to come on stage and dance. This is often referred to as one of the most popular live music experiences in New York.

Red Rooster

The other wonderful Harlem music experience is the Sunday Gospel Brunch at Red Rooster. The performers come from a local music school and they are electrifying.

The show is accompanied by a southern food buffet. This is the most fun, and delicious, musical afternoon you can have in Harlem.

Check out where to stay in New York City based on what you want to see and do.

THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

One does not usually think of Cleveland as one of the best music cities in the US, but on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland sits one of the meccas of the music world, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This is an enterprise created to preserve and promote the legacy of the rock and roll genre.

Established in 1983, the Hall of Fame is a multi-story building with a vast collection of rock and roll paraphernalia, exhibits and restaurants.

The Hall of Fame displays exhibits of the genre’s most prominent performers in a well-organized and interesting format.

The layout guides guests through a historical and geographical tour of rock and roll as it pays tribute to some of rock’s earliest performers and then works its way up to the most recent inductees.

Interspersed throughout the building are venues showing snippets of prominent performers’ historic moments; think The Beatles’ debut at the Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis in Vegas or The Jackson Five at New York City’s Apollo Theater. 

Of course, there is infectious music throughout.

You will be hard-pressed to leave this place with anything other than an upbeat mood and a smile.

At $26.00 a ticket, – discounts for seniors and students – the price is reasonable for what you get; hours of musical memories and a very interesting insight into the magical world of music.

Insider tip: Look out for the Mahalia Jackson exhibit. Her voice will pierce your heart with its perfect beauty.

Also of interest: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years and Rock and Roll Concert and Backstage Photographs.

Where to stay in Cleveland.

MEMPHIS: HOME OF THE BLUES

Memphis is a city without an identity crisis. It has no doubt it is THE quintessential blues city and one of the top music cities in the US. The city oozes blues.

There are fine blues clubs throughout the town, but Beale Street is where you’ll find the bulk of the blues clubs congregated in one location. 

Many of the clubs are open early in the day as they also double as restaurants, but the place starts really jumping around dinner time. 

One club after another line both sides of the street. Mellow, soulful blues pour from the clubs onto the streets enticing passersby to enter and… sit a spell, y’all.

Memphis is a candidate for one of the country’s best music cities.

Historic Beale Street is pedestrian-friendly.

You can club-hop up and down the street listening to some of the world’s best blues all night as the drinks are reasonably priced and there is rarely a cover.

Some outstanding clubs serve southern soul food and BBQ, Memphis’ signature dish, along with the music.

These include B.B. Kings Blues Club and Blues City Café, across from each other at Beale Street’s main intersection.  

A rumor had Mick Jagger visiting Blues City Café when I was there. Imagine biting into a BBQ rib and turning to your partner saying, “Hey, there goes Mick!”

Memphis is also the country’s repository of blues memories and memorabilia. 

The city is home to the Blues Hall of Fame Museum, the Rock and Soul Museum and the Stax Museum of American Soul.

Another important piece of music history is Sun Studio, a National Historic Landmark where notables like B.B. King and Elvis Presley made history by recording their first tracks…all of which brings us to…

GRACELAND: A MUSICAL ROAD TRIP HIGHLIGHT

A visit to Graceland tells the interesting story of, Elvis Presley, a dirt-poor country boy born in the poorest state in the union in the middle of the Depression who went on to become an icon of American music.

Graceland, a National Historic Landmark, was Elvis Presley’s home from 1957 to his death in 1977. 

He purchased the sprawling 14-acre estate for $102,500 at age 22.

The mansion is the second most visited home in the United States after the White House.

Elvis fans travel from all over the world to see where and how he and his family lived.

I remember when the former prime minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, visited the U.S. as a private citizen.

He specifically requested a visit to Graceland where he spent a full day touring the home guided by Elvis’s former wife, Priscilla Presley. 

Elvis had that effect on many people. His fans simply loved him.

The home itself is smaller than you would expect. The first floor consists of a foyer, guest bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen.

Downstairs are the converted entertainment rooms including the famous Jungle Room decorated in a Polynesian motif which Elvis loved. The upstairs remains private.

All of Graceland is reflective of the singer’s taste and a tour of Graceland is a peek into his character.

Ticket prices are segmented. The lowest admission, $40.00, will get you a visit to the home, family photos, memorabilia, and planes – yes, he had two planes.

Higher-priced tickets allow you to visit the rooms packed with Elvis awards, cars, and motorcycles.  All tickets offer the Presley family grave sites and peaceful meditation gardens. 

There is an enormous gift shop on site which you will somehow gravitate towards like a zombie whether you like gift shops or not.

There are also 2 cafeterias, each named after one of Elvis’s parents, serving southern fare.

Can’t get enough Memphis? Try these: 100 Things to do in Memphis before you die.  Elvis: The Legend, Memphis: Then and Now, Beale Street Dynasty, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley,

Where to stay in Memphis.

AUSTIN: THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 

Austin’s title as the live music capital of the world is well deserved, and the city has the chops to prove it.

Big-name artists started here; Janis Joplin and Willie Nelson just to mention a couple.

The entire city is one big music venue starting in the Austin Airport where performers entertain pleasantly surprised travelers.

The city reminded me a little of Havana in that there is music everywhere.

Throughout the city there are little enclaves of music venues; Red River, Rainey Street, and South Congress Avenue serving up everything from honky-tonk to blues to rock to norteño and every combination thereof.

Truly one of the best music cities around.

The area that I found the most interesting of these music venue congregations was 6^th Street, running roughly from the Inter-regional Highway to Congress Avenue. 

Sixth Street is definitely, shall we say… edgy. Or is counter-culture a better word? 

Dozens of clubs line the street. Some offer sedate piano music others…not so much.

Some of the clubs have a bizarre vibe. Most offer live rock to a younger crowd.

One bar that is worth mentioning is Casino El Camino.

This place continuously shows horror movies that look like they were made by a 14-year-old lunatic. They are mesmerizing in their incongruity. 

We stepped in for a quick bite and ended up spending several hours happily sipping our cheap beers and watching Dracula’s wife decapitate a pregnant pterodactyl while zombies toasted each other with Mexican beer on the screen.

Good fun. The drinks are surprisingly inexpensive, and the bar food is very good.

It is not surprising that one of Austin’s mottos is “Keep Austin weird.”  The unique and unusual sights you find in Austin contribute to its charm.

Here are two Austin locations that have nothing to do with music, but I just had to include them because they are so out-of-this-world amazing.

The Salt Lick – Head to this spot for a mouth-watering BBQ. You’ll probably have to wait in line, but it is so worth it. In fact, it’s so good there’s even a book about it, The Salt Lick Cook Book: A Story of Land, Family and Love.  

Ai Weiwei’s art exhibit, “Forever Bicycles” is on view at the Waller Delta. An amazing piece of sculpture.

Insider tip: Enjoy both of Austin’s signature features, music, and BBQ, at the same time at Stubbs BBQ!  If you want to sample some of this good Austin cooking at home, try The Austin Cookbook.

Austin city guide, Lonely Planet Pocket Austin.

Where to stay in Austin.

NEW ORLEANS: WHERE JAZZ WAS BORN

The Big Easy, N’Awlins, NOLA, The Crescent City, Let the Good Times Roll.

Many nicknames describe this sultry, colorful, palm-fringed town that breathes music and, well…good times.

One well-deserved moniker is the Birthplace of Jazz.

It was here in the late 1800s that the first notes of jazz drifted over iron-wrought balconies onto cobblestone streets, into lush garden patios and music venues…and the music world has never been the same again.

This city is in a class by itself when it comes to jazz and one could argue that it is one of the best music cities in the US, if not THE best. 

One classic venue that has been around for generations is Preservation Hall.

If you’ve been to New Orleans, you probably remember this place and yes, it’s still that good.

I can understand how Bourbon Street can seem a little rough around the edges at times but don’t be fooled.

There are jazz gems pulsating behind those t-shirt and bobblehead-doll souvenir shops.  

A couple of clubs that keep rising to the top of recommended destinations around Bourbon Street is Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta Hotel and Fritzel’s Jazz Pub, reputed to be the oldest in New Orleans.

Just a few minutes walk from Bourbon Street is the Faubourg Marigny district of Frenchmen Street, my favorite jazz mecca in New Orleans.

This area is 3 blocks of jazz heaven in a colorful neighborhood of hundred-year-old wood houses with flower-laden balconies and street fairs selling local crafts.  

As Bourbon Street turned more and more touristy, locals migrated to  Frenchmen Street for more authentic jazz and local cooking.

New Orleans is definitely one of the best music cities in the U.S.

The clubs in this humble district regularly play host to jazz greats like Ellis Marsalis, Charmaine Neville, and Delfeayo Marsalis. It doesn’t get any better than this, guys. 

For an evening of authentic jazz and good food in Faubourg Marigny, head to Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, The Spotted Cat Music Club, Blue Nile, The Maison, or Bamboula’s.

Or better still, club-hop yourself silly in one single night of jubilant jazz joy! 

Come here for jazz and you will not be disappointed.

Short on time? Check out what to do with a day in New Orleans. 

And for the history buff (that would be me!) you absolutely cannot miss a visit to the National World War II Museum of New Orleans.

Where to stay in New Orleans.

…and don’t forget your city and music guides! DK Eyewitness Travel Guide. Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans, New Orleans Jazz, Up From the Cradle of Jazz.

What are your thoughts on these best music cities from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to New Orleans? 

How would you design your own musical pilgrimage?  We’d like to know.

Want to know a little bit more about these music cities? Check out these guidebooks.

Updated 2024

What do you think are the best music cities in the United States? What did we miss?

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