As the sun sets over New Orleans, James Calloway closes his eyes and listens to the brass band playing just a few feet away on Frenchmen Street. The 41-year-old music historian from London has traveled the world in search of the origins of great music, but there’s something about this city—the way jazz spills from every bar, how the notes seem to dance in the humid air—that feels different. “It’s not just history here,” he says. “It’s alive. It breathes with the city.”
For James and countless other travelers, music isn’t just a soundtrack to their adventures; it’s the reason they travel in the first place. Alongside him on this journey is Erin Patel, a 33-year-old music teacher from Toronto who believes that the best way to understand a place is through its sound. “Music is culture, music is people,” she explains. “When you hear the blues in Memphis or country in Nashville, you’re stepping into someone’s story.”
Together, they set out on a journey through America’s most iconic musical cities, from the jazz-filled streets of New Orleans to the birthplace of the blues in Memphis, the country heart of Nashville, and the electric energy of Chicago’s blues and jazz scene.
Music Feeds The Soul & Powers Some Travelers
New Orleans
Memphis
Nashville
Chicago
New Orleans: The Birthplace of Jazz
The Crescent City is where American music as we know it truly began. Jazz was born here at the turn of the 20th century, a fusion of African rhythms, European classical music, and the improvisational genius of musicians like Louis Armstrong. Today, the city remains a mecca for live music, where impromptu performances erupt on every corner.
James and Erin start their journey in the French Quarter, wandering into Preservation Hall, one of the most storied jazz venues in the world. The small, dimly lit room holds a few dozen people, but the energy inside is electric. “This is what I came here for,” James whispers as a trumpet player launches into a lively solo, sweat dripping from his brow.
Beyond the Quarter, they follow the sounds to Tremé, America’s oldest African American neighborhood, where jazz was first nurtured in the early 1900s. A stop at the Backstreet Cultural Museum reveals the roots of Mardi Gras Indian music, a powerful blend of percussion and chanting that traces back to the city’s African and Caribbean heritage. “It’s more than just music,” Erin says. “It’s identity, it’s resistance, it’s history.”
Memphis: Where the Blues Took Shape
A three-hour drive north along the Mississippi River brings them to Memphis, the city that gave the world the blues. Beale Street, the beating heart of the city’s music scene, still echoes with the sound of wailing guitars and deep, soulful voices.
Their first stop is Sun Studio, where legends like B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Elvis Presley recorded some of the most influential music of the 20th century. Inside, the original microphone that captured Elvis’s first song, That’s All Right, still stands. “Standing here, you can almost feel the moment history was made,” Erin says, running her fingers over the scuffed wooden floor.
At the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, James is mesmerized by the legacy of Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s. “Stax was the grittier, more defiant answer to Motown,” he explains. “It wasn’t just about making hits; it was about giving a voice to the struggles of Black America.”
Later that evening, they settle into a booth at B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street, where a local band plays a slow, mournful blues number. The guitarist’s voice is thick with longing, his fingers moving effortlessly over the strings. “This,” James says, raising his drink, “is the sound of heartbreak and hope wrapped into one.”
Nashville: The Soul of Country Music
Leaving the blues behind, they head east to Nashville, the beating heart of country music. Known as Music City, this town is a pilgrimage site for anyone who has ever hummed along to a country tune.
The Country Music Hall of Fame provides an essential history lesson, from Hank Williams’s lonesome twang to Dolly Parton’s rhinestone-studded legacy. But it’s at the legendary Ryman Auditorium—once home to the Grand Ole Opry—where they truly understand the soul of Nashville. “Every major name in country has stood on this stage,” Erin says, stepping onto the worn wooden floor. “It’s like a temple for music.”
That night, they make their way to the Bluebird Café, a tiny venue where some of the greatest country songs were first performed. The audience sits in complete silence as a young songwriter strums an acoustic guitar, singing about lost love and small-town dreams. “Country music is storytelling at its core,” James reflects. “And Nashville is where those stories come to life.”
Chicago: The Evolution of Blues and Jazz
Their final stop is Chicago, where the blues electrified and jazz found a new home. The Windy City became a musical powerhouse in the early 20th century, as Southern musicians migrated north, bringing their sounds with them.
Their first stop is the Chess Records studio, where Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Chuck Berry recorded hits that defined an era. “This is where the blues went electric,” James explains. “Without Chess Records, there’d be no Rolling Stones, no Led Zeppelin, no rock as we know it.”
That night, they head to Kingston Mines, one of the city’s most famous blues clubs. The air is thick with the smell of barbecue, and the band is playing a rollicking, foot-stomping number. A man in a fedora leans over and tells them, “If you ain’t feelin’ the blues in Chicago, you ain’t feelin’ it anywhere.”
James & Erin on the road.
Their last morning in the city, they take a quiet walk along the Chicago River. Erin hums a tune, something she picked up on Beale Street or maybe in a smoky jazz club in the Quarter. “It’s funny,” she muses. “Each of these cities has its own sound, but they all share something. They’re built on emotion—joy, pain, longing, celebration. And you don’t just hear it. You feel it.”
James nods. “That’s the thing about music. It doesn’t matter where you go—it’s the one language that everyone understands.”
As they board their flight home, their playlists are fuller, their hearts are lighter, and their understanding of America’s musical heritage is deeper. Because to truly know a city, you have to listen to it. And some cities? They sing.
