There’s just something about Tennessee that seems to inspire a song. And, perhaps in this state more than any other, that tune could emerge as a chart-topping country, blues or soul ballad or an award-winning rock, bluegrass or gospel anthem.
In fact, nearly every genre of American music has been shaped and elevated by industry legends who called Tennessee home — either by birth or by choice — from Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Tina Turner to Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Garth Brooks and beyond.
A road trip to Tennessee’s iconic music destinations offers groups a chance to dive deep into the state’s rich contributions to music history. It’s also a ticket to witness, firsthand, how communities there, both large and small, continue to embrace and propel today’s top music talents.
Rockabilly
Influenced by country, gospel and the blues, rockabilly personifies the mix of musical flavors that pulsed through Memphis’ rock scene in the early- to mid-1950s. Propelled to fame by Sam Phillips’ Sun Records — and through the star power of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash — rockabilly came to define an era, forever shaping rock ’n’ roll’s trajectory. Groups can book a tour of Sun Studio in Memphis to experience the historic site and even stand on the very spot where Elvis first recorded. While tickets are usually available only on a day-of, first-come, first-served basis, private, reserved tours are available for groups of 20 or more.
Carl Perkins’ electric guitar, a Harmony Stratotone, is just one of the pieces on display at the Legends of Tennessee Music Museum in Jackson, where Perkins lived later in life. Housed in Jackson’s Carnegie Center for Arts and History, the museum includes the world’s largest exhibit dedicated to Perkins, plus interactive exhibits devoted to other leading regional musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson and Eddy Arnold. Museum docents can guide groups and share insights into the lives and careers of the showcased musical innovators.
Country
In Bristol, fans can discover country music’s roots at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, which shares stories behind the famed 1927 Bristol Sessions. Lauded as the spark that rocketed country into mainstream American music, the influential recording sessions captured so-called “hillbilly music” and launched the careers of future country icons Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. Through the museum’s interactive displays and frequent festivals and live music events, visitors can explore the beginning roots and continuing evolution of country music as a quintessential American art form. For groups, the museum offers customized guided tours and special add-on experiences, like catered meals and access to after-hours museum events.
Of course, no place is more hallowed in country music than Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025. The iconic stage has hosted generations of the genre’s top stars, and it continues to delight crowds with weekly performances by country’s biggest names. Beyond live shows, groups can enjoy either a daytime or post-show backstage tour, both featuring access to exhibits of Opry memorabilia, a WSM Radio studio tour and the chance to take a photo from the legendary Opry stage. A self-guided or guided tour at the historic downtown Ryman Auditorium, which was home to the Opry from 1943 to 1974, offers groups yet another way to learn more about the Opry’s early roots.
Rock ’n’ Roll
Elvis remains one of rock music’s biggest icons nearly 50 years after his death. A tour of Graceland, his iconic home in Memphis, provides an intimate glimpse into the personal life of the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll” and the man he was away from the spotlight. Groups can experience the property through an interactive iPad tour featuring commentary and stories by both Elvis and his late daughter, Lisa Marie. Across the street, Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex includes exhibits highlighting marquee pieces from Graceland’s 1.5 million-item Elvis collection, from bedazzled jumpsuits and gold and platinum records to his collection of extravagant cars.
In West Tennessee, Tina Turner emerged from humble beginnings to pursue a musical trajectory that reshaped rock history. The Tina Turner Museum in Brownsville tells the story of her incomparable life and career, including how she leveraged powerhouse vocals and legendary stage delivery to become one of the genre’s top-recording artists of all time. Set in the former one-room schoolhouse that Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock) attended, the museum displays collections of the singer’s stunning costumes, gold records and personal memorabilia.
Bluegrass
Open Wednesdays through Saturdays, the T.B. Sutton General Store is well worth a visit based on its charm alone. A landmark in historic Granville since the 1800s, it’s the perfect spot to shop for unique gifts and handmade items or enjoy scratch-made breakfast or lunch. But the destination really comes to life on Saturday nights, when it hosts the Sutton Ole Time Music Hour, a popular live bluegrass radio show. Reservations are required, but once placed, groups can anticipate a meal of Southern comfort foods, served family style, topped by a toe-tapping, live performance from a rotating lineup of the region’s top bluegrass bands.
Bluegrass music has always been closely linked with the Appalachian experience, and the Museum of Appalachia in Clinton honors that fact with a dedicated, in-house bluegrass band that performs a live concert with every enhanced group tour package. Groups can choose to enjoy a meal of Southern staples for breakfast, lunch or dinner, all accompanied by a medley of live bluegrass standards. Tickets also include full self-guided access to the property’s grist mill, blacksmith shop, pioneer schoolhouse and other historic structures. The museum’s frequent barn dances and live music-pickin’ parties deliver even more opportunities to enjoy top bluegrass talents.
Soul
At the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, groups can trace the evolution of soul. The museum includes a reassembled 1906 Mississippi Delta church, in honor of the genre’s roots in Southern gospel. Additional exhibits follow soul’s rise to prominence in the 1950s through 1970s, driven by Stax Records recording stars like Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes and Sam & Dave.
Of course, Memphis played a key role not only in the evolution of early American rock music, but also soul — a fact spotlighted in the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum. Exhibits endeavor to tell “the complete Memphis music story,” including the ways that pioneers of both genres pushed against racial and socioeconomic barriers in bringing their sounds mainstream. Displays showcase how rural and urban influences combined to create the Memphis sound and outline the pivotal contributions of Sun, Stax and Hi Records, Memphis’ legendary recording labels. Available audio headset tours provide detailed context for displayed memorabilia, including the original lyrics for Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel,” Ike Turner’s first piano and a Sun Studio playback speaker. For groups, the museum offers an engaging, accessible way to explore Memphis’ profoundly rich musical legacy.
Blues
The nightclubs along Memphis’ renowned Beale Street have long been a hotbed of blues talent, playing host to everyone from early legends like W. C. Handy and B.B. King to today’s up-and-coming stars. The Blues Hall of Fame Museum, located just blocks from Beale Street, features memorabilia and stories from more than 400 inductees — both the widely known and the lesser so — who have shaped not only Memphis’ blues scene, but also the genre as a whole. The museum’s immersive listening booths and its cutting-edge, interactive hologram featuring the likeness of blues musician Taj Mahal effectively bring the sounds and history of the blues to life.
Known as the “Empress of the Blues,” Bessie Smith was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s and early 1930s, charting hits that would go on to influence not only later blues singers, but rock and jazz performers as well. Smith’s life and career are showcased through displays of her personal memorabilia at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center in her hometown of Chattanooga. Groups headed through Eastern Tennessee can explore the center, which also operates as a museum of Chattanooga’s African American history and explores aspects of the Black experience in Chattanooga more broadly.
Gospel
Tennessee has also served as fertile ground for generations of gospel talents, and the genre holds a sacred space in the story of the state’s musical heritage, both on its own merits and as inspiration for artists best known for other styles. Though he’s known as the King of Rock, Elvis, for example, earned each of his three Grammys for gospel recordings, including his rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” The newly opened Museum of Christian & Gospel Music, located just steps from the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, spotlights the ways gospel has evolved and thrived, thanks to trailblazers of the genre both past and present. The museum also includes a robust calendar of live performances by top talents of the genre, including artist-in-residence Russ Taff, a three-time Gospel Hall of Fame inductee.
For an on-demand look at gospel talent in action, groups can also turn to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. The Kingdom Heirs, the theme park’s award-winning Southern gospel group, perform multiple shows weekly that are included in the price of admission. Each fall, the park also attracts top gospel talents to its performance stages as part of its annual Harvest Festival.
