Tennessee/Louisiana
Music Cities USA: Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans
Program No. 21979RJ
From the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to legendary Beale Street in Memphis and the iconic jazz of New Orleans, join us for a learning adventure that will be music to your ears.
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10 days
9 nights
19 meals
8B 1BR 4L 6D
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Nashville, TN
3
Ryman Auditorium, Opry House Behind The Scenes
Nashville, TN
5
Graceland, Sun Studio, Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum
Memphis, TN
7
Transfer to New Orleans, Welcome to NOLA Dinner, Jazz Sounds
New Orleans, LA
8
History & Culture, French Quarter Walk, City Field Trip
New Orleans, LA
9
NOLA Musician, Cooking School, History & Mardi Gras Museums
New Orleans, LA
10
Court of Two Sisters Brunch, Program Concludes
New Orleans, LA
At a Glance
To experience the true pulse of American music, you have to find its source in the heart of the South. Go on the road in Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans to discover the roots of jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, country, the blues and much more! In Nashville, music comes to life at Studio B — formerly Sun Records — the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry. Tap your feet to the rhythms of Beale Street in Memphis, take a field trip to the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and pay homage to the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” at Graceland. Complete your musical pilgrimage in New Orleans, where live jazz performances and contemporary Creole sounds bear witness to America’s musical foundation.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to two miles daily, some uneven terrain. Standing for museum lectures. Stairs in historical homes/no elevator.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Thrill in a live performance at the Grand Ole Opry from your reserved seats in the music hall.
- Visit B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street for a Southern smorgasbord of Memphis-style barbecue ribs, pulled pork and more and a modern blues performance by the house band.
- Learn how to cook Creole and Cajun at the world-famous New Orleans School of Cooking as a local chef demonstrates a traditional dish — then lunch on the creation.
General Notes
For a 6-night version of this program, check out "Music Cities USA: Nashville to Memphis" (#21154).
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Dick Cockrell
Dick is a lifelong Memphian. A product of Memphis public schools and a graduate of the University of Memphis, he has been married to his wife, Ellen, for 46 years and is the father of two. Dick spent his career in selling food services to restaurants. He retired after 32 years from Sysco Food Service. He has been a Memphis city group leader since 2015.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Terrie Dal Pozzo
View biography
Terrie was raised in New Orleans and moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands at the age of 18. She became the youngest woman in the Virgin Islands to obtain a Coast Guard license to operate motor and sailing vessels. Terrie skippered sailing vessels, taking guests on journeys through the Leeward Islands, teaching them to sail and snorkel and educating them on island life. She later lived in Kitzbuhel, Austria and Perth, Australia before returning to the Virgin Islands. She currently lives in eastern Tennessee.
Dick Cockrell
View biography
Dick is a lifelong Memphian. A product of Memphis public schools and a graduate of the University of Memphis, he has been married to his wife, Ellen, for 46 years and is the father of two. Dick spent his career in selling food services to restaurants. He retired after 32 years from Sysco Food Service. He has been a Memphis city group leader since 2015.
Anita Stapleton
View biography
Anita Stapleton has been singing since she was nine years old. She decided to move to Nashville in 1995 to further pursue her singing career. During 1997 and 1998, she toured as a background vocalist for country artist Patty Loveless. Over the years, she has made several television and radio appearances, including Grand Ole Opry Live and The Marty Stuart Show, and has hosted WSM’s Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree several times. Outside of music, Anita shares her love of Nashville with visiting groups.
Suggested Reading List
(13 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Music Cities USA: Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans
Program Number: 21979
Memphis Beat : The Lives and Times of America's Musical Crossroads
This book fills in what isn't so familiar: Memphis, it reveals, is our great cultural mixing board, where all the black and white folk have met and done musical business for two centuries or more. Larry Nager, former music editor of the "Memphis Commercial Appeal," offers more than a casual history. His chronicle reaches back into the nineteenth century, when Memphis was a wild frontier town full of whiskey, fiddle players, and minstrelsy. It hits cruising speed at the turn of the century, as W. C. Handy discovered the blues, women like Lil Armstrong and Memphis Minnie kept up with the men, and a Memphis deejay dreamed up the Grand Ole Opry. It chronicles the strange alchemy by which local rhythm 'n' blues, hard country, and black and white gospel got remade into powerful rock and roll in Sam Phillips's Sun Records studio on Union Avenue. The beat goes on into the '60s and the era of Stax and Hi Records - when the first integrated generations, raised on Sun 45s, started waxing their own sounds. And it follows Memphis even into contemporary times, through Big Star's adventures at Ardent Records, the difficult revival of Beale Street, and the birth of the House of Blues. There is triumph and tragedy here, and much in between - from the stalwart presence of lifelong musicians like Gus Cannon and Furry Lewis, through the horrific accident that killed Otis Redding, the Bar-Kays, and years and years of musical dreams.
Hidden History of Memphis (Tennessee) (Hidden Histories)
Step inside the fascinating annals of the Bluff City's history and discover the Memphis that only few know. G. Wayne Dowdy, longtime archivist for the Memphis Public Library, examines the history and culture of the Mid-South during its most important decades. Well-known faces like Clarence Saunders, Elvis Presley and W.C. Handy are joined by some of the more obscure characters from the past, like the Memphis gangster who inspired one of William Faulkner's most famous novels, the local Boy Scout who captured German spies during World War I, the Memphis radio station that pioneered wireless broadcasting and so many more. Also included are the previously unpublished private papers and correspondence of former mayor E.H. Crump, giving us new insight and a front-row seat to the machine that shaped Tennessee politics in the twentieth century.
A Guide to Historic Nashville, Tennessee [Paperback]
Written by accomplished historian James Hoobler, senior curator of art and architecture at the Tennessee State Museum and former executive director of the Tennessee Historical Society, this book offers extraordinary insight into Nashville's heritage. Carefully researched and exceptionally written, it is a wonderful companion, both for visitors and for Nashville residents who want to see their hometown in a new light.
Why New Orleans Matters
In the aftermath of Katrina and the disaster that followed, promises were made, forgotten, and renewed. Now what will become of New Orleans in the years ahead? What do this proud, battered city and its people mean to America and the world? Award-winning author and longtime New Orleans resident Tom Piazza illuminates the storied culture and uncertain future of this great and neglected American metropolis by evoking the sensuous rapture of the city that gave us jazz music and Creole cooking; examining its deep undercurrents of corruption, racism, and injustice; and explaining how its people endure and transcend those conditions. And, perhaps most important, he asks us all to consider the spirit of this place and all the things it has shared with the world: its grace and beauty, resilience and soul.
Confederacy of Dunces
A Confederacy of Dunces is a picaresque novel written by American novelist John Kennedy Toole, published by Louisiana State University Press in 1980, eleven years after the author's suicide. The book, published through the efforts of writer Walker Percy (who also contributed a revealing foreword) and Toole's mother Thelma Toole, quickly became a cult classic, and later a mainstream success. Toole posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981. It is now considered a canonical work of modern Southern literature, in the USA. The title derives from the epigraph by Jonathan Swift: "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." The story is set in New Orleans in the early 1960s. The central character is Ignatius J. Reilly, an educated but slothful 30-year-old man still living with his mother in the city's Uptown neighborhood, who, due to an incident early in the book, must set out to get a job. In his quest for employment he has various adventures with colorful French Quarter characters.
All the Kings Men
All the King's Men traces the rise and fall of demagogue Willie Stark, a fictional character loosely based on Governor Huey ""Kingfish"" Long of Louisiana. Stark begins his political career as an idealistic man of the people but soon becomes corrupted by success and caught between dreams of service and an insatiable lust for power.
Creole New Orleans Race and Americanization
This collection of six original essays explores the peculiar ethnic composition and history of New Orleans, which the authors persuasively argue is unique among American cities. The focus of Creole New Orleans is on the development of a colonial Franco-African culture in the city, the ways that culture was influenced by the arrival of later immigrants, and the processes that led to the eventual dominance of the Anglo-American community.
Life On The Mississippi
An invaluable companion to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi is Mark Twain's inimitable portrait of 'the great Father of Waters'. Part memoir, part travelogue, it expresses the full range of Twain's literary personality, and remains the most vivid, boisterous and provocative account of the cultural and societal history of the Mississippi Valley, from 'the golden age' of steamboating to the violence wrought by the Civil War.
Rising Tide
An American epic of science, politics, race, honor, high society, and the Mississippi River, Rising Tide tells the riveting and nearly forgotten story of the greatest natural disaster this country has ever known -- the Mississippi flood of 1927. The river inundated the homes of nearly one million people, helped elect Huey Long governor and made Herbert Hoover president, drove hundreds of thousands of blacks north, and transformed American society and politics forever.
The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square
The World That Made New Orleans offers a new perspective on this insufficiently understood city by telling the remarkable story of New Orleans’s first century--a tale of imperial war, religious conflict, the search for treasure, the spread of slavery, the Cuban connection, the cruel aristocracy of sugar, and the very different revolutions that created the United States and Haiti. It demonstrates that New Orleans already had its own distinct personality at the time of Louisiana’s statehood in 1812. By then, important roots of American music were firmly planted in its urban swamp--especially in the dances at Congo Square, where enslaved Africans and African Americans appeared en masse on Sundays to, as an 1819 visitor to the city put it, “rock the city.”
Nashville Songwriter: The Inside Stories Behind Country Music’s Greatest Hits
Nashville Songwriter gives readers the first completely authorized collection of the true stories that inspired hits by the biggest multi-platinum country superstars of the last half century—recounted by the songwriters themselves. Award-winning music biographer Jake Brown gives readers an unprecedented, intimate glimpse inside the world of country music songwriting.
Featuring exclusive commentary from country superstars and chapter-length interviews with today’s biggest hit-writers on Music Row.
Battling the Plantation Mentality: Memphis and the Black Freedom Struggle (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture)
African American freedom is often defined in terms of emancipation and civil rights legislation, but it did not arrive with the stroke of a pen or the rap of a gavel. No single event makes this more plain, Laurie Green argues, than the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike, which culminated in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Exploring the notion of "freedom" in postwar Memphis, Green demonstrates that the civil rights movement was battling an ongoing "plantation mentality" based on race, gender, and power that permeated southern culture long before--and even after--the groundbreaking legislation of the mid-1960s.
With its slogan "I AM a Man!" the Memphis strike provides a clarion example of how the movement fought for a black freedom that consisted of not only constitutional rights but also social and human rights. As the sharecropping system crumbled and migrants streamed to the cities during and after World War II, the struggle for black freedom touched all aspects of daily life. Green traces the movement to new locations, from protests against police brutality and racist movie censorship policies to innovations in mass culture, such as black-oriented radio stations. Incorporating scores of oral histories, Green demonstrates that the interplay of politics, culture, and consciousness is critical to truly understanding freedom and the black struggle for it.
A Streetcar Named Desire
Widely considered a landmark play, A Streetcar named Desire deals with a culture clash between two characters, Blanche DuBois, a relic of the Old South, and Stanley Kowalski, a rising member of the industrial, urban working class. American playwright Tennessee Williams received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948.
Program
At a Glance
Duration
10 days
Program Begins
Nashville, TN
Program Concludes
New Orleans, LA
Meals
19
| 8B |
1BR |
4L |
6D |
Activity Level
To experience the true pulse of American music, you have to find its source in the heart of the South. Go on the road in Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans to discover the roots of jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, country, the blues and much more! In Nashville, music comes to life at Studio B — formerly Sun Records — the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry. Tap your feet to the rhythms of Beale Street in Memphis, take a field trip to the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and pay homage to the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” at Graceland. Complete your musical pilgrimage in New Orleans, where live jazz performances and contemporary Creole sounds bear witness to America’s musical foundation.)
Best of all, you'll...
- Thrill in a live performance at the Grand Ole Opry from your reserved seats in the music hall.
- Visit B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street for a Southern smorgasbord of Memphis-style barbecue ribs, pulled pork and more and a modern blues performance by the house band.
- Learn how to cook Creole and Cajun at the world-famous New Orleans School of Cooking as a local chef demonstrates a traditional dish — then lunch on the creation.
General Notes
For a 6-night version of this program, check out "Music Cities USA: Nashville to Memphis" (#21154).
Featured Expert
Dick Cockrell
Dick is a lifelong Memphian. A product of Memphis public schools and a graduate of the University of Memphis, he has been married to his wife, Ellen, for 46 years and is the father of two. Dick spent his career in selling food services to restaurants. He retired after 32 years from Sysco Food Service. He has been a Memphis city group leader since 2015.
Please Note:
This expert may not be available for every date of the program
Terrie Dal Pozzo
Terrie was raised in New Orleans and moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands at the age of 18. She became the youngest woman in the Virgin Islands to obtain a Coast Guard license to operate motor and sailing vessels. Terrie skippered sailing vessels, taking guests on journeys through the Leeward Islands, teaching them to sail and snorkel and educating them on island life. She later lived in Kitzbuhel, Austria and Perth, Australia before returning to the Virgin Islands. She currently lives in eastern Tennessee.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to two miles daily, some uneven terrain. Standing for museum lectures. Stairs in historical homes/no elevator.
Suggested Reading List
View Full List
(13 Books)
You can also find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
We can help. Give us a call, and we can answer all of your questions!
Call
800-454-5768
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
10 days
9 nights
What's Included
19 meals | 8B | 1BR | 4L | 6D |
5 expert-led lectures
14 expert-led field trips
4 performances
An experienced Group Leader
9 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
Nashville, TN
Meals:
D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
Program Registration: 3:00-5:00 p.m. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Orientation: 5:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will be accompanied on some field trips by local experts who will provide commentary as we go. At some field trip sites, the extent and duration of walking and other activities will be according to personal choice. Travel and transfers will be via private motorcoach unless noted otherwise. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Studio B, Nashville Field Trip, CMHF, Grand Ole Opry Show
Location:
Nashville, TN
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 60 miles, approximately 3 hours riding time. Walking up to 2 miles throughout the day; city streets and sidewalks. Country Music Hall of Fame Museum 1 block walk from hotel.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board a motorcoach with a local expert for a field trip to Studio B, originally RCA Studios, home of thousands of hits that helped to define the “Nashville sound.” Chet Atkins was one of the originators and Elvis mastered more than 200 songs here. Our expert will tell us about many of the quirks and idiosyncrasies of this unique space where so much musical history has been created using the pianos, mics, and accessories we will see. We’ll also have an opportunity to sit back and listen to recordings by our favorite artists in Studio B. We will then set out on a Nashville city field trip by motorcoach. Our expert has a wealth of knowledge and passion for Nashville music and who will provide commentary as we ride. Music has always been the common thread connecting the life and soul of Nashville and its people. The first permanent settlement began on Christmas Day 1779, celebrated with fiddle tunes and buck dancing. Davy Crockett, Nashville’s first celebrity, was known far and wide for his colorful stories and fiddle playing. Nashville became a national center for music publishing. The first around-the-world tour by a musical group was the Fisk Jubilee Singers from Nashville’s Fisk University. Their efforts helped fund the school’s mission of educating freed slaves after the Civil War and put Nashville on the map as a global music center. Here in the heart of Nashville’s entertainment industry, we will see the offices of record labels, publishing houses, music licensing firms, recording studios, video production houses, and other businesses that serve the music industry, as well as radio networks and radio stations. We’ll return to the hotel after our field trip.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You might like to pick up a sandwich at The Country Music Hall of Fame or walk a block over to Broadway Street, an area with numerous restaurants.
Afternoon:
For our next field trip, we will walk to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We will have tickets provided for our self-directed exploration. To be invited to be a member of the elite group at the Country Music Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors in country music. The award recognizes persons who have made outstanding contributions to country music over the length of their careers. The museum’s vast collection includes memorabilia illustrating the evolution of country music through the two centuries. We will be able to get a clear sense of that history through its treasure trove of historic video clips, recorded music, dynamic exhibits, and state-of-the-art design. For information on current special exhibits, visit www.countrymusichalloffame.org
Dinner:
We will board the motor coach at 4:00 pm for dinner at a restaurant across the street from the Grand Ole Opry.
Evening:
After dinner, we will walk across the street to the Grand Ole Opry. The Grand Ole Opry celebrates country music’s diversity, presenting the many generations of artists who have formed country music’s legacy and continue to forge its future course. Audiences can expect the best in country, bluegrass, comedy, gospel and more by Country Music Hall of Famers, cast members who helped establish the Opry as the home of country music, revered superstars, and young artists just starting to make names for themselves. Our program was planned far in advance when details of performances were not available. When confirmed, the information will be posted on the Road Scholar website under this program number and will also be included in preparatory materials sent following enrollment. You can also go to www.opry.com about two weeks before the date to see who is scheduled.
Day
3
Ryman Auditorium, Opry House Behind The Scenes
Location:
Nashville, TN
Meals:
B
Stay:
Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 20 miles throughout the day, approximately 1 hour riding time. Walking up to 1/2 mile throughout the day; standing approximately 1 hour each at Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry House.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will walk as a group to the Ryman Auditorium for an expert-led field trip. We will see dressing rooms dedicated to the stars of the Ryman’s rich musical past, such as Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams. (Note: We will not be able to go through the dressing rooms if a performance is taking place that day.) We’ll stand in the wings where performers as varied as Katharine Hepburn, Elvis Presley, and James Brown awaited their time in the spotlight. This National Historic Landmark is most famous as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974. Its history as Nashville’s premiere theater began with its original incarnation as an evangelical tabernacle in 1892. Dubbed the Carnegie Hall of the South, it went on to become the place for important community events, political rallies, as well as operas, symphonies, bands, ballets, and theatrical productions. The incredibly popular Grand Ole Opry radio show found a home here in 1943, and Ryman Auditorium was inseparably linked to the origins and rise of the modern-day genre of country music. Although the Opry moved to a new location in 1974, the Ryman has remained as a major attraction, undergoing a multi-million dollar restoration that brought back its original splendor, hosting top performers from around the world who praise its fine acoustics.
Lunch:
On your own to have what you like in historic downtown Nashville. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
We will regroup at the hotel, board the motorcoach, and ride to the Grand Ole Opry House. We’ll learn the fascinating story of the Opry from a local expert who will share stories about its history and country music greats past and present. We’ll go onstage for a first-hand look at the tiered auditorium as seen from the performers’ perspective, then go backstage for a rare glimpse of what happens behind the scenes, including the artists’ entrance. We’ll also have some independent time to stroll through the halls filled with Opry memorabilia before returning to the hotel.
Dinner:
Dinner is on your own tonight.
Evening:
The evening is at leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
4
Belle Meade, Transfer To Memphis, B. B. King’s Blues Club
Location:
Memphis, TN
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hampton Inn & Suites Memphis - Beale Street
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 200 miles throughout the day, approximately 4 hours riding time. Walking equivalent of a city block at Belle Meade; uneven terrain. At BB King’s, dinner on second floor; no elevator.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will check out of the hotel, load our luggage onto the motorcoach, and begin our transfer to Memphis, Along the way, we will stop for a field trip at a living vestige of a bygone era: Belle Meade historic home and winery. Led by an expert, we will learn how the original Harding family farm began in the early 1800s and developed over the next several decades. The mansion we see today, built in Greek Revival style, was commissioned in 1845 and tells the century-long history of Belle Meade. Through the stories and experiences of the Harding and Jackson families, we'll learn about the women, men, and children who labored here.
Lunch:
At Belle Meade in the 1800s Carriage House/Stable House.
Afternoon:
We will resume our ride to Memphis and watch a specially selected movie on the way. Upon arrival, we’ll check in to our hotel with some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.
Dinner:
We will walk to world-renowned BB King’s Blues Club and Restaurant on Beale Street. Stairs to dinner on second floor; no elevator.
Evening:
The house band is BB King’s All Stars. Guest musicians include some of the best in the business for one of the most diverse, sophisticated lineups of modern blues and R&B in Memphis. Sit back and tap your toes or get up and dance. Stay on or go out and hear all the music you like up and down Beale Street. Note: Midnight is the cut-off time for loud music in Memphis. Our hotel is right at Beale Street, so be prepared.
Day
5
Graceland, Sun Studio, Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum
Location:
Memphis, TN
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Hampton Inn & Suites Memphis - Beale Street
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 45 miles throughout the day, approximately 1 hour riding time. Walking at field trip sites; uneven terrain at Graceland, up/down stairs, no elevator. Climbing stairs at Sun Studio Museum; no elevator.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board the motorcoach for a field trip to the 14-acre Graceland estate that was the home of Elvis Presley. It is now a virtual shrine with museums, films, and exhibits for a unique glimpse into the life and times of The King. We’ll have a self-directed exploration with audio guides to see personal mementos including gold and platinum awards.
Lunch:
At a Graceland restaurant.
Afternoon:
We will continue our exploration with a field trip to Sun Studio, an iconic recording studio where some of the most famous artists recorded in the 1950s. Whether rock-and-roll or country, and genres in between, the likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Feathers, Ray Harris, Warren Smith, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis could be found there at one point or another. Led by a Sun Studio expert, we’ll see where they made musical history. We will finish our day with a field trip to the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, the first museum ever jointly developed by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of American History. Opened in August 2004, it came out of a traveling exhibition on the roots of uniquely American music in the South, from “field hollers” to work songs, blues, country, and gospel. These more countrified forms gradually met and mingled with their urban cousins: blues, jazz, and what became rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, and soul music. It charts the story of a field of music that has had a tremendous impact on popular culture and lifestyles from the mid-20th Century through today. It also documents the story of musical pioneers who overcame racial and socio-economic barriers to create music that changed our world. The museum’s digital audio guide lets us move at our own pace on a self-directed visit through seven galleries of audio-visual programs, instruments, costumes, other musical treasures, and more than 300 minutes of information including more than 100 songs.
Dinner:
On your own to have what you like.
Evening:
At leisure. See more of Memphis on your own, spend time with newfound Road Scholar friends, or just relax.
Day
6
Memphis City Field Trip, Civil Rights Museum, Stax Museum
Location:
Memphis, TN
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
Hampton Inn & Suites Memphis - Beale Street
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 15 miles, approximately 1 hour riding time. Walking at field trip sites.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board the motor coach with an expert who has a passion for Memphis, its music, and sites. Next, we will board the motorcoach for the short drive to the National Civil Rights Museum, a privately-owned complex of museums and historic buildings built around the former Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. We’ll follow a timeline that charts the course of events around the assassination and the impact and legacy of the civil rights movement.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like in downtown Memphis. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
After lunch we will regroup at the hotel and take the motor coach to Stax Museum, one of only a handful of museums in the world dedicated to soul music.
Dinner:
At one of Memphis’s most popular restaurants.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
7
Transfer to New Orleans, Welcome to NOLA Dinner, Jazz Sounds
Location:
New Orleans, LA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hotel Monteleone
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 400 miles, approximately 5.5 hours riding time (depending on traffic and local circumstances).
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
After checking out of the hotel, we will board the motorcoach for our ride to New Orleans with expert commentary en route.
Lunch:
At a characteristic local restaurant en route.
Afternoon:
Our transfer will continue. After arrival and check-in at the hotel, we will have some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Music abounds right inside the hotel at Irwin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse.
Day
8
History & Culture, French Quarter Walk, City Field Trip
Location:
New Orleans, LA
Meals:
B
Stay:
Hotel Monteleone
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 10 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. French Quarter streets are too narrow for motorcoaches. Walking about 6 blocks; city streets and sidewalks, some uneven terrain.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will get an introduction to New Orleans traditions, celebrations, and people from a humorist who has lived here all her life and who represents the “joie de vivre” that makes New Orleanians so distinctively memorable. We’ll learn what it means when we say “It’s a New Orleans thing.” Next, we’ll take an expert-led walking field trip in the French Quarter that will give us a geographical orientation and tell us more about New Orleans and some of the music greats who lived and played here. We’ll return to the hotel after our field trip.
Lunch:
On your own to have what you like in the French Quarter. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You might like to try authentic “beignets.” These fried fritters dusted with powdered sugar were brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. A cup of New Orleans coffee and chicory is the perfect complement, served “au lait” with a dash of warm milk.
Afternoon:
Next, to get an overview of key parts of the city, we’ll board a motorcoach for a field trip to learn about the city’s people, traditions, and unique culture. One of the most fascinating features is the “cities of the dead” — cemeteries of above-ground tombs — and we’ll stop at one of these. Time and weather permitting, we’ll also have an opportunity to see the Lakefront and Garden District. We’ll then ride back to the hotel.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
9
NOLA Musician, Cooking School, History & Mardi Gras Museums
Location:
New Orleans, LA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hotel Monteleone
Activity Note
Walking about 6 blocks; city streets and sidewalks, some uneven terrain.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will be joined by a local musician for a Road Scholar exclusive performance. We will then walk to the renowned New Orleans School of Cooking where a local chef will discuss Cajun cooking and Creole cuisine and demonstrate a delicious traditional dish.
Lunch:
At the New Orleans School of Cooking, we’ll enjoy the dish we’ve just seen prepared. For dessert, see how the tastiest pralines in town are made.
Afternoon:
We will have vouchers provided for self-directed explorations of the History Museum in the Cabildo, former seat of Colonial government, and the Mardi Gras Museum in the adjoining Presbytère that houses an elaborate collection of Mardi Gras artifacts.
Dinner:
At a popular New Orleans restaurant. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner that includes a musical surprise!
Evening:
Returning to the hotel, prepare for check-out and departure after brunch in the morning.
Day
10
Court of Two Sisters Brunch, Program Concludes
Location:
New Orleans, LA
Meals:
BR
Activity Note
Walking about 6 blocks; city streets and sidewalks, some uneven terrain. Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.
Brunch:
We will walk to the renowned Court of Two Sisters restaurant for the iconic Jazz Brunch, a true New Orleans delight. The elaborate spread offers tasty hot and cold New Orleans favorites from eggs any style to Creole jambalaya, grillades and grits, gumbo, classic desserts, and much more. Tap your toes to the music of the restaurant’s resident Jazz trio. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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MEALS
19 Meals
8 Breakfasts
4 Lunches
1 Brunch
6 Dinners
LODGING
Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.
Showing Lodging For:
- Oct 13, 2025 - Oct 22, 2025
- Mar 17, 2025 - Mar 26, 2025 (Nashville, TN to New Orleans, LA)
- Apr 14, 2025 - Apr 23, 2025 (Nashville, TN to New Orleans, LA)
- Sep 15, 2025 - Sep 24, 2025 (Nashville, TN to New Orleans, LA)
- Oct 13, 2025 - Oct 22, 2025 (Nashville, TN to New Orleans, LA)
Participant Reviews
Based on 13 Reviews
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If you love music, this is the trip for you. Highlights in Nashville was the tour of Studio B, Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, and a show at the Grand Ole Opry. Dinner at the Aquarium Restaurant had a wrap-around, floor-to-ceiling aquarium with gorgeous fish of many colors. On the way to Memphis, we toured the Belle Meade Plantation and outbuildings with the 1845 mansion. The group had dinner at BB King's Blues Club and Restaurant. A tour of Graceland brought back memories of Elvis Pressley's earlier years. Sun Studio showcased the artists who recorded there. The National Civil Rights Museum complex and the Slave Haven house which became part of the Underground Railroad was remarkable. In New Orleans we toured the French Quarter and several museums. The cooking school and flavors of NOLA are to be noted. The local guides made the tours come to life with their historical background.
— Review left January 1, 2024
For anybody that was into the popular music of the fifties as well as country music and jazz and just music in general, this program is a winner.
— Review left November 5, 2023
It was a pleasant trip, but I expected so much more than the mainstream anecdotes we were fed. I expected musicologists to come and speak to us, talk about the theory behind the music that we were hearing. I expected explanations on how a song/album was recorded (from a technical point of view).
I also expected basic historic milestones for the cities we visited. It was "almost" done for Nashville, but not for the other cities.
Nevertheless, compared to similar tours with the same itinerary, this is the best value, because a lot of tourist attractions are included in the price, as well as many meals. We were a group of 19 participants - but the maximum size is 38. That would be a nightmare...
The group was "ok", at least nobody was a trouble maker. I might keep in touch with some people in the group, but some individuals didn't share the same values I do.
— Review left October 2, 2023
If you like music, Country, Blues, Rock n Roll, Jazz,...and its origins, don't miss this program.
— Review left September 30, 2023
We enjoyed our first Road Scholar trip. The presenters and leaders were excellent -- always cheerful and prepared.
Thank you for an excellent experience.
— Review left September 29, 2023
I thoroughly enjoy the Music City tour, it exceeded my expectiations with respect to the history of music for the early days of gosbel to present day. I loved that the tour illistrated how history influenced music.
— Review left April 22, 2023
This was an incredibly interesting trip. Our enjoyment was enhanced by the knowledge imparted by our tour leader and the guest lecturers and guides. The venues we visited were carefully selected to increase our knowledge and understanding of both the music and the societal history which influenced it. A totally enjoyable experience from start to finish.
— Review left April 13, 2023
I had a wonderful time on this trip, and learned so much.
— Review left April 13, 2023
The best trip ever!! So glad I took this trip. Everyone who is curious about these cities, the culture, the food, the music, and the sights, should sign up for this trip! I am a better person for it!
— Review left April 12, 2023
excellent learning experiences...saturation of music experience...very interesting field trips...very active schedule...lots of early morning starts.
— Review left October 27, 2022
I highly recommend Road Scholar and will let my friends know that it's an excellent program - just go once and you will see how fascinating the program really is.
— Review left April 9, 2022
Had a wonderful Music City tour. Peggy is the best. Go if you love county, blues and jazz or any of the above
— Review left March 30, 2022
I would recommend the Music Cities tour to anyone. It was very success in mixing fun, music, history, education and Great Food! The people in the South are friendly and welcoming.
— Review left May 20, 2019
