OFF THE BEATEN TRACK BACKGROUND INFO

You’ve hit the highlights, now take a few Music Pathways less travelled…

Sutton Ole Time Music Hour, Granville

This weekly bluegrass jam held in an 1880 country store in the small town of Granville, is like walking onto a film set: vintage 1950s posters, patchwork quilts, folks in denim dungarees walking around without a hint of irony. It starts each Saturday with a communal meal, served familystyle with grace, and finishes with fast, fiery bluegrass set that goes out live over the radio. Quirky, but pure southern charm.

Grave of Sonny Boy Williamson, Jackson

Deep in Jackson’s swamp brush backwoods, lies the grave of the original ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson, grandfather of the blues harmonica and one of the most recorded blues artists of the 1930s and ’40s. It’s overgrown and there are no signs, but for a true fan of the blues, it’s a pilgrimage worth making. Before Sonny Boy, the harmonica was a backing instrument, but in his howling, wailing style it became the centrepiece of the blues and the foundation for the rock ’n’ roll that it would inspire.

Tina Turner Museum, Brownsville

Whether or not you’re a Tina fan, this tiny exhibition is worth a stop because it shows in painful detail where so much of America’s music came from. Housed in the tiny blacksonly one-room schoolhouse that the ‘Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll’ herself attended growing up in poor, rural Tennessee. The displays may be about Tina but between the lines is a much deeper story of the South, and how the legacy of slavery and poverty shaped and continues to influence American music to this day.

Food

In Tennessee, good music and good food go together like notes on the same scale. In Nashville, check out Martin’s Bar-b-que Joint, the home of West Tennessee’s legendary whole hog barbecue. In Memphis, the hottest table in town is actor Morgan Freeman’s high-end southern dining restaurant, Itta Bena, located right up the fire escape from BB King’s club (reserve well in advance).

Wherever you go, get yourself some moon pie – a Tennessee classic: two graham crackers, coated in chocolate and stuffed with marshmallow.

Hotels

Noelle in Nashville (noelle-nashville.com) is a trendy design hotel in the heart of downtown with funky Art Deco styling and a speakeasy genuinely hidden in the basement (clue: check the maintenance cupboard on the ground floor);

If you’re an Elvis fan, the sprawling Guest House Hotel at Graceland (guesthousegraceland.com) is hard to beat: Elvis films are shown at the in-house cinema, live concerts are held, and some suites have tiger skin print furnishings and TVS hanging perpendicularly over the bed. Plus, if you time your visit with the annual Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Weekend you might come away believing the King really is alive and well.

Tennessee Music Pathways

There are over 1,600km of options on the Tennessee Music Pathways, exploring the many musical genres linked to the state. Pick up a passport booklet from any Tennessee Welcome Center or attractions en route to collect stamps as you explore.

For more information on the Tennessee Music Pathways, visit: tnvacation.com/ tennessee-music-pathways