Beale Street throbs with blues and rock bands every afternoon—and all night long. The best bets here for live music are B.B. King’s Blues Club, named for the beloved guitarist who got his start here, and the Rum Boogie Café, which has a killer house band and a stellar guitar collection.
Elsewhere around town, hipsters jam at the grungy Hi-Tone Café, near the Memphis College of Art, while the no-frills juke joint Wild Bill’s draws dancing-room-only crowds. Redemption awaits at the Full Gospel Tabernacle, where the Grammy Award–winning Reverend Al Green leads a hand-clapping, sing-out-to-Jesus service.
The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, on the site of the razed Stax recording studio, is chock-full of treasures, including vintage guitars, flashy threads, and Isaac Hayes’s gold-trimmed Cadillac. The Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum offers a comprehensive look at the city’s musical roots, from rural field hollers of the 1930s to the explosion of Sun, Stax, and Hi Records, as well as its global musical influence. Explore Elvis’s early career at Sun Studio, where the King recorded his first hit, “That’s All Right Mama,” in 1954.
Today, artists and fans converge on the banks of the Mississippi for three rowdy days and nights in early May during the Beale Street Music Festival, which kicks off the annual monthlong extravaganza called Memphis in May. Rock, rap, gospel, country, and blues blare across the 33-acre Tom Lee Park, to host a rich array of hometown and visiting musical heroes.
Beale Street’s Rum Boogie Café dishes up Cajun and barbecue fare along with great music.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB: Tel 800-443-0972 or 901-524-5464; http://memphis.bbkingclubs.com. RUM BOOGIE CAFÉ: Tel 901-528-0150; www.rumboogie.com. HI-TONE CAFÉ: Tel 901-278-8663; www.hitonememphis.com. WILD BILL’S: Tel 901-726-5473. FULL GOSPEL TABERNACLE: Tel 901-396-9192; www.algreenmusic.com. STAX MUSEUM: Tel 888-942-7685 or 901-946-2535; www.soulsvilleusa.com. MEMPHIS ROCK ’N’ SOUL MUSEUM: Tel 901-205-2533; www.memphisrocknsoul.org. SUN STUDIO: Tel 800-441-6249 or 901-521-0664; www.sunstudio.com. BEALE STREET MUSIC FESTIVAL: Tel 901-525-4611; www.memphisinmay.org/music. BEST TIMES: mid-Aug for Elvis Week; early Sep for the Beale Street Labor Day Music Festival.
The Home of Country Music
THE GRAND OLE OPRY
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Nashville has been known as “Music City, U.S.A.” for the better part of a century, since the Grand Ole Opry began its weekend broadcast here in 1925. The world’s longest-running live radio show, it was aired from downtown’s Ryman Auditorium, revered as “the Mother Church of Country Music,” from 1943 to 1974. The Ryman’s stained-glass windows still attest to the building’s original use as the Union Gospel Tabernacle; the concert hall’s superior acoustics are favored by musicians of all genres.
The new incarnation of the Grand Ole Opry House is the modern 4,372-seat venue that dominates an area 20 minutes from town, known as Music Valley, where modern-day names and legendary old-timers perform traditional country, bluegrass, and rockabilly. But the Opry is the holy grail—from Hank Williams to Carrie Underwood, nearly every award winner has performed here. The Opry Museum is packed full of memorabilia that tells the story of the show that made country music famous.
Downtown, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum shows off an impressive hoard of artifacts, such as Elvis’s 1960 “solid gold” Cadillac and Mother Maybelle Carter’s 1928 Gibson guitar. From the museum, you can book a bus tour to the nearby Historic RCA Studio B, on Music Row, where Elvis, Chet Atkins, and others cut hit records.
For live music and a honky-tonk ambience, stop by the Bluebird Café, a small, unassuming venue that showcases new talent. On Lower Broadway, lovable dives include Robert’s Western World Bar, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, and the old-timey Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Nearby, big-name acts play B.B. King’s Blues Club, and rowdy line dancers gather at the Wildhorse Saloon.
Take a break at the Loveless Cafe, a Nashville institution since 1951. Favored by country music stars and foodies who endure the hour-long waits, the cramped house rewards with signature slow-cured country ham and red-eye gravy, and pancakes with molasses.
Everyone from Johnny Cash to Patsy Cline performed at the Ryman Auditorium, the original Grand Ole Opry.
RYMAN: Tel 615-458-8700; www.ryman.com. GRAND OLE OPRY AND OPRY MUSEUM: Tel 615-889-3060; www.opry.com. COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME: Tel 800-852-6437 or 615-416-2001; www.countrymusichalloffame.com. BLUEBIRD CAFÉ: Tel 615-383-1461; www.bluebirdcafe.com. ROBERT’S WESTERN WORLD: Tel 615-244-9552; www.robertswesternworld.com. TOOTSIE’S: Tel 615-726-0463; www.tootsies.net. ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP: Tel 615-255-7503; www.ernesttubb.com. B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB: Tel 615-256-2727; www.bbkingbluesclub.com. WILDHORSE SALOON: Tel 615-902-8200; www.wildhorsesaloon.com. LOVELESS CAFE: Tel 615-646-9700; www.lovelesscafe.com. Cost: breakfast $10. WHERE TO STAY: The elegant and historic Hermitage Hotel is centrally located. Tel 888-888-9414 or 615-244-3121; www.thehermitagehotel.com. Cost: from $245. BEST TIMES: Jun for the CMA Music Festival; Thurs in Jun–Jul for Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman; mid-Oct for the Grand Ole Opry Birthday Bash.
The Lone Star State’s Heartbeat
AUSTIN’S LIVE MUSIC SCENE
Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Although Austin is the seat of state government and home to one of the largest universities in the nation, its soul resides in its music. Laid-back and fun-loving, the city bills itself as the Live Music Capital of the World and claims nearly 200 venues showcasing everything from rockabilly to Tejano year-round, from no-names to Texas greats like Willie Nelson and the Dixie Chicks.
No surprise, then, that the city’s famous South by Southwest Music and Media Conference (aka “SXSW”) is one of the biggest music showcases anywhere, with an amazing lineup of more than 1,900 music hopefuls performing on more than 85 stages. The city’s other major music festival is Austin City Limits, which brings together bands both fresh and familiar (including Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, and Dave Matthews Band) for 3 days of rock.
Austin’s year-round music nerve center is on Sixth Street and in the Red River District immediately north of it, where rock, blues, jazz, country, and R&B emanate from formerly seedy doorways. This is where you’ll find the world-renowned Antone’s, Austin’s “Home of the Blues,” and Stubb’s BBQ, beloved for great music and food, particularly its Sunday Gospel Brunch. Or head across the river to Threadgill’s southern location. The restaurant is not far from the Broken Spoke, Texas’s premier two-step dance hall, where Willie Nelson still stops for chicken fried steak. Big names perform at the Backyard, an open-air amphitheater surrounded by Texas Hill Country (see p. 880).
Visiting musicians make a beeline for the hip Hotel San José (if you can’t get a room, go for a coffee or a cold Lone Star at Jo’s, across the parking lot, where live bands play). The Hotel Saint Cecilia is its higher-end sister property, with nostalgia-imbued rooms in a historic Victorian mansion as well as more modern studios and poolside bungalows. Both hotels helped usher in the renaissance of the now trendy SoCo (South of Congress) entertainment district, whose cool and quirky boutiques and restaurants embody the city’s unofficial motto: “Keep Austin Weird.”
SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: Tel 512-467-7979; www.sxsw.com. When: mid-Mar. AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: Tel 888-512-7469 or 512-389-0315; www.aclfestival.com. When: 3 days in early Oct. ANTONE’S: Tel 512-320-8424; www.antones.net. STUBB’S BBQ: Tel 512-480-8341; www.stubbsaustin.com. THREADGILL’S: Tel 512-451-5440; www.threadgills.com. BROKEN SPOKE: Tel 512-442-6189; www.brokenspokeaustintx.com. THE BACKYARD: Tel 512-263-4146; www.thebackyard.net. HOTEL SAN JOSÉ: Tel 800-574-7322 or 512-852-2350; www.hotelsanjose.com. Cost: from $165. JO’S: Tel 512-444-3800; www.joscoffee.com. HOTEL SAINT CECILIA: Tel 512-852-2400; www.hotelsaintcecilia.com. Cost: from $295.
Cultural Jewels in Big D
THE DALLAS ARTS DISTRICT
Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
The Dallas Arts District is the centerpiece of the city’s cultural life, a 68-acre, 19-block enclave built by some of the world’s finest architects to
hold some of the best collections of art anywhere. Begun in 1978, the area is now the nation’s largest urban arts district and has undoubtedly altered the world’s view of the city as cultural game player.
One of the early arrivals, in 1984, was the Edward Larrabee Barnes–designed Dallas Museum of Art, a treasure trove of more than 24,000 pieces from around the globe, representing 7,000 years of art. Only a block away, the Crow Collection of Asian Art holds another exemplary collection, including large architectural gems, such as a sandstone façade from an 18th-century home in India. Inside the Nasher Sculpture Center, a modern building designed by Renzo Piano, reside more than 300 pieces, including works by Rodin, Picasso, Matisse, and Degas. An inviting indoor/outdoor café overlooks a garden that showcases large-scale works from the permanent collection.
The district’s architectural centerpiece is arguably the new AT&T Performing Arts Center (the second largest in the country after Lincoln Center in New York; see p. 842), which includes four venues designed by Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas. Besides the 2,200-seat Winspear Opera House, which offers some of the best acoustics in the country, and the 600-seat Wyly Theater, the center also features an open-air performance space and a 5-acre public park in the heart of downtown. Across the street sits one of the first buildings on the block, the I. M. Pei–designed Meyerson Symphony Center, which has been delighting music lovers since 1989.
Rest your weary feet at the Adolphus, a neo-Baroque hotel in nearby downtown that was built by beer baron Adolphus Busch. Rooms are tastefully (sometimes dramatically) decorated, and the thoughtful touches and impeccable service are like those found at a posh English country house. Or join the list of discerning guests who love the Texas-size luxury of the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, a 1920s Italian Renaissance–style estate with a serene swimming pool, the-sky’s-the-limit service, and one of the city’s most respected restaurants.
The retractable chandelier is a highlight of the Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
VISITOR INFO: www.thedallasartsdistrict.org. DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART: Tel 214-922-1200; www.dallasmuseumofart.org. CROW COLLECTION: Tel 214-979-6430; www.crowcollection.org. NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER: Tel 214-242-5100; www.nashersculpturecenter.org. AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER: Tel 214-880-0202; www.attpac.org. MEYERSON SYMPHONY CENTER: Tel 214-670-3600; www.dallasculture.org/meyersonsymphonycenter. ADOLPHUS: Tel 800-221-9083 or 214-742-8200; www.hoteladolphus.com. Cost: from $125 (off-peak), from $329 (peak). ROSEWOOD MANSION ON TURTLE CREEK: Tel 800-527-5432 or 214-559-2100; www.mansiononturtlecreek.com. Cost: from $250 (off-peak), from $395 (peak). BEST TIMES: 1st and 3rd Sat of the month for Arts District tours.
An Eclectic Collection of Texas Treasures
HOUSTON’S ART MUSEUMS
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
When it first opened in 1924, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston was the first art museum in Texas and only the third in the American South. One of the most visited of the 18 venues that make up the city’s Museum District, today it is the fifth largest museum in the country. Of its more than 40,000 works, those by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso are perennial favorites, and you’ll find here as well an excellent collection of Latin American art and one of most extensive photography collections in the nation. The centerpiece of the MFAH campus is the original neoclassical Caroline Wiess Law Building. Additions by Mies van der Rohe—his only museum design in America—hold even more items from around the globe, while the Isamu Noguchi–designed Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden is an urban oasis filled with works by Matisse and Calder.
Also in the museum district is the Menil Collection, widely esteemed as one of the finest private museums in the United States. Containing some 17,000 objects amassed by the late legendary Houston arts patron Dominique de Menil and her husband, John, the museum opened in 1987 in an elegant low-rise building designed by Renzo Piano, who skillfully suffused the space with filtered natural light. At its heart is the Surrealism collection, with works by Man Ray, Duchamp, and Max Ernst, as well as one of the world’s best collections of Magritte. The Menil also spotlights other 20th-century European painters and sculptors, such as Picasso, Giacometti, and Rodin, along with contemporary artists and photographers. Across the street, an annex comprises nine galleries displaying the work of Cy Twombly, one of the few museums designed for, built for, and devoted to the work of a single American artist.
For something utterly different, see the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. Created by Houston postal worker Jeff McKissack between 1956 and 1979, the Orange Show is an architectural wonder and an ode to outsider art made from recycled tiles, concrete, steel, and found objects such as tractor seats and mannequins. Since McKissack’s death in 1980, the Orange Show site has been preserved by various arts patrons, ranging from Dominique de Menil herself to ZZ Top. Kids love such installations as the Beer Can House and the fantastical Art Car Parade, as do all lovers of the strange and quirky.
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: Tel 713-639-7300; www.mfah.org. MENIL COLLECTION: Tel 713-525-9400; www.menil.org. ORANGE SHOW: Tel 713-926-6368; www.orangeshow.org. BEST TIME: early May for the Orange Show’s Art Car Weekend.
A Lively Oasis in a Multicultural Town
RIVER WALK
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
Mark Twain rated San Antonio as one of America’s most outstanding cities. Today he would recognize the city’s historic showpiece, the Alamo, but not its other most-visited attraction, the Paseo del Rio, or River Walk, a lively flagstone esplanade that unfurls amid cypresses, oaks, flowering bushes, and willows along both banks of the lazy San Antonio River. Completed in 1941 as a Depression-era WPA project and since rejuvenated, it is now enjoyed by those who fill its lively sidewalk cafés, shops, hotels, and barge cruises, all one level below the city’s streets. Boudro’s is a fine command post: order a prickly pear margarita and a scrumptious lunch of smoked shrimp and gulf crab enchiladas and watch river life go by.
At the prettiest of the river’s horseshoe bends you’ll find the La Mansión del Rio Hotel. Originally a Spanish-influenced 19th-century school, it was reborn in 1968 as an elegant respite of cool courtyard fountains and old-world ambience. Across the river, its sister property, Mokara Hotel & Spa, offers sumptuous interiors, a new rooftop pool with a view, and spa offering treatments using mesquite and wildflower blossoms.
It’s an easy stroll to the Alamo, the very symbol of Texas’s independence. Here 189 valiant defenders held off General Santa Anna’s 2,600-strong Mexican army for 13 days in 1836. Catch the IMAX film Alamo: The Price of Freedom around the corner at the RiverCenter Mall, then visit the Alamo Cenotaph, a marble-and-granite sculpture in front of the mission that is carved with the names of the Alamo’s heroes, including David Crockett’s and Jim Bowie’s.
The River Walk is particularly wonderful during the Christmas season, when more than 120,000 twinkling lights illuminate its vintage façades and bridges, and in late April, when the whole city stops for the Fiesta San Antonio, 11 days of events highlighted by three parades and set to the score of the city’s signature Tejano music, a unique blend of Mexican and German influences. Indulge in more of the city’s Hispanic heritage at Market Square, consisting of El Mercado, the largest Mexican market outside Mexico, and various farmers markets and restaurants, including the renowned Mi Tierra Café & Bakery. The chicken enchildadas are a favorite.
Considered a public park, the River Walk flows through 5 miles of the city.
RIVER WALK: Tel 210-227-4262; www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com. BOUDRO’S: Tel 210-224-8484; www.boudros.com. Cost: dinner $40. LA MANSIÓN DEL RIO: Tel 800-843-6664 or 210-518-1000; omnihotels.com. Cost: from $170 (off-peak), from $310 (peak). MOKARA HOTEL: Tel 866-605-1212 or 210-396-5800; www.mokarahotels.com. Cost: from $300 (off-peak), from $500 (peak). THE ALAMO: Tel 210-225-1391; www.thealamo.org. MARKET SQUARE: Tel 210-207-8600; www.marketsquaresa.com. MI TIERRA CAFÉ & BAKERY: Tel 210-225-1262; www.mitierracafe.com. Cost: dinner $12. BEST TIMES: Mar 2 for Te
xas Independence Day at the Alamo; mid-Apr for Fiesta San Antonio; mid-May for Tejano Conjunto Festival; late Nov–early Jan for various Christmas events.
Back Roads and Bluebonnets
TEXAS HILL COUNTRY
Texas, U.S.A.
Deep in the heart of Texas is an area of grassy pastures and limestone bluffs, crystal-clear streams, rivers, and lakes, a place that local boy President Lyndon B. Johnson called a “special corner of God’s real estate.” Visitors to the Hill Country have his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, to thank for the veritable blanket of wildflowers (especially bluebonnets) that cover the region every spring. After LBJ left office in 1969, the couple settled at their ranch 50 miles west of Austin, and Lady Bird’s passion for wildflowers grew into the Austin-based 280-acre Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Stop and take in some 600 indigenous species before heading out to enjoy them in situ.
With a gently rolling landscape that never reaches more than 1,900 feet above sea level, Texas’s Hill Country was settled in the mid-1800s, mostly by German immigrants, whose ethnic influence can still be felt in local Oktoberfest and Christmastime festivals in and around Fredericksburg, the area’s prettiest town. Oenophiles should follow the Fredericksburg Wine Road (aka U.S. Highway 290) linking Hill Country wineries, including the popular Becker Vineyards. Fredericksburg has a bevy of historic inns and B&Bs, such as the Hoffman Haus with 14 beautifully furnished rooms one block off Main Street.
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