Nashville and Memphis, 6 days
Two cities, three hundred miles apart, that between them recorded most of what the world calls American music. On this Nashville and Memphis tour you start in the Ryman pews and finish with the blues on Beale Street, with a tour leader and a show every night.
From $2,790per person in a double room
Our most booked trip: three nights of country in Nashville, then down I-40 for rock and roll at Sun, soul at Stax and a night on Beale Street.
Categories: Country & Americana, Rock & Roll, Studio & Backstage. Destinations: Nashville, Memphis. Getting around: tour van. Tour leader: Wade Pruitt or a colleague from our team.
Reserved seats in the Mother Church of country music.
The room where Elvis recorded more than 200 songs.
Stand on the spot where rock and roll was first recorded.
The mansion, the Jungle Room, the cars and the planes.
The rebuilt studio of Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes.
After dark
Broadway is open until two, Beale Street until three. Your tour leader goes on after the program show with anyone who wants more, and walks everyone back.
Traveling solo
About a third of our guests on this tour come alone. The welcome dinner is at one long table, and the van makes friends fast.
Your tour leader
Wade Pruitt, based in Nashville. Played bass in Lower Broadway bands for six years and has led our Nashville and Austin groups since 2018.
2 live shows in the price
Show nights follow the club and theater calendars; your tour leader confirms each evening the day before.
A driver meets you at Nashville International for the 20-minute run to the hotel near the river. At six the tour leader takes the group up Broadway past the honky-tonks to dinner, and then into Robert's Western World for the first band of the trip.
A morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame with a guide, from the fiddle records of the 1920s to the rotunda of plaques. After lunch, Hatch Show Print next door is still setting concert posters by hand. In the evening the group has seats for a concert at the Ryman Auditorium.
The van takes the group to Music Row, past the publishing houses, and into RCA Studio B, where the guide plays the tapes in the room. The afternoon is free. Our tour leader leads an optional evening to the Station Inn in the Gulch for bluegrass, or back to Broadway.
Three hours west on I-40, with a stop in Jackson at the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In Memphis you check in near the Peabody, in time to watch its ducks march to the elevator at five. Dinner is dry-rub ribs, then the first walk down Beale Street.
Graceland opens early, and we are there at the first entry for the mansion, the Jungle Room, the cars and the planes. After lunch, Sun Studio on Union Avenue for the guided tour of the room where Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded. The farewell dinner is on Beale with a blues band.
A last morning in South Memphis at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, with Isaac Hayes's gold Cadillac turning on its stand. The van drops guests at Memphis International from about one o'clock.
Hotels within walking distance of the clubs, or a short ride away, or similar of the same class. Breakfast is included every day.
Nashville
4-star3 nights
Memphis
4-star2 nights
Loading the map
Tour vanAmtrak trainRiverboatShort flight Map tiles: © Esri, HERE, Garmin © OpenStreetMap contributors. Lines join the stops in tour order in simplified form.
5 breakfasts and 3 dinners5 studio and museum entries2 live shows in the price
Pace. Moderate. Two to three hours on foot on city days, standing at some shows, and late nights.
Good to know. Two long city days and one road day of about three and a half hours. Broadway and Beale Street are loud and busy at night; the hotel is a short walk away. Studio B and Sun close for private sessions now and then, and we move the visit within the tour when they do.
Weather and changes. Shows and studio visits run in all weather; if a venue cancels, we replace it with one of the same kind and tell you in writing.
Most of our guests fly in on their own, drive, or use miles, and the tour price does not include flights. If you would rather we handle it, we book round-trip economy flights on scheduled airlines into Nashville and home from Memphis, and the airport pickup on the tour dates is already included.
| Fly from | Airport | Add-on from |
|---|---|---|
| New York | JFK, LaGuardia and Newark | $390 |
| Chicago | O'Hare and Midway | $390 |
| Atlanta | Hartsfield-Jackson | $390 |
| Dallas | DFW and Love Field | $390 |
| Washington DC | Reagan National and Dulles | $430 |
| Boston | Logan | $450 |
| Philadelphia | PHL | $430 |
| Denver | DEN | $450 |
| Los Angeles | LAX | $500 |
| San Francisco | SFO | $500 |
Fares change daily; the add-on is confirmed when you book. Other US airports on request.
8 dates from to . "Guaranteed" means the group has reached its minimum and will run.
| Dates | Status | Tour price | With flights from New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deal, save $250 | Few seats left | $2,540 | $2,930 |
| Available | $2,940 | $3,330 | |
| Available | $2,940 | $3,330 | |
| Sold out | $2,940 | $3,330 | |
| Available | $2,890 | $3,280 | |
| Few seats left | $2,890 | $3,280 | |
| Available | $2,940 | $3,330 | |
| Guaranteed | $2,940 | $3,330 |
Single room supplement $690. Deposit $300 per person; the balance is due 60 days before departure. All dates, booking terms.
This tour has a concert at the Ryman. If you want the Opry too, we add tickets for a Friday or Saturday show; the Nashville tour includes it.
Not on group dates, but we can run the route in reverse as a private tour for two or more.
Yes. The mansion is on one level with a few steps, and the complex across the road has elevators.
Memphis International. If we book your flights, it is an open-jaw ticket into Nashville and home from Memphis.
One free afternoon in Nashville and the evenings after the shows. Your tour leader always has suggestions.
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