Itinerary Highlights
    • Enjoy evenings in blues and jazz speakeasies in Chicago.
    • Pick up a pair of cowboy boots on Nashville’s Honky Tonk Highway.
    • Listen to the brassy blooms spilling out of bars on New Orleans’ Frenchman Street.
    • Get a taste of brisket and blues beats in Austin’s famous bars.

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Every US city has a soundtrack. But none more so than those spread down the country’s spine. Begin your two-week American adventure in Chicago, aka The Windy City, where it’s all about blues and jazz – and pizza pies. Dolling out big breaks to musical legends such as Willie Kent and Magic Slim, and perfecting the four-cheese deep dish, it’s the perfect place to start your musical journey. From there, it’s a hop, jump and a flight to the capital of country music: Nashville. Refresh your musical chops at its ‘Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’ and experience the genre in all its glory at the Grand Ole Opry. Continue your musical tour through New Orleans, the land of big bands, jazz and Mardi Gras, before finishing in Austin, Texas’ capital and country pioneer.
A haven for young innovative musicians (thanks to its liberal politics and creativity), it comes as no surprise that it has developed scenes in folk, jazz, bluegrass, new wave punk and indie. So, really, the world’s your oyster.

Route

Everything is 100% tailored to you
DAY 1

FLIGHT TO CHICAGO

Head to the airport bright and early this morning to catch your eight-and-a-half-hour flight to Chicago O’Hare Airport. Despite being the sixth busiest airport in the world, you won’t feel it as you’re whisked through customs and met by one of our representatives in arrivals. From there, you’ll be driven to your hotel, a few blocks from the mighty Michigan Avenue. Drop your bags, grab a bite to eat along the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) and head to Millennium Park to see Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, aka ‘The Bean’. For dinner, there’s only one thing for it: deep-dish pizza. Choose between one of the city’s plethora of pie shops, before making the more difficult choice of toppings.

DAYS 2 & 3

WANDERING THE WINDY CITY

The next two days are all about exploring ‘The Windy City’. Go down to the Navy Pier, one of Chicago’s most-visited attractions, for a ride on its 196ft Ferris wheel, and walk along its scenic half-mile-long front. Set your sights high on Willis Tower, the third-tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, and its Skydeck. If you dare, walk over its 103rd-floor glass viewing platform, The Ledge, or opt for a pie in the sky in its restaurant.

Come evening, head below ground to the city’s speakeasies. Filled with sounds of urban blues, these hangouts have hosted many of the greats including Koko Taylor, Willie Kent, Magic Slim and Eddie Shaw. Grab a spot by the stage to be close to the action, or hang out in the back and sip on signature cocktails. But Chicago is more than just blues, it’s jazz too. Spend your last evening in the city at Andy’s Jazz Club. As one of the best-known and most respected clubs in the land, it’s no surprise that the shows come soulful and smooth and the food comes with a choice of steak, fish and salad.

DAY 4

NASHVILLE

Today, you’ll say goodbye to blues and jazz and hello – or howdy – to country in the genre’s capital Nashville, otherwise known as ‘Music City’. Head back to O’Hare in the early morning for your one-and-a-half-hour flight to Nashville, where you’ll then transfer to your hotel, just two blocks from buzzy Broadway. After a bite to eat at a local distillery or brewery (Nashville has them by the bucketful), we recommend beginning your country journey at the ‘Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’. Safeguarding over 2.5 million artefacts, you’ll get an education through the ages from Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash to Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift.

DAYS 5 & 6

MORE MUSIC CITY

Spend your days in Nashville in some of their best music venues. At the Grand Ole Opry, which has hosted all the big names (think Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton and Garth Brooks), you’ll be in for a treat as you settle in for an evening performance. Spend your days getting to know the city’s neighbourhoods, such as The Gulch and East Nashville, and their array of street art. If there’s time, we recommend swinging by the Nissan Stadium to watch the Tennessee Titans score a few touchdowns before heading to the historic Printer’s Alley or Broadway (also known as the ‘Honky Tonk Highway’), where you’ll find a plethora of neon lights and bands trying to make it big spilling out of bars. There’s no place like it.

DAY 7

FROM NASHVILLE TO NEW ORLEANS

Before heading back to Nashville’s airport to catch your next short-haul flight to New Orleans, fuel up at one of the city’s hot chicken shops. For hot chicken isn’t just a passing trend in Nashville, it’s a way of life. Choose between the OG chicken shack Prince’s or the down-home deli, Big Al’s. Either way, it’s a meal you’ll never forget.

Once at the airport, it’s just a breezy one-and-a-half-hour flight to New Orleans. Another city of many names (‘Crescent City’, ‘The Big Easy’, ‘NOLA’), it has no problem living up to them as you’ll soon find upon arriving at your hotel, where you’ll spend the next four nights. Located in a former 19th-century warehouse, complete with a coffee shop, cocktail bar, gallery and restaurant, it’s the perfect spot to relax after a day of travelling.

DAYS 8 to 10

NEW ORLEANS AKA ‘THE BIG EASY’

Few cities have a soundtrack like New Orleans. Born from the musical memory of enslaved Africans, jazz and the big band music scene it spawned are integral to the Big Easy. Before hitting its many jazz clubs, use your four nights in the city to wander down Frenchman Street, listening to the brassy blooms of trumpets and trombones and stop by Congo Square for the sounds of cymbals, snares and bass drums bounce off its cobblestones. In between stops for po-boys, gumbo and crawfish etouffee, and walks around City and Crescent Park, it’s to Fritzel’s Jazz Club for a night on the town. As New Orleans’ oldest operating jazz club – open seven nights a week – it has become a mecca for jazz lovers and musicians alike. And trust us, its bench seating and classic dive-bar feel is nothing to go on. Once the music starts and cocktails flow, you’ll see exactly why it’s gone for a back-to-basics no-nonsense approach – the music speaks for itself.

DAY 11

ONWARDS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS

Your last internal flight will see you saying see ya to NOLA and hey y’all to Austin. Leave New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong Airport mid-morning for the one-and-a-half-hour flight to Bergstrom International Airport, where you’ll be picked up by one of our representatives and transferred to your downtown hotel. Entrenched in timeless charm, this historic hotspot is a brilliant vantage point for exploring Austin’s entertainment district and beyond.

DAYS 12 & 13

FROM NOLA TO THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL

A big city with a small-town heart, Texas’ state capital doesn’t take its ‘Live Music Capital’ status lightly. Since the 1960s, this progressive city – an anomaly in Texas – has been a haven for artists, writers and musicians. Disillusioned with Nashville’s honkytonk, artists such as Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings spearheaded a movement that reworked western and county with an incisive injection of rock’n’roll. So, of course, over your three nights in the city, a visit to a couple of its bars, namely The Continental Club and Antone’s, are a must. For the full Texan experience though, we recommend heading to Stubb’s BBQ. Nestled in the heart of the city’s Red River District, its outdoor amphitheatre isn’t just home to killer sounds, beats and light displays, but barbecue treats such as chopped beef sandwiches and brisket platters. Could this be any more Texan?

DAY 14

HOME TIME

You’ll have the day at leisure to explore Barton Springs Municipal Pool, Allens Boots (where you can pick up your first – or second – pair of cowboy boots, hats, belts and leather jackets) and raise a pint to your trip at Meanwhile’s vintage-industrial style taproom. You’ll then head to the airport this afternoon for your nine-hour overnight flight back to Heathrow. You’ll arrive back in London bright and early the following morning.

A Rough Idea of Price

Dependent on season, accommodation and activities
The cost for this trip starts from £2,610 to £4,200 per person.

The final cost of the trip depends on the way we tailor it especially for you. The final cost varies according to several factors, which include the level of service, length of trip and advance booking time. The exact price will be provided on your personalised quote.

The average starting price for this trip is £3,400 per person.
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