Music is a great many things to a great many people. For some of us, it’s what gives us the motivation to hit the gym or go for a run on a cold winter’s morning. For others it’s been our solace in times of woe or helped us to navigate an emotionally troublesome time. Music enriches our lives and even has some surprising health benefits for the mind and body. For some of us, however, music is our obsession. We can’t go a day without it whether we stream it through our phones or catch it live in concert with our friends. For the musically obsessed traveller, the United States are a veritable smorgasbord of musical history.

Across this richly diverse country, there are many cities where music is an integral part of their cultural identity from the jazz bars of New Orleans to the blues capital that is Memphis Tennessee there are iconic destinations across the US that all music fans should visit, whatever their budget or musical taste. 

Hear the Minneapolis sound in person

If you’re a Prince fan, then you’ll know that the Minnesotan capital is the home of a particular brand of synth heavy funk that the world came to know as the Minneapolis sound. While there are numerous venues where you can still hear this sub genre in its natural habitat, the city is a thriving hub of all kinds of musical genres. The midwestern city is also a hub for hip hop and indie rock and is home to some events and festivals that are the envy of the nation. Visit for Rock The Garden or the Basilica Block party and you’ll see the city come alive.

Every serious music fan should visit Athens

If you’re passionate about music there are few places you’ll feel your passion more closely matched than in Athens, Georgia. The entire state is famous for its love of music from rock cafes like 37 main which you can check out at 37main.com to the (sadly now closed) Music Hall of Fame in downtown Macon. Athens, however is home to some of the coolest music venues in the country including the Georgia Theatre and the uber cool 40 watt club.

The Bronx is a Mecca for hip hop fans

Hip hop is more than a musical genre, it’s a lifestyle and a culture that’s reflected in the language, art and politics of the cities in which hip hop rose to prominence. While West Coast hip hop will always LA its home, rap pilgrims owe it to themselves to visit the birthplace of hip hop in The Bronx which offers guided tours of the genre’s birthplace. 

Immerse yourself in the spirit of New Orleans

There are few cities in which the music is so deeply enshrined in the culture and feel as New Orleans. New Orleans is the very spirit of jazz itself rendered in timber and brick. The jazz and blues are such a big part of the city’s idiosyncratic charm that even those with no interest in the genres can emerge from a visit with a strong love of them.

Wherever your musical passions lie, if you love music, there’s somewhere in the US for you.