Win a Brand USA 'Music Takes You Further' Tool Kit!

In America’s musical cities, every chord, every riff, every bang of a drum tells a story. Here, Visit The USA shines a light on the destinations where such electrifying art forms as jazz, the blues, country, soul and rock and roll were born...

Proclaimed as the 'Live Music Capital of the World’, Austin, Texas, is home to more than 200 music venues and offers a cool cultural vibe. Austin’s live music scene was born when the outlaw country music scene embraced the hippie lifestyle of the late 60s. Today, Austin continues to live and breathe live music. Visit for festivals like South by Southwest and Austin City Limits Music Festival, which welcome music lovers from all over the globe.

Austin’s metropolitan area thrives with a vibrant tech sector and arts community with diverse dining options, world-class sporting events, outdoor activities and cultural experiences.

Michigan’s most famous landmark is its biggest city. Detroit is a fascinating place to stay, full of Art Deco architecture and iconic museums: the Motown music heritage of Hitsville USA; the car history of The Henry Ford; the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Home to four U.S carmakers, Detroit was nicknamed the “Motor City” and the sound of its music became known as Motown. In the 1960s, Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records, the first African-American recording company to feature African-American musicians.

Chicago, the third biggest city in the country is a place bursting with wonderful museums, restaurants, bars, shopping opportunities, architecture and energy. It is also an epicenter of The Blues, which developed in the late 19th century as an expression of the African American experience and was influenced by work songs, spirituals and rhymed ballads.

As well as being a fascinating and endlessly diverse place to visit, it is also beautiful, pitched on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan – the only one of the five Great Lakes located entirely in the USA.

New Orleans is an easygoing, jovial city where you’ll find incredible food, fantastic live music and friendly locals any time of year and any time of day or night. For daytime culture, Royal and Chartres Streets offer high-end shopping and art galleries, while an evening visit to the Faubourg Marigny district offers a more local introduction to the famous food and jazz.

New Orleans has a rich history that is greatly influenced by the many cultures that have lived there for the past 300 years. French-Canadians, Spanish, Irish, American, African and Caribbean people have all left their mark on the city’s food, architecture, traditions and music.

Miami, the birthplace of Latin Pop and Salsa, is a city of immigrants, each bringing their own native rhythms and musical styles. From the Cuban conga to the Dominican meringue, traditional Latin rhythms flourish and merge in the music of Miami.

Vibrant and charged with the energy of Caribbean rhythms, Miami means big-city sophistication and seductive beaches to those who plug into its unique brand of electric charge

With a colourful arts scene, world-class shopping, water sports splendour, professional sports and a load of family attractions, Miami is one of the USA’s most well-rounded metropolitan destinations.

From the rhythm of the Mississippi River to the beats of Beale Street, Memphis is where many forms of music were born and are still being recorded today, evolving the original Memphis sound.

The city is renowned for its links to Elvis Presley. The King’s Graceland home is preserved in his honour, and you can also trace his story at Sun Studio, where he recorded.

The Memphis music scene began in the mid-19th century, when African-American musicians travelling the Mississippi River stopped to perform. Today, Beale Street and its many clubs, is a nationally recognised landmark.

Los Angeles is a trend-setting global metropolis with an extraordinary history and a rich cultural heritage. It’s known as the Entertainment Capital of the World and is home to renowned museums, along with 75 miles of sunny coastline. It is home to numerous world-famous recording artists, labels and film studios. Writing and producing music for films is an industry unto itself, one that makes LA so entirely unique.

Los Angeles is home to some of the USA’s best beaches and each one has its own unique character. Venice Beach is one of LA’s most known beaches and with its numerous galleries, quirky shops, street performers, Muscle Beach body-builders and more, it's the perfect place for a spot of people watching!

Located in central Tennessee, Nashville lies in a valley through which the Cumberland River flows. Nicknamed the "Music City," Nashville is a mecca for music lovers for all genres but particularly Country music aficionados.

Nashville is the country music capital of the U.S. and is home to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Gibson guitars, Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium and multiple recording labels.

Whether you’re interested in art, history, music or architecture, you’ll stay busy during every minute of your time in Nashville.

Known as the birthplace of Rhythm & Blues – with themes similar to Blues songs, but influenced by Afro-Caribbean rhythms – Atlanta is a buzzing entertainment hub with seven professional sports teams and many prestigious museums, theatres and cultural venues.

Take in classic and modern art, and award-winning architecture, at the High Museum of Art. Those after a bite to eat can visit the world’s largest drive-in and grab a burger at Varsity. You can also visit the world-famous Georgia Aquarium – home to more than a hundred thousand animals and several thousand species, which reside in 10 million gallons of water.

New York, the largest city in the USA, is an architectural marvel with plenty of historic monuments, magnificent buildings and countless dazzling skyscrapers. The city is home to numerous museums, parks, trendy neighbourhoods and shopping streets.

It is true that Hip Hop Music originated in the South Bronx in the late 1970s. Using the language of “the street,” rap is rich in imagery, creativity and metaphor, with themes of social justice.

Visitors can enjoy the view from the Empire State Building, flex plastic in the fabulous shops of Fifth Avenue and beyond, get up close to fine art at MOMA and find superb food of every type and every price.