Few cities can claim to have shaped as many styles of music as Memphis. Blues traveled up from the Delta to Beale Street, gospel and country mixed in the same neighborhoods, a young Elvis Presley cut records on Union Avenue, Stax gave the world Southern soul, and later generations built a rap scene that is still local and fierce. You can follow all of it in a few days if you visit the sites in roughly the order the story unfolded. This guide shows how.
Start with the overview
The Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, on the FedExForum plaza at Beale Street, tells the story from Delta sharecroppers to Sun and Stax with an audio guide of more than 100 songs, and it is the best single orientation to what follows. If you want more depth on individual names afterward, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame is a compact museum honoring the artists behind the sound, though it is a more modest add-on than the big venues.
The blues
Beale Street is where the blues became a business. Walking the three neon-lit blocks is free, and the clubs offer live music most nights, with a small security fee on select weekend and holiday nights. For the history behind the music, the Blues Hall of Fame Museum on South Main honors inductees such as B.B. King, W.C. Handy, Robert Johnson, Koko Taylor and Muddy Waters, with instruments, costumes and an interactive database. It closes on Mondays, so plan around that.
Rock and roll
Sun Studio, in a tiny Union Avenue storefront, is where Sam Phillips recorded Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and some of the first rock and roll records. The 40-minute guided tour ends in the working studio, and tours run on a first-come basis, so arrive early. The Overton Park Shell, a 1936 bandshell, hosted Elvis in 1954 as the opening act for Slim Whitman, and a backstage tour tells that story along with the history of the venue’s free concerts. Elvis fans can then go to Graceland, where the mansion tour, the Meditation Garden and the museums across the boulevard show the performer he became, or make a day trip to Tupelo to see where he was born.
Soul
The Stax Museum of American Soul Music stands on the site of the Stax Records studio in Soulsville, where Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. and the M.G.’s and the Staple Singers recorded. Costumes, instruments and a dance floor make it one of the most joyful museums in the city. Check its current opening days before you go, since it has traditionally closed on Mondays.
Hip hop
Memphis rap has its own story, and the private Memphis Rap and Hip Hop Tour covers the neighborhoods and landmarks behind it, from Beale Street to Young Dolph Avenue. It is a good counterweight to the museum-heavy days and shows that the city’s music story did not stop in the 1970s.
A guided shortcut
If you would rather not drive between sites, the Memphis Mojo music bus tour runs a live-musician narrated route from Beale Street past Sun Studio, Lauderdale Courts, the Peabody, Handy Park and St. Jude, with an option to add Sun Studio or Stax admission. It is a cheerful way to see the map of the story before choosing where to spend more time.
Live music beyond the museums
The Orpheum Theatre offers a one-hour tour of its art deco rooms and backstage murals, and the Overton Park Shell is a place to catch a concert on the lawn when the season allows, since many of its shows have been free. Check each venue’s calendar before building a day around an event.
Suggested order
A good three-stop day is Rock ’n’ Soul Museum in the morning, a Beale Street lunch, and Sun Studio in the afternoon. Give Stax its own half day, Graceland a full morning and the Blues Hall of Fame a short slot between South Main sights. End each night on Beale Street so the history is followed by the sound itself.
Planning notes
Graceland and Sun Studio close on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, so avoid those dates for the pilgrimage. Graceland is south of the city, Stax is in Soulsville and Sun Studio is east of downtown, so a car or rideshare saves time. Where to stay matters less than getting a base downtown, which keeps Beale Street and the Rock ’n’ Soul Museum on foot.
