The best cities to visit if you love music

No matter what kind of music you’re into, there’s a city out there calling your name!

Country music, Nashville

It’s called the Music City for a reason! Nashville is home to some of the biggest names in country music with Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, and Blake Shelton, to name a few, all calling the great city home. There are hundreds of amazing live music venues and a walk down Main Street will fill your senses with bright lights, loud noise and the smell of delicious local American-style food. While country is King here, there is also a thriving rock and roll scene for anyone who wants to mix it up in the honky-tonk city.

Classical, Vienna

If you’re a fan the classics, Vienna is the place for you. The stunning city is the birthplace of the waltz and was also home to some of the world’s best composers, such as, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, the Strauss family, Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler. You can catch a performance of the classics at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, a renowned venue for classical music, or if you’re lucky enough to visit in the summer catch one of the many open-air concerts and take in all the musical beauty right under the stars.

Jazz, New Orleans

There’s more to New Orleans than mardi Gras! The city is known as the birthplace of jazz and after all the years, no one does it better than the original. Iconic jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis and Kermit Ruffins regularly perform in town, while local acts who were born and raised in the area know how to play just as well as the best of them. Louis Armstrong and Leroy James were both born here and their legend lives on throughout the lively city. Head down Bourbon street for some of the best musical hot spots and be sure to try the local food while you’re there too, especially ‘gumbo’ – the cajun stew the city is famous for.

Opera, Milan

Italy is home to big mammas, big flavours, and even bigger voices, and if you’re looking for a touch of drama and powerful melodies you’ve come to the right spot. You’ll find amazing opera all over the country, with each city having its own spectacular venue for the performances. Arguably the most famous is Teatro La Scala in Milan, which was opened in 1778 before being bombed out during World War II and rebuilt again. All the greats from Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti have performed here and it continues to be the premier stage for the world’s best operas.

Blues, Chicago

Chicago has been famous for Blues since Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and countless others first rolled into the city and changed the course of music forever. These artists went on to inspire the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Frank Sinatra and have been hailed for their lasting influence on the music industry. These days you’ll find plenty of old-school and up-and-coming blues artists playing all over the city at iconic music venues. Head to Buddy Guy’s Legends or Chicago Blue for a night of moody blues and soulful music.

The Beatles, London

Ok, ok The Beatles aren’t a style of music, but the band is so iconic it almost seems like they should be! Fans of the fab four should should hop on the Tube’s Jubilee line to St. John’s Wood station, and take a 5-10 minute walk down Grove End Road to Abbey Road Studios. You can grab a photo at the famous zebra crossing where they took the cover photo for the Abbey Road album and then head to the Studio gates to see the hundreds of loving messages left my fans from around the world, all of them scrawled in Texta along the front wall.

Have you ever visited any of these cities? Which one would you most like to see?