How to experience Tennessee like a local

Tennessee, the birthplace of rock n’ roll and a citadel of country music, is also home to the Great Smokies and filled with outdoor adventure from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Mississippi River. With so much to do, it can be hard to figure out where to start. We consulted experts, from blues hounds to trail guides, for their tips on how to best sample the state’s acoustic and natural flavors.

Roam the blues halls of Beale Street

Stroll through music history along brick-lined Beale Street, Memphis’ historic center for Black-owned businesses and music. “You kind of travel through time when you come to Beale,” says Singa Bromfield, stage name Singa B, a Memphis hip-hop and blues musician. “If you want to grab a drink, there’s plenty of bars around town, but Beale Street has an atmosphere that’s from another era.”

Larger venues such as B.B. King’s Blues Club and the Rum Boogie Cafe typically host full bands. Solo artists like Singa B can be found at the street’s smaller venues like The Pig on Beale and Blues Hall. “People come to Memphis for the musicians,” says Bromfield. “The people I connect with here fuel my singing.”

Paddle down the Mississippi River

The Mississippi River snakes along Tennessee’s western border, winding between islands of hardwood forests that transform into sprawling beaches when waters recede. The result is one of the best destinations for paddling adventures in America. 

“There’s no other city in North America with as much river wilderness right off of its doorstep,” says Matthew Burdine, owner of Mississippi River Expeditions. “The Mississippi River is a sandy paradise. When you’re out there in canoes, you see Memphis rise up over the horizon.”

Hop on a half-, full-, or multiday row trip with Burdine or swing by Blues City Kayaks for a sunset ride downtown.

Explore the cypress forests of Reelfoot Lake

In 1812, a massive earthquake forced the Mississippi River to flow backward, filling the vast Reelfoot Lake basin. Reelfoot is a shallow sea of cypress knees, cattail reeds, egret colonies, and blue heron rookeries that travelers can fish, paddle, or cruise through.

Outdoor television host Bill Dance has spent 50 years plying Reelfoot while filming Bill Dance Outdoors. “There are eagle nests, canals covered in mossy vegetation, and endless lily pads,” says Dance. “Reelfoot is a forested paradise that takes a lickin’ and keeps on ticking.”

Reelfoot Lake State Park offers boat tours of its byways, while Blue Bank Resort allows visitors to rent boats to build their own adventure. 

Experience Nashville beyond Broadway

Suspended Circus aerial acrobat and travel book author Bailey Freeman says the Music City’s performing arts scene is often underrated and overlooked.

“Nashville may be known for country music, but that’s just one facet of this infinitely creative place,” says Freeman. The food and bar scene has garnered national recognition—don’t miss Attaboy and Tiger Bar for cocktails, Bastion for an unforgettable tasting menu, or International Market for award-winning Thai.

“As a member of the performance community myself, I’m constantly humbled by the sheer wealth of creation that comes out of this city and am proud to know the cohort of artists making Nashville a more beautiful, diverse, and exciting place.”

Hike the Great Smokies

With nearly 14 million annual visitors, Great Smoky Mountains National Park may be America’s most visited national park, but it’s still where travelers can escape into nature. “It’s not super crowded if you are doing overnight backpacking,” says Happy Hiking Company guide Lisa Rutledge. “Whenever I book a Great Smokies backpacking trip, we usually have the campsite to ourselves.” 

Rutledge tries to avoid tourist hotspots like Clingman’s Dome and opts for treks to more remote areas such as Mount Stirling, near the North Carolina border. Travelers seeking a more accessible option can walk or bike Cade’s Cove, which closes its roads to vehicles on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings.

Seek out singer-songwriters

Across the Cumberland River from the studios of Music Row, an enclave of singer-songwriters in East Nashville diverges from the commercial country music scene, handwriting music that debuts in small rooms across the city. “It’s totally different,” says Nashville musician EG Vines. “I’ve been in a couple of those more mainstream, pop-country writing sessions where a group whiteboards a theme, but the singer-songwriter community is more about figuring out how to tap into whatever inspiration they have.”

Vines recommends events like “New Faces Night,” where visitors can hear seven or eight artists trying out new music at The Basement on Tuesday nights. Other haunts include The Bowery Vault, The 5 Spot, EXIT/IN, and the Mercy Lounge.

Sample tipples from the godfather of Tennessee whiskey

The world knows Jack Daniel, Lynchburg’s famous Tennessee whiskey maker. But the state’s first Black-owned distillery pays homage to Nearest Green, who taught Daniel how to create whiskey. “My great-great-grandfather’s contribution to the spirits industry has always been known in Lynchburg,” says Victoria Eady Butler, master blender for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. “When we’re not heading to our second home in Shelbyville, Humble Baron, we love to visit another amazing local bar, The Patterson House in Nashville,” says company co-founder Keith Weaver. “Their whiskey knowledge is extraordinary, and their cocktail program rivals what we are doing at Humble Baron.” 

Enjoy Knoxville’s Gilded Age theaters

Julie Gause, an online marketer for some of cable’s biggest networks, says her favorite Knoxville theater is the Bijou, which also hosts concerts and comedy nights. “There are only 800 seats. The acoustics are great, and it’s got a storied history that includes being a hospital in the Civil War to spending time as a brothel and a XXX theater. It was also almost torn down a couple of times.” 

(For more tips on what to do in Tennessee, see our Explorer’s Guide.)