Travel Itinerary

Travel Itinerary

This itinerary includes destinations and approximate length of stays along with specific cultural centers, events, clubs, and museums we plan on visiting. I hope to contact most venues in advance to make arrangements for special access or tours when possible. The exact order of stops may change depending on music and festival schedules for spring 2012.

• at all sites I will be taking extensive photos whenever possible.

• I plan to do recorded interviews with curators and musicians when possible

                        Place                                                   Duration                                      Purpose of Visit                                                                       

Bakersfield          After Bakersfield we plan to detour to Springdale, Utah and Santa Fe, New Mexico for a few weeks and then plan to hit the road in ernest at the beginning of Feb.	2 or 3 days	Investigate current country music scene including Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace (contemporary country music venue) Kern County Museum Bakersfield Country Music Museum (Both museums have exhibits on the history of the legendary, hard edged, Bakersfield Honky Tonk scene that emerged out of the Dustbowl Migration of the 1930s
Drive to Texas	1 week	follow rural roads thru Arizona and New Mexico with investigations of Native American Music (Casa Grande Ruins music festival Feb 2012)
San Antonio	2 or 3 days	San Antonio remains one of the primary centers of Tejano music and is the home of the Tejano music awards in March. I plan to visit clubs and other music venues including Main Plaza with a focus on Tejano/Norteno music and culture
Austin Austin continued	2 or 3 days	Investigate the roots of Austin’s nationally recognized music scene (Austin is currently the home of “South By Southwest” one of the largest contemporary national showcases for new rock of all styles) Visit Texas Music Museum Clubs on Sixth Street-Antone’s and many more
Travel thru rural Texas (before and after visits to Austin and San Antonio)	3 to 5 days	Small towns we plan on visiting include Luckenbach (made famous by Waylon Jennings song), Liberty (cover photo of my textbook), Navasata (Home of blues legend Mance Lipscomb) All are some of the oldest towns in the state
New Orleans and Louisiana Bayou country New plan to try to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras . . .Fat Tuesday here we come. 2/21/12	2 to 3 days with longer 10 day visit later in trip for Heritage Music Festival	Attend Jazz and Heritage Music Festival Explore French Quarter: Investigate contemporary music scene and reflect on both commodification and commercialization of New Orleans rich musical heritage Congo Square Lafayette-home of Zydeco originator Clifton Chenier, visit Clifton Chenier Center Explore Bayou Country- focus on culture, climate, music and geography
Blues Trail exploration of the Mississippi Delta and surrounding areas Blues Trail continued	2 to 3 weeks	Travel on routes 55 and 61 from New Orleans to Memphis along the Mississippi with stops at historic homes and birthplaces of Blues legends including Hazlehurst-Robert Johnson Hinds County- Charlie Patton Dockeries Plantation- (often referred to as the birthplace of the blues) Greenville- Home of the Delta Blues Festival Vicksburg- Willie Dixon Junction of Rt 61 and 49- “The Crossroads” Itta Bena- B.B. King Indiola: Miss “Ebony Club” Clarksdale- visit Delta Blues Museum and birthplace of WC Handy Lyon- Son House Yazoo City- Muddy Waters (The intent of this section of the trip will be Morgan Freeman’s Club “Ground Zero” • explore how these legends are remembered and celebrated in their hometowns. • experience the climate, rural isolation and poverty of the Mississippi Delta • further investigate contemporary theories that have challenged the primacy of many of these blues legends as the inventors of the blues
Memphis Memphis continued	1 week	Visit Sun Studios Museum • Experience Sam Phillips roots music studio and home of legendary recordings by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and others • Visit Beale Street: one of the first African American Business districts in the US, now home to numerous clubs. • Visit Graceland: Home of Elvis Presley, investigate how and why the idolization of Presley continues to this day • Visit Stax Museum of American Soul Music (located on the site of Stax studios; one of the 3 legendary soul studios of the 1960s and 70s) • Beale St Zydeco Music festival last week in Feb 2012
Nashville	1 to 2 week	• Visit Country Music Hall of Fame: focus on country music’s cultural roots • Attend a show at the Grand Ole Opry • Check out the current club scene of Nashville: investigate the current trends of live performance in one of the nation’s most vibrant music scenes. • Attend a country recording session of possible: check out the current Nashville studio scene
Trip thru rural Appalachia including Tennessee, Kentucky, parts of North and South Carolina and Georgia	1 week	• explore the rural roots of Country and Old Time Music with stops in the historic home towns of country artists and sites historic importance including Bristol, TN-first country music recordings of the Carter Family and Jimmy Rogers, Goodlettsville, TN-Bill Monroe Sevierville, TN-Dolly Parton Maces Springs (Hiltons), VA-Maybelle Carter Clintwood, VA- Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center.  This segment of the trip will be very similar in focus to the Blues Trail with emphasis on the culture, geography, and climate
Georgia Sea Islands And South Carolina Sea Islands	3 to 5 days	Investigate Gullah Culture and language: one of the oldest and best preserved African cultures in America with roots in Sierra Leone and one of the most distinct linguistic dialects in the country Visit St Helena, SC- considered a center of Gullah culture today Hilton Head Island, SC-home of the Gullah Cultural Celebration during Feb
Return to California with additional stops as time allows	1 to 2 weeks