Boaters enjoy the High Water music festival in North Charleston.
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With winter just about in our rearview mirrors, there’s plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks: gardening in the sunshine, a slew of party-worthy sporting events (the Masters and the Kentucky Derby, to name two), and an assortment of festivals and fairs across the South. In this last category, we’ve compiled a few collections to appeal to just about everyone: music lovers, art connoisseurs, foodies, and fans of the wonderfully weird and wacky.
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UPCOMING EVENTS AROUND THE SOUTH |
Food Festivals to Savor This Spring |
Seven Travel-Worthy Music Fests |
Eight One-of-a-Kind Festivals This Season
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The guitar takes center stage at the MAX in Meridian.
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AXES AT THE MAX: Mississippian Jimmy Buffett famously sang, “Tonight I just need my guitar.” If you can relate, take the “Downtown” exit to Meridian
just minutes from Interstates 59/20 to see America at the Crossroads: The Guitar and a Changing Nation
at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (the MAX), on view through May 11. The exhibit displays forty guitars—from a Spanish vihuela to a Steinberger headless variety—to showcase the instrument’s role in American history. Visitors can admire additional guitars played by Mississippi heroes, including Bo Diddley’s rectangular red Gretsch G6138, B.B. King’s “Lucille” Gibson ES-355, and of course, Buffett’s Martin Little Marlin. Situated almost halfway between Atlanta and Dallas, culture-rich Meridian offers plenty more to keep visitors entertained, with a historic hotel, restaurants, bars, and shops all within walking distance of the MAX. Find more exhibit details at msarts.org/guitar.
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ELSEWHERE AROUND THE SOUTH |
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Seven Historic Southern Theaters That Play On |
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Nashville. I’d never attended a concert at
Ryman Auditorium. My brother, a die-hard live music fan, had never seen Elvis Costello. So we checked our respective bucket-list boxes by meeting for two nights of catching up, singing along, and sipping bourbon in Music City.
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- The show:
The Ryman, also known as the former home of the Grand Ole Opry, didn’t disappoint. I liked identifying old-time country stars in a lobby mural and loved the roomy pew seating. Costello dug it too, mixing greatest hits with newer material for nearly three hours and welcoming Nashville-based sister act Larkin Poe on stage.
- The respite: Holston House is a garter toss from the neon-lit frenzy of Lower Broadway, but once you turn the corner to the reborn 1920s art deco–accented hotel, there’s nary a wobbly bachelorette to be dodged. The staff is attentive, diner-vibe TENN restaurant plates a hearty croque madame, and the 191 rooms strike the perfect balance between boutiquey and stately. Downtown “Nash Vegas” offers lots of lodging options, but this one is hard to beat.
- Roll the presses: Taking on the entire Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum seemed too daunting, so I ducked into the nook devoted to Hatch Show Print, a working letterpress shop that has been designing posters for musicians and carnivals since 1879. Naturally, I left with a reprint of a 1970s Dolly Parton show poster tucked under my arm.
- Eats and drinks: Smashburgers and pours of Elmer T. Lee at Pinewood Social amply filled pre-concert hours without us even making it onto the bowling lanes. East Nashville bar Schulman’s provided cold beers and the city’s finest collection of vintage beer signs. Our culinary highlight, though, was Audrey,
lauded chef Sean Brock’s flagship paean to his Appalachian roots. Ordering the family-style “Feast” brought gourmet waves of country ham, Bloody Butcher grits, chicken and dumplings, benne cake, and more. It’s a miracle I could mount stairs for a glimpse at “the lab” where Brock ferments, dehydrates, and otherwise creatively reduces food waste.
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MORE TRAVEL STORIES FROM G&G
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