Due South: Small but Mighty Music Towns

Plus: New Southern flights and a weekend in an Airstream

PHOTO: COURTESY OF VISIT MACON

Downtown Macon, Georgia.

Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans are some of the most well-known Southern music cities, but plenty of other charming smaller cities and towns across the region cater to music lovers. In Macon, Georgia, and Wilkesboro, North Carolina, visitors explore the South’s music heritage at museums, studios, and annual festivals such as Merlefest. “A journey to any of these road-trip-worthy destinations, including the Birthplace of Country Music and the Hit Recording Capital of the World,” writes G&G contributor Marianne Leek, “just might inspire you to sing with the windows down.”

THE DUNLIN | AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION

FREE AS A BIRD: The dunlin’s plumage is easy to spot. The robin-sized sandpiper sports rusty feathers on its back and black splotches on its belly, which you can glimpse along sandy shores around the country. One prime spot is the aptly named coastal retreat The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, opening August 1 on South Carolina’s Kiawah River. Surrounded by golden spartina grass and evoking a classic Southern summer home, the luxury property boasts seventy-two guest rooms and suites and a whimsical aesthetic courtesy of celebrated designer Amanda Lindroth. Here, visitors can embrace the simple pleasures of a coastal lifestyle while breathing in the beauty of 2,000 picturesque acres and adding a species or two to their birding log. Plan your Sea Island getaway at The Dunlin now.

Roseland, Virginia. My idea of roughing it is a motel, but I’m married to a man who takes every opportunity to sleep out under the stars. That’s how we found ourselves compromising on an Airstream stay at Devils Backbone Brewery Basecamp in June. Retro, charming, and with creature comforts like a stove and dishwasher, it managed to make me one happy camper.

Now streaming. While our tricked-out trailer came with a TV, the real show was outside under the towering Blue Ridge Mountains, a hiker’s oasis. Trailblazers will also appreciate that Devils Backbone is smack in the middle of the Brew Ridge Trail, a perfect base for brewery hopping down scenic Highway 151 to Blue Mountain and Hazy Mountain breweries in Afton or Three Notch’d in Nellysford.
Spirit of the mountains. If beer isn’t your thing, Basecamp also has an on-site distillery where you can try spirits like Danzig Whiskey, a smooth operator I could easily become all too familiar with. Devils also serves an Orange Smash, a boozy canned citrus beverage that’s become a favorite of the beach crowd.
S’more to see and do. While everything we needed—craft beer, strong libations, and great food—was within walking distance, a country drive was restorative, and I’d encourage anyone visiting to pop in to the nearby Saunders Brothers nursery. Yes, you can get great native plants, but it was the fresh-picked peaches that stole my heart. You can keep your graham crackers and marshmallows. I have a whole new appreciation for enjoying locally grown stone fruit by campfire on a perfect Virginia night.