TENNESSEE

Dollywood

Dollywood is an amusement park jointly owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment. It is located in the Knoxville-Smoky Mountains metroplex in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season – mid-March to the Christmas holidays – Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. In addition to standard amusement park thrill rides, Dollywood features traditional crafts and music of the Smoky Mountain area. The park hosts a number of concerts and musical events each year, including appearances by Dolly Parton and her family as well as other national and local musical acts. It is also the site of the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame. The theme park is the anchor of Parton's 150-acre Dollywood amusement destination, which also includes the 35-acre sister water park Dollywood's Splash Country, the 20-acre Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the 5-acre Dolly Parton's Stampede Dinner Attraction.

There are plenty of other attractions nearby in Pigeon Forge, including Ripley Attractions, Wonderworks, and way, way, more.

Gatlinburg Space Needle

The Gatlinburg Space Needle is a 407 feet tall observation tower in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, United States. The tower has an outdoor observation level that provides a 360 degree view of the Great Smoky Mountains and the city of Gatlinburg. Upon completion in 1969, it was the second tallest tower in the state of Tennessee. Currently it is the fifth tallest in the state, after several non-guyed TV and radio towers. Along with being the tallest structure in the city of Gatlinburg, the Space Needle base also hosts an arcade with videos games, escape games and the Impossibilities magic show theater.

Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners. The Opry's current primary slogan is "The Show That Made Country Music Famous." Other slogans include "Home of American Music" and "Country's Most Famous Stage" and most importantly "The Mother Church of Country Music." In the 1930s, the show began hiring professionals and expanded to four hours. Broadcasting by then at 50,000 watts, WSM made the program a Saturday night musical tradition in nearly 30 states. In 1939, it debuted nationally on NBC Radio. The Opry moved to a permanent home, the Ryman Auditorium, in 1943.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amassed one of the world's most extensive musical collections

Beale Street

Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles. It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are major tourist attractions in Memphis. Festivals and outdoor concerts frequently bring large crowds to the street and its surrounding areas