USA: Music memories

Book early to secure your spot in the audience at popular Broadway musicals. Photo / Thinkstock

For a musical experience you won't soon forget, head to one of these four spots.

1. Broadway

Nothing beats a live Broadway performance for razzmatazz and sheer energy. There are 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats along Broadway in New York City. Be warned: tickets to the big hits are often expensive and hard to come, but worth it.

2. Woody Allen's Jazz Band at the Carlyle

The Carlyle is a fabulous historic New York hotel and would be worth a visit even if Woody Allen, now in his late 70s, didn't play there. Along with his films and writings, the Oscar winner appears almost every Monday night at the Cafe Carlyle with the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band.

3. Dollywood

Some 56km southeast of Knoxville, and just north of the Great Smoky Mountains, is this shrine to country music's First Lady, Dolly Parton. As well as being an amusement park, Dollywood hosts concerts, including appearances by its namesake. The venue is as kitsch as Parton but it's fun and offers an insight into Tennessee mountain culture.

4. Country music in Nashville

Nashville is the heartland of pure country music. From the honky tonks of Lower Broadway, where unknown bands play hoping for their big break, to the Grand Ole Opry, where the rhinestone-studded stars perform, Nashville is like a mecca for country fans. Each year, the CMA Music Festival brings music lovers to the city.