Macon is for music lovers
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Musician Little Richard performs during the halftime show of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on December 31, 2004. Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Detroit and Memphis are two cities that have made historic contributions to American music during the 20th century.
- But for Scott Freeman, a journalist who began his career in Macon and authored biographies of Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers Band, Macon ranks just as high as its more well-known counterparts.
The big picture: Freeman calls Macon the "sleepy little town in the middle of Georgia" that gave birth to Little Richard, James Brown, the Allman Brothers Band and Redding — icons who defined music in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
- "You go there, and you feel this sense of history," Freeman, the executive editor of ArtsATL.org, told Axios.
- "There's something in the water," Redding's grandson, Justin Andrews, told Axios. "The music world definitely owes a lot to Macon."
The city is packed with places where you can learn more about this rich history, and here are Freeman's suggestions:
- Rose Hill Cemetery is the resting place for members of the Allman Brothers Band.
- Otis Redding Museum: Operated by the Otis Redding Foundation, the museum serves as a one-stop shop where you can learn about the musician whose influence stretches beyond his untimely death in 1967.
- Douglass Theatre: Freeman suggests this spot, which was founded in 1921 by Charles Douglass, director of the Georgia Loan and Savings Company.
- The Little Richard House: the musician's childhood home.
- The Allman Brothers Band Museum at The Big House: A museum that was once home to The Allman Brothers Band's original members, their families and friends in the 1970s.
You can take a whole Macon music history tour with Rock Candy Tours and find other notable attractions on the Macon Music Trail website.
- Bonus: The Museum at Capricorn pays tribute to Capricorn Records and Capricorn Sound Studios, an iconic independent Southern label, while hosting a contemporary music incubator run by Mercer University.
Of note: if you're hungry, grab a bite to eat at the H&H Soul Food, a legendary restaurant that's fed Macon’s music legends.
Or the Downtown Grill, where Gregg Allman proposed to Cher.