Abbey Road to Dollywood: Five amazing music places you have to visit

FROM Abbey Road to Dollywood, we look at five spots all music lovers should visit in their travels across the globe.

Five amazing music places you have to visit

WHAT’S your musical mecca?

From the iconic to the unknown, from the hard-rocking to the poptastic, music lovers worldwide get a kick out of visiting these five destinations during their travels.

Abbey Road

The Abbey Road album cover: often imitated, never bettered.

Perhaps the most instantly recognisable music-related location in the world, Abbey Road in London famously featured on the cover of The Beatles’ 1969 album of the same name. Want to recreate that iconic shot when you’re in London? Be warned: you’ll probably have company. As the Abbey Road CrossCam shows, a steady stream of tourists take to the crossing at all hours of the day to get the perfect shot, much to the annoyance of locals and motorists.

While you’re there, be sure to check out Abbey Road Studios, which has been the birthplace of hundreds of top-selling albums from artists including Kate Bush, Duran Duran, Pink Floyd and Oasis.

CBGB

The infamous CBGBs toilets. Pictures: Ashley Gilbertson/Aurora

A nondescript exterior hid a wealth of musical history.

Opened in New York’s East Village 1973, CBGB music club was originally to be a haven for country, bluegrass and blues fans (hence its CBGB initials). However, with the explosion of punk music towards the end of the decade, the hole-in-the-wall venue soon became the site of raucous, history-making gigs by the likes of the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Talking Heads.

The club closed in 2006 with one farewell performance by Patti Smith, and in its place now is a high-end fashion store. However, while those infamous toilets have been cleaned up, there are still many nods to the space’s famous past for those who visit the store: “One of the first posters to be glued to the club’s walls, dating back to 1979, [is] encased in glass,” reports MTV.

“On the other side of the club [/store], there’s a portion of one of CBGB’s original walls, completely drenched in flyers and promotional stickers.”

Joanne Trattoria

Want your food cooked by Lady Gaga’s dad? Head to Joanne.

For Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters, this New York Italian restaurant holds special significance: It’s owned and operated by the pop star’s father, Joe Germanotta. Named Joanne after his sister, Gaga’s late aunt, the restaurant was the singer’s gift to her father when she started earning serious pop star money. Located on 68th Street near Central Park West, the family business now operates as Gaga’s local when she’s in town: “When she’s in town she likes to come here with her friends because it’s very homey and private. She’ll come here on her time off,” Gaga’s mum told W Magazine. In other words: Little Monsters, book yourself a table for a chance to spot your idol.

Dollywood

Dolly Parton makes frequent appearances at Dollywood — sometimes in costume.

Whether you’re a Dolly Parton fan, a theme park enthusiast or just a lover of camp kitsch, you have to make the pilgrimage to Dollywood at some point in your life. Located in Parton’s home country of Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, Dollywood isn’t actually just a theme park anymore: There’s also Splash Country Water Park, the Dollywood Cabins, Dollywood DreamMore Resort and Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner theatre. Since opening in 1986, Dollywood has grown to become an industry of its own, attracting millions of visitors each year. Not bad for a country singer whose early song Coat of Many Colours details a childhood so poor, she had to wear patchwork rags sown together by her mother.

AC/DC Lane

Melbourne’s long history with AC/DC was cemented with AC/DC Lane.

Acca Dacca fans have several landmarks to check out in Melbourne: There’s Swanston Street, which was the setting for the band’s iconic It’s a Long Way to the Top(If You Wanna Rock n’ Roll) video clip. The band famously busted out the rock anthem from the back of a flat bed truck for the video, causing traffic chaos. We don’t recommend you do the same — perhaps listen to the song on your iPhone while you take a tram instead?

After that, head for Flinders Lane and stop by ACDC Lane, which has been so named since 2004 (Before that it was the much less colourful ‘Corporation Lane’).

The trademark lightning bolt or slash (”/”) used to separate the AC and the DC in the band’s name contravened the naming policy of the Office of the Registrar of Geographic Names, so the punctuation was omitted on the street sign.

Best to time your visit to ACDC Lane for the evening — the Lane is also home to perhaps Melbourne’s best-loved dirty rock bar, Cherry. Stop in for a few longnecks and throw yourself around on the sticky-carpeted dance floor.