New Orleans

In my opinion, New Orleans is the coolest city in the South. As a saxophone player myself, it’s about the last city left where I have a decent chance of meeting someone or scoring a gig just by making conversation at the bar. That welcoming atmosphere extends to the rest of the city, and most people are more than happy to promote local goings on to people new in town, so long as you don’t act like a blackout drunk tourist by noon.

I’d recommend skipping the big hotels and renting a place from a local through one of the many services to do so: that will put you in a neighborhood in the city instead of outside of it and needing to commute in to enjoy this charming town.