Macon

The old-timer sitting next to you at the diner might have played in a band with Hendrix, and the teenager bussing the table could be the next to carry the torch, literally, by setting a guitar ablaze. Macon claims a storied music history that sets an inescapable, irresistible backbeat for all the goings-on in this town of 100,000, about 12,000 of whom are students at Mercer University, Macon State, or Wesleyan women’s college. Located about seventy-five miles south of Atlanta, Macon has served as home base for Little Richard, James Brown, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers Band, and, lately, a new generation of pickers and rappers (Jason Aldean, Young Jeezy) celebrate what they have dubbed “the Mac-Town.” So, while this leafy, slow-paced city lacks the pulsing club scene of Atlanta, students still can enjoy a lively, sometimes loud off-campus social life.

Thanks to a vanguard of hipster entrepreneurs, downtown has undergone a renaissance, with establishments such as the Red Eye Tavern (401 Cherry Street, 478-722-0005) and the Hummingbird (430 Cherry Street, 478-741-9130, hummingbirdstageandtaproom.com), a high-decibel rock bar named for the Gibson guitar. Trendier nightclubs such as Dea (420 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 478-755-1620) keep the sidewalks animated at night. At the Cox Capitol Theatre (382 Second Street, 478-257-6391, coxcapitoltheatre.com) you can sink into a banquette while watching an art movie. The Eleventh Hour (484 Cherry Street, 478-464-1840, 11thhouronline.com), Macon’s alternative newspaper, has kindled its own scene, consistently organizing events with a campy twist, such as “zombie parades” for Halloween.

Macon, with its pink clouds of cherry blossoms and antebellum architecture, always has valued greenspace (an early law required shade trees for every house), and a new park winding along the Ocmulgee River offers an atmospheric hangout. Nearby are the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (200 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 478-751-3334, georgiamusic.org), the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (301 Cherry Street, 478-752-1585, gshf.org), and the Tubman African American Museum (340 Walnut Street, 478-743-8544, tubmanmuseum.com). Sports fans cherish Luther Williams Field, an Americana-tinged baseball stadium that’s home to a team called the Macon Music (maconbaseball.com).

Ingleside Village Pizza (2396 Ingleside Avenue, 478-750-8488, inglesidepizza.com), with those extra-chewy crusts and edgy-looking servers, is a mainstay. The H&H Restaurant (807 Forsyth Street, 478-742-9810, mamalouise.com) was a venerated trough for rockers in the 1960s. Hearty soul food is plentiful and well-lubed at Jeneane’s Cafe (524 Mulberry Street, 478-743-5267). White Lightning BBQ Company (195 Spring Street, 478-330-5635, whitelightningbbq.com) is a low-slung, smartly kitschy joint adorned with Burt Reynolds movie posters. For special occasions, try the Tic Toc Room (408 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 478-744-0123), a fine-dining incarnation of the notoriously louche nightclub where Little Richard got his wop-bop-a-loo-bop start.  

Boutiques such as Ginger Michelle (466 First Street, 478-746-3025, gingermichelle.com) and Rumor (4123 Forsyth Road, 478-476-9191, rumorboutique.com) cater to trendwatchers, while Joycine’s (613 Cherry Street, 478-743-3144) has been a longtime source of one-of-a-kind jewelry. For a head-turning conversation piece, buy heels at Karla’s Shoe Boutique (603 Cherry Street, 478-741-2066), owned by Otis Redding’s daughter and widow. For more than thirty years Carol’s Linens (3658 Eisenhower Parkway, 478-781-4382) has provided linens and accessories for dorm rooms and apartments, and is owned by a fourth-generation Maconite.