There are few places as deep-steeped in musical heritage as Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1823 on the banks of the Ocmulgee River, the legend of Macon’s music scene goes even further, all the way to ancient times that still hum from the burial grounds of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.

No other midsize city can boast such back-to-back influence and impact on American popular music as Macon. From the tootle-toot flute melodies from noted native poet Sidney Lanier to “Tutti Fruitti’s” groundbreaking “wop-bop-a-loo-bop” of native son Little Richard, to the pioneering shape notes of Sacred Harp patriarch Raymond Hamrick to the impassioned strains of “Got-ta, Got-ta” of the King of Soul, Otis Redding, from the yodel Emmett Miller put in country music to the Allman Brothers’ uncategorized, improvosational guitar rhythms that gave the world Southern Rock, all roads lead back to Macon.