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Austin, Texas
The root: The self-declared Live Music Capital of the World — keep-it-weird energy, brisket smoke, and tacos for breakfast.
Eat: Franklin Barbecue — world-famous brisket, line out the door; Terry Black's — Texas BBQ heavyweight; Torchy's Tacos — Austin-born, inventive tacos.
Skip — don't: The bachelor-party conveyor belt on Dirty Sixth — $14 cover bars with sticky floors aren't the music scene; the real rooms are on Red River and South Congress.
Specialty: Live music plus smoke — more venues per capita than anywhere in America, and brisket argued about like scripture.
Shops & crafts: South Congress vintage and boot shops; local record stores and poster shops; Texas-made goods — hot sauce, leather, small-batch everything.
See: Catch a show on Sixth Street (the clean end); swim Barton Springs' spring-fed pool; walk South Congress Avenue's eclectic strip.
Main Street: South Congress Avenue is Austin's front porch — "I love you so much" mural, taco trucks, and boots strutting past vintage windows.
After dark: A live set somewhere — honky-tonk, blues, or a singer-songwriter in a listening room; the night is the whole point of Austin.
When — events
SXSW (March, music/film/interactive)
Austin City Limits Music Festival (October, two weekends).
Event dates are the typical annual timing; confirm with the town before traveling.