America's musical journey: the very best of New Orleans, Lafayette and Asheville

Echoes of Hank Williams float through my mind as I immerse myself in mouth-watering gumbo, ‘Jambalaya, crawfish pie and fillet gumbo’. Intense in colour and complex in aromas, this spicy stew satisfies my senses. Rich, smoky, hot sausage and hunks of game. This bad boy dish is full of robust and hearty promises, just like The Big Easy.

The creation of this particular visceral experience comes courtesy of Emeril’s. My first meal has set the bar high. I am on a pilgrimage in a cultural cynosure to eat, live and breathe America’s spirit in New Orleans, Lafayette and Asheville.

Does a city have a soundtrack? New Orleans and jazz is a pairing carved in my collective subconscious. Past inhabitants of the city have intertwined musical customs, establishing a hotchpotch explosion of powerful, live music that amazes and beguiles visitors. 2018 marks New Orleans’ 300th anniversary, and today, the city continues to absorb and celebrate ethnic diversity, which in turn sustains the buzz and joie de vivre of its French roots.

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It’s an enthralling place to visit. It overwhelms the senses and you will wonder quite where to start. I walk off the gumbo with the gregarious Karen, my guide from Two Chicks Walking Tours. Two hours fly by as we wandered the eminently photogenic French Quarter. There’s always something new to take in, offering compelling reasons to stop: gas lamps burning above doorways, tarot-card readers, voodoo products, colourful flower displays, garish art, percussionists, trumpeters, clarinettists and saxophonists.

Jazz coming from cafes, bars, behind shutters and on wrought-iron balconies up high, played by buskers on street corners and professionals entertaining restaurant guests while they dine. Their music floats through the air, enticing you to go in and pull up a chair. I meet and chat to songwriters, poets, performers and artists in shops, restaurants, galleries and on street corners. It is a kaleidoscope of life lived through music.

Later, a tour of the New Orleans Jazz Museum is a thoroughly pleasant haven away from the humidity and allows your senses quiet relief. I lose all sense of time perusing the interactive exhibits of The Louis Armstrong Collages and Women of Note. With over 365 concerts and 15 festivals a year, and home to the largest Jazz collection in the world, the museum bursts with manuscripts, paintings, photographs, sheet music, instruments and recordings. Notably, a 1917 disc of the first ever jazz recording ever made.

Take lunch in the sunny courtyard of Napoleon House, a 200-year-old landmark. The walls are covered in quotes and photography of famous faces that have visited or performed. Sip a Ponchatoula Pimm’s Cup then feast on signature dishes of spicy alligator sausage Po’Boy and warm Muffuletta – a hearty sandwich of cured meats and cheese piled onto a crusty Italian loaf, slathered with the vital ingredient (olive salad relish), which seeps into the bread, sealing the deliciousness.

“If you’re below sea level calories don’t count. Every good meal in New Orleans starts and ends with butter. Locals tend to discuss their next meal during the course of their current one,” Napoleon’s Executive Chef Chris Montero, says. This ethos is seconded by further dining experiences at Peche and Toups’ Meatery. The former, armed with accolades serves simple, sustainable and rustic dishes of local seafood. The latter is where steak is king. Their pork crackling is particularly, well, cracking.

The city overflows with an overwhelming array of performances every night of the week, but how do you pick? Tune into 90.7 FM and listen to where you should head. Boisterous Frenchmen Street is a hotspot of music encouraging you to swim in and out of many a bar. Locals flock to The Spotted Cat for swing bands, d.b.a for Jazz vocalist John Boutte, Hi-Ho Lounge for open mic comedy and a Jazz trio at Three Muses.

You can’t go wrong with live music at Maple Leaf on Oak Street where the vibes roll till sunrise. Hailed by the New York Times as “a New Orleans Institution”, Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band has a long-standing, legendary Tuesday night gig. From starting out playing at school, onto street corners of the French Quarter, to selling out global concerts, their mix of hip-hop and funk have created a signature sound, maintaining a strong connection to the people.

I continue my music trail two hours west to Lafayette. It’s a tranquil region of lakes, plantation houses, wetlands and ‘gators – and where music and language unite. I’m at the heart of the Cajun and Creole County and home to the accordion and the sweet, rich sound that Cajun and Zydeco is known for. I stop at internationally known Martin Accordions to view their beautiful custom built boxes. These works of art take around 150 hours to build from start to finish.

I’m intrigued as to how the accordion has become more mainstream. “The local university started a traditional music programme so people never exposed before are now taking classes, recognising its legacy. Family bands are common here. Everything is played by ear and what they feel; jazz is experimental. It didn’t used to be cool to play Cajun music. Grammy winner Steve Riley influenced younger people and added a rock influence and suddenly there was a resurgence that impacted on the original style.”

There is no dickie-bow waiter service here. Think red and white check table cloths, beaten wooden furniture and simple, finger lickin’ good baskets of corn and crab bisque, crawfish Étouffée and BBQ shrimp. I end the night at the brilliantly named Blue Moon Saloon, a vibrant and lively haunt for global roots music, artists, dancers, families and travellers. After indulging in a few local beers, Harold pops up ready to whiz me around the floor as promised.

For a serene experience sample a sound healing session. Meditative powers are thought to be at their most harmonious in this region. “Sound healing moves us from a place of imbalance to a place of balance.” Gongs, quartz crystals bowls, harps and rain sticks are the African instruments used to create an atmospheric soundscape. “Trying to describe the experience in one word loses it. You have to take the time to allow a process to happen. It’s powerful. It takes you somewhere.”

Also nestled in the mountains, relax in Biltmore Village. A tasty breakfast of omelette and strawberry waffles at Corner Kitchen confirms why the Obamas previously dined here. With six James Beard-nominated chefs, fourteen farmers markets, over 1,000 family farms, Forage, BimBeriBon, Foothill’s Butcher Bar & Kitchen and Capella on 9 atop the new AC Hotel – Asheville’s food and drink scene is exploding – as would I, if I stayed much longer.