Tips for finding great music on the road

For most of us trip planning involves things like guidebooks, maps and maybe a tour of Flickr to check out some photos of the area. All of those a great tools, but don’t forget some other things — like music.

No I don’t mean a new iPod, I mean local music — bands, musicians, clubs and shows that are happening in the area your headed to. Thanks to the web, it’s pretty easy to find a wealth of information about music happening around the world.

So how do you find information about local music on the web? Well, there’s tons of local dedicated music sites, just head to Google and plugin your destination and the word music for a possible start. For instance, I’m planning a trip to Paris next year and stumbled across the Paris DJs site which has a wonderfully eclectic selection of music and podcasts.

Speaking of podcasts, the iTunes Store’s podcast section can provide a wealth of information — again just plugin your destination and see what pops up. Podcasts are a nice way to get a feel for the music of a place before you leave. Once you’re at your destination, scan the local papers for band names or artists you recognize from your pre-trip musical explorations.

Of course not everywhere you’re going to go has a vibrant local music scene, so finding information about what’s happening while you’re there can be a bit hit or miss. As a last resort, there’s always the many travel forums on the web — try Thorn Tree or others. Just sign up, read through the FAQs and post something asking for local music tips and recommendations.

If you have other ideas for discovering music in your travels, be sure to post your suggestions in the comments below.

Posted by | Comments Off on Tips for finding great music on the road  | September 30, 2008
Category: General

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