Some roads are built for speed. The Blues Backroads corridor is built for barbecue. Take the hint. West Tennessee makes its own version of barbecue, and the argument for it being the best in the state is one that has been winning converts since well before anyone thought to write it down. It is slow-smoked, hickory-forward, pork-centric, and rooted in the cooking traditions of African American communities along the Mississippi River Valley. It is not Memphis-style, though Memphis is right there. It is its own thing, and it has been its own thing for a long time. The Blues Backroads BBQ Trail runs through multiple counties and across state lines. What follows is not a comprehensive list of every pit and smoke shack on the route. It is a curated argument for where to spend your time and appetite this summer, organized by county and written for anyone willing to drive a little further than the nearest exit to eat something genuinely worth eating.

June 19, 1865. The news reaches Galveston, Texas, fourteen weeks after Appomattox. The war is over. The enslaved are free. What follows is not liberation but a long reckoning, and out of that reckoning, across the flatlands of West Tennessee and the Mississippi River Valley, comes a music that would change the world. Most people know that the blues came from this part of the country. Fewer people stop to think about why. And why that matters on Juneteenth.

June on the backroads means school is out, the days are long, and something is happening in almost every town across all six counties. The humidity is real, but so are the free outdoor concerts, the courthouse lawn food trucks, the farmers markets in full swing, and the kind of summer energy this region does better than almost anywhere else.

Whether you're looking for family-friendly festivals, outdoor activities, local markets, or small-town celebrations, there's something happening nearly every week.

May is the sweet spot of the year out here on the backroads. The weather is warm, the farmers markets are coming back to life, and there is something worth driving to just about every single weekend. This month we are covering events all across the six-county Blues Backroads region, from the Mississippi Delta to the Tennessee countryside and across the river into Arkansas. Mark your calendars and start planning your route.

There is a version of summer in West Tennessee that most people never find because they are going the wrong direction on the interstate. This is about going the right direction. Lauderdale County is one of those places that has everything a summer road trip needs and none of the things that make summer road trips exhausting. No traffic, no lines, no parking structures, no overpriced everything. What it has instead: a genuinely interesting small city in Ripley, a classic small-town square in Halls, and one of the most historically significant state parks in Tennessee sitting right on the bluffs above the Mississippi River. If you are looking for a summer day trip that feels like a discovery rather than a checklist, the Ripley-Halls-Fort Pillow corridor is it.

April is when the backroads really come alive. Patios open up, strawberries start showing up on menus, and small towns feel a little more awake again. If you’re looking for a slow Saturday (or Sunday) plan, here’s a full day mapped out with real stops worth the drive.

Spring in West Tennessee is something people who grew up here try to explain and never quite can. The dogwoods bloom about two weeks before you expect them. The air smells like cut grass and coming rain. And on a long weekend in April or May, there is no better way to spend a Saturday than pointing your car west and following the Blues Backroads route through Fayette and Tipton counties.

The backroads have you covered with itineraries to fit every level of adventure.

There’s no denying how much we love the backroads, so in honor of the month of love, we’ve put together ideas of ways to celebrate. Whether you’re with a significant other, a bestie, or just need some quality alone time, the backroads are calling your name.