By Jamie Weatherford
Rock Candy Tours, LLC
Rock Candy Tours is a music history tour that focuses on downtown Macon. Although there are common elements of the tours, each one is unique. Most of the tours require 24-hour advanced reservations, although additional notice may be prudent for private events.
“Rock, roll and stroll through Macon’s legendary and notorious music history. See the homes, offices, crash pads and favorite haunts of some of southern music’s most legendary players as well as the backstage cast of characters who played a crucial role in their catapult to fame. Rock Candy Tours offers walking tours, shuttle tours, and step-on tours in downtown Macon that feature up to 3.5 hours of historical sites that helped shape rhythm and blues, southern rock, new wave punk and the music business of today.”
Rock Candy Tours offers public tours every Friday and Saturday plus a variety of private tour opportunities. Below is a description of each type of tour and their corresponding cost:
Public tours are available on Friday evenings and Saturdays only.
The Free Birds & Night Owls Public Walking Tour is a 1.5-hour public “easy walking” tour that focuses on the downtown Macon commercial/nightlife district. It is held every Friday night from 7:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. The Free Birds & Night Owls tour begins at The Rookery at 543 Cherry Street and ends at Grant’s Lounge at 576 Poplar Street, where guests of the tour are allowed free entrance to the club to enjoy a drink, see Grant’s Lounge’s renowned Wall of Fame, and enjoy great live music (when available). The cost of this tour is $15.00 per person and guests are allowed to carry open containers in approved cups purchased from one of downtown Macon’s many restaurants or clubs. Please note that the open container ordinance allows for open containers on Friday nights from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. only. To book go to www.rockcandytours.com > Reservations > Free Birds & Night Owls Public Walking Tour.
The Rock N’ Soul Public Riding Tour (13 people maximum capacity) is a two to 2.5-hour public riding tour on the Visit Macon van. The Rock N’ Soul Riding Tour is our most comprehensive public tour. Transportation provided by Visit Macon allows us to show you more sites in less time, including Rose Hill Cemetery where Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, and Berry Oakley of the Allman Brothers Band are interred. This tour is every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until noon, and it both begins and ends at Visit Macon (previously known as the Macon-Bibb Convention & Visitor’s Bureau) at 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where parking is free. The cost of this tour is $25.00 per person. To book go to www.rockcandytours.com > Reservations > Rock N’ Soul Public Riding Tour.
Our friends at Macon Magazine sponsor the taste of Macon Music Public Tour (13 people maximum capacity). The Taste of Macon Music Tour is a 2.5-hour music history tour combined with menu samples from local restaurants, which is offered once a month. The tour both begins and ends at Visit Macon (previously known as the Macon-Bibb Convention & Visitor’s Bureau) at 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where parking is free. Stops will be made at H&H Soul Food, Downtown Grill, Dovetail, Rookery, Fatty’s Pizza, and Famous Mikes for tastings and tales of these locations’ special connections to Macon music history.
Because this is a van tour, tickets are limited to 13 per trip. Reservations will close 24 hours before each tour so that our participating restaurants have ample time to prepare the samples. There will be light walking and boarding on and off the van. The tasting menu is set by restaurants and will not be able to accommodate dietary restrictions or food allergies. The cost of this tour is $50 per person. Any cancellations after noon on the Friday before the tour will incur a $15.00 cancellation fee. To book the Taste of Macon Music Tour, go to www.rockcandytours.com > Reservations > Taste of Macon Music Public Tour.
Rock Candy Tours’ Taste of Macon Music Tour dates for the remainder of 2019 are the following: July 13th, August 10th, September 21st, October 26th, and November 9th.
The Behind the Beer Public Brewery Tour (13 people maximum capacity) is a 2.5 brewery tour of Macon’s three breweries: Macon Beer Company, Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen, and Ocmulgee Brew Pub. This monthly tour offers guests the opportunity to sample four 5-ounce beers of the brewery’s choice at each location. The tour both begins and ends at Visit Macon (previously known as the Macon-Bibb Convention & Visitor’s Bureau) at 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where parking is free.
Because this is a van tour, tickets are limited to 13 per tour. There will be light walking and boarding on and off the van. The beer sample menus are set by the breweries who are not able to accommodate dietary restrictions or allergies. The cost of this tour is $40 per person. Any cancellations after noon the Friday before the tour will incur a $5.00 cancellation fee. To book the Behind the Beer Brewery Tour go to www.rockcandytours.com > Reservations > Behind the Beer Brewery Tour.
Rock Candy Tours’ 2019 Behind the Beer Brewery Tour dates for the remainder of 2019 are the following: July 20th, August 17th, September 28th, October 19th, and November 23rd.
Private tours are customizable tours that allow you to select the date and times.
The Private Free Birds & Night Owls Walking Tour is a 1.5 hour “easy walking” tour that focuses on the downtown Macon commercial/nightlife district. The Free Birds & Night Owls Walking Tour begins at The Rookery at 543 Cherry Street and ends at Grant’s Lounge at 576 Poplar Street. At the end of the line, guests of the tour are allowed free entrance to the club to enjoy a drink, see Grant’s Lounge’s renowned Wall of Fame, and hear great live music (when available), as long as the tour takes place during Grant’s Lounge regular hours of operation. Their hours are 5:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. every night. The cost of this tour is $120.00 for up to six people with an additional fee of $15.00 per extra person.
The Private Intown Rock N’ Roll Stroll Walking Tour is a 2.5 hour “more strenuous walking” tour that focuses on the Intown residential district of downtown Macon. The Intown Rock N’ Roll Stroll begins and ends at H&H Soul Food Restaurant at 807 Forsyth Street. The cost of this tour is $150.00 for up to six people with an additional fee of $20.00 per extra person.
Private Step on Riding Tours are our most comprehensive tour where you provide the transportation, and Rock Candy Tours provides the guide. Step on tours generally last between 2 and 3 hours depending on how often the group wants to disembark and take pictures, see the sites, etc., but if you wish to do so, our guide will spend “all day” with you! You select the date, starting time, ending time, starting location, and ending location. The cost of a step on tour is $8 per person with a $120.00 minimum, and as many people that can fit in the vehicle are welcome to attend.
The Private Rose Hill Cemetery Ramble is available as an add-on to any of the aforementioned private tours above. The Rose Hill Ramble generally lasts about an hour and can be added for an additional $40.00. See where Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, and Berry Oakley of the Allman Brothers Band are buried, in addition to many of the locations used for the Allman Brothers Band’s album cover photo shoots and the graves that provided the names to, and inspiration for, many of their most popular songs. A must-see for all Allman Brothers Band fans.
Rock Candy Tours is happy to provide suggestions of places to stay, restaurants to enjoy, clubs to see live music and dance, and other sites you should see when visiting the beautiful city of Macon. Just ask, and we will make sure that you have the best experience possible. For further information about Rock Candy Tours or to make a reservation, please email us (preferred form of contact) at rockcandytours@gmail.com or text / call us at (478) 955-5997. You may also reach us through Facebook at www.facebook.com/rockcandytours. You will get the quickest response through the typed word: email, text, or Facebook. If calling, please allow us one business day to return your call.
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