Sightseeing by day – Music by night!

John Howie's Music Tours have been operating successfully since 1995. The tours are high quality sightseeing tours with a focus on music, especially in the evenings. The main idea, with the music, is to see and hear the local musicians. Performances range from major international shows, such as the Edinburgh Tattoo and the Grand Ole Opry, to performances in pubs and concert halls. John also involves his tour groups in lots of informal, fun-filled music making; i.e., singing on the coach, bush poetry nights, informal evening sing-a-longs, and dancing. However, you do not have to be a musician, or be particularly interested in music, to enjoy John's tours; they are fabulous sightseeing tours....... the music is a bonus!

Since 1998 John has been running the tours in partnership with Travelrite International Pty Ltd, a Melbourne based company with particular expertise in special interest tours. Travelrite has been organising special interest tours for almost 30 years.

Music Tours 2010

Country Music Cruise to New Zealand, on the Sun Princess . February 2010. Join some of Australia’s top Country Music stars for this fabulous cruise. Visit Bay of Islands. Auckland, Tauranga (Rotorua), Napier, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Milford Sound / Fiordland National Park. More details soon.

Australian Outback Music Tour 2010 - Wednesday 7th April 2010 to Thursday 22nd April 2010

Outback Kimberley Music Tour 2010 - The Sights of the Outback by day - The Music of the Outback by night! - 20th July 2010 - 2nd August

Music Tour of Ireland (& Edinburgh Tattoo) 2010 - August 22nd to September 9th 2010 with optional three day extension to Edinburgh from August 19th to August 23rd including the Edinburgh Tattoo.

2010 Music Tour of America's Deep South with Craig Giles - Tuesday September 21st to Sunday October 10th 2010

Country Music Cruise to New Zealand 2011 on the Sun Princess - 20 February to 5 March 2011

Accommodation for the tours is generally in centrally located 3 star (or better) hotels.

To find out more about a particular tour, click on 'icons' above.

Successful Music Tours 2009

 Australian Outback Music Tour . April 17 th to May 1 st 2009. 15 Day Tour. Hotel & motel accommodation throughout. Starts & finishes in Melbourne. Visits Mildura, Broken Hill, White Cliffs, Tibooburra, Innamincka, Birdsville, Marree, Flinders Ranges, Clare Valley, Adelaide. Fantastic Aussie outback scenery. Many musical highlights.

Music Tour of America . May 31 st to June 17 th 2009. 16 Day Tour. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Lafayette, Memphis, Branson, Nashville. Includes 4 days at the world’s biggest country music festival, the CMA Festival / Fan Fair, in Nashville. Plus optional 9 Day Extension Tour: eastern Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, New York. Heaps of musical highlights, including CMA Festival & Grand Ole Opry ( Nashville), jazz music in New Orleans, Cajun music in Lafayette, blues music in Beale St., Memphis, and great live shows in Branson. Visit Elvis’s home, Graceland, in Memphis. Also, if possible we will attend a colourful black Gospel church service in Memphis.

Outback Queensland Music Tour . July 18 th to August 1 st 2009. 15 Day Tour. Starts in Sydney, finishes in Cairns. Visits Tamworth (‘Hats Off to Country’ Festival), Bourke, Charleville, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton, Mt Isa, Lawn Hill, Gulf of Carpentaria, Cobbold Gorge, Undara Lava Tubes, Cairns. An amazing tour, from Sydney to Cairns, through fascinating outback Queensland. Incredible scenery, lots of musical highlights and plenty of Aussie bush poetry.

Music Tour of Ireland (& Edinburgh Tattoo) . August 20 th to September 9 th 2009. 18 Day Tour. 3 days/nights in Edinburgh for the world famous Edinburgh Tattoo & Edinburgh Festival. We also travel through the Scottish countryside to St Andrews. In Ireland & Northern Ireland visit Dublin, Cork, Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Galway, Westport, Donegal, Derry, Omagh & Belfast. Fantastic scenery throughout. Musical highlights include: Edinburgh Tattoo; Irish Music Cabaret Show in Dublin, starring hilarious comedian Noel V. Ginnity; ‘Trad on the Prom’ Irish music show in Galway; Appalachian & American Bluegrass Festival, in Omagh; lots of great music in the pubs & concert halls of Ireland & Scotland. Also, optional Extension Tour to London & Paris.

Yankee Doodle Dandy Tour . September 28 th to October 15 th. 16 Day Tour. Similar to the ‘Music Tour of America’. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Memphis, Nashville, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, New York. Musical highlights include: Las Vegas show; jazz music in New Orleans; Cajun music in western Louisiana; blues music in Beale Street, Memphis; visit Elvis Presley’s mansion, Graceland, in Memphis; fabulous country music in Nashville, including the Grand Ole Opry; attend colourful Gospel Music church service in Harlem, New York. Plus Extension Cruise from New York to New England (Boston etc.), Maritime Canada (Nova Scotia etc.) and Quebec, October 13 th to 25th.

(For full details, visit the Music Tours web site)