Manchester or LA Music Scene Tours

From Hollywood, California to Manchester, England, music tours are a perfect way to get to know a city. Check out the local music scene and the bands that made it famous.

Music is a universal language. Whether you're into jazz or punk or rock 'n roll, you can connect with kindred spirits anywhere around the world simply by walking into a bar or club or record store. For however fleeting a moment, you become part of the local music scene.

For travelers, music is a great way to get to know a city, too. I was reminded of this recently when I attended a travel writers' conference in Manchester, England's second city and the third most visited (after London and Edinburgh) by foreign tourists in the UK .

I loved this vibrant, forward-thinking city, with its striking modern architecture rising alongside its Victorian landmarks, its friendly people and its non-stop nightlife. And while I'd always known Manchester had a hip music scene, it really came home to me on a fascinating Manchester Music Tour.

Bob Dylan first switched from folk to electric guitar at a concert in Manchester's Free Trade Hall. In this same venue, the Sex Pistols played their first gig outside London and inspired some of the biggest punk bands of the 1970s, not to mention a record label.

Bands from Simply Red to Oasis are local Manchester boys. It's truly one of the great music cities of the world.

Meanwhile, my favorite LA tour company, Esotouric, has launched a Hollywood Rock and Roll Music Tour. From Whisky a Go Go and other legendary clubs on the Sunset Strip to the spots that inspired songwriters such as Stephen Stills, it takes you to the places where the rock action was.

Esotouric does several other fab tours, including LA Hotel Horror and Main Street Vice. Crime fiction fans should check out the Real Black Dahlia and Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles tours.