Tennessee's most compelling film locations are tied directly to its music history. Sun Studio in Memphis is simultaneously a working recording studio, a historic landmark, and a film set — the same room where Elvis cut his first records is where Walk the Line recreated the rockabilly era.
The 6 sites below cover the full range.
Jump to: Memphis · Nashville · East Tennessee · Planning Notes
Memphis
Sun Studio (Walk the Line, 2005 + Music Documentaries) Must-see
Shelby County · Memphis
706 Union Avenue — the most important room in American rock and roll history. Sam Phillips opened Sun Records here in 1950; by 1954 he had recorded Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins in this single 18-by-30-foot studio. The room is preserved exactly as it appeared then: the original microphone placement, the acoustic tiles, the control room glass.
Walk the Line (2005) used the studio for the Johnny Cash recording sequences. Tours run every hour and include original recordings played through the same equipment. At night, the studio still operates as a working recording space — artists book it specifically for the historical association.
Graceland (Elvis, 2022 Biopic) Must-see
Shelby County · Memphis
Baz Luhrmann's 2022 Elvis biopic used Graceland extensively for interior and exterior footage — the Jungle Room, the living room, the Meditation Garden, and the mansion's facade all appear. The film's production design matched the actual interiors closely enough that sequences shift between original archival footage and the film seamlessly.
Today's Graceland mansion tour covers the same rooms. The film became the highest-grossing music biopic in history, and the resulting tourist surge made Graceland's advance-ticket sellouts more common than before.
Memphis Riverfront & Beale Street (The Firm, 1993) Worth the detour
Shelby County · Memphis
Sydney Pollack's 1993 adaptation of the John Grisham novel used Memphis throughout — the Peabody Hotel, the Pyramid, Beale Street, and the Mississippi Riverfront all appear. Tom Hanks's character works at a downtown Memphis law firm; the city's skyline, riverfront parks, and distinctive architecture are central to the film's setting.
Most of the locations are free to walk. The Peabody Hotel duck march — a daily ritual since 1933 — is the most photographically recognizable Memphis location from the film.
Nashville
Tennessee State Prison (The Green Mile, 1999) Must-see
Davidson County · Nashville
The Tennessee State Prison, an 1898 Gothic-Romanesque maximum-security facility at Centennial Boulevard in Nashville, served as the visual stand-in for Cold Mountain Penitentiary's death row in Frank Darabont's The Green Mile (1999). The building's imposing exterior, arched cellblocks, and execution chamber provided an unreplicable authenticity that a purpose-built set could not match.
The prison closed in 1992 and has been used for film and TV productions since — including portions of Against the Night and multiple music videos. Periodic public tours operate through private companies. Check current availability before planning a visit.
East Tennessee
Dollywood & Pigeon Forge (Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square, 2020) Worth the detour
Sevier County · Pigeon Forge
Netflix's Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (2020), a holiday musical with Christine Baranski and Jennifer Lewis, drew on Dollywood's Appalachian aesthetic and East Tennessee setting for its small-town holiday atmosphere. Dolly Parton wrote all 14 original songs and appeared in the film.
Dollywood itself runs an elaborate Christmas event — Smoky Mountain Christmas — from November through January, with over 4 million lights and live entertainment. The winter season has become one of the park's busiest periods.
Bristol Motor Speedway (NASCAR Film & Documentary Backdrop) Worth the detour
Sullivan County · Bristol
Bristol Motor Speedway — a 0.533-mile high-banked oval nicknamed the World's Fastest Half-Mile — has been a backdrop for NASCAR racing documentaries, feature films, and television productions. The stadium holds 150,000 spectators and is built into a natural bowl in the Appalachian hills — the tight oval surrounded by tiered grandstands creates an atmosphere unlike any other NASCAR track.
Bristol hosts two NASCAR Cup races annually (spring and fall); the Night Race in August fills all 150,000 seats. Speedway tours run year-round when events are not scheduled.
Planning Notes
Music biopics and Nashville: Tennessee has produced more music biopics than any other state: Walk the Line (Cash, 2005), Coal Miner's Daughter (Lynn, 1980), Elvis (2022), I Saw the Light (Hank Williams, 2015), and Respect (Aretha Franklin, 2021, partially filmed in Memphis). All the primary locations remain visitable.
Plan your visit: Explore city guides for every destination in this article: Memphis, Nashville, Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge.
