Maybe even more Music City than its country cousin to the east, Memphis has strong affiliations with not one musical genre but three. It is the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, the cradle of soul and, though the blues weren’t born here (that distinction goes to the rural parts of the Mississippi Delta), it was the Memphis-based musician and “Father of the Blues,” W. C. Handy, who helped get those “lonesome songs” out into the world. But there is far more to Bluff City than blues and barbecue. A watermelon and feta salad can be found alongside great smokehouse meats; zydeco and indie rock are within earshot of soul; and up-and-coming areas like Cooper-Young are giving the city’s older haunts some stiff competition. For this short visit, leave out the Graceland juggernaut, though if Elvis is on your bucket list, head out any morning to Graceland’s Meditation Garden where the King is buried — it’s peaceful and free.

Friday

1. Genesis | 4:30 p.m.

“The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel,” wrote the historian and journalist David L. Cohn, so grab a Peabody Punch ($14) and avoid the madness downstairs by staking a claim on the hotel’s opulent mezzanine. From there, you’ll get a gander at the famous Peabody ducks while absorbing the lush ambience of this classic hotel. The duck story is a Southern Gothic gem dating from the ’30s that involves a former manager and his hunting buddy, some Jack Daniel’s sippin’ whiskey and the placement of live decoy ducks in the hotel’s fountain.

2. Big Food, Big Easy | 8 p.m.

Restaurant Iris, in a quaint Victorian house, feels breezy and intimate, but is deadly serious when it comes to its French-Creole dishes, which are based on local and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant is small enough that the chef, Kelly English, may come out for a visit. Start things off with Rod Bailey’s darkly savory raviolo with brown butter and mushrooms ($18), or a lobster knuckle sandwich with tarragon and tomatoes ($18). A signature dish is the surf and turf, a New York strip stuffed with fried oysters and blue cheese ($39), and it’s just like it sounds, profusely rich.