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Hello. Hopefully I'm posting this in a correct forum. I'm planning a car trip to Wilkesboro, North Carolina in late April (Merlefest). I'd like to spend some extra time visiting other towns in that area (either North Carolina or Virginia) that have live music venues. Or maybe other towns that have a strong link to promoting music (Bluegrass, Traditional, Old Time, Appalachian, etc.). I was thinking of Sparta or Boone..... or venues like the Floyd Country Store. I'm traveling from New England so not all that familiar with the area and looking for suggestions. Just want to see all I can with the time I'll have while traveling around in the area. Thanks very much
Floyd Country Store should be good. Also Carter Family Fold in Hiltons VA. Boone is a nice college town with an Appalachian studies program at ASU, but I'm not sure how much that translates to live music events. The Birthplace of Country Music museum in Bristol is interesting, and they have some live programming in their theater. Also a low power FM radio station at 100.1 (and streaming). The Down Home picking parlor in Johnson City is a great place with a pretty wide variety of music. I don't think they've set a 2025 date yet, but the Upper East Tennesse fiddlers convention in Flag Pond is about that time: otfiddlersconvention.com/
Merlefest can be damp and chilly, so bring rain gear and warm clothes.
Have fun.
There’s the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, as well as Barr’s Fiddle Shop, which is located in the barbershop that was the birthplace of old time music (Mr. Barr will tell you that the place in Bristol is falsely claiming credit and he has documentation to show that the old time players were recording in Galax first!).
Not too far away in Kingsport, Tennessee is the Mountain Music Museum.
The Floyd Country Store is a very popular venue for performances. There is a concentration of old time and bluegrass in Southwest Virginia. It becomes sparse as you move through central Virginia, then in Northern Virginia you find some players here and there. There is more of a scene in Maryland near Baltimore, if you make it up that way.
There’s a book called “The Crooked Road” that is an auto trail in south western Virginia with several places with Appalachian culture ties including music. You might want check it out.
Here’s a link to the state website.
thecrookedroadva.com
Enjoy your trip.
Rick
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I had read about the Carter Family Fold and The Floyd Country Store which both seem to be what I'm looking for. Stumpkicker, thanks for the suggestion of the Crooked Road site and book. The website has a great video... all great info. I just ordered the book and also found another book, "Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina: A Guide to Music Sites, Artists, and Traditions of the Mountains and Foothills". I think my trip down to the South this spring just got a bit longer. We have a teardrop trailer I built a couple of years ago and it's great to travel around with it. So before Merlefest I'd like to explore around and get more acquainted with the music heritage in that area.
Thanks again.
John
Bear On the Square, Dahlonega, GA--late April
This is the area I'm from. Awesome shows, and a lot of good, free workshops. Authentic Appy music.
Edited by - Flat_the_3rd_n7th on 01/15/2025 18:17:58
I have a little different perspective since I've lived here for about 45 years, and have watched things change as the area bought into the idea of "cultural tourism," even as the actual thing they were trying to promote faded away. The back stories of some of these venues reflects the jostling and elbow jabbing as people sought endorsement from civic organizations and recognition and funding from local, state and federal governments. Just a couple thoughts - the Mountain Music Museum has been gone for several years, but Tim White, one of the people behind it, hosts "Song of the Mountains," a TV show distributed nationally. They tape the first Saturday of the month at the lovely Lincoln Theater in Marion, VA, and feature Bluegrass, old time and Americana music, plus some surprises. Marion is a nice little town to explore.
I've never been to Floyd, but its become sort of an artsy tourist draw, maybe kind of a "Little Asheville." This shopping page from their website will give you the idea: visitfloydva.com/shopping/ the "Events" page has plenty of yoga classes and such.
I'm from New England and made the trip back and forth many times to visit my Dad and sister. I can suggest some travel ideas if you're interested.
Edited by - DougD on 01/16/2025 11:10:35
Regarding the devastation from Hurricane Helene, I don't know how Asheville is doing, but there's still plenty of destruction and debris around, which you will see the closer you get to the ridge between Tennessee and North Carolina. There was also damage in the high country from wind and mudslides. Over here just yesterday FEMA made available the first temporary housing for those who lost their homes, contracts have just been let to clean debris out of the rivers, and they just announced that there is no danger from contact with the water or eating fish.
There are many highway and bridge projects that will take some time, let alone rebuilding whole sections of some towns.
We had visited Asheville and the River Arts District last year prior to going to Merlefest and before Helene. When we saw the devastation from the storm we were really heartbroken. My wife and I lived in a very similar area in Philadelphia where we went to art school many years ago. I felt for all the artists who lost their crafts and studios from that storm. But you also bring up a good point as we plan our trip. To make sure where we plan to go is even open for travel. Will need to investigate that, as well. Thanks for the tip about Marion and the link to the Floyd area.
Edited by - capefiddle on 01/16/2025 17:13:04
I live near Asheville, went through there last week to play a gig Warren Wilson and there is a lot of damage and a lot of resilience. The independent stores and businesses have been hit real hard. Life goes on but it is different. They would appreciate your presence and business.
Edited by - RobBob on 01/21/2025 07:03:14