MOUNTAIN MUSIC TRAILS

Miss Ellie and the Buck Mountaineers playing music and smilingExplore music trails that celebrate mountain roots and rhythms.

Near the state line between North Carolina and Virginia, the Blue Ridge Music Center sits at the epicenter of three major heritage trails. The Music Center serves as a gateway to the many unique and authentic musical and cultural heritage sites and attractions in Southwest Virginia and Northwest North Carolina.

The Crooked Road

The Crooked Road is a 330-mile driving trail through the mountains of Southwest Virginia that connects nine major venues, including the Blue Ridge Music Center, and more than 60 affiliated venues and festivals that visitors can enjoy every day of the year. Although the trail is focused on the uniqueness and vitality of this region’s heritage music, it also includes outdoor recreational activities, museums, crafts, and historic and cultural programs.

The nine major venues of The Crooked Road:

  • Birthplace of Country Music Museum – Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia
  • Blue Ridge Institute & Museum at Ferrum College – Ferrum, Virginia
  • Blue Ridge Music Center
  • Carter Family Fold – Hiltons, Virginia
  • Country Cabin II – Norton, Virginia
  • Floyd Country Store – Floyd, Virginia
  • Heartwood – Abingdon, Virginia
  • Rex Theater & Galax Fiddlers Convention – Galax, Virginia
  • Ralph Stanley Museum – Clintwood, Virginia
The Crooked Road, Virginia's Heritage Music Trail
Learn more

Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina

The Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina project highlights the musical heritage of the mountains and foothills of Western North Carolina. The trail region includes 29 North Carolina counties—25 of which were designated the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area by Congress and President of the United States in 2003 in recognition of their unique character, culture, natural beauty, and significance to the history of the nation.

BRMT sites feature traditional North Carolina mountain music and dance. This encompasses many kinds of music traditions, including bluegrass, old-time, blues, early country, gospel, ballad singing, and shaped-note singing, Cherokee music and dance, and such heritage dance styles as clogging and square dancing.

Visitors can explore the trail using the book, Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina: A Guide to Music Sites, Artists, and Traditions of the Mountains and Foothills, or the informative website.

Learn more
Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina

Blue Ridge Music Trails

Blue Ridge Music Trails – Virginia is an online resource that guides travelers to the many public venues where local folk music and dance thrive today along the Commonwealth’s Blue Ridge Parkway corridor. The website details events along the Blue Ridge from the north-central Virginia to the western tip of North Carolina. It is maintained by Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute & Museum.

Learn more
Blue Ridge Music Trails

Stay up to date on events, exhibits, and entertainment at The Blue Ridge Music Center. Sign up to receive our newsletter.