The Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts is an art school in Marion, VA. The Henderson aims to preserve, promote and provide a learning experience that has its roots in the culture and heritage of the Appalachian mountains. The Henderson, built in 1908, is named for Wayne C. Henderson, a world renowned guitar instrumentalist and Luthier from Rugby, Virginia. Read more...

The Lambsburg Community Center offers a variety of activities to both community members and visitors of Lambsburg. The Center hosts a weekly jam welcome to musicians of all skill sets, as well as spectators. The Lambsburg Community Center Jam is held every Friday night at 6:00 PM.  For more information about the Lambsburg Community Center, please contact lcc@lambsburgcommunitycenter.com. Read more...

The Wytheville Community College Bluegrass and Old-Time Jamboree was organized in 2006. The Jamboree takes place on the Wytheville Community College Campus in the Snyder Auditorium, located in Grayson Hall. This long-standing event provides free monthly entertainment for the community and visitors. Each Jamboree features both a bluegrass band and old-time band. Dancing room is provided, so bring your dancing Read more...

Pickin’ in the Pound offers an open mic style jam in Wise County, welcoming locals and travelers alike. The jam features music and a pot luck service. Pickin’ in the Pound takes place every Thursday evening from 7 – 9 PM. Weather Notice: Pickin’ in the Pound operates on the Wise County school system regarding weather cancellation. For more information Read more...

Pickin in the Plaza is a weekly jam held in Grundy, VA. Musicians, locals, and travelers gather weekly to share music and community with one another. Pickin in the Plaza is held every Thursday night at 6:00 PM at the Grundy Plaza.  Read more...

Dr. Ralph Stanley’s Hills of Home Festival is held annually on Memorial Day weekend. This festival, held at the Stanley Brothers Old Home Place, Hills of Home, celebrates the legacy of Dr. Ralph Stanley. This festival offers camping, as well as day passes, along with a mix of local merchandise and food vendors. Dr. Ralph Stanley’s Hills of Home Festival Read more...

The Albert Hash Memorial Festival takes place every year in Mouth of Wilson, VA in Grayson Highlands State Park. This festival honors Albert Hash, a beloved fiddler and master fiddle maker from Whitetop. His memory is celebrated at this annual festival of old-time and bluegrass music, dancing, food, crafts, and luthiers. Albert Hash founded the Whitetop Mountain Band, who plays Read more...

The Chilhowie Bluegrass JAM-Boree is an Affiliate Venue of The Crooked Road. This jam is hosted by the Chilhowie Lions Club in Chilhowie, VA of Smyth County. Musicians, dancers, and listeners come each week to enjoy the fellowship and music. The Chilhowie Bluegrass JAM-Boree takes place every Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM. See our Events Page for more information. For Read more...

The Fancy Gap Country Store is an Affiliated Venue of The Crooked Road located in Fancy Gap, VA of Carroll County. The Fancy Gap Country Store is a BBQ restaurant, ice cream parlor, and old country store all in one. The Store offers authentic food and family hospitality, all while providing a place for old-time and bluegrass music to live Read more...

Blue Highway Fest is an award-winning music festival held each fall in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, celebrating the roots and future of bluegrass and Americana. Founded by the internationally acclaimed band Blue Highway, the festival brings world-class musicians together in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Southwest Virginia has long been a cradle of traditional music, and the festival proudly Read more...

The Fries Old-Time and Bluegrass Fiddler’s Convention takes place annually, every 3rd weekend in August. The Convention is held at Fries Ball Park in Fries, VA of Grayson County. The Fries Old-Time and Bluegrass Fiddler’s Convention was started in the mid-1960s by the Fries Volunteer Fire Department. In 2023, the Fries Musical Heritage Committee decided to continue the festival as Read more...

The Flat Ridge Community Center & Opry is an Affiliated Venue of The Crooked Road located in Troutdale, VA of Grayson County. The Flat Ridge Community Center & Opry has been in operation since 2004. This family friendly venue is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountain in Grayson County, bordering Smyth County. Friends of Grayson County and travelers gather every Read more...

The Newport Community Center is an affiliate venue of The Crooked Road located in Newport, VA of Giles County. The Newport Community Center has a rich history of music within the region. Their auditorium has housed several musicians from country music’s past and present, from Grandpa Jones and Minnie Pearl, to today’s Lonesome River Band. Every 1st and 3rd Friday of Read more...

The Wise County Famous Fall Fling is a fun-filled street festival in Wise, Virginia that center on the Big Glades, a beautifully landscaped community amphitheater and live music stage. The festival offers mountain music across two days of festivities, along with local craft vendors and food options. The Famous Fall Fling is annually held the second weekend of October.  Read more...

The annual Warren Street Festival is a celebration of Warren Street and its history in Franklin County. The two-day festival at the Rocky Mount Farmers’ Market includes food, gospel and R&B music, activities, a car show and parade. The Warren Street Festival will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2026.  Read more...

The Tazewell County Fiddlers Convention is held annually at the Historic Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell, VA. The festival is held every second weekend in July. The competition is open to both old time and bluegrass musicians. Bring your family to Tazewell for a weekend of traditional mountain music, dancing, jams, competitions, cash prizes, camping, and more all in the Read more...

The Lee County Tobacco Festival was established in 1949 to celebrate the harvest of the area’s tobacco crop. It is the longest running tobacco festival in the state of Virginia and Lee County’s oldest annual parade. The Tobacco Festival is held annually the 4th Saturday of October. Fore more information about the Lee County Tobacco Festival, please contact leecountytobaccofestival@gmail.com. Read more...

For more than 40 years, Home Craft Days has featured musicians and artisans from throughout Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Eastern Kentucky. Musical performances are held throughout the three-day event, along with demonstrations of weaving, pottery making, grist milling, wood crafting, basket weaving, broom making, quilting, tatting and much more. Friday night features a free opening concert, with music continuing Read more...

The Henry Reed Memorial Fiddler’s Convention is held annually in Giles County to honor Old Time fiddler Henry Reed. The festival is typically hosted the second weekend in June. This festival offers camping and late night jam sessions. The festival is broadcasted from local radio station WNRV for listeners all over. For more information about the Henry Reed Memorial Fiddler’s Read more...

Haysi’s Russell Fork Autumn Fest is an annual festival held in Haysi, VA of Dickenson County. This festival celebrates small town charm through street parades, cake walks, local arts and crafts, and mountain music. For more information about Haysi’s Russell Fork Autumn Fest, please contact visit@dickensonva.org. Read more...

The Grayson County Old Time and Bluegrass Fiddlers’ Convention is held annually the last full weekend in June at the Elk Creek School Ball Park. The Grayson County Fiddler’s Convention has preserved and celebrated mountain music and the culture of Southwest Virginia since 1967. Its mission is not only to preserve the artistic heritage of Grayson County, but also the Read more...

The Willis Gap Community Center is located a few miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Each week, the Center hosts the Appalachian Acoustic Open Jam. This jam features old-time, bluegrass, country, and gospel music, and is open to all skill levels. The Community Center offers concessions, as well as a weekly 50/50 drawing. The Appalachian Acoustic Open Jam takes place Read more...

The Wildwood Farms General Store, located in Floyd, is home to a daylily farm, general store, and event space providing old-time and country music. The Wildwood Farms General Store also hosts antique car cruise-ins, which feature jam sessions and live music. Store Hours: Monday – Wednesday: 11 AM – 3 PM Thursday: CLOSED Friday: 11 AM – 3 PM Saturday: Read more...

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama, located in Big Stone Gap, is the longest continually running outdoor drama in Virginia. Set in Wise County, the love story between Jack and June is played out against a feud between two influential mountain families. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is in operation every weekend from June – August. Read more...

The Jettie Baker Center, formerly known as the Mullins Theater, is an updated, high-tech performance space in the Town of Clintwood. The large auditorium and balcony area will seat 350, and the state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems truly mean “there’s not a bad seat in the house.” The Jettie regularly hosts a variety of musical programs, including old-time and bluegrass Read more...

The Historic 1908 Courthouse serves as the Art & Cultural Center of Grayson County, Virginia. Located at the junction of highways US21 and US58 in Southwest Virginia, the 1908 Courthouse is in the center of Independence. For over 20 years, the Historic 1908 Courthouse has sponsored an Old-time Mountain Music Jam. Enjoy the jam outside of the gazebo in the Read more...

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is home to one of the region’s largest collections of artifacts detailing early life in the far southwestern corner of the Commonwealth. Exhibits explore the boom and bust of the coal industry, the turn of the century in Big Stone Gap, and local folk artists and their works. The park is also home Read more...

Song of the Mountains is an award winning television series of Bluegrass, Old Time, Celtic, and Americana music recorded live at the Lincoln Theater in Marion, Virginia. The concerts are rebroadcast on public TV channels nationwide. The beautifully restored Lincoln Theatre is famed for its Mayan decorative motif and six large murals on the inside walls depicting key moments in Read more...

Join the jam session or just enjoy the sounds of the music at the Radford Fiddle and Banjo Jam. Monday evenings 6 – 9 PM Artis Center at Radford University 801 East Main Street, Radford, VA 24142   Read more...

Patrick County has some of the richest musical heritage anywhere along The Crooked Road and the area’s musicians love to play in the Rotary Memorial building for enthusiastic crowds usually numbering in the hundreds. Plenty of space for dancing, socializing, and grabbing a bite to eat before the next band comes on. Read more...

New River Community College is located in a region rich in music that has been passed down through generations. Traditional music is as much a source of pride for many area residents as it is a family legacy. Talented musicians – both instrumentally and vocally, crafters of musical instruments and those with a deep appreciation of the music gather monthly Read more...

Natural Tunnel State Park is located in Duffield, Virginia. The park features an 850 foot long and more than 10 story high natural tunnel carved out of the limestone mountainside. The park’s amphitheater is home to the Papa Joe Smiddy Mountain Music Festival held each Sunday of Labor Day weekend at 3 p.m. Visitors can also enjoy the Pickin’ in Read more...

The Little River Bluegrass Barn is located in Radford, Virginia. Nestled in the heart of the New River Valley, this barn hosts multiple events throughout the year, including old-time and bluegrass concerts. Read more...

Lays Hardware Center for the Arts is the cultural heart of the Town of Coeburn. Located in a former hardware store, the stage is a replica of Jim & Jesse McReynolds’ mother’s front porch. Weekly Friday night concerts feature some of the region’s favorite bluegrass bands. Lays Hardware Center for the Arts features live music every Friday at 7 PM.  Read more...

The Jim Lloyd Black Friday Jam is an annual gathering at Jim Lloyd’s barbershop that takes place on Black Friday over the Thanksgiving holiday. Musicians that have learned from and performed with Jim reunite every year at this jam. These musicians share a love and respect for the music traditions of The Crooked Road region. It is an appropriate music Read more...

Located in the historic mill town of Fries along the New River, The Historic Fries Theatre is a volunteer-run cultural center and music venue dedicated to preserving and promoting the traditional music of the Blue Ridge. Every Thursday evening, the theatre hosts its signature event: the Thursday Night Old-Time Jam, led by 2018 NEA National Heritage Fellow Eddie Bond, a Read more...