The Willis Gap Community Center Open Jam located at 144 The Hollow Road, Ararat, VA 24053, has been jamming since around 1995.  Initially started by Otto and Nellie Hiatt in their home, the jam grew and moved to the Willis Gap Community Center.   The jam is conveniently located to the Blue Ridge Parkway, as well as the Primland Resort. Read more...

Wildwood Farms General Store is home to over 600 varieties of daylilies. This general store hosts biweekly jam sessions on Sunday afternoons and bluegrass bands every Saturday night. Read more...

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is the longest continually running outdoor drama in the Commonwealth of Virginia,and is now the official Outdoor Drama of Virginia. Set in Wise County, Virginia at the turn of the twentieth century, the love story between Jack and June is played out against a feud that has been boiling for over thirty years between Read more...

The Jettie Baker Center, formerly known as the Mullins Theater, was built in the late 1940′s. The property has been completely renovated with federal, state, and local funding with tremendous support by citizens of Dickenson County. 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 Read more...

They take authentic Old Time music seriously at this jam. In warm weather they gather under the trees on the lawn or under the picturesque gazebo to play tunes until late in the evening. In winter, the jam moves inside the old courthouse building (look for the historical museum exhibits inside) and the musicians gathered in a circle take turns Read more...

From May through October, the Stables Saloon at world renowned Primland Resort in the mountains of Patrick County resounds with some of the region’s finest bluegrass music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Primland is a remarkable natural retreat located in Meadows of Dan, VA. The property features a diverse and immersive menu of indoor and outdoor activities, world-class driven hunting 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...

Bluegrass and old-time mountain music are on the menu every week at Radford Coffee Company. Join the jam session or just enjoy the sounds of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar and upright bass. Being held outside as weather permits. Monday evenings, 7 p.m. Radford Coffee Company 333 West Main St. Radford, Virginia Read more...

The Rabbit Ridge Pea Pickers were given their name by the State Police when they played for the coal mine strikers on Rabbit Ridge in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Burl Rhea, and the Rhea family and friends now host the Old Time and Bluegrass jam every Friday night at the Cleveland ballfield and the annual celebration day in the summer. 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...

Started by former dean of the college and mountain music lover Charlie White, this event regularly entertains several hundred at a time. Their successful format is having one bluegrass band and one old time band for each performance, which satisfies the folks that like to just listen to bluegrass but love to dance to old time music. The music on 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...

Located in a former hardware store, this is the cultural heart of the Town of Coeburn. The stage is a replica of Jim & Jesse McReynolds’ mother’s front porch. Jammers take turns coming to the microphone to do their song and everyone joins in, sometimes until the wee hours. Friday night concerts feature some of the favorite regional bluegrass bands. Read more...

This annual gathering at Jim Lloyd’s barbershop over the Thanksgiving holiday is a reunion of the many musicians that Jim has taught and performed with over the years. Like Jim, they share a love and deep respect for the music traditions of The Crooked Road region that comes through big time in the music they make. It is an appropriate 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. The Theatre operates independently as a nonprofit organization focused on the region’s musical heritage. Every Thursday evening, the theatre hosts its signature event: the Read more...

Possibly the only Dairy Queen in America with a regular Bluegrass jam session. Good friends meet there to share a cup of morning coffee and some old songs. Read more...

Chestnut Creek School of Arts offers classes and events year-round for all ages and skill levels in traditional music, heritage crafts, and contemporary arts. Check out our website to see what’s scheduled when planning your next trip to Galax! Read more...

The U.S. Congress declared Bristol the Birthplace of Country Music, and this three-day marquee festival celebrates that designation every September in a big way. Dozens of stages in every corner of downtown Bristol present some of the finest roots music stars, but the festival has an uncanny ability to find the new acts that will soon be known around the Read more...

The Blacksburg Square Dance has been going for over 30 years in a town known for its strong connection between Old Time music and dance. You don’t need to be Fred Astair or Ginger Rogers either. They have been teaching newcomers all those years and they teach the simple basics before every dance so anyone can take part. The music Read more...

Blacksburg’s Market Square Jam provides fun and entertainment on Wednesday evenings, June through September. The Jam takes place at Market Square Park from 7-9 p.m. Catering to traditional old time music, the Market Square Jam brings regional musicians together to pick a tune, enjoy fun times with their friends and family, and take in all that downtown Blacksburg has to offer. In Appalachia, Read more...

After World War II especially, leisure motoring became a popular pastime and interest in scenic vistas led many an enterprising business to locate shops and restaurants at these overlooks. Big Walker Lookout is a fine example of this americana experience from a by gone era and has views of the Appalachian mountains almost too grand to take in. And that’s Read more...

The earliest seeds for this jam began when loitering pickers started hanging around Allen Hick’s wood shop waiting to try out Allen’s handmade mandolins. From there, Allen has built one of the nicest jam gatherings in The Crooked Road region. “I just treat folks like I want to be treated”, he says. To handle the crowds, Allen added on to Read more...