In 1927 the Victor Talking Machine Company sent a portable studio to Bristol, and music publisher Ralph Peer advertised for traditional musicians wishing to try their hand at recording. The test pressings of the resulting “Bristol Sessions” involved mountain string bands, gospel singers, blues artists, and vaudeville performers. Among those that sold best were recordings by Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. nI the 1940s and 1950s the live radio broadcast “Farm and Fun Time” originating on a Bristol station and heard in five states was linked to the development of bluegrass music. Among those on the program were: the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Jim and Jesse, and Mac Wiseman. But the most popular band was Curly King and the Tennessee Hilltoppers, led by local singer Cecil Crusenberry, who used King as a stage name.

This rich history is well kept by the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, which has its offices near fabled State Street, where Virginia and Tennessee meet in the middle of a street. For the past 50 years musicians have gathered at the Star Barbershop on State Street for a weekly jam session. State Street is also the location of the Paramount Center for the Arts, a historic theater that presents a variety of cultural events and performances.