Patrick County is named for a fiddler, Patrick Henry, and is where the Piedmont Plateau meets the Blue Ridge Mountains. Settled in Revolutionary times, it has always been a musical place. Stuart, the county seat, is named for a string band leader who was also a Confederate cavalry officer, General J.E.B. Stuart. A singer, he was killed in battle at age 31. Famed minstrel banjoist Sam Sweeney was in Stuart’s band, and also died during the war.

Nine local families have produced a huge number of musicians during two centuries, and continue to do so. These families vary in their origins: German, English, Ulster Irish, and African-American. But in Patrick County they share a string band music that has proven remarkably durable. There are frequent jam sessions and concerts here or nearby most weekends.

Numerous breathtaking sights such as the Pinnacles of Dan, Lover’s Leap, and the Mabry Mill are close by. Two of Virginia’s few remaining covered bridges are over the Smith River near Woolwine. J.E.B. Stuart’s home is at Ararat, near the North Carolina border. There’s good food here, fine lodging, and if you feel an urge to sing or dance, go ahead.