Heritage music tourism at its finest.
ContraCostaTimes.com | 04/01/2007 | Fiddles, banjos, a beat: It's Virginia bluegrass: "As author Joe Wilson explains in 'A Guide to the Crooked Road,' bluegrass got its start on the eastern shores of Virginia when violins carried over by European settlers were first played alongside banjos brought by African slaves. This Colonial-era fiddle-and-banjo music eventually moved west to the Appalachians, mingling with the traditional songs of the Scots-Irish and Germans traveling through the Shenandoah Valley. Some of these travelers stuck around, and their descendants play songs passed down through the years, each generation keeping the sound fresh with modern interpretations...
What's so special about the Friday Night Jamboree [in Floyd, VA]? For starters, $3 gets you four bands in four hours -- a musical mix typically kicking off with a beat-the-devil gospel set that primes the mixed-age crowd for the dancing and instrumental wizardry to come. Then there's the quality of the music. Everyone in town seems to be a musician, the descendant of a musician or at least good friends with somebody who plays banjo. Finally, there's the crowd, which often spills out into the street. Since 'granny rules' are in place -- no drinking, smoking or abusive language -- everyone's here for the sheer love of bluegrass."
virginia
crooked road
tourism
bluegrass
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