On our last trip east, driving from Tucson, we discovered the Crooked Road in Virginiaq and the many places where live traditional Appalachian music can be heard, seen and enjoyed. The schedule of our trip this time pointed to the weekend of May 12, starting Friday night in the village of Floyd, VA. Floyd is about 40 miles southwest of Roanoke. The location for the music was in the Floyd Country Store. The music was almost all acoustical, no amplification. This was not a typical concert. As soon as the first few notes were played, the space in front of where the musicians was filled with people dancing. The dancing was impromptu, energetic and varied, but with everyone enjoying themselves. The ages of dancers varied from grandmothers to pre-teens. Musicians would sit down and join the group at any time and likewise leave. It was very informal. But one could sense that years ago this was probably the only form of the entertainment the rural mountain had and the way the music was passed from generation to generation. The best example of this was a ten year old boy playing a banjo and how intently he was watching the older musicians play their instruments. We listened to approximately 18 hours of traditional Appalachian music from Friday night to late Sunday afternoon. This was one of the most memorable events we have been to in many years of traveling.
If you like this kind of music, start by going to:
“ https://www.virginia.org/Listings/TheArts/CrookedRoadVirginiasHeritageMusicTrailThe/ “

The next morning, we continued north on I-81 towards to southwestern PA, stopping in Lexington, VA to have lunch with a old friend from PA.