Bluegrass music was called...
Bluegrass music was called "hillbilly" or "Old Timey" music in its early days. When well-known musician Bill Monroe dubbed his band the Blue Grass Boys. He and his group popularized the form of music, and Monroe is considered the father of bluegrass music.
I came down from the mountains and back onto Highway 58, emerging into the next bluegrass stop, the town of Galax, Virginia, the home of the Rex Theatre. The Rex broadcasts live bluegrass music every Friday night across five states via a powerful 100-kilowatt station, WBRF 98.1.
That station is a beacon for modern-day bluegrass, and radio played a big role in bringing the form to the masses. By 1938, A.P. Carter's roamings had brought dozens of folksy songs home to roost. To take the next step, they needed a way to reach the masses, and they found that by moving to Texas to regularly appear on border radio. The station XERA was based across the border in Mexico to escape FCC regulations, and was able to broadcast 500-kilowatts of power across the lower 48 and into Canada. This allowed the Carter Family to reach America en masse, and their popularity soared.
I missed the Rex Theatre show, so I had to make do with a stop at Barr's Fiddle Shop, which is owned by one of the legends of bluegrass, luthier Steve Barr. The small, friendly shop was fairly quiet that morning. A jean-jacketed 50-something stopped in to try out a guitar and talk local politics with the the retired music teacher keeping the shop. When he walked out, the keeper treated me to an impromptu banjo lesson. I managed to leave without purchasing an instrument and walked across the street to The Galax Smokehouse to pursue my interest in the fine art of pork product preparation.
The Appalachian Mountains...
The Appalachian Mountains are a motorcyclist's delight, with hundreds of miles of great roads.
I was in town before noon, and the Smokehouse was not yet open for business. I did, however, manage to talk the cook into letting me taste his award-winning wares. The Galax Smokehouse has national awards from National BBQ News for their food, and the smoky pork and beef they serve tastes as rich as the sound of the high-priced instruments made by Steve Barr across the street.
From Galax, Highway 58's crooked road travels east and, if you link up with the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Meadows of Dan, you can travel north to one of the country's most-photographed destinations, Mabry Mill. I found fresh snow there, the remnants of a freak late snowstorm rapidly melting away in the April sunshine.
Just a bit farther down the road you come to Floyd, Virginia, the home of the infamous Pickin' Porch at Floyd's Country Store. Floyd's is an old general store that closed, and became a favorite place for local musicians to hang out and play. After enough people came by and knocked on the door asking to come in, they decided to re-open and hold regular informal performances. You can stop on a Friday night and pay three bucks to hear music and get your hat tossed in the ring to win a ham.
The Fold brings in everything...
The Fold brings in everything from the famous to the up and coming, and this 15-year-old prodigy, Grant Marshall, had been playing for only three years before his talent drew attention.
Floyd was the last stop on my bluegrass tour, but I had sampled just a bit of the road's offerings. I stopped in at a local grocery and gift store to get some lunch. As I killed time waiting for my sandwich by wandering between the rows of perfumed soaps and carved wooden sunflowers, I was drawn into conversation by a resident and the shop keeper who were discussing an upcoming wine and music festival. One of them was the organizer of the event, and she urged me to stay a day to check it out.
Perhaps A.P. Carter would have stayed, but I had commitments in the days ahead and was looking forward to putting my feet up and relaxing with my family. Like A.P., I had filled my travel bag (well, my iPod) with new songs and my notebook with stories to tell while I was in the land where Johnny Cash rested his bones and impromptu banjo lessons are no surprise.
The land of A.P Carter holds a special allure, but as the man said, there's nothing like going home.
The Carter Family Fold is...
The Carter Family Fold is a music venue just north of Bristol, Tennessee near the home of bluegrass legend A.P. Carter. They have live music every Saturday night. Johnny Cash played his last two shows here and had a home not far away.
The bluegrass route known...
The bluegrass route known as The Crooked Road visits dozens of music destinations in runs from Breaks on the west side of Virginia all the way east to Franklin, which is only 63 miles from the coast.
One of the most-photographed...
One of the most-photographed places in America is the Mabry Mill, shown here. It's near Highway 58 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a worthwhile stop if you are into history.