This week’s dream: a drive into Virginia’s musical past

Winding through the “majestic, often melancholic” Blue Ridge Mountains in southwest Virginia, the Crooked Road heritage trail is designed to showcase Appalachian musical traditions, from a cappella gospel to old-time string bands and blue grass. And for lovers of such music, it is an informative and inspiring experience, says Robert Hull in The Guardian. Initiated by the local tourist board, the 300-mile route diverges from the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway south of Roanoke, following US Route 58 through towns including Floyd, Galax and Bristol, where the names of the region’s “leading musical families” – the Carters, the Stanleys and the Stonemans – regularly crop up. The views are “intoxicating”, and there are concerts and jam sessions to drop in on along the way.

The first stop is Ferrum, home to the “superb” Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, which traces the region’s musical origins in Britain, central Europe and Africa (the banjo, a key instrument, developed from the West African xalam). In late October there is the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, with horsepulling competitions, molasses-making displays and four music and storytelling stages. From Ferrum, the road curves through valleys of spruce, fir, oak and pine to the tiny town of Floyd, which is a veritable “creative hub”. Friday nights at the Floyd Country Store are a blast, as locals gather to play Appalachian music of every kind.

At the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, you can visit the A.P. Carter birthplace cabin and museum, then take in one of the 7.30pm shows, which feature the family’s music and other “Appalachian sounds”. In Bristol, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum celebrates the historic “Bristol Sessions”, recordings of 19 local acts made here in 1927 by the Victor Talking Machine Company. To round off the trip, visit the Blue Ridge Music Centre in Galax, and enjoy a performance in its “jewel” of a concert hall. See www.virginia.org/thecrookedroad.