The
Purpose of the Blue
Ridge Music Trails
The Blue Ridge region
mirrors the rest of the nation in hosting an energetic mix of musical
styles. Pop, classical, jazz, blues, rock, gospel, country—these are
all here. In addition the Blue Ridge has an unmatched legacy of
traditional music and dance. These are the songs, tunes, and dances
carried on largely outside of formal music instruction or the
commercial drive of popular culture. The Blue Ridge Music Trails
guides travelers to the many public settings in which Blue Ridge folk
music and dance thrive today.
Event Criteria
The music venues
selected for the Blue Ridge Music Trails have been identified
by folklife fieldworkers. Though listeners may well hear an array of
musical styles at a given event, each site includes a substantial
amount of traditional Blue Ridge music performed by musicians native
to the region. All of the events listed are on-going and are open to
the public.
Updates and Accuracy
Before you visit an
event, call the contact person for that site to confirm dates, times,
locations, etc. The information offered on this website is updated
annually. However, many of the events on this website are small and
informal, and event organizers may make changes too late to list here.
In nearly all cases
the Blue Ridge Institute does not have any more information than is
presented on this website. Please direct your questions about a
specific event directly to the contact person and address/phone number
listed for that event.
Website Maintenance
The Blue Ridge
Music Trails website is maintained by Ferrum College’s Blue
Ridge Institute & Museum (www.blueridgeinstitute.org),
the State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore. Comments or questions about
the website as a whole should be sent to bri@ferrum.edu.
Blue
Ridge Music Trails
Background and
Partners
The Blue Ridge
Music Trails project grew out of the Blue Ridge Heritage
Initiative, a multi-state partnership of organizations,
communities, and individuals committed to promoting the cultural
heritage of the region. The Heritage Initiative was founded on
the idea that heritage—the cultural traditions, natural resources,
and historical events that together create a distinctive identity for
the region—is integral to the well-being of communities and that the
Southern Appalachians should preserve the heritage that is significant
to the region and the nation. Along with the Blue Ridge Music
Trails, the Blue Ridge Heritage Initiative has worked
toward the creation of other trails: The Cherokee Heritage Trail
(www.cherokeeheritagetrails.org)
and The Gardens and Countryside Trails of the Blue Ridge (www.wnccrafts.org/gardentrails).
Major institutional
partners involved in the development of the Blue Ridge Music Trails
include:
The National
Endowment for the Arts (www.arts.gov)
The North Carolina
Arts Council (www.ncarts.org)
The Virginia
Commission for the Arts (www.arts.virginia.gov)
The Appalachian
Regional Commission (www.arc.gov)
Ferrum College’s
Blue Ridge Institute & Museum (www.blueridgeinstitute.org)
The Blue Ridge
Parkway (www.nps.gov/blri)
The Virginia
Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy (www.virginia.edu/vfh)
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