The Blue Ridge Music Center, Galax

Centerpiece of the Crooked Road music trail. A great hub to start out at for novices to the mountain music of Virginia. The self-guided museum exhibits are great. Videos, artifacts, photos, demos and more available. You can buzz through in 15 minutes, or spend a couple of hours digesting the museum portion. As part of the national park system , it has great items to purchase in the gift shop. We picked up a couple of locally sourced lap harps. There was an inside demonstration by one of the rangers playing the dulcimer. Very cool instrument and we learned some interesting techniques. The highlight on this Saturday afternoon was a live performance of a 5 piece group on the porch. Check their schedule for big live events at the center during the summer. It is a great source of information, and you never know who you will meet there that may lead to an interesting road trip in the area to one of the featured towns along the crooked road. We followed up on the tip to visit the town of Floyd. Great connections!! We make sure to visit whenever we pass through the region.

What an amazing place! I wished I lived closer so I could stop in more often. The center is open from 10-5 but only live music - every day - from noon to 4. I ended up arriving shortly after 10am, then going to lunch in Mt. Airy, then coming back to hear some music around 1:00. I wish I had stayed the night near Mt. Airy then come up for the museum and music and not backtracked. There are also some trails around and a huge outdoor stage, and large bathrooms. The shop sells music, musical instruments, and more standard souvenir things. Make sure to push the buttons to hear the music in the museum! And play with the two big screens - there is a lot of fun stuff to see and hear.

There are multiple places along the Blue Ridge Parkway you can stop off at, but this a place you MUST stop off at! There is free live music here almost everyday, and concerts on Saturdays (you do have to pay to get into those.) Inside the main building is a small museum dedicated to the history of the music of the Appalachian Mountains, as well as a gift shop. For those hikers out there, there are also several trails that are connected to the facility, so you might want to check those out.

A great stop on this scenic drive to learn more about the music here where there was a band on to see at your leisure, all free to attend too. There was also a good little gift shop where I got a Blue Ridge Parkway carrier bag with a great design on for a practical memento.

Very fine museum, with live performances scheduled during the Summer, and some special events during Spring & Fall. Very good presentations on folk music, including many stars of yesteryear, and some promising current talent. Who knew that the banjo started with a gourd in Africa? Many other very worthwhile exhibits. Fun!