Our two week trip in June was designed to allow us to do two things we love to do: listen to music and explore nature.
We began by joining the
Mountain Music Homecoming, a 9 day festival of American mountain music, Old Time, Appalachian, bluegrass, country, gospel and everything in between. It all took place through a variety of venues and towns that follow
The Crooked Road, a southwest Virginia area that is rich in mountain culture, nature and music. The Scotch Irish settlers brought their music and heritage and over the years it blended with the native and African influences to make up a very diverse style of music. We wanted to learn more and we did! In addition to musical events such as concerts, jams, open stages, there were hikes, canoe trips, kayak trips, film documentaries, theatrical productions, etc....
We began our journey by canoeing the Clinch River's Cherokee Run. We started at the Natural Tunnel State Park in the Clinch Mountains of Virginia, near the Kentucky and Tennessee borders. A pretty place, even in hot weather (around 90) on a Sunday afternoon. I learned to be on the back guiding the canoe and for the first half of the trip, we took some interesting routes down the river, much to Jim's consternation. I improved on the second half and we made it, still on speaking terms. Thankfully we had only a party of 4 canoes on the trip so we got some personal attention for the 3 hours of canoe rowing.
Our next adventure took us towards the Eastern section of The Crooked Road to Damascus, Virginia, a place we had visited before but only to ride on The Creeper Trail, a downhill rails to trails ride from White Top Station in the Mountains near North Carolina to the Town of Abigndon. A wonderful, downhill mostly, ride
http://www.vacreepertrail.com/
This time we stayed in Damascus, a small mountain town, and enjoyed hiking on the Creeper Trail and the Appalachian Trail both of which run through town. I did some biking as well.
Our cottage in Damascus was in the backyard of a wonderfully imaginative young family who keep chicken as well cats and dogs. There were lights and prayer flags along with cairns and small gnomes, masks and mushrooms. Truly a fun place to be and fun people to get to know.
While in Damascus we also attended two concerts. The first one in Damascus was an Apprentice Showcase that featured two young people who have been working and learning form other musicians. These were not amateurs as one might think. Both performers were outstanding and have toured in the United Kingdom sharing the music that was inspired by the Celtic tunes and poems that were brought by the Scotch-Irish immigrants that settled in Appalachia. You can hear a clip of Martha Spencer and the Whitetop Mountaineers music at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKHs3WXzZHg&index=3&list=PLcR46Kl-mN9QMi63IMPM4upPTJrq3pfU3
Their website explains their music and its origin.
http://www.whitetopmountaineers.com/biography This is what's called Old Time country music. Martha also dances some. At the Damascus concert she performed with her mother and father.
At the next concert we saw her, she performed as part of the Whitetop Mounaineers and as an opening act to Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Doyle Lawson has been around the music business for about 36 years and it shows. His group Quicksilver is a product of his teaching, mentoring and polished musical taste as well as humorous stage persona. His music combines gospel and bluegrass and the harmonies these men produced were memorable. It was a great concert at Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia. You can catch a few snippets of their music at:
We moved from Damascus to Abingdon, Virginia, about 15 miles west and attended a Blues Jam at an outdoor venue in Abingdon. We did not get much into it before a lightning and driving rain storm stopped the concert. Abingdon is a sweet town near the Virginia/Tennessee border. We have always enjoyed hiking there as well as hanging out at Zazzy'z Coffee House
http://www.zazzyz.com/ which now includes a Balkan Bakery where Jim enjoyed Turkish coffee and Baklava a few times during our stay, much to the delight of the staff person serving us.
Also in Abingdon we attended a theatrical production at The Barter Theater, "Stonewall Jackson," written and performed by Robin and Linda Williams, a couple who are often featured in Garrison Keillor's The Prairie Home Companion, and who we have seen in concerts a number of times since the 70's. They did not disappoint. The story of the Civil War lives on in the soul and the art of the South. The Stonewall Jackson production was reminiscent of a traveling show and indeed, they performed it in a variety of venues throughout The Crooked Trail. Few words and many tunes; some folk songs, some old ballads, some old time mountain music. An intimate performance in a tent on a warm summer night.
We began the last day of the Festival with a hike on a "rails to trails" walk from Glade Springs to Saltville, Virginia. The heart of Appalachia was evident as we crossed through small farms and homesteads. In the evening we took a lovely ride to the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia where we attended the last performance of the Festival. The Carter Family is sometimes called "The first Family of country music." In the picture are AP Carter, his wife Sarah and her cousin Maybelle Carter (June Carter's mom)
According to Wikipedia: "The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the US folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars." The Carter Family Fold consists of the general store that AP Carter opened after his touring career was over. The store is now a museum of all things related to the family. The cabin where AP was born has been relocated to the fold and is open for people to wonder through. There is also a performing venue that is dedicated to "the preservation and furtherance of Traditional Acoustic Mountain Music." Doc Watson, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, to name a few, have performed at the Carter Fold.
The performers on the night we were at the Fold were Trey Hensley and Driving Force, an amazingly talented group of performers that had everyone clogging, or rather tapping, by the stage. See for yourself!
We drove back to Abingdon full of music and history through beautiful country roads that were lit up by fireflies. Magical!
Stay tuned for the second week of our trip which took us to Asheville, N.C., and then Beaufort, SC.
Tomahawk Lake is also located in Black Mountain and we spent a nice afternoon hiking and resting on its shores. Could not resist watching this baby make its way around us and the water. 
On our last night in Asheville we attended a free concert on the quad of University of North Carolina. The performer was Pura Fe, a songwriter, musician and singer who created a women's acapella group called Ulali. This was the solstice evening and the music in this open air place was mesmerizing. 
