BLUE RIDGE MUSIC CENTER

The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at mile 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Center was established by the U.S. Congress to honor and commemorate an important strand of the cultural history of the United States. The rural communities in this area of southwestern Virginia and adjoining North Carolina have been richly productive of string band musicians and have had an influence upon the music of this nation that is highly disproportionate to the actual population of this region. The Center is located in Carroll and Grayson Counties near the town of Galax.

The Blue Ridge Music Center - a jewel on the Blue Ridge Parkway - was developed by the National Park Service in partnership with non-profit organization, The National Council for the Traditional Arts, to preserve and present traditional music of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Music Center opened in October 2001 and now includes a visitor center, gift store, an outdoor amphitheater, (capacity 2500) where summer concerts occur, a covered breezeway with daily live music, picnic facilities, trails, visitor parking and a new museum, The Roots of American Music. Admission to the Visitor Center and The Roots of American Music is free.

The Blue Ridge Music Center is open from May through October each year. Please see the website www.blueridgemusiccenter.com for more information, to donate or see a current schedule of operation. The Music Center hosts daily Mid Day Mountain Music performances (free) and weekend evening concerts (ticketed) by local and nationally known musicians. People visiting the Music Center enjoy various activities such as hiking, interactive/educational displays on music in the museum, and regular performances of old-time stringbands, gospel, blues, and bluegrass music.

Directions: Blue Ridge Parkway near Milepost 213.

Click here to visit the Official Blue Ridge Music Center website!
Or call 276-236-5309 for more information.