The Crooked Road (http://www.thecrookedroad.org) is Virginia's Heritage Music Trail. The Trail follows 253 miles of scenic roads that wind through the hills of Southwest Virginia. The natural beauty of the region is remarkable, but the music presented in the ten counties and three cities that make up The Crooked Road is a national treasure.  In 2007 USA TODAY selected The Crooked Road as one of 15 "must see" locations for the year.  The rich musical traditions of this the Blue Ridge and Appalachian regions have made an indelible impact on America and the world.

The Trail is built upon a series of 8 Major Venues with another 28 Affiliated Partners. All Major Venues and Affiliated Partners present the musical traditions of the region, most on a once a week basis.  The nearest access point to the Trail from the Rally site in Gray is in Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia - about 20 miles northeast of Gray.

Some of the best known musicians from The Crooked Road region are:  The Carter Family, Ralph Stanley, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Janette Carter, the Chestnut Grove Quartet, Wayne Henderson, the Lost and Found, Sammy Sheelor, the Hill Billies, Earnest V. (Pop) Stoneman and the Stoneman Family, Carl Martin, and Kilby Snow.  Much of the music to be found today has been handed down in these and other families from generation to generation.

The Major Venues include:  the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center in Clintwood; the Country Cabin outside Norton; the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons; the Birthplace of County Music in Bristol; the Blue Ridge Music Center outside of Galax, the Rex Theater in downtown Galax and the Galax Old Fiddlers Festival, the Country Store and County Sales in Floyd, and the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum in Ferrum.  Several of these facilities are museums open six or seven days a week.  Some are performance venues with concerts one or two nights each week. All welcome visitors, whether familiar with or new to the music.

The Major Venues are prominent and significant in the history of the region's music, but they are just the starting point. The Affiliated Partners present jam sessions and weekly shows in a variety of settings up and down the road, including a Dairy Queen in Rocky Mount, Lays Hardware - a former hardware/general store in Coeburn, Stringbean Coffee Shop - a coffee shop in Galax, Stateline Grocery - a county store in Patrick County, and Christopher's Pizza - a pizza parlor in Meadows of Dan.  Most locations have food available or close by. 

From April through November, communities along The Crooked Road have a variety of festivals.  Some of these are primarily music events and are listed as Affiliated Partners on The Crooked Road website, including Rhythm and Roots Reunion in Bristol, the Wayne C. Henderson Festival at Grayson Highlands State Park, and the Galax Leaf and String Festival. Other festivals include music along with a variety of other activities, such as Home Crafts Days in Big Stone Gap.  Many of these events are theme-based, such as the Tobacco Festival in Pennington Gap, the Railroad Days Festival in Appalachia, the Guest River Rally in Coeburn, Trail Days in Damascus, July 4th Festival in Independence, and the Haysi Autumn Fest.

The Crooked Road primarily follows several U.S. highways (Rt. 58, Rt. 11, and Rt. 23), with some miles on state routes. The Trail is marked every five miles with attractive trailblazer signs along the roadway. There are currently 15 wayside pull offs along the Trail, with another 9 to open up this year. Each wayside has a kiosk with signboards describing musical and historical information specific to the area. Each wayside also has a continuous five-minute audio loop broadcast on FM radio that features historic and contemporary music as well as visitor attractions in that location.

From its eastern portal in Rocky Mount in Franklin County (south of Roanoke), The Crooked Road includes the following communities: Stuart in Patrick County; Floyd in Floyd County; Hillsville in Carroll County; the city of Galax; Fries and Independence in Grayson County; Damascus, Glade Spring, and Abingdon in Washington County; the city of Bristol;  Gate City in Scott County; Big Stone Gap, Wise, Coeburn, Appalachia, and Pound in Wise County; the city of Norton; Jonesville and Pennington Gap in Lee County; Clintwood and Haysi in Dickenson County. The Trail ends at Breaks Interstate Park on the Virginia-Kentucky state line.

The scenery is beautiful at any time of the year. There are creeks, rivers, forests, state and national recreation areas, hiking and biking trails, and four of Virginia's five tallest mountains along the Trail. Winding country roads abound. Spring is an especially beautiful season, and the area has a large number of well-kept state parks, many with overnight lodging. For complete information on the Virginia State Parks, go to http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks. There are eight year-round park facilities in the ten county region of The Crooked Road.  Breaks Interstate Park and Natural Tunnel State Park both offer ongoing programs featuring music from the region.

2009 is the 40th anniversary of "Virginia is for Lovers", the slogan of the Virginia Tourism Corporation - a one-stop shop for anyone interested to learn about the depth and breadth of opportunities available to the visitor to the state, including all the communities along The Crooked Road. The website is http://www.virginia.org.

A complete list of all the locations (with links to their websites) is available at http://www.thecrookedroad.org. The Crooked Road store features caps, T-shirts, a Crooked Road CD series, a cookbook, and related books and materials. If you wish to receive a free 48 page information guide, contact The Crooked Road at its website or phone (276) 492-2085 and request a copy of The Crooked Road Visitor Guide.