Blue Ridge Parkway Journeys

One of my favorite passions in life is to go to live music events. This includes music at night clubs, concerts and festivals. I like indoor and outdoor events. In the last four months our Virtual Blue Ridge team has been able to attend several great music festivals in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

MerleFest 2010

In late April, we were able to attend MerleFest 2010, one of the best Bluegrass music festivals in the United States. It is billed as “Traditional Plus” and rightfully so. The array of the types of bluegrass music at this event is incredible.

I have been able to attend almost every year of this legendary four day music festival. As usual, I saw many excellent performers and took a lot of great pictures. If you like bluegrass music, you owe it to yourself to check this festival out. This is the largest music festival in the Blue Ridge Mountains and one of the best organized music festivals in the business. It is a great attitude adjustment for early spring.

FloydFest 9

In late July we were able to attend FloydFest 9, in Floyd Virginia. This is a family friendly music festival. It is a four day celebration of music and art that bridges the gap between music genres, generations and cultures. The schedule of performers is really good and the venue is awesome. It is an 80-acre compound located right off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This festival has come a long way in its short nine year history. This is definitely one of the best music festivals in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Music on the Mountain Top

On August 27-28, we are attending the Music on the Mountain Top festival located in Boone, North Carolina. This is a newer music festival that has just extended to a two-day event. It is an ecologically driven music festival that offers great entertainment and provides a unique education of current environmental issues.

The list of performers keeps getting better every year. We attended last year and were really stoked when Sam Bush joined Acoustic Syndicate on stage. This was awesome. Sam Bush has become the ambassador of bluegrass and is known for jamming with other great groups when he plays at music festivals. When he is in the house, great music is going to happen. Both of these groups will be playing again this year along with Railroad Earth, one of the most prominent Americana music groups in the world. I just saw them at FloydFest and look forward to seeing them again. I highly encourage all to attend this event. It will give you a great fall attitude adjustment.