Virginia
Country Music

Virginia has one of the strongest claims to being the birthplace of American country music, and it's not contested. The Bristol Sessions of August 1927, recorded in Bristol on the Virginia-Tennessee state line, produced the first commercial recordings of the Carter Family from Hiltons, Virginia, and Jimmie Rodgers, establishing the commercial template for what became country music. The Carter Fold in Hiltons, built on A.P. Carter's home property, still hosts Saturday night performances and is a pilgrimage site for anyone serious about the music's origins. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol opened in 2014 and documents that history with academic seriousness.

Patsy Cline was born in Winchester. Ralph Stanley from Clintwood in Dickenson County kept the old-time mountain music tradition alive for seven decades. The Statler Brothers from Staunton were among the most commercially successful country acts of the 1960s and 1970s. Roy Clark from Meherrin became the first country artist to perform behind the Iron Curtain. The Crooked Road, Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, is a 330-mile route through the southwestern part of the state connecting venues and communities associated with old-time and bluegrass music.

Living in Virginia, the country music experience depends heavily on geography. Northern Virginia and the DC suburbs have almost no country culture despite their Virginia address. The Shenandoah Valley and the western mountain communities have a genuine Appalachian music tradition, old-time fiddle, bluegrass, and traditional country that connects directly to the 1927 sessions. That living tradition is one of the most authentic musical experiences available anywhere in America.

Bristol, Virginia is where country music began commercially. In August 1927, Ralph Peer of Victor Records recorded the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in what became known as the Bristol Sessions — often called the Big Bang of country music. Patsy Cline was born in Winchester. The Crooked Road heritage trail connects the region's musical history.

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