How to plan a USA tour cramming in as much roots music as possible
No folks, this is not my entry in the 3M Post-it Note Art Competition – Beginner Class.
This is in fact the key device for planning my Music Tour of the South in 2016. It may not look like much, but is gets me what I need. (I think I must be a visual person – yes, really!).
The tour will span almost five weeks, book-ended by the last weeks in August and September and only five days without a car.
That messy map is actually a rough loop, going from west to east and halfway back again.
So far the trip lock-ins are:
- fayettevilleroots festival – Fayetteville Arkansas
- Chris Stapleton gig – Louisville Kentucky
- Rhythm n Roots Reunion Festival – Bristol Virginia/Tennessee
- Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats show – Nashville Tennessee
- Americana Conference and Festival – Nashville
I have quite a few days to fill in between Fayetteville AR – Louisville KY – Bristol/Nashville TN. These are the other possibilities that I am considering including on my travels:
Woody Guthrie Museum – Tulsa, Oklahoma
Grammy Museum – Cleveland, Mississippi
Blue Front Cafe – Bentonville, Mississippi
Johnny Cash Boyhood Home – Dyess, Arkansas
Music City Roots – Franklin, Tennessee
Los Lonely Boys acoustic concert – Franklin, Tennessee
Loretta Lynn’s Ranch – Hurricane Mills, Tennessee
International Bluegrass Museum – Owensboro, Kentucky
Bill Monroe’s House – Rosine, Kentucky
Woodsongs Radio Hour – Lexington, KY
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame – Renfro Valley, Kentucky
Ralph Stanley Museum – Clintwood, Virginia
County Store – Floyd, VA
Earl Scruggs Centre – Shelby, North Carolina
Mountain Song Festival – Brevard, North Carolina
General – Asheville, North Carolina
Dollyworld (you heard right!) – Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
General – Knoxville, Tennessee
The Georgia Satellites – Owensboro, Kentucky
Daniel Boone Festival – Winchester, Kentucky
Russell County Fair and Horse Show – Clintwood Virginia (an outsider at this stage…still I love a good apple dunkin’ competition)
Shrimp and Petrol Festival (!?) – Morganton, North Carolina
Dom Flemons – Louisville, Kentucky
I obviously cannot fit it all in. The trick being to avoid too much criss-crossing thereby minimizing driving time and maximizing music time. But, no decisions made yet as I am waiting for more live shows to be announced, in case I get the calling to change plans.
Any thoughts or advice would be welcome.
By the way, does anyone use pollstar.com for gig checking? I find it pretty good. If you put in a location and then set a date range you get a list of who’s playing and when. Now let’s see, if I search for, say, Asheville NC here is what I get. You can refine the search by date range. I’m not sure how comprehensive it is, but I haven’t found anything better.
Now, where are the blue post-its…
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July 21, 2016
This list is awesome. I’m a lifelong Virginian, and I hadn’t heard of a few of these spots. I will definitely be adding some of them to my list. Thanks for sharing!
July 21, 2016
Glad you liked it. I’m particularly keen to get to the Floyd County Store. If there’s anything else on around mid-Sep, let me know! Cheers
July 22, 2016
My grandfather plays fiddle, so he travels down to the Floyd County Store to jam with musicians several times a year! If I hear of any events, I will certainly pass along the info. I hope you have a great trip, the Blue Ridge Mountains are truly a special and inspiring place, especially for music lovers.
July 22, 2016
Thanks for that offer. Yes, let me know of any Blue Ridge events, that would be great. I have been to Galax, Bristol and Abingdon but not the rest of the Heritage Trail. I reckon your grandfather might get to the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax?!