THE CROOKED ROAD: VIRGINIA’S HERITAGE MUSIC TRAIL

“Where words fail music speaks.”  Hans Christian Anderson

            Music critic Nat Hentoff told a story of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker on a break during a New York club gig. Bird was observed selecting songs on a jukebox and to his friend’s amazement they were country songs. When jokingly asked why those songs he responded, “Listen to the words.” The lyrics and emotions were a focal point of tunes, that the 17^th-century English, German, Irish and Scottish colonists and African brought to the new world. These basic songs would incorporate elements of Blues, spirituals and gospel as the people migrated inland to areas in the Appalachians recalling their homelands and this synthesis of musical tradition, emotion and lyrics. The music they created is considered the second oldest musical genre in the US, with Native American music recognized as the oldest.

                  Southwest Virginia inaugurated the Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail in 2004 with the goal of promoting and presenting Appalachian old time and bluegrass music. The trail is 333-miles long and features 10 major sites, 60 smaller locations and 50 towns. This is a spectacular year to travel the road at your own pace to celebrate and pay homage to this cultural trail and join celebrations of the 20^th-anniversay of both The Crooked Road and the Ralph Stanley Museum, the 10th Anniversary of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the 40th Anniversary of the Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree and the 50^th-Anniversary of the iconic Carter Family Fold. thecrookedroadva.com

                  An ideal place to begin your road trip is in Bristol, Virginia, a unique city that abuts Bristol, TN. Once  the site of a Cherokee village in 1771 a trading post and fort were constructed there to provide aid to westward travelers. In 1890 both Bristol, TN and VA were chartered as Bristol. In 1901 a line was drawn down the middle of State Street as a boundary between the two states. Bristol, VA has a congressional designation as the “Birthplace of Country Music.”

                  Brass markers etched with the state names denote the state line and visitors can straddle a marker for a photo op. In 1910 the iconic Bristol Sign was placed atop a hardware store. In 1915 the 25-ft sign was moved to State Street. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are more than 50 venues in the downtown district that offer shopping, dining and entertainment. #bristolva

                  On State Street in 12 days in August 1927 nineteen artists recorded 76 songs in a former hat factory. Victor Talking Machine Company representative Ralph Peer produced the first commercial country music recordings including songs by the Carter Family and the event is widely recognized as “the big bang” of country music. Bristol was selected as the site of the sessions because it was accessible to the railroad. #loveVA

                  Over two floors The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, relates stories of the Bristol Sessions, music, instruments, individuals and pivotal events through state-of-the-art displays, artifacts, memorabilia, 4 films, galleries, performances and live WBCM Radio Bristol @ListenRadioBristol.org. Highlights of the exhibitions are Jimmie Rogers’ stage guitar and galleries on the contributions of African Americans to the genre including the African genesis of the banjo and race recordings.

                  Union 41, helmed by Torrece “Chef T” Gregoire, adapted the open kitchen style to present masterful menus with local, fresh, ingredients and a taste of her island roots. The infusion of flavors unique to the African diaspora make each dish a culinary masterpiece. She adds tastes to her cuisine as people contributed to the music. Her skills have been displayed on Hell’s Kitchen Season 14 and Food Network’s Big Restaurant Bet. @union41bristol 

                  Continue the Crooked Road experience with a stay at the Sessions Hotel. Rooms are curated to reflect the ethos of country music’s birthplace. Guest rooms and public spaces harken back to the session’s era and events through art and accoutrements. The hotel presents performances on an outdoor stage, offers comfort food in the Southern Craft restaurant and helps you feel like a star in the Vision Salon and Star Barber Shop.

The Carter Family recorded 300 songs from 1927-1942 and A. P. Carter, head of the family, often traveled throughout the area to obtain unrecorded songs. He hired Lesley Riddle, an African American, to accompany him and memorize the music as he memorized the lyrics. Riddle’s style was unique because he had lost two fingers and a leg in two different accidents. His 5-year contribution is acknowledged at the Birthplace of Country Music and the Carter Family Fold. He has been credited with teaching Maybelle guitar techniques.

The Family Fold was founded to memorialize the memory and legacy of the Carter Family. The original family lived on the land here in the foothills of Clinch Mountain in SW Virginia. The complex includes A.P. Carter's old general store museum, the reconstructed original A.P. Carter Homeplace and a concert venue. In August a concert will be held to commemorate the anniversary of Alvin Pleasant Carter, his wife Sara, brother Ezra and sister-in-law Maybelle formed the original Carter Family band. The museum showcases photographs, instruments, stage outfits and other family items donated by June Carter and Johnny Cash. A. P.’s birthplace is a furnished log cabin near the store.

Carter Family Memorial Center was established in 1979 to nurture and preserve traditional bluegrass and folk music. The 800-seat auditorium presents scheduled concerts. Johnny Cash returned to The Fold when his health began to fail. He called it his home and his final concert was played there.

Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts in Marion is named for Wayne C. Henderson, an international ambassador for the music of the Southern Appalachian region. Workshops are offered on the creation of guitars, fiddles, stained glass, quilts and letterpress. You can build your own guitar and then participate in an on-site jam session. @waynechendersonschool 

The Blue Ridge Music Center highlights evolving musical traditions and the influence of American Roots music. Galleries in the interpretive center include a museum, theater and gift shop. Live music is regularly scheduled on the breezeway of the center. @brmusiccenter

Floyd Country Store is an extraordinary site to end this portion of the road. It is in this authentic general store that the community would gather in the early 1900s for Friday night jamborees. On the weekends you can still participate in the ongoing Appalachian experience. This is still a functioning store and includes a café. You can learn to dance or show off your skills along the Crooked Heritage Road. @thefloydcountrystore 

 

 

Heritage Hunting in Houston, Texas

“Houston is a city of resilience and strength.” – Beyoncé

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                  Texas was the final region to receive word of emancipation, in June of 1865, after the Civil War. It was also the place where enslaved African descendants were brought by the Spanish into Spanish Texas. Their entry preceded Jamestown’s 19 blacks by nearly 100-years, arriving around 1528. Until 1836 Texas was Mexican territory and they outlawed slavery in 1824. Stephen Austin established a colony on a grant inherited from his father in 1821 and in order to lure settlers to his colony he contracted ownership of 80-acres for each bondsman they brought with them. Slavery was a tenuous Texas institution until after the Texas Revolution and the 1845 admission of Texas to statehood. By the 1850s thirty percent of the population was comprised of slaves and at the start of the Civil War they numbered 182,566. The Civil War did not stop the trade, in fact, Texas is the only state where the enslaved population actually grew. Southern owners moved their slaves to the interior of Texas because they were considered “safer.” #explorehouston

                  Houston was established on 6,600-acres at the juncture of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak bayous in 1836. Two brothers, John and Augustus paid $10,000 for land to build a trading post. The settlement was named after Sam Houston and was Texas’ capitol for 2-years. In 1839 Houston was divided into four wards numbered clockwise and were designated, geographical, political districts.

                  The city boasts seven sites on the international UNESCO Slave Route. The route was initiated in 1994 to combat the general lack of knowledge surrounding the international slave trade and its ramifications. The Houston sites include Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Emancipation Park, Gregory School African American Library, Olivewood Cemetery and three historic homes, the Kellum House, Fourth Ward Cottage, and the Yates House, 

                  Many emancipated slaves migrated to Houston after freedom was official. They founded a settlement that became known as Freedmen’s Town in the Third Ward. It became a center of culture and business and in the 1930s housed 33% of Houston’s black residents. The 10-acre Emancipation Park dates from 1872 and was purchased by former slaves for $1,000. Some of the streets feature handmade and paved bricks that date from 1865. Freedmen’s Town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984. @visit_houston

                  Texas Southern University (TSU), once named the Houston College for Negroes, is one of the largest HBCUs in the US. It was founded as an outgrowth of H. Sweatt’s quest to go to Univ. of Texas’ School of Law. The school refused to integrate and instead created TSU to get around the law.

                  Third Ward was the place where Beyoncé grew up. Her home is privately owned but can be viewed from the exterior.

                  In the Fourth Ward the 1866 Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist Church in Houston, stands. On their third site 9 former slaves erected the first brick structure in Houston to be built and owned by African-Americans in 1879. 

                   The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection is on view at the Houston Holocaust Museum and it is not to be missed. The Kinsey Collection features paintings, sculptures, photographs, documents and artifacts highlighting African American life from 1595 to present day. The exhibit juxtaposes the Holocaust experience with that of African American slavery. A life-sized rail car is particularly poignant. hmh.org

                  The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum is dedicated to collecting and preserving the stories of the African American military. The museum is divided both thematically and chronologically with artifacts, photographs, dioramas, artwork and videos. A special exhibit, “The Blue Helmets in Action,” focuses on the 93rd Infantry Division, the first WWII activated African American combat division. Buffalosoldiersmuseum.org

                  NASA/Space Center Houston offers an opportunity to get closer to space through tram tours, videos and exhibits. Highlights of a visit include a facilities tour, Historic Mission Operation Control Room, Artemis Exhibit, Astronaut Training Facility and a tactile experience with a moon rock!

                  La Maison in Midtown, an urban bed and breakfast, provides perfect accommodations for a Houston visit. Each room is creatively furnished and offers all the amenities including WIFI. A full breakfast is chef prepared and served daily.

                  Barbara Jordan, a graduate of TSU, was the first African American female Congresswoman and the first African American state senator since 1883. A life-sized sculpture of a seated Jordan is on the exterior of what was a historic post office building. The building is now a multi-use structure with shops, a food court and the country’s largest rooftop urban farm. The roof has public spaces and breath-taking, panoramic, city views. 

                  Toast your trip at Pur Noire Urban Wineries, the first Black-owned urban winery in the downtown area. Pur Noire is owned by Carissa and Kenneth Stephens and a visit is an adventure in culture, camaraderie, soul food and exceptional wine. #houstontx