Floyd… no, not the barber on the Andy Griffith show.

To this date it was the biggest surprise and the most fun we had on the trip.

When researching this epic journey around the country, we consulted Chat GPT (AI) and requested info that had to do with history, music, food, and all things Americana. A small blurb told us that this particular area was known for its music that was rooted in the confluence of Scott-Irish, German-Dutch, and African cultures. Immigrants (that’s right Donald ), who brought with them many things, including music. They were the first European settlers in Appalachia. The result was a truly all American hybrid called bluegrass.

We took the small detour off the Parkway into the town of Floyd. A small town, but a lot going on. First thing we noticed was a kinda hippie culture, very different from what we have seen in Virginia. They were obviously proud of this distinction and in fact marketed it. T-shirts and hats, counter-culture clothes, long hair and big beards. These were people living off the grid. We sat at the bar, (duh), and ordered a pizza (wood fired of course), and proceeded to talk to the bartender and the couple next to us. All around us were good ol’ boys gone rogue. The next county down from us was Franklin County, a dry county, but having the reputation for moonshine. There was even a movie and a TV program about just that. Of course I wanted some of that moonshine, but I guess we didn’t qualify…

There was music that night, but we were exhausted from driving so we retired after our attempted moonshine run. The next morning we were up on the parkway again checking out the local culture. We went to a museum

that was all about the development of music in the area and in fact, they had a couple of ol’ boys playing and singing. Back down in town we happened upon a no kings protest…so we joined them. In the evening we saw some music from a perch overlooking a grassy knoll. Real cool. Although we were scheduled to leave the next day, we were persuaded to stay an extra day for the jamboree they had each Friday.

Another day of driving in the mountians and back in time to have dinner and get a good seat for the show. While waiting in line we met a very friendly old couple, Maynard and his wife. They were several generations into this area and a hoot to talk to. Been coming to the Friday night jamboree every week. The music started with a family of Mother and daughter, father ( who was the local minister ), and a support guy. They played Gospel for the next hour, and we became children of God, as they harmonized and belted out songs from deep in their souls.

The next act blew us away. They were introduced as students in a local music program, and when they came up on stage they looked a bit awkward and very young. They started playing and my jaw dropped. The 11 year old girl by the name of Jubille got going on the fiddle while her brother(maybe 14) was playing the banjo. Another young man played guitar, an an older guy strummed on the upright base. They all sang and everyone was two-steppin’ it on the dance floor. The girl then switched to the Mandolin and her brother to the guitar, they did not miss a beat. Mostly Bluegrass with some country thrown in, they were pickin’ their hearts out. Maynard kept giving us the thumbs-up until we hit the dance floor with all the other old geezers. It will be something forever etched in our memories…

Afterward we hit the street where other music was playing, some in small groups, ad hoc, just jammin’…