Grayson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,533. Its county seat is Independence. Mount Rogers, the state's highest peak at 5,729 feet (1,746 m), is in Grayson County.
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,042. In 2018 the estimated population was 6,423.
Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388. The town is the birthplace and hometown of actor Andy Griffith.
Toast is a census-designated place (CDP) in Surry County, North Carolina, United States, just west of Mount Airy, North Carolina. The population was 1,922 at the 2000 census.
Fries is an incorporated town located on the New River in Grayson County, Virginia, 24 kilometers (15.5 mi) north-east of the county seat in Independence — in Virginia's Blue Ridge Highlands and on Virginia's musical heritage trail, The Crooked Road.
Independence is a town in Grayson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 947 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grayson County. Independence is home to a major town celebration on July 4 every year, held in front of the 1908 courthouse. It features bluegrass and old-time music and dance, food, crafts and a wild pony sale. The courthouse is also the location of the Mountain Foliage Festival, held in the autumn and featuring a parade, crafts, arts and music, as well as a race in which contestants use outhouses, the Grand Privy Race.
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments, most often the banjo, guitar, and mandolin.
Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. It is derived from various European and African influences, including English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music, hymns, and African-American blues. First recorded in the 1920s, Appalachian musicians were a key influence on the early development of Old-time music, country music, and bluegrass, and were an important part of the American folk music revival of the 1960s. Instruments typically used to perform Appalachian music include the banjo, American fiddle, fretted dulcimer, and guitar.
Mount Airy, near Warsaw in Richmond County, Virginia, built in 1764, is a mid-Georgian plantation house, the first built in the manner of a neo-Palladian villa. Colonel John Tayloe II, perhaps the richest Virginia planter of his generation, constructed it. His daughter Rebecca and her husband, Francis Lightfoot Lee, one of the only pair of brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence are buried on the estate, as are many other Tayloes. Before the American Civil War, Mount Airy was a prominent racing horse farm, as well as headquarters of about 10-12 separate slave plantations along the Rappahannock River. Mount Airy is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark as well as on the Virginia Landmarks Register, and is still privately owned by Tayloe's descendants.
Round Peak is a small unincorporated community in Surry County, North Carolina, United States, near Mount Airy, North Carolina with an elevation of 1,280 feet. It is located in the southern Appalachian Mountains and gives its name to the Round Peak style of old-time music practiced in the area.
Mount Airy Township is one of fifteen townships in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. The township had a population of 24,828 according to the 2000 census.
WPAQ is an Americana, and Bluegrass-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Mount Airy, North Carolina, serving the Piedmont of North Carolina and the Southside and Southwestern sections of Virginia. WPAQ is owned and operated by WPAQ Radio, Inc.
Salem is an unincorporated community located in northern Surry County, North Carolina on the outskirts of the city of Mount Airy. The community generally lies between Lovills Creek the Ararat River. Prominent landmarks include Salem United Methodist Church.
Franklin is a small unincorporated community in the Mount Airy Township of Surry County, North Carolina on the outskirts of the city of Mount Airy. The community is located on South Franklin Road just south of Toast. Area landmarks include Franklin Elementary School and Franklin Volunteer Fire Department.
Pine Ridge is an unincorporated community in the Stewarts Creek Township of northern Surry County, North Carolina near the city of Mount Airy on North Carolina Highway 89. The community is located between the Little Fisher River and Stewarts Creek and has an altitude of 1,347 feet. Area attractions include Pine Ridge Classic Golf Course. Noted 19th-century humorist Hardin E. Taliaferro was born near Pine Ridge in 1811.
Boones Hill is a small Unincorporated community in the Mount Airy Township of northern Surry County, North Carolina, on the outskirts of the city of Mount Airy near Bannertown. The community is centered on the intersection of Business U.S. Highway 52 and U.S. Highway 52 Bypass south of Bannertown. Local lore is that Daniel Boone camped on this hill.
The Blue Ridge Music Center is a music venue, museum, and visitor center located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, Virginia. The center celebrates the music and musicians of the Blue Ridge Mountains through concerts, exhibits, and programs that highlight living musical heritage of the Blue Ridge region and interpret its significance within the larger landscape of American music and culture. The site is operated through a partnership between the National Park Service and Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
James Benton Flippen was an old-time fiddler from Mount Airy, North Carolina. He was one of the last surviving members of a generation of performers born in the early 20th century playing in the Round Peak style centering on Surry County, North Carolina. His contemporaries included Tommy Jarrell, Fred Cockerham, Kyle Creed, and Earnest East.
Mount Airy High School is located on N South Street in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The front office is at the corner of N South Street and Orchard Street. The school first opened in 1895. Mount Airy's team name is the Granite Bears, and their school colors are navy blue and white.
