North Carolina Music Trails

Plan a weekend getaway, spring break or summer vacation around festivals and venues on these music heritage trails
Tamela Rich,
Clt Parent Fiddle

Need some travel inspiration? Check out heritage music trails, where you’ll find concerts, festivals, and jamborees to enjoy as a member of the audience or as a participant on the dance floor.

Blue Ridge Music Trails

In the Appalachian part of the state, the Blue Ridge Music Trails consists of twenty-nine counties in the western third of the state, a region that includes the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visit the site and search for destinations by musical style, type of event, location, and even venues that allow pets.

The range of events and music reflect the diversity of the people who settled the Blue Ridge province:

  • Bluegrass
  • Blues
  • Cherokee Music and Dance
  • Clogging
  • Contra Dancing
  • Early Country Music
  • Gospel
  • Old-Time
  • Shaped-Note Singing
  • Square Dancing

African American Music Trails

In the coastal plains region, North Carolina offers us the African American Music Trails. They take you through the rural landscape of Eastern North Carolina, "down east." There are five main areas to search for venues and events: Kinston, Goldsboro, Wilson, Rocky Mount, and Greenville.

Next time I'm in Kinston I'll visit its Music Park, which features large colorful tile mosaics honoring the artistic tradition of Charlotte-born painter Romare Bearden, created by Kinston students in a youth project.

 This  “Our State” video will make you want to dance!

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