Virginia is for Lovers of Music Festivals

Across Virginia, every style of music is represented with a variety of music festivals and music lovers have plenty of options to choose from.

Lovers of Bluegrass and classic Country music can attend festivals like the Richmond Folk Festival or the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention, the largest and oldest in the world. These festivals offer travelers an opportunity to experience authentic toe-tappin’, porch-stompin’ music right here in the Commonwealth. And fans of more modern music can attend events like Lockn’ and Bristol Rhythm and Roots to see the big names they know and love.

“We have so many great music festivals in our own backyard from the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival to FloydFest to the Richmond Jazz Festival,” says Virginia Tourism President and CEO Rita McClenny. “Virginia is so rich in music history, but it also attracts mainstream artists. There’s something for every type of music fan here.”

Upcoming music festivals in Virginia:
Castleton Festival, Castleton, VA - July 2-Aug. 2, 2015
Shenandoah Valley Music Festival, Orkney Springs, VA - July 17-25, 2015
Annual AT&T Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival, Norfolk, VA - July 17-18, 2015
FloydFest, Floyd, VA - July 22-26, 2015
American Roots Music Series (Bluegrass), Staunton, VA - Aug. 2, 16 and 30
Galax Old Fiddlers Convention, Galax, VA - Aug. 3-8, 2015
Richmond Jazz Festival, Richmond, VA - Aug. 7-9, 2015
Patsy Cline Music Festival, Winchester, VA - Sept. 3-6, 2015
Lockn’, Arrington, VA - Sept 10-13, 2015
Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Bristol, VA - Sept. 18-20, 2015
Richmond Folk Festival, Richmond, VA - Oct. 9-11, 2015

Virginia’s music scene boasts a broad array of genres - outdoor Beach and Bluegrass events in the warm-weather months, Orchestra and Opera at some of the nation’s grandest concert halls, and Jazz and Blues at intimate big city nightclubs. Its music venuesprovide music lovers hundreds of performances a year by world-famous musicians on stages around the state.

Virginia’s music roots span from the Appalachian Mountains to the shores of Hampton Roads, with some of the nation’s biggest names growing up here, fine-tuning their musical talents and performing for the first time in front of fellow Virginians. Virginia is home to The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, in the Blue Ridge Highlands and Heart of Appalachia regions. Annual festivals, weekly concerts, live radio shows, and informal jam sessions abound throughout the trail.

Go to virginia.org/music to learn more on the music of Virginia including history, upcoming concerts and Virginia emerging artists.