Break a mirror, and you'll have seven years of bad luck. But break open a new idea on promoting music and culture in Southwest Virginia, and what do you get? The Crooked Road, Virginia's Heritage Music Trail.

Source: tricities.com The Crooked Road, Virginia's Heritage Music Trail By: Joe Tennis | TriCities.com Published: December 14, 2011 Updated: December 14, 2011 - 6:14 PM ABINGDON, Va. - -- Break a mirror, and you'll have seven years of bad luck. But break open a new idea on promoting music and culture in Southwest Virginia, and what do you get? The Crooked Road, Virginia's Heritage Music Trail. At the seven-year anniversary of when The Crooked Road was officially launched in 2004, the directors of the project cut the ribbon and heralded this past summer's opening of its new headquarters at Heartwood: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Gateway. Today, just off I-81 in Abingdon, Heartwood serves as the epicenter of the road, which has sometimes struggled, out of the public eye, to equally balance its mission between the coalfields of Dickenson and Wise counties in the west with the farm fields of Franklin, Floyd and Patrick counties in the east. "For me, I see it less about diversity and more about sort of a unified region," said Woody Crenshaw, owner of the Floyd Country Store in Floyd, Va., and the current chairman of the board of directors of The Crooked Road. "But you can't ignore the reality that the western part of the region ... the coalfields, they have a distinct sound and a distinct community ethic," Crenshaw said. "And the Blue Ridge? We don't have coal here. It's a different mentality, a different music." More than one musician or storeowner has been overheard saying what a balancing act it would be to keep an equal focus on a road and musical corridor that stretches more than 250 miles between Rocky Mount, Va., and Breaks Interstate Park. But, now, let's up the ante, and take a look at the more recent concept of "That Crooked Road Region." That has recently added nine counties to the original 10 counties lauded for their musical talents, largely along the U.S. Highway 58 corridor, in greater Southwest Virginia. It makes Virginia towns like Marion, Pulaski, Radford, Chilhowie and Tazewell part of The Crooked Road. It also brings in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Buchanan County and Bland, among others. Yet, if The Crooked Road is not careful, some say, shining too broad a light might just dim the stars that made this tourism concept such a jewel in the first place. Mother church For most, the mother church of The Crooked Road remains the Carter Fold, a lively dance barn where descendants and distant cousins of the original Carter Family serve as the backbone of the volunteers and part-time workers manning the doors and cooking the soup beans and cornbread served during Saturday night shows. On a brisk November night, a nearly all-ages crowd comes to hear Lonesome Will Mullins, a gyrating performer who can be often unpredictable with his stage mannerisms. He's electrifying, young and loud. And he's packed a crowd of up to 500 in this place. This is, indeed, a night to showcase The Carter Fold, erected in 1976 in a Scott County section called Maces Spring but most commonly identified as "Hiltons." The Carter Fold holds court as one of the main venues of The Crooked Road. And, said Rita Forrester, the executive director, The Crooked Road has helped with marketing efforts, spreading the fame of "The Fold" to newspapers, magazines, television outlets and through brochures. Still, it would be only natural to be concerned as the focus shifts to include counties or places not even near the original Crooked Road route. Sounding careful as she spoke, Forrester said, "I wouldn't want to see The Crooked Road diluted to the degree that the major venues are forgotten." >> 'Partnership' Todd Christensen, the co-founder of the Crooked Road, maintains the major venues are the focus, even as nearby affiliated partners join the roster. Like the Lincoln Theatre of Marion, Va., known for being the home of the PBS-TV "Song of the Mountains" program. "The fact that the Lincoln Theatre, with 'Song of the Mountains' is right on the way as you go to The Crooked Road, or actually access The Crooked Road, it just makes perfect sense for us to be on there," said Marion town spokesman Ken Heath. "The 'Song of the Mountains' brand is being carried in major TV markets all across the United States," Heath said. "And people see The Crooked Road on there, and it's just a good synergy. It's a partnership that we needed to do a long time ago, and we're tickled to death to finally have it accomplished." Even folks who are not necessarily recognized as musicians have been blessed with some benefit of The Crooked Road: It's what Grayson County guitar-maker Gerald Anderson simply terms "name recognition." That has helped Tony Scales, 55, a part-time guitar picker but, more noteworthy, The Crooked Road's "pet geologist," living at Big Stone Gap, Va. Every summer Saturday, the talkative Scales spends his time at the Natural Tunnel State Park of Scott County, Va., situated about halfway between The Carter Fold and the Country Cabin, near Norton. Other times, he might be at Breaks Interstate Park, the western terminus of The Crooked Road. Scales has written books about both parks. "I guess you might say I've found my niche: the histories of the geological wonders of Southwest Virginia," Scales said. "And it is just 'so neat,' as the young people say, that these two amazing places are on The Crooked Road." 'Really needed' Scales released his first book, "Natural Tunnel: Nature's Marvel In Stone," just as The Crooked Road was getting started; the book on Breaks appeared on shelves for the first time this spring. In between, The Crooked Road has won national and international acclaim, all the while promoting what Scales called "a road through good country, with good people and delightful stops along the way." Fast forward a century: Even if all the curves of The Crooked Road have been straightened, Scales said, "You'll still hear 'Sally Ann' or 'Soldier's Joy' coming through the window of an old house as you pass by on your jet-car." The old-time music will always remain, Forrester stressed. Christensen, too, contemplated the future of the initiative he helped launch with music promoter Joe Wilson of Fries, Va. "Hopefully, it's not going to change too much, because that's sort of the idea. We're working on preserving the music," Christensen said. As for the success, well, The Crooked Road depends heavily on a mix of both local residents and even far-flung travelers seeking the culture of communities in which old-time and bluegrass music has been preserved. "It is very common for us to see international travelers throughout Southwest Virginia," said Christensen, who also guides Heartwood in Abingdon as the executive director of Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission.