Hickory, NC area... looking for music (Wilkesboro, Sparta: home, retirement, areas)

[Folkfiddle]

Hello,
We're considering retirement areas and like Hickory very much. We play music and hope to find folk and/or bluegrass jams.
Do you have any ideas for us?
Thanks for your help.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Folkfiddle

Hello,
We're considering retirement areas and like Hickory very much. We play music and hope to find folk and/or bluegrass jams.
Do you have any ideas for us?
Thanks for your help.

There are lots of opportunities to hear/play bluegrass in NC!! Check the Blue Ridge Music Center for one thing, located on the Blue Ridge Parkway nearest to Sparta and Galax (Virginia). Check the website for jam session information: Virginia bluegrass music concerts, blue ridge parkway, bluegrass music history

Also, the Wilkesboro area has a lot of musicians - in particular, the Kruger Brothers make their home there (though they are a bit different than traditional bluegrass). Home - Kruger Brothers

You can see them at the Carolina in the Fall Fest coming up in October, along with a great banjo contest: Carolina In The Fall - A Family Atmosphere Music Festival


There is also Merle Fest every year there to look forward to. MerleFest 2009 (http://www.merlefest.org/MerleFestCMS/content.aspx?id=34 - broken link)

And closer to Hickory, check this out:
Lone Hickory Bluegrass Jam

And one more...Local Bluegrass Events (http://www.noneoftheabove.net/blegrassevents.htm - broken link)

Have fun deciding what to see first!

[Folkfiddle]

Thank you, lovesMountains.
The links you posted look great! Lots of choices!
We'll do some more visiting in Hickory and see what we can find.