are lexington and charlotesville in this section? (Richmond, Roanoke: live in, restaurants)

[johnnybc]

Hope I'm in the right area, but would a liberal jazz man do ok in Lexington? Looks like a beautiful town, could I play in little cafes of restaurants, and could I drive to Charlotesville for gigs and live in Lexington? Would I get the cold shoulder from the military acadamy types or are they live and let live like I am. I want a nice small town with good bookstores and restaurants and some places to play and hear music. Many thanks!!!

[Nebat]

You might have better luck in reverse, live in Charlottesville and travel to Lexington for the occasional show. They are about an hour apart. Charlottesville has a much better live music scene than I would suspect Lexington would. But I'm not sure. While Lexington is a totally cool little town, it's just that, extremely small. The biggest city close by is Roanoke 45 mins down the road. In C-ville you have the option of going to Richmond an hour away or DC 2 hrs away. If you want a combination of the two towns I strongly suggest where I live, Staunton. Bigger than Lexington with the same charm and character downtown but smaller than C-ville. It's also dead center in between them, Lexington 30 mins south and C-ville 30 mins east. There are also several restaurants, not chains, in downtown Staunton that have live music. Several I believe actually have jazz on certain nights. And in the summer at the park they have free live jazz concerts. Good luck with your decision!

[roanoker 4]

Lexington is a nice small town. I was there yesterday and I was surprised at how many tour buses with tourists stop there. The military types are out in their uniforms and the people would seem to be pretty cool to jazz. Maybe you would be a big hit there. There are a few restaurants downtown, I don't know about clubs.

[johnnybc]

thanks for the info, I will come down soon to check it out! I read elswhere (best places opinions) that Staunton was boring, but you make it sound good with live music in town. Any good used bookstores?