Road Trip Music in Virginia

Virginia is a state of contrasts, from the bustling suburbs of DC to the winding roads of the Shenandoah Valley, from the elegance of Colonial Williamsburg to the down home vibe of the Carter Fold. One song that gracefully and gently expresses all that is I Do Love Virginia. It’s sung by Sissy Spacek, and written by Paul Reisler, Terri Allard -- and class of elementary school kids in the Charlottesville, Virginia, area.

They were all participating in Kid Pan Alley, a project Reisler started on the national level some years back. The Charlottesville area collaborations resulted in an album called I Used to Know the Names of All the Stars, a collection of songs both whimsical and serious, funny and somber, sung by nationally and regionally well known professional musicians who live in the area.

Allard, who spearheaded the Virginia project, is one of those. With a smoky alto and a gift for writing songs which tell vivid stories in just a few words, her music walks the territory between folk and country. A fine introduction to Allard’s work is the album Live from Charlottesville. Songs of hope, resilience, and good fun filled the air one winter night for the recording of that album, and there's more about that when you follow the link.

If you've been thinking about the floods in Tennessee, Allard does a very fine version of the flood song Louisiana 1927 on the recording, too.

Virginia is, or has been, home to many musicians. A site which will take you on a journey through a number of the places important in the state’s musical history is The Crooked Road.

Other musicians with Virginia connections for your soundtrack include Robin and Linda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Pasty Cline, The Carter Family, and Jesse Winchester. If you’re looking for Irish and Scottish music in Virginia, one very good place to find out about it is from the web site of Sunspot Productions.


you may also wish to see

Music Road: Terri Allard
Robin & Linda Williams: The First Christmas Gift
Music Road: music for mothers and children



This is part of The Great American Road Trip, in which I originally partnered up with A Traveler’s Library to add musical ideas to the book and film suggestions for journeys through the regions of the United States which you’d find there. The Library is closed now, but I think you will still find the journeys through music interesting.
For more about the road trip (and a look at some great road songs) see Great American Road Trip: Music begins

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Mary Chapin Carpenter: Come Darkness, Come Light

Come Darkness, Come Light



Carpenter does recognize both darkness and light in her songs here, many of them ones that she’s written herself. She opens with a familiar song, however, Once in Royal David’s City. It holds memories for the singer. “ For years, I have tuned in on Christmas Eve to the live broadcast from Cambridge, England, of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. I have my own tradition of wrapping presents while listening to it, and singing along as well. They have always begun the service with Once in Royal David’s City, and it is one of my favorite carols,” she says.

That sort of connection between public and private aspects of the holiday season is apparent in the songs Carpenter has made for this holiday, as well. Christmas Time in the City, sees things from the point of view a musician busking along the holiday street, while The Longest Night of the Year invokes connection, hope and survival, and the light and dark sides of winter days. Bells Are Ringing was inspired by a trip to the Balkans at Christmas time. “I was moved by the spirit of fellowship and kindness in this dark place,” she says. Carpenter brings the collection to a close with the spiritual Children Go Where I Send Thee, invoking the continuing joy and hope of the holiday and sending it on.

Through the album Carpenter sings quietly, inviting the listener in to join her considerations of darkness, light and the varied facets of the season. Like most really good holiday albums, however it’s one that needn’t be put away when the season turns. Joining Carpenter are long time musical friends John Jennings on guitar, backing vocals, and other instruments, and Jon Carroll on piano.

you may also want to see

Music Road: Gretchen Peters: Northern Lights

Music Road: now playing: Albert & Gage: One More Christmas

Music Road: listening to Christmas

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here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this.Thank you.

Adrienne Young & Be Wild Virginia

Adrienne Young is a singer and songwriter in the bluegrass old time country tradition, and a woman who believes deeply in the family farm, the sustaining nature of wild places, and the importance of personal responisbility. She'd rather open doors than preach about all this, which is what she often does through her music (her latest album is called Room to Grow), and it is also what she does in this video, which she did for bewildvirginia.org. There's a generous helping of music, some fine scenes of natural Virginia, and a bit about the organization in the seven minute plus piece.

now playing: Terri Allard

Choosing love, choosing hope, celebrating those choices through life’s twists and turns: if there’s a theme running through the thirteen cuts on Terri Allard’s latest release, Live from Charlottesville, that would be it. The music is a mix of country, folk, Americana, and blues, served with a dash of laughter and a seasoning of reflection. Allard kicks things off with Wings of Love, in which she remembers and reminds that it’s necessary to trust taking time for love in the midst of the clatter of other demands. A rocking bluesy cover of the Traveling Wilburys song Rattled follows.

At this show, recorded on an icy winter night last year at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Allard chose include a number songs she’d never put on record. It’s a wise, and confident, choice; Allard is a writer on par with her down the road neighbor Mary Chapin Carpenter, who co wrote one of the songs here with Allard, and whose long time buddy John Jennings plays guitar on a couple of tracks. She sings in a smoky, inviting alto with a natural storyteller’s gift, and there’s just enough interaction with her audience to give a sense of the connections which happened on the night.

There’s a solid mix of fun and and insight, from songs like Once Upon a Time, in which the protagonist is looking for prince charming but ‘just can’t get past once upon a time’ to the quiet, engaging and reflective piece called Hope, which could just be the centerpiece of the album. Upbeat Back to Barboursville is a lasting evocation of growing up in a small town, while We’ll Have Elvis is a funny and engaging road trip fueled in equal parts by The King, Patsy Cline, and NPR.

Allard often closes her live shows these days with Randy Newman’s Louisiana 1927, and she does that here, in a a soulful duet with her dad, Bill Allard. Heart, soul, fun, great songs and great singing set the atmosphere of a fine live show, Terri Allard’s Live from Charlottesville will make you wish you’d been at the gig and glad you’re able to share the music and the memories through this recording.

You may also wish to see
Road Trip Music in Viginia, including a project Terri Allard worked on called I Used to Know the Names of All the Stars
Learn about Calling Me Home. an album from Kathy Mattea

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