Crooked Road exhibit on display in Pound

Rare film footage and photographs of four legendary country music groups are part of an exhibit at Pound Town Hall now through July 1.  “Crooked Road Royalty” highlights the careers of the Hill Billies, Stoneman Family, Carter Family and the Stanley Brothers, considered Southwest Virginia’s musical royalty of the earliest era of the genre. In the 1920s the Hill Billies and the Stoneman Family cut hundreds of cherished recordings. In the 1930s and ’40s the Carter Family blossomed into a regional legend, and the Stanley Brothers stamped an old-time mountain legacy on the bluegrass nation. “The story of American country music is filled with singers and pickers from The Crooked Road region,” said exhibit researcher Andrew Pauly. “Even today’s young country music stars know songs that were first recorded by the early Southwest Virginia artists.” “Crooked Road Royalty” and “Musical Styles Along The Crooked Road” are two exhibits to visit numerous venues across the region. The exhibits were produced by the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum for The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, with funding from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. “Crooked Road Royalty” can be viewed at Pound Town Hall from 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. daily through July 1. For more information call (276) 328-2321.For more information about the Crooked Road, visit www.thecrookedroad.org Courtesy Kingsport Times News