Honoring 40 Years of the Friday Night Jamboree
The Floyd Country Store 206 South Locust Street , Floyd, Virginia 24091
Since approximately 1910, when it was first opened as the Farmer’s Supply Store, the familiar spot on South Locust Street, now known as the Floyd Country Store, has played a central role in the Floyd community. In 1984, when it was known as Cockram’s General Store it began to host what we now know as the Friday Night Jamboree. 40 years later, the store is now acknowledged far and wide as a haven for traditional musicians and dancers. In 2004, with the establishment of The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, The Floyd Country Store became part of the Crooked Road’s mission to honor and preserve the extraordinary music of the Appalachian region. 2024 also marks 10 years of stewardship by Floyd Country Store owners Heather Krantz and Dylan Locke!
We’ll be gathering to celebrate these community milestones on Friday and Saturday, November 1st and 2nd, and November 30th, 2024!
Please join us, in collaboration with The Crooked Road, for the following events:
- Friday, November 1st at 6:30 pm — A Special 40th Anniversary Friday Night Jamboree / Crooked Road Takeover! Featuring a gospel music set with Jesse Smathers & Corbin Hayslett, followed by dance sets with local legends, Larry Sigmon & The Virginia Girls, Mac Traynham & Friends and Twin Creeks Stringband! In addition we’ll have a special tribute to Friday Night Jamboree founder, Freeman Cockram.
- Saturday Afternoon, November 2 at 12 pm — An Americana Afternoon / Handmade Music School Student Takeover.
- Saturday Evening, November 2, at 7 pm — Join us for a Special Evening of Music with The Crooked Road All-Stars — a powerhouse lineup of local and regional bluegrass and old-time musicians featuring Jesse Smathers, Sammy Shelor, Eddie Bond, Nick Goad, Corbin Hayslett and Dylan Locke. The Crooked Road All-Stars will present an evening of music that explores the intersection between the old time, bluegrass and early country music resulting in the sound of Southwest Virginia.
- Saturday, November 30, at 7 pm - A Lonesome River Band Musical Feast Thanksgiving weekend, come enjoy a musical feast with The Lonesome River Band’s Family Dinner! A special Floyd Country Store 40th Anniversary musical event featuring The Lonesome River Band. Sammy Shelor and LRB will plate up an evening of musical offerings featuring LRB’s classic bluegrass signature sound as the main course, with sides of legendary guest performers sitting in throughout the evening, including the legendary Allen Mills (from The Lost & Found), Junior Sisk, and past member of LRB, Jeff Midkiff. Get yourself some dinner from our café and sit back and enjoy the show.
Tickets for these events are available in-person or at www.FloydCountryStore.com or you can Livestream them for free at www.FloydCountryStore.tv
In addition—We’re also excited to present a special on-going documentary project of interviews with Friday Night Jamboree community old and young. Produced with Spencer Roberts of Forged Films, this collection seeks to answer the question of why the Jamboree has continued to endure as a community icon for 40 years. Watch the collection here: www.floydcountrystore.com/friday-night-jamboree-40th-anniversary
These events are presented in collaboration with The Crooked Road (www.thecrookedroadva.com) and sponsored by The Virginia Tourism Corporation (www.virginia.org), The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, (www.revitalizeva.org) and The Appalachian Regional Commission (www.arc.gov)