The Music of Kentucky is heavily centered on Appalachian folk music and its descendants, especially in eastern Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

 is of particular regional importance; Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe

William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...

, "the father of bluegrass music", was born in the Ohio County

Ohio County, Kentucky

Ohio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 22,916. Its county seat is Hartford. The county is named for the Ohio River, which originally formed its northern boundary. It is a dry county, which means that the sale of alcohol is restricted or...

 community of Rosine

Rosine, Kentucky

Rosine is an unincorporated town in Ohio County, Kentucky, United States. Bill Monroe, The Father of Bluegrass, is not only buried in the town but also memorialized with a bronze cast disk affixed to the barn where his music remains alive. The community was named for the pen name of Jenny Taylor...

, and he named his band, the Blue Grass Boys, after the bluegrass state, i.e., Kentucky. Merle Travis

Merle Travis

Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon"...

, originator of the influential guitar style known as Travis picking, was born and raised in Muhlenberg County. Kentucky is home to the Country Music Highway (Highway 23), which extends from Portsmouth, Ohio

Portsmouth, Ohio

Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...

 to the Virginia border in Pike County

Pike County, Kentucky

Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 65,024. Its county seat is Pikeville. Pike is Kentucky's largest county in terms of land area. Pike County is the 11th largest county in Kentucky in terms of population preceded by Bullitt County and...

.

Music venues and institutions

Renfro Valley, Kentucky

Renfro Valley, Kentucky

Renfro Valley is a neighborhood located just off Interstate 75 in Mount Vernon, a city in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, United States. The community of Renfro Valley includes the Since being founded by local area native John Lair and others in 1939, Renfro Valley Entertainment Center has hosted...

 is home to Renfro Valley Entertainment Center and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and is known as "Kentucky's Country Music Capital", a designation given it by the Kentucky State Legislature in the late 1980s. The Renfro Valley Barn Dance was where Renfro Valley's musical heritage began, in 1939, and influential country music luminaries like Red Foley, Homer & Jethro, Lily May Ledford & the Original Coon Creek Girls, Martha Carson, and many others have performed as regular members of the shows there over the years. The Renfro Valley Gatherin'

Renfro Valley Gatherin'

Renfro Valley Gatherin' is a United States radio program based in Renfro Valley, Kentucky...

 is today America's second oldest continually broadcast radio program of any kind. It is broadcast on local radio station WRVK

WRVK

WRVK is a radio station broadcasting a full service format centered around Classic Country. Licensed to Mount Vernon, Kentucky, USA, it serves the South Central Kentucky area.-History:...

 and a syndicated network of nearly 200 other stations across the United States and Canada every week.

Major music venues in Kentucky include the Paramount Arts Center

Paramount Arts Center

The Paramount Arts Center is a historic theater located in Ashland, Kentucky, in the United States. Listed as the Paramount Theatre on the National Register of Historic Places, this landmark theater is an important part of theater in Kentucky.-History:...

 in Ashland

Ashland, Kentucky

Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...

. There is also Sturgill's Music Center in Tom T. Hall's hometown of Olive Hill. Just south of Olive Hill is Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 678 people, 292 households, and 167 families residing in the city. The population density was 716.1 people per square mile . There were 332 housing units at an average density of 350.7 per square mile...

, the boyhood home of Keith Whitley

Keith Whitley

Jackie Keith Whitley , known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 until his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters...

, whose house is now a museum, exhibited in conjunction with the annual Tobacco Festival. The Kentucky Opry in Prestonsburg

Prestonsburg, Kentucky

Prestonsburg is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. It lies in the eastern part of the state, along the banks of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. It was founded in 1797 by Col. John Preston—for whom it was named—along with Solomon Stratton, Matthias...

 is a major institution, using the Mountain Arts Center

Mountain Arts Center

The Mountain Arts Center is a performing arts venue located at 50 Hal Rogers Drive in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. The center was established in October 1996 and became home to the Kentucky Opry...

. Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 is home to the West Point Country Opry, while the city of Owensboro

Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...

 is a major bluegrass center, and is home to the International Bluegrass Music Association

International Bluegrass Music Association

The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...

. In the capital city, Frankfort

Frankfort, Kentucky

Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...

, there is the Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe. The cafe is a very intimate venue that features some of the top national and regional Bluegrass, American and Folk artists.

Festivals

Singers gather annually at Benton

Benton, Kentucky

Benton is a city in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,197 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County....

 on the fourth Sunday in May to sing from a shape note

Shape note

Shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational and community singing. The notation, introduced in 1801, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools...

 hymn and tune book called The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion

Southern Harmony

The Southern Harmony is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker. The book was released in 1835 under the full title of The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note singing....

. This event, first organized in 1884 and called The Big Singing or Big Singing Day, is considered by many to be the oldest indigenous musical tradition in the United States. It was organized by James Roberts Lemon, a newspaper owner and publisher in western Kentucky.

Ashland is also home to the Summer Motion festival and Poage Landing Days, while Olive Hill also hosts the International Strange Music Weekend and the Shriner's Bluegrass Festival. The Renfro Valley Barn Dance

Renfro Valley Barn Dance

Renfro Valley Barn Dance was an American country music stage and radio show originally carried by WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday nights. It debuted on October 9, 1937 from the Cincinnati Music Hall and moved to the Memorial Auditorium in Dayton, Ohio. It was hosted by John Lair, Red Foley,...

 has been held in Renfro Valley

Renfro Valley, Kentucky

Renfro Valley is a neighborhood located just off Interstate 75 in Mount Vernon, a city in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, United States. The community of Renfro Valley includes the Since being founded by local area native John Lair and others in 1939, Renfro Valley Entertainment Center has hosted...

 since 1939. Owensboro has ROMP (River Of Music Party) the last part of June every year. Other festivals include the Forkland Heritage Festival and Revue in Gravel Switch.

Lexington is host to the oldest bluegrass music

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

 festival in the state. The Festival of the Bluegrass

Festival of the Bluegrass

The Festival of the Bluegrass, located in Lexington, Kentucky, is the oldest bluegrass music festival in the bluegrass region of Kentucky. The festival takes place the first full weekend of June each year...

 is held every June at the Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky Horse Park

Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 and Interstate 75 in northern Fayette County in the United States...

 and considered one of the premier traditional bluegrass

Traditional bluegrass

Traditional bluegrass, as the name implies, emphasizes the traditional elements of bluegrass music, and stands in opposition to progressive bluegrass. Traditional bluegrass musicians play folk songs, tunes with simple traditional chord progressions, and on acoustic instruments of a type that were...

 festivals in the country.

Wilmore, Kentucky

Wilmore, Kentucky

Wilmore is a city in Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,134 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 is home to the Ichthus Music Festival

Ichthus Music Festival

The Ichthus Music Festival is an annual Christian music festival in Wilmore, Kentucky. Begun in 1970, it is the oldest Christian music festival in the nation. The festival began as the brainchild of Dr. Bob Lyon, and a group of seminary students at Asbury Theological Seminary, in response to...

. Ichthus is a Christian music festival held each year on the Ichthus Farm. Notable bands such as Switchfoot

Switchfoot

Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...

, Relient K

Relient K

Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...

, Pillar

Pillar (band)

Pillar is a Christian rock band currently located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their sixth studio album, Confessions, was released in 2009.- Formation and independent albums :...

, and P.O.D.

P.O.D.

Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...

have all played at past Ichthus festivals.

Mount Sterling is home to the Gateway Music Festival.