MichaelAnthony, Don't know much about the Roanoke area's music scene, but you'll be a fairly short, beautiful drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville, NC and I can tell you there's plenty of picking around there.

What kind of music are you interested in?

If I remember correctly, my fiddle-playing nephew goes to a number of festivals in the Roanoke-Lynchburg area during the summer — or used to anyway — so that scene should be pretty good.

You'll also be a pretty short hop from the Augusta Heritage festivals in Elkins, W. Va. and the Swannanoa Gathering in Swannanoa, NC (just east of the Asheville exit from the Parkway).

cheers

david