This is a turnoff from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was impressed that the commitment was made to the…read moremusic of the mountains. There are daily small-scale performances in an open section of the visitor center, which I stopped to listen to for a bit. An outdoor amphitheater offers larger scale performance opportunities, which I wish I'd found the occasion to come down for. Additionally, there are a couple of miles of trails on the site which run through bucolic hilly territory and offer a variety of sights and sounds. There is no charge to visit the site, and an abundance of reasons to be driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Note that the musical performances are seasonal.

This was a great place to stop while I rode through the Blue Ridge Parkway on my motorcycle. I…read moreneeded to take a break, and as somebody who likes to play the guitar (calling myself a musician might be a bit of a stretch) I couldn't pass this one by. They have a wonderful little museum on the history and development of Appalachian music and instruments. Some of it is interactive as well. I was there on a Saturday and they had local musicians playing some of the old Appalachian music outside in a little covered area, sponsored by the BLM I am assuming. In a smaller building they have a whole section pertaining to the old moonshiners of the region, explaining their craft and their inevitable run-ins with the revenuers. I didn't make too many stops along the way but I am very glad this was one of them as it was totally worth it!

Our first time here will definitely not be our last! We loved this venue! We attended the CJ…read moreBallard band and Jump Van Halen Tribute band concert. Everything was perfect! Looking forward to seeing other events here! Highly recommend!

What a fun fantastic place! Unless its raining and its too late to move inside its a wonderful…read morevenue for concerts! The food truck was good, woukd like to see a bigger beer selection, friendly service & what a setting!!!!

We wanted to try a new place for lunch today and the Reeves Cafe is only open for lunch on…read moreSaturday. It's wonderful to see how this historic landmark building in downtown Elkin has been so beautifully preserved. The lobby of the old theater is the location of the cafe. You place your order at the bar and it's delivered to your table once it's ready. The lady working at the bar was very nice and helpful. Although the cafe was pretty busy we didn't have to wait long for our order to arrive. They offer a nice selection of sandwiches and sides. The soup of the day was pepperoni pizza soup...didn't give that one a try but it sounded intriguing. The bread used to make the sandwiches was better than most restaurants and the quality of the food was excellent. They have regular events with live performances each week inside the theater. More information can be found on their website.

Update: the cafe has closed in 2025. The bar and the music venue are still tops! There are a few…read moresnack and sweet treat items available.

Not a fan of big families for any number of reasons. I prefer the way plants reproduce, like by…read moregerminating seeds or even better by grafting. Seriously, or nearly so, think how much better, as compared to standard issue childbearing, grafting would work for humans, like first of all no more Lamaze breathing classes for dads (after all of which are done, many moms go for the drugs anyway). then as one generation runs out of things to do in life, rather than uproot the whole parent just insert the next generation into the trunk, thereby hopefully eliminating adolescence when most of the body develops. Fungi and molds are even better as they mature in hours, are much more resilient and easier to distribute plus they're totally anonymous: parents don't have to see how their best intentions didn't bear fruit, and their offspring have no one else to blame. the spores of these life forms are quite durable, even tolerate the conditions found in outer space. Future myco-human lifeforms could be launched by the billions from earth unceremoniously, hoping a few might land somewhere favorable to germinate rather than being sucked into and incinerated by a star. And no alphabet or arithmetic to learn in grammar school. Being a family mammal on the other hand has major downsides. an example being that if you're known to be ever-ready to venture wherever someone will buy your plane ticket, they call upon you to go see how cousin Luke or uncle Amos or whoever is doing. The boring relatives stay put back home but the black sheep migrate over the years to places you would likely not otherwise go. So it is that I was driving through central Virginia on a moonless night, on just such a family mission and frankly need a roadie, a restorative for my lagging spirits, which is why I turned off the state highway and onto a county road to see where it went, and came to this town which is how I happened onto rocky mount's finest establishment, The Alley Cat Bar. It's great to find places like this and is the reason I prefer to drive in unknown territories using old outdated AAA maps instead of gps. Not every side road exit brings you to an historic and quaintly cool town like Rocky Mount, but it's the occasional one that ends in Rocky Mount that keeps you in the wanderlust game. It' was just what I was looking for at this moment, a break from driving the dark rural Virginia roads, local music and a friendly beer crowd. I was ready. Most small towns, not much to do, so can't be too choosey but lucky here to have this place, among others by the way but none so much my kind, live music potentially a little rough around the edges crowd but, after all, it's central va. Incredible selection of beer. I missed the Tuesday nite trivia contest as well as a visit to the moonshine distillery but I had miles to go before I slept.

Awesome atmosphere with a heck of a drink/food menu! Live…read morebands, trivia nights! Worth a visit!

Great music venue -- really intimate, which was nice. Appreciate that the performers hung around…read moreand interacted with the crowd. Fast drink service too. One FYI: they charged an extra $5 for my brother at the door because he's under 21, which wasn't disclosed during online purchase or listed anywhere on the site.

GREAT place to hear music. Great atmosphere and stellar sound!! Drove over from Winston Salem and…read morewell worth the short drive.

Great small venue! I recently did generally admission for the Morgan Wade show. There were some…read moreissues with the sound equipment that produced some feedback for part of the show (not sure if that was due to the artist or the venue). However, the quality of the performance more than made up for it. There were a lot of specialty drinks available, but I just opted for some sodas. Service at the bar was friendly and they were making their way through the line quickly. The energy in the space was good and it seemed like a true music lover's haven. One challenge I had was that there didn't seem to be any seating options for general admission. Even offering a couple of off-to-the-side seats for a rest would be handy, since staying on your feet for a few hours straight can get a little tiring. Perhaps that was a possiblity and I missed it. There was seating in the VIP sections though and the price differential didn't seem too dramatic. Seriously, no bad view in the place due to the venue being so small. I'd absolutely recommend checking out a show here!

Got to visit the Ramkat again recently for Somewhat Petty, a Tom Petty cover band out of Asheville…read more I really enjoy going to shows at the Ramkat. It's small, making for more intimate performances, but not too small, so they get some decent acts coming through. They offer a full bar with beer, mixed drinks and even THC seltzers. They've got some tables and seating, though you have to pay extra for the seating. Ramkat is located in a great part of town with several dining options, and breweries near by. There are paid lots for parking, but also plenty of free street parking if you arrive early enough.

Over the years we have watched this place really up their game. Then music has always been a big…read moredraw but it's also a great place to grab lunch or a sweet treat, and next door there is a soda shop type place as well! Barrels of candy, locally made items for purchase, including gorgeous cutting boards. Clean restrooms too, which is always a plus!

The Floyd Country store is a go to for lunch. They have a variety of menu options from sandwiches…read moreto hummus salad plates. You order at a counter and seat yourself with a number for your food to be dropped off swiftly. The sweet tea is excellent and there are a variety of delicious baked goods that change week to week. If you go on a Saturday at 12 you will be pleasantly surprised by live music as a part of their Americana Afternoons program which features local musicians from folk to bluegrass and blues. The atmosphere is super laid back, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Make sure you tip the band and support their musicians-life is better with music! As they say.

Popped in to Jones Von Drehle Vineyards as a second stop of the afternoon. Rather than doing a…read morefull-on tasting, we selected a bottle of Tempranillo after my wife tasted three wines. The Tempranillo is very smooth and very tasty. We sat outside due to the noise of a large group inside. The views here are amazing.

I was so excited to visit because I love French style wines!! And it's close by. While I enjoyed…read morethe wines very much, we were treated very poorly. After purchasing two tastings and a bottle of wine for consumption on property, we paid our tab. Then we were approached and told that we needed to pay again, even though we could both show them that the transactions had gone through on our banking statements. They proceeded to argue with us for almost 30 minutes, prolonging our time there, and embarrassing us in front of all of the rest of the customers. We knew we had paid. At the end of 45 minutes of arguing while we were ready to go, they finally just took our phone number and email address and told us they would reach out if it did not go through. We had already offered that option from the beginning. I really wish we could visit again because I loved the wine, however, with this treatment and embarrassment we won't be back.

Great lil venue to hang out with friends or family. Went to lunch and ate at the bar. The bartender…read morewas a sweetheart and we received our food rather quickly even though they were packed. Started with the Spinach Artichoke which was quite yummy! Ordered a speciality Margherita Pizza, adding mushrooms. Their pizzas are brick-oven baked to perfection, served piping hot. Sundays are open mic and they host a variety of band genres performing live each week. Highly recoomend this location if you're ever in Floyd, VA. Both indoor and outdoor seating available.

One of our favorite spots in Floyd! Super attentive & friendly staff, food always on point, great…read morerotating selection of beer. Definitely recommend their pizza, the kitchen sink is my fave. A hot spot with the locals, can definitely bring a full house with live music, expect a semi loud experience even without entertainment.

I was told to check this place out while I was in town. When I arrived they had a trivia contest…read moregoing on, I didn't participate but sounded like fun. The service was good. Sat at the bar and had a burger which was pretty good.

When I first reviewed this Downtown Roanoke Restaurant, I focused on their drinks and food. But…read morethis time around I couldn't help it to discover why this place is the center of Roanoke's night life. After being awarded the Triad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, I decided that it would be appropriate this year to go back to this restaurant and write a follow-up review, since my initial review was one of my reviews that contributed to me obtaining this highly esteemed Award. I arrived on a Thursday evening with a 6:15pm reservation which I'm glad I had made because later I found out that this place gets to be a full house on Thursdays. A young lady host greeted and welcomed me at the Host's station as soon as I arrived. She checked my reservation and had my table all ready for me. Located in the middle of this very popular Restaurant Bar, gave me a nice view of the entire place, and with a light high above I had a perfect lighting to photograph my drink and food as part of my review of the place. My server Jillian arrived soon after I was seated. She had a wonderful personality and welcomed me with a friendly smile and very pleasant attitude. After answering me some questions about their Mocktails, I ended up ordering their Raspberry Burro. For dinner I ordered their BBQ Bacon Chicken Kababs with a side of their special fries and a salad. While I was waiting for my food to arrive I observed the place quickly filling up and I found out that tonight was Music Bingo and Live Music at 9:30pm with no cover charge. It brought me back to my college days in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the night life was a thing to look forward to. Suddenly I discovered the key of Martin's popularity and the important role it plays in contributing to making the City of Roanoke a Star City indeed. I enjoyed my drink and the Chicken Kababs with the side of special fries were amazingly delicious, as well as the salad. They have a good variety of quality items on their menu and their chefs amazingly deliver. I invite you to read my first review where I celebrate their Cuban Sandwich and Slaw, and view my photographs that accompany my review. What a night. Besides the food, I enjoyed playing the Music Bingo, which one of the card titles was The 1970's. One of the best years of my life, when I attended High School in San Juan, Puerto Rico and College in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. During that time I also won a Saltwater Fishing Tournament at the young age of 17 by catching a 405 pound Blue Marlin off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. It was the best of times for me. My server Jillian provided exceptional customer service, checking on me at the appropriate times. For dessert I ordered their Glazed Doughnut Bread Pudding, and it was so good, I can't wait to return to have it again. What an extraordinary dining experience I had that night. I highly recommend this restaurant and bar for when you feel like having a good time, alone or with family and good friends. I promise you will be able to sabor what a Five Star review is all about, and experience for yourselves why Martin's is one of the City of Roanoke's most precious gems.