Bristol Virginia Birthplace of Country Music Heritage Trail

The state line runs down the middle of State Street, and Bristol wears that split identity like a badge. What unites both sides is 1927, when a record producer set up equipment in a historic State Street building and captured 76 performances by 19 artists — sessions Congress recognized in 1998 as the birthplace of country music. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, is where that story lives now. The heritage trail through downtown connects the places where it actually happened.