HUMPBACK ROCKS Oh, play me some mountain music, Alabama said on their hit song. On Sunday, that came true for people at Humpback Rocks as they listened to a melody surrounded by mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Harmony Hill played on Sunday as they kicked off the first of the summer series at Humpback Rocks sponsored by the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The first concert with Sunny Side on May 28 was rained out; they hope to reschedule.

Many families come to the mountain early, hike up to the Rocks, enjoy a picnic and explore other features of the park before settling in for the afternoon concert, Jim Harrington, coordinator of booking and scheduling, said.

The concerts are free, open to the public and held at the parkway visitor center milepost 5.8.

The series hopes to highlight mountain music.

Since there was no radio or television in mountain living, music was the means of entertainment, a press release from Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway said. People told stories of hardships and comforts through the instruments they played, the movements of their dances and the lyrics of their songs.

Mountain music was more than just a tune. It was life stories put to instruments such as the fiddle, banjo, guitar and more.

All of the bands for this series represent, more or less, the 'Old Time' music genre: the instrumentation will include banjo, fiddle, guitar, upright bass, mandolin, autoharp, harmonica and voice, Harrington said. One of the best things about living where we live is the rich abundance of truly talented musicians we have among us.

All of the concerts are family-friendly and run from 2 to 4 p.m.

My hope for the audience is that they will enjoy a relaxing afternoon in a beautiful, historic setting and be transported to an earlier time when 'home made' music was an important form of entertainment and community-building, Harrington said. We also hope that the music will serve as a reminder of our good fortune in having the Blue Ridge Parkway and the historic farmstead so close by.

Other concerts in the series include: Farm Use String Band, June 18; The Lovell Coleman Band, July 2; The Bill Wellington String Band, July 16; Harmony Hill, Aug 6; Grassy Ridge, Aug 20; The Mutton Busters, Sep 3; Blue Mountain Sunrise, Sep 17 and Uncle Henry's Favorites, Oct1.

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Play some mountain music - The Daily Progress