Welcome to the Carter Family Fold
and Carter Family Memorial Music Center!
Here you will find everything related to the Carter Family — the first family of country music — and learn about upcoming events dedicated to the preservation and presentation of traditional bluegrass and old-time.
Carter Family Fold
The Carter Family Memorial Music Center is a non-profit organization serving fans and supporters of old-time country and folk music through the presentation of weekly performances in Hiltons, Virginia.
We invite you to visit the Carter Family Fold for yourself every Saturday evening, from February to November, and immerse yourself in history at The Carter Family Memorial Music Center, where country music planted its roots and the legendary Johnny Cash held his final live performance.
The Carter Family’s legacy began in 1927 with Alvin “A.P.” Carter, Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter. The trio recorded their first musical session as part of the “Bristol Sessions” and were credited for inventing the everchanging genre we now know as “country.”
For nearly a century, the Carter Family has been honored and embraced by artists and fans across the globe, and their story has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, LIFE Magazine and Rolling Stone.
A.P. Carter’s daughter, Janette Carter, founded the Carter Family Memorial Center in 1979 to celebrate the illustrious lives of the original Carter Family and keep the tradition of bluegrass and folk music alive. The Carter Family Fold is now directed by Janette’s daughter, Rita Forrester.
Visitors can also tour the cabin and birthplace of A.P. Carter, which has been relocated from its original site to a spot only a few steps from the Carter Family Fold building and the Carter Family Memorial Museum.
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