Bill Monroe Bluegrass Music Foundation of Kentucky

If you are a serious fan of bluegrass music, you need to visit the birthplace of Bill Monroe, that’s all there is to it.
And if you don’t really know that much about bluegrass music, but happen to find yourself on the Western Kentucky Parkway, you should visit the birthplace of Bill Monroe too.
Personally, I was in the latter camp. I don’t know that much about bluegrass, but I was in the vicinity. Totally worth the trip!
A quick detour up US-​62 will take you to a handful of neat sites where the founders of bluegrass lived and died and many continue to play music. My personal favorite was driving back up Jerusalem Ridge to see the boyhood home of Bill Monroe. Aside from being back on a windy road that was fun to drive on a beautiful bit of land, the house has been turned into a museum and is open for free tours.
A tour guide was on site when I arrived and he walked me through the house and let me explore the property on my own. He was extremely knowledgeable and knew every person in every photograph and the provenance of every bit of furniture. There was a quilt hanging on one wall detailing Bill Monroe’s life story, including a block recounting the time his niece got bit by a snake. I have no idea what the back story on that is. I don’t want to know. I just delighted in the picture of a snake and a startled little girl with pigtails. Family lore devoid of context is funny and I want to keep it that way.