For the last 47 years, the little community of Lucketts, Virginia has hosted Saturday night bluegrass music concerts at a historic former schoolhouse. In fact, the Lucketts Bluegrass Series has been called “the Grand Ole Opry of Bluegrass Music.”
The tradition continues every Saturday night October through April, as nationally known bluegrass acts play to enthusiastic crowds in the 225-seat venue. Last year’s concert series was cut short by the Covid pandemic, but the shows will start up again as soon as restrictions are lifted.
Now listeners can relive some of those musical evenings, as Bluegrass Country radio broadcasts concerts recorded live at Lucketts. The shows will be aired during the Christ Teskey Show at 4 pm eastern time every Friday, and repeated Saturday afternoon at 1. See the broadcast schedule below.
Bringing music to the old Lucketts Schoolhouse was the brainchild of local musician E.J. Spence, who thought a music hall would be a great alternative to the bars that hosted most bluegrass shows in the 70s. He and some friends organized the shows, kept the building in shape and began to build a reputation as a family-friendly place to hear great music.
Over the years, the reputation grew, and today Lucketts is a mecca for bluegrass bands and fans. The building has been restored, by the Saturday night shows are still organized and run by volunteers, under the auspices of the nonprofit Lucketts Bluegrass Foundation.
“We’re thrilled to be able to air these live performances from one of the oldest and most fabled bluegrass venues in the country,” said Teskey, who’s the program director of Bluegrass Country as well as the host of the weekday afternoon show. “We’re pleased to be working closely with the Lucketts Bluegrass Foundation to make these broadcasts possible.”
The Lucketts Foundation is equally excited. “We’ve been presenting bluegrass shows for more than 45 years,” said foundation board member Karen Capell. “COVID-19 has caused us to go dark temporarily so broadcasting past performances on Bluegrass Country is a great opportunity to share the music.”
For more information on Lucketts Bluegrass, go to luckettsbluegrass.org.
Broadcast Schedule
| Broadcast Date | Band Name | Date Recorded at Lucketts |
| February 19 | Big Country Bluegrass | October 26, 2013 |
| February 26 | Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass | October 5, 2013 |
| March 5 | Audie Blaylock & Redline | March 30, 2013 |
| March 12 | The Lost & Found | February 16, 2013 |
| March 19 | Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper | January 19, 2013 |
| March 26 | The Larry Stephenson Band | January 12, 2013 |
| April 2 | Remington Ryde | October 13, 2012 |
| April 9 | Kody Norris & The Watuga Mountain Boys with The Furtado Family (Opening Act) | March 24, 2012 |
| April 16 | The Dry Branch Fire Squad | February 11, 2012 |
| April 23 | Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice | April 6, 2013 |
| April 30 | Mile 12 and High Fidelity | |
| May 14 | Darren Beachley & Friends | March 31, 2012 |
| May 21 | Eddie & Martha Adcock With Tom Gray | October 12, 2013 |
| May 28 | Jim & Valerie Gabehart | October 19, 2013 |
| June 4 | Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen | January 25, 2013 |
| June 11 | David Davis & The Warrior River Boys | November 3, 2012 |
| June 18 | Hillbilly Gypsies | November 9, 2013 |
| June 25 | Audie Blaylock & Redline | February 18, 2012 |
| July 2 | Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper | January 28, 2012 |
| July 9 | The Larry Stephenson Band | March 3, 2012 |
| July 16 | Bill Yates & The Country Gentlemen Tribute Band | March 23, 2013 |
| July 23 | Kody Norris & The Watuga Mountain Boys | February 23, 2013 |
PBS station WETA featured Lucketts Bluegrass in its “Country Music in Washington” series in 2019. Click the photo to see the video.
