www.roanoke.com

No, I ain't dragging my muddy feet across Mark Taylor's turf. I'm just highlighting some of the best outdoor music events around Roanoke.

Keep reading for a preview. Don't forget to check out Riffs tomorrow in the good ol' RT.

Music sounds different outdoors.

The bass thump travels farther than a city bus. The melodies seem to rise and actually hover above a crowd. It even smells different, but that’s probably just the spilled beer. Maybe it’s the barbecue.

Roanoke and its neighbors boast enough outdoors music events to fill the calendar from Memorial Day to Labor Day and beyond. Blues, country, classic rock, bluegrass and world music sizzle outside like burgers on the grill.

So, if you think Roanoke has no outdoors music events worth hearing and seeing, stuff this in your Weber grill and smoke it. Actually, don’t do that. You’ll need this list later.

Festival in the Pines, April 30-May 3
Tripple Creek Campground, Rocky Mount
This family-friendly bluegrass gathering has been held beneath the tall pines for nigh on 30 years (28 actually). Larry Stephenson, James King, Lost and Found, Ralph Stanley II, Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice and about 10 other bands will “Tripple” your pleasure. If you go, don’t miss the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers, who will make you want to learn washtub bass.
(540) 483-9839; tripplecreek.com.

Festival in the Park,
May 22-26
Elmwood Park
Roanoke’s biggest festival is known mostly for its family-oriented activities (and thunderstorms; look, I hate to say it, but it’s true. Nothing busts a drought like Festival in the Park), but for many people, Festival is the biggest musical event. Year in, year out, Festival in the Park brings a combo of contemporary country and classic-rock acts to town.
This year, Edgar Winter, Little Texas, the Bellamy Brothers and the Beatles-inspired “1964” The Tribute will no doubt pack Elmwood Park. So what if Festival’s performers aren’t trendy bands preferred by the young, platinum-card-toting, expensive-condo-dwelling crowd that city leaders are all whipped up about? Festival in the Park was voted Best Music Festival in The Roanoke Times’ 2007 Music Poll, so that proves it gives the people what they want.
342-2640; roanokefestival.org.