Once you arrive on the Owensboro Riverfront, you’ll find almost everything in this one location: The Bluegrass Hall of Fame – a festive night of music called “Friday After 5:00” – and your hotel.

This first afternoon is spent at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.  Located on the riverfront in downtown Owensboro, it is a state-of-the-art museum shining a light on Kentucky’s signature brand of music . . . Bluegrass.  Come, immerse yourself in the sights and sounds built on the foundations of gospel, jazz, and blues by the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe.  A Kentucky native he cultivated bluegrass music as a sound built on rhythm and harmonies.  Just inside the front door your visit begins with a Pickin’ Porch.  A room filled musical instruments where your travelers can pick up a guitar or fiddle, banjo or bass and together work out a few tunes of their own.

The Hall of Fame tells the story of the greats who played this music including Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers and more.  The story is still growing with new performers, such as Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs and Sam Bush, and many others who are re-shaping bluegrass for a new era.

Your hotel is also on the banks of the Ohio River.  Both the Hampton Inn and the Holiday Inn Riverfront sit within walking distance of four music stages where “Friday After 5:00” features a variety of music and a riverfront moonrise.  There is some seating, but your travelers may want to bring folding chairs to make their experience more relaxing.  For dinner, food trucks line the river with a great variety of comfort food.

Bluegrass didn’t really start on Owensboro’s beautiful riverfront, it came from small town musicians and you will spend this day searching for those roots.  First stop is the Muhlenburg County Music Museum where you can expect a musical greeting.  “Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County, Down by the Green River where Paradise lay . . .”  This must-see museum features the music of several local boys:  The Everly Brothers, Merle Travis and John Prine.  You’ll learn about the older men in this small town who influenced the musical style of these legends when they were just boys.

Then travel to Rosine, KY in Ohio County.  Here your tour bus is going to turn onto a wide gravel road and climb through the forest to the top of Jerusalem Ridge to see the Bill Monroe Homeplace.  This is where his parents raised 9 children all of whom who learned to play on the front porch.  To make the story more authentic and because the home tour can only accommodate 8-10 people at a time, you will have a Bluegrass group singing on the porch while you alternate in and out of the home.  You will learn about Bill’s early years and why he played the Mandolin.  Your trip to Rosine is a drive into music history.

Next is a lunch at the Rosine General Store, beside the Rosine Barn where you’ll find more music on a stage where Bill played frequently.  You’ll also hear the history of the Rosine Barn Jamboree and you’ll have a photo op on the stage.

Then there’s a windshield tour to the Rosine Methodist Church that Bill attended as a boy.  You’ll hear the story of the Farewell Concert for him at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, then of the local service here in Rosie and of the many music celebrities that came to Rosine for the Graveside service.  Your bus will stop at the cemetery where a local man will share a few more stories and songs about Bill and his Uncle Pen.  Then you visit the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Museum filled with memorabilia from his legendary career.  There’s also a small stage here for photo ops or an impromptu song.

Tonight, returning to Owensboro you enjoy a Western Kentucky Dinner at the locally famous “Moonlite Bar-B-Q.  Just like Kansas, Texas or Memphis, Western Kentucky has its own unique style of barbecue.  Owensboro is known as the Western Kentucky “BBQ Capital of the World.”  Kentucky ’cue famously features pit-cooked mutton, sliced paper-thin and topped with a variety of “dips.”  And if you don’t yet have a taste for mutton, don’t worry: this big ol’ BBQ joints also serve up pork, chicken and other slow-cooked classics.  (B,L,D)

Following breakfast at the hotel you start for home. (B)