Mount Airy, home to the late Old-Time legend Tommy Jarrell and country music singer Donna Fargo, has a wealth of Bluegrass and Old-Time music that can be found each week. Every Saturday morning of the year, the Merry-Go-Round is broadcast by WPAQ radio from the Downtown Cinema Theatre from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A jam session takes place before the show from 9 until 10:30 a.m. Thursday is another great night to catch some toe tappin’, string pickin’ action. A weekly jam session takes place at 7 p.m. at the Andy Griffith Playhouse. Admission is free. Mount Airy also has a fiddlers convention the first weekend in June every year. Also in February The Tommy Jarrell Festival will take place right here in Mount Airy.

The 4th Annual Tommy Jarrell Festival will be held February 23-26, 2006

With a host of talent to celebrate the occasion including Grammy winner David Holt, Benton Flippen, Willard Gayheart, Richard Bowman, Verlen Clifton, Kirk Sutphin, and Robert Dotson. Highlights include free jam sessions, movies, dance, and the annual birthday concert.